Self-Balancing Unicycle Only Half as Dorky as Segway | Hacker News Reader

Self-Balancing Unicycle Only Half as Dorky as Segway

wired.com

45 pointsjapaget24 comments

I just re-read Robert Heinlein's short story "The Roads Must Roll" and there is a reference in the story to something like this, but he called it a tumblebug. From the story - "It had been a long time since the Chief Engineer had ridden one of these silly-looking little vehicles, and he felt awkward. A tumblebug does not give a man dignity, since it is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized on a single wheel"

I find it interesting that he predicted this in 1939 and it has taken 70 years to be a reality.

The most impressive part is that he imagined how dorky it would be.

http://www.tlb.org/eunicycle.html

http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html

50% as dorky. 0% as smug.

What about the Uno [1] which is a half eunicycle, half electric motorcycle?

[1] http://www.bpg-motors.com/

This is awesome. One of these, in combination with public transport, could honest-to-god replace my car.

The small profile makes it easy to carry inside with you, unlike a bike or a segway.

In my opinion this could actually come close to achieving what the Segway originally wanted to achieve. Segways are too bulky. This is just perfect. Price, profile, utility, everything. Amazing looking product I expect to own one.

Wouldn't it be cool if there were an auto-balanced unicycle that just kept you from losing your balance and still made you do all the pedaling? Now THAT would make you look cool.

Maybe the peddling could power an electric generator - you could still peddle while you're stopped at the stoplight. =)

yes! a hybrid bike that never needs charging

I didn't see anyone mounting or dismounting the unicycle in the video. If it's awkward to stop and start, it's going to look much more dorky than the Segway.

Honestly I can't think of any kind of transport that's dorkier than a unicycle. Segways included.

You are wrong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOLQtHl2Coc

Self-Balancing Unicycle Only Half as Dorky as Segway"

Wrong. It is at least 3x more dorky.

Half as dorky as a Segway is about 4x as dorky as I am, and I'm a giant dork.

The SBU also features front, rear and side energy absorbing zones, these are commonly referred to as your knees, elbows, face and butt. – http://focusdesigns.com/design/

That design page is a nice read. (Though I feel a smacking is in order for their conflation of voltage and power.)

Initially the square tube frame made me think "garage welder", but after 5 looks it says "I have one wheel, but I am not what you think of as a unicycle."

To take it a step further, what if the unicycle was integrated into your car seat. When you leave the car you leave on your unicycle. No switchover necessary.

There was a folding bike design that had full-sized parallel wheels. I thought this was eminently practical, since it could be wheeled around indoors easily. This uni has the same utility.

Found it. It's the IF Mode, which actually costs quite a bit more than this uni!

http://www.nycewheels.com/if-mode-folding-bike.html

I see someone commuting every day on a unicycle (through central Edinburgh in heavy traffic!) - still never seen anyone on a Segway.

This would be awesome to ride on, but I am a little afraid that it will tip as soon as it hits a rough spot.

I'm afraid that I would be riding it, the battery would die, and then I'd fall flat on my face.

From http://focusdesigns.com/design/

"Once the battery is completely drained the SBU continues to balance but will become stubbornly stationary and not obey your speed commands."

It's very hard to fall on your face on a unicycle. I'm actually learning how to ride one now, and although it's not easy to do "simple" things like turn, go backwards, or even stay in one place, it's very easy to fall off safely -- you just step off the unicycle. Unlike a bike, there's nothing in the way. When I fall forward, it's basically like I stepped off, and continue walking. There's nothing to think about; you just put your foot in the direction you're falling and stand up.

In all my learning, from beginner to semi-beginner (I can go forward and slowly turn, but that's it), I've fallen worse than onto my feet once.

This, of course, assumes it doesn't run out of power at 20 mph, which the manufacturers say it won't.

Echoing the other comment, unicycles are quite safe. Your feet are never very far off the ground--even if you're on a pedal unicycle--so you just walk/run out of any spill. Geared 36" unicycles can get above sprinting speed, but riders willing to push a unicycle that far are quite rare ;)

(Speaking as a unicyclist here: http://www.matthewwegner.com/topics/unicycling/ )

Some of the comments are particularly amusing and/or prescient:

That sign looks like a disabled person sign

Stuff White People Like

This is perfect for people who are terrified of a little moderate exercise and don’t mind looking like a fat lazy dork with bad posture.

I particularly like the part in their promo-vid (toward the end) where the guy is riding his SBU alongside a jogger, who is going just as fast as he, but obviously the better for it. It seems to beg the question of "why doesn't he run alongside her?" (she'd probably appreciate it more too).

I would imagine that for many of the readers of this site, a little moderate exercise is not something to be terrified of, but practically a necessity. I'm thankful for every opportunity that I get to walk/run outside, as I spend most of my time indoors on the computer, and that's a very unhealthy way to spend most of one's day. I wouldn't buy one of these, only because my body has little interest in extending the amount of time it remains stationary, and legs are a pretty remarkable and versatile invention that technology has yet to top.

In fact, looking at this SBU makes me appreciate my legs more. They can, for example, go up stairs. And jump over things. They can even be used as a weapon. I don't have to worry about locking them up somewhere because they're with me all the time, and although they're not particularly fancy, they don't make me look especially uncool either. ;-)

>In fact, looking at this SBU makes me appreciate my legs more. They can, for example, go up stairs.

it looks fairly easy to carry one of these unicycles up stairs, or take it on an escalator, or ride up a wheelchair ramp

>And jump over things.

Easier to jump over stuff than with a bike or segway

>They can even be used as a weapon.

One word. Jousting.

>I don't have to worry about locking them up somewhere because they're with me all the time,

I think you could take this unicycle just about everywhere - walking it alongside with you inside a building for instance. Much more doable than a segway or bike. It's more like a skateboard.

>and although they're not particularly fancy, they don't make me look especially uncool either. ;-)

It's the person that makes the gadget cool or uncool. If you're a cool guy, you'll still look cool on a unicycle. If you're a dork, you'll look dorky either way.

Utility drives coolness. If this proves to be useful it will be cool within a decade or two.

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