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Comment by ben_w | Hacker News Reader

It reminds me of the Segway: Lots of hype, "meh" reaction for the reality…

…but 20 years later, our cities were changed by the widespread arrival of cheap two-wheeled battery powered personal transport devices with almost the same footprint and handle post.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorized_scooter#E-scooters

And now I think about it, I recon a Segway would solve several of the problems that e-scooters have.

If we've not all been turned into paperclips and/or got chips in our brains and/or global thermonuclear war, I can believe the tech improves to enable the hype.

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> And now I think about it, I recon a Segway would solve several of the problems that e-scooters have.

By `problems that e-scooters have` you mean being light, mobile, cheap, and not dorky?

Edit: just found this gem:

"So there may be a way to capture more of the market Segway hoped to reach: make a version that doesn't look so easy for the rider. It would also be helpful if the styling was in the tradition of skateboards or bicycles rather than medical devices." [1]

[1] https://paulgraham.com/segway.html

I own several electric scooters. That said, "not dorky" is not a feature I think of, especially when my middle-aged ass is riding it.

Hah, add cargo shorts and tucked-in polo for the trifecta :-)

And socks with sandals.

Balance for one.

I had an electric scooter for 2 days before flying face first into the street at 30mph. Thankfully I was wearing a mips helmet and only broke my arm and my nose

Sounds like speed, not balance, was the problem

The issue was the front tire was bald and lost traction.

I just don’t think a Segway would every really fall sideways at speed.

Scooters have been dorky since forever. The semi-cool people who try to make scooters look impressive just end up looking try hard.

Small wheels suffer more from irregular ground than do large, and the foot placement in a Segway looks less accident prone (not seen stats).

I think the only thing "dorky" about Segways is the PPE, which should really also be worn by anyone on an e-scooter.

E-scooters are really much more practical than Segways (as well as a lot cheaper) due to being narrow rather than wide - much better suited to being ridden on the sidewalk.

Segway's really seem to have found their niche as more of a toy than means of transport in the form of tourist Segway tours. They are at least fun and do work well, even if a bit ill-conceived!

As a pedestrian, please don't use scooters on the sidewalk.

What I see here, in the US, is mostly schoolkids using scooters to go to school as an alternate to bikes (which they also ride on the sidewalk).

Agreed that a mix of scooters/bikes and pedestrians on the sidewalk isn't ideal, but better than the alternative of having the kids on the road, since scooters and bikes (esp. driven by kids) don't mix well with cars and trucks either.

Other countries solve this better with safe bike lanes, etc.

In my US city, it is specifically illegal to ride a bike, escooter, or similar on the sidewalks. I rarely see children biking on the sidewalks -- they stick to the bike paths.

I really wish that the police would enforce the ban better, though. Accidents on the sidewalks are pretty common, and I've even been yelled at by bicyclists for daring to walk on the sidewalk.

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