I Love My Segway
I used to be an avid cyclist, but because of a problem with my eyes I started having problems seeing small hazards such as pot holes, rocks, sand, oil slicks, scraps of wire, pieces of wood and other debris. So when the Segway debuted in December 2001 I was intrigued. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, the Segway Human Transporter is a personal electric transportation vehicle. It consists of a small platform that you stand on, with large wheels on the left and right, and a control shaft extending upward to a handlebar. Inside it’s quite complicated, with several computers, five gyroscopes, two tilt sensors, and two 2-1/2 horsepower bi-directional servomotors. But operating it is the picture of simplicity. To go forward, you lean forward. To go backward, you lean back. To turn, you twist the left hand grip. (In the new models you turn by tilting the handlebar left or right.) That’s basically all there is to it. I like to tell people that the Segway doesn’t know it’s a transportation device. It’s just trying to stay upright. When you lean forward, you move your center of gravity ahead of the axel. To keep from falling forward, the computers command the motors to roll forward. But since you are standing on the axel, you move forward with the wheels, and thus the wheels just keep turning as long as you are leaning forward, keeping you in dynamic balance.
As a technophile, naturally I was smitten. My first opportunity to get on one was at the Innoventions pavilion at Disneyland. My friends and I all agreed that we felt that with just a few hours practice we could master the thing. But I wasn’t sure how useful it would be in practice, and I was put off by the five thousand dollar price tag. I decided to wait a few years to see if the price would come down. Well, a few years passed, and the price didn’t come down, although a few things that were extra-cost options before, such as wheel inserts, splashguards and higher performance lithium-ion batteries, are now standard. But I had come to the point where I simply had to find a better way of getting around, so I took the plunge.
The first thing that I noticed is that, as cool as the concept is, the execution is even better. Although it’s still a relatively new product, the design is highly evolved. There are many safety features that distinguish the Segway from a mere motor scooter. The operation is nearly silent, and the range is sufficient to get me anywhere in the city where I live and back on a charge. The top speed is around twelve mile per hour – about three times walking speed, but what is perhaps more significant is that it essentially has no minimum speed. You can easily travel at much less than normal walking speed. And it’s so maneuverable that it can turn in place, and in fact I routinely ride it into the supermarket or drugstore without any objection from the management. The engineering is meticulous, and the construction impeccable. It’s nice to see that a product designed and built in New Hampshire can achieve such high standards. Of course, the main thing I was looking for was less sensitivity to road debris, and I got it. I’ve run over small potholes, rocks, pinecones, and seedpods, all without incident.
Of course when riding in certain places, you have to be prepared to turn some heads. I’ve had many interesting comments from onlookers, like “You’re my hero”, “That looks like fun”, “Are you from the future?”, “Meet George Jetson”, “Cool”, “Everyone should have one of those”, or just “Wow”. My favorite was from a teenage boy who said, “Those are real? I thought that was just something on TV”.
For many purposes, a bike may still be a better choice. But one perennial problem with riding a bike is that you are invisible to motorists. It’s not that they can’t see you, it’s just that they aren’t looking for bikes. The experience on the Segway is just the opposite. You are quite conspicuous, and I find that drivers are more inclined to treat me as an equal. Another traditional problem with bicycles is that you sweat – so if you wear a suit to work, you may find that a Segway fits your lifestyle better. And it’s not as fast as a bicycle, but that’s really a safty feature.
While I’m raving about the Segway, it’s important to remember that it can be dangerous. It’s not impossible to crash, though I haven’t managed it yet, and in any collision with a motor vehicle you would be at a serious disadvantage. Three states require the company to advise riders to wear knee guards, elbow guards, and wrist guards. This last one is an amusing example of our government at work, since it is not possible to grip the handlebar while wearing wrist guards. You should also know that the Segway is not good at carrying a lot of cargo. It’s not easy, for example, to get a cake home from the bakery without turning it on its side. And of course, in a full rain, you will get soaked.
But even with its limitations, I have found Segway’s Human Transporter to be solid, practical transportation. I enjoy it so much that I actually find myself looking for excuses to run errands. A sufficiently big spike in gas prices could cause a run on Segways, so I figure that having one is a kind of insurance. For more information, I encourage you to look at the the Segway website. My only regret is that I waited so long to buy one. And, did I mention that it’s incredibly fun to ride?
