Rogan Bidlow

Had a guy come into the place I work with one of those and he crashed into a display stand. Had to force myself not to laugh in an incredibly awkward situation.

Cynthetiq

i saw one this past weekend in Santa Clarita Valley... weird... since no body walks in LA... neither did this guy.

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a2k

I saw a meter-reader on one a few months back. He was having a hell of a time "parking" the thing on a hill. He finally grabbed a stick to wedge behind the wheel.

There's a place in Seattle (in greenlake) that rents them. Haven't done it myself, as it's like $40/hour, but if you really want to try one and are in the area...

Fifteen Short

I personally would ratehr have a bike than a segway any day. They help you get in shape, they are faster, and hell, its fun to ride a nice bike.

eyeronic

I checked out the website of the place(greggscycles.com) and it didn't say anything about them. Are you sure they still rent them there?

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a2k

The place that rents them is called Glide. It's on the other side of the block from Gregg's Cycles.

lukeduke

I can't see any real use for these things. I've seen a few around San Francisco. They just look like another way for lazy Americans to get even more lazy. These sorry bastards are probably riding them between the parking lot (where they parked their SUV that they drove into the city from the godawful suburbs alone) to the office. Somebody mentioned going to the supermarket on one. How the fuck are you going to haul groceries on one? My wife an I can bring home six bags of groceries on our bicycles between the two of us. Lazy goddamned Americans. Makes me wish I was French.

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irieemon

He's already invented it, in fact it was built first and just got FDA approval:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._wheelchair_dc

Dean Kamen is a smart, smart, man. I think he might be right about these segways, but not for another decade or so.

Loup

I saw my first one this past week in New Hampshire while visiting friends. We were at a bar over looking the water and this guy comes hovering by on the sidewalk, looked out to the bay, and turned around and jetted off. Looked pretty cool - but as Daval had said:
sums it up for me as well. She said that the postal workers use them around here area. Neat-o.

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BigGov

If you're going to spend that much on something that has two wheels, get a used motorcycle.

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castex

I saw one on the Champs Elysées in Paris about a month ago. It was like a Kubrick was directing, until I spotted my own reflection in a shop window.

kel

Inline skates or bust

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tristar1

Saw a cop bite it on one.

Too funny.

Tex

It's only a matter of time folks, it's only a matter of time..

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kalisto_911

Priceless

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Fremen

I'll wait for the hover models.

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mjollnir

those things are incredibly expensive

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bigjule

I had the chance to ride one this week. I work at a science and tech. museum and one of our benefators is going to buy us one so we got the full pitch at this meeting. They have been classified as a mobilty device, but if you cant walk easily how well can you stand either? It is leagla to ride on the sidewalks in all 50 states and on the roads where the speedlimit is under 25mph. The ride was pretty easy, you just stand there and it balances itself. You just have to get used to NOT trying to balance it. You lean forward it goes and depending on the setting you can top out at 12mph. there is a turning switch on the handle bars that is well located so you can do a zero radius turn. The biggest problem is that depending how much weight is on them you get 9-12 miles off a battery charge. I know my mailcarrier walks more than 10 miles a day, so whats the point. This is a flash in the pan toy that will never get braod use.

Thraeryn

I don't care if it's horribly expensive or if it seems silly. I want to stand six inches above you all and bask in my motor-driven superiority, then zoom away when you try to force me off the thing.

spectre

6,000 Segways recalled.
<hr>
U.S. regulators, Segway recall 6,000 scooters

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - About 6,000 of the much-hyped Segway Human Transporters are being voluntarily recalled for an upgrade because some of the futuristic scooters can suddenly run out of power, causing riders to fall off, U.S. safety regulators and the company said on Friday.

Segway has received three such reports of riders falling off, including one person who sustained a head injury that required stitches, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the company said in a statement.

The power problem occurs under certain operating conditions, especially when the batteries are running out, Segway and the safety agency said in the statement, posted on the Internet.

Specifically, the company said in a statement, they can occur "if the rider speeds up abruptly, encounters an obstacle, or continues to ride after receiving a low-battery alert."

Segway officials did not immediately return call for comment.

The Segway carries one person who stands on a small platform between two side-by-side wheels. Leaning slightly forward moves the scooter forward, leaning back makes it reverse course and turns are made by twisting the handle.

The transporter, which took over a decade for investor Dean Kamen to develop, enjoyed more than two years of hype before it went on sale at Amazon.com Inc's AMZN.O online store in March for $4,950.

The Segway "i Series," or HTi167, and all e167 "e series" models sold to commercial users and p133 "p series" models sold in test markets are being recalled for a software upgrade.

Segway said it was contacting owners about the upgrades, but for more information, call the company at (877) 889-9020.
<hr>

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Cynthetiq

only 6,000? that's it? that's all that's been sold?

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collide

Segways are for people with too much money who desparately need to be crippled from the waist down so that they will never have to worry about using their legs for a simple exercise such as walking again.

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bundy

good idea.
surely that won´t take too long.

what i really want is the bar stool version of the segway... you could still be sitting at the bar, while on your way home... but i guess drink-segway-driving could become an issue.

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mattevil

<img src="http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2003/06/13/image558532x.jpg" width="370" height="278">
so easy to use even Bush can use one!

meff

I saw a test movie where they teached how to use it on all terrains .. even ice.

Pretty nifty machine.

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richeee

This summer I had the opportunity to try a Segway (compliments of Sara at Glide http://www.glideusa.com/ ). This was at The Gorge in George, WA, a House of Blues concert venue with lots of steep hill walking between the 3 or 4 stages of entertainment.
In my job, I need to get from stage to stage at various large events and a golf cart or John Deere ATV isn't always available or practical. The Segway was very easy to learn and makes the pain of a titanium plate in my leg lessen. I just need to figure out how my doctor can "prescribe" it, so insurance will pay the $5000!

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CyN1caL

It costs way too much. And I've been trying to save on gas, so I've been walking home lately (60 minute walk) and something that looks that silly and will probably get stolen, it doesn't look worth it at all.

Batman976

I saw someone riding a Trikke the other day. I thought that was pretty stupid. Yeah, it's a little off topic, but it's still a bizarre method of transportation.

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aoLhaTer

see that they recalled them because people were falling down?