One time I applied for an engineering position at Segway. They had a lot of custom equipment assembled but they couldn't make any of it work. I asked them to let me see the engineering drawings and schematics for the equipment so I could troubleshoot it. The manager told me, "We don't do drawings. We don't have time for that, we just assemble the stuff". No wonder they couldn't make the stuff work. Having proper engineering documentation is essential to building and debugging equipment like that. They had inoperative equipment lying around for months that they couldn't fix, but they were too busy to produce the documentation necessary to efficiently and quickly debug the equipment. After hearing that I said thanks anyway and I left. No way was I going to work in an environment like that. I'd rather go outside and pound my head against the side of the building.
E-Scooters made the Segway completely obsolete in my opinion. Cheaper to make, no complicated stabilization electronics, no potential sudden stops. Lower weight, easy enough to carry to a charger. Regular (manual) scooters can be operated by children as young as 2 years old! So there is no need to "learn" how to control one - basically every human being on the planet above the age of 10 can control one without any training whatsoever. The list goes on.
My wife and I took a segway tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. It took me all of 2 minutes to learn it. Took her 5. I think the biggest drawback to it was the cost. At $3k+ it was out of reach to the general public.
"So there is no need to "learn" how to control one - basically every human being on the planet above the age of 10 can control one without any training whatsoever." are you serious ? It's the same sytem but a Segway is infinitely easier and safer
I have used owned and used 3 different Segways over the past 20 years. As a handicapped individual who can stand for limited durations but not walk very well, the Segway greatly expanded my mobility. I have had a few wipeouts from pushing the limitations of the Segway but I always realised I was living on the edge and was prepared to fall, hence i was never injured. In regards to the videos of people falling off the units, most were not using the devices properly. Pay attention folks. BTW I have tutored many people over the decades who asked to ride my Segway. Never had an issue bc they rode the unit with awareness. Bravo Segway for enhancing the quality of my life over the course of a few decades.
If someone can only stand for limited durations, why would they get a device that requires them to stand all the time? That's why these are such terrible devices for travel. When someone gets on a bus, or subway, or train, what's the first thing people do? They look for a place to sit down. Well not with a Segway because you're gonna be standing the entire time!
I’m a little confused. If you can only stand for limited amounts of time, why on Earth would you buy/rent/use a Segway, where you have to stand up the entire time?
My friend, look at the Lectric XP Trike. An electric tri-cycle. I own two, besides two of their electric bicycles. The trike allows me to walk and run my dog as I have diminishing walking stamina. The kids love to ride them too and they won't do face plants like a Segway will.
I keep a Segway in my trunk of my Tesla MX. When traveling I drop my wife off at the restaurant and drive to a near by SuperCharger. I ride the Segway back to the restaurant where my wife has my food ready. By the time we eat the car is charged so I Segway back to the SuperCharger, put the Segway back in the truck, pickup my wife and we're back on the highway. It's fun. I also bought a Segway for my wife, but she will not ride it. Segway is now a Chinese company with ZERO support. Segway is now a bad company, but I love my Segway.
@@fiddlerJohncalled Ninebot now. It is a bit sketchy here in the states but there are many US dealers that have all of the parts and knowledge. I have 3 MiniPros and the Z10 electric unicycle and 1 of their F35 scooters from Costco. They all perform flawlessly. So far 😊
They were just too expensive and difficult to bring places. They worked ok for patrolling large facilities, but they aren’t compatible with individual ownership. A scooter, ebike, EUC, et al, are better choices than a Segway for 99% of people. They are cheaper, faster, more portable, and just better for almost any private individual buyer.
Less active people will prefer sitting, which Segway doesn't provide. More active people will prefer having pedals to push, which Segway doesn't provide, and having sitting as an option is way preferable regardless. Segway's market? Not transportation, but toys. Expensive toys. Add a small trailing castor third wheel and a seat, both on flexible supports, and maybe...
@@RichardLewisCaldwell You can buy seated Segways, but not the way you’re describing. You have to keep your weight over the center of the device to control it by leaning, not on a seat on a caster in front of or behind the device, which would make it want to move in the direction of the seat with weight on it. The main factor that hurts them is cost and bulk. It would cost you more than $5,000 to buy one that goes 12.5 mph for 20ish miles of range, weighs more than 100 pounds and is bulky and wide. For $700, you could buy an InMotion V8S electric unicycle, go 22 mph for more than 30 miles, weighs 30 pounds, and you can trolley it around to easily move it when you aren’t riding it. For much less than that you could buy a scooter that goes 20ish mph with decent range, light weight, that has no learning curve and you could be riding 5 minutes after taking it out of the box. So, people do that instead, and that’s what doomed Segways.
They are even useless for patrolling a large facility. There is no way to carry any equipment or supplies. An electric scooter can even carry a second person. I live in China. On construction sites, all the supervisors use electric scooters to get around quickly. Not a Segway, expecially since you can buy about 17 scooters for the price of one Segway.
Here in China on-street parking is scarce. Drivers keep a folding E-scooter in the trunk of their car. They can park far from their destination without a time-consuming walk. They cost less than $150 US.
One of my relatives, after making some profitable business investments, acquired a $5k Segway to show off some of his new wealth. He demanded whoever socialized with him to ride his expensive toy. After several signifcant injuries to friends and relatives, the toy disappeared.
This thing was featured in the English textbook in Chinese schools for well over a decade, or even two decades. Every Chinese born in 1980-2000 knows it.
I had a ride on one. It was a clever thing but we were told to be very careful not to go through puddles because the water could destroy the works. It was limited as to how steep it could climb and although interesting it was not as agile as an ordinary bike and certainly didnt feel as safe. It was a solution looking for a problem but not finding one.
I bought a Segway i2 in 2009. I rode it for many years and only had one fall. It was an amazingly versatile machine (moreso that EUCs or e-scooters) but not as fast. I took the time to learn how to use it properly. Lack of education, safety mindset, and reckless riding were the cause of most Segway accidents. I went thousands of miles on mine incident-free.
@@joecoolioness6399 Unfortunately these didn’t exist yet… at least I had never heard of them. I now own an e-bike and have owned two e-scooters but I’m pretty sure these didn’t emerge in the PEV landscape until several years after I bought the Segway. I remember in those first several years of riding the Segway, I was the only one out there with any sort of electric conveyance. Now there are so many other PEVs everywhere that if I ever do use my Segway i2 (which is rare anymore), I get a different kind of attention. When I used to ride it back in the day, I got a lot of attention because people wondered what it is, how it worked, and were fascinated. Now, if I ride it once in a while, people admire what a cool “retro” appeal it has (compared to all the other newer PEVs around).
@@peterduxbury927 When learning to ride a bike it was unstable until I got the hang of it. When I was 63 I had the opportunity to ride a Segway. I didn't fall and it felt a little awkward at first...it was a good experience.
I own a Segway i2 I purchased it in June of 2015 I still use it just about every day during the summer and spring in the fall I love love love my Segway. My commute to work is 15 to 20 minutes in my truck and 9 minutes on my Segway. I currently have 5863 miles on it. I just used it yesterday for my commute to work. Segways are great as long as you respect them. They can be a safe alternative way to commute.
I really wanted one when they came out, but $5,000 plus it was illegal to ride it in so many places really killed it for me. Today I have an electric bicycle and I like it a lot.
Wow! I never knew! Thought Segways were alive and well! 3yrs ago did a Segway tour of Fort Worth and 5yrs ago a Segway tour of Vegas and loved it! My wife can barely handle a bicycle and yet she was zipping around on the Segway in 5mins!
We Aussie enjoyed our Segway tour of old Lisbon and Rottnest Island in Western Australia. I have a neurological balance impediment, but still manage them OL. Out of 4 times I feel off twice... but cannot manage a bicycle.
Not even 10 times. Anyone can get a bike for under 100 dollars. And it would be more than usable. That's 1/50th of the release price of the Segway. There are even bikes for two year olds, which are also very affordable.
I was on a segway tour. While standing in place the tour guide was talking to us and I lost my balance similar to how Ellen did. Like most cases, I put a foot on the ground to stable myself and the thing began to spin and nearly dumped me.
a segway instructor in san antonio nearly push me into the canal, he was looking backwards at his students moving forwards, if I hadn't screamed " heads up" he would have hit me, knocked me into the canal, and possibly gone in himself
It wasn't a terrible idea from the start, but a typical inventor isn't a good CEO for production and selling a product. In my city there was a group you could book them for a guided city tour and that was great... But to buy one for your own was too expansive...
*I met Dean Kamen, while he was riding a Segway in DC...* On a very cold day in Washington DC (I think I was walking on, or near, M Street; circa 1991), Dean Kamen suddenly came up from behind me, on my left side, gliding along on a Segway. I ran to catch up with him. I said "WAIT!... _let me get a look at this thing!"_ Without saying a word (because, as I eventually found out from talking with him, Dean was a man of _very_ few words; Dean was always naturally reluctant to take a stranger into his confidence), Dean casually turned his head to look down upon me, slowed down only a little bit, and then resumed Full Speed. So tantalized was I, that I ran after him, even faster! I ran alongside on his left, and then I ran alongside on his right, at which point he could infer how genuinely interested I was. At last, he stopped. While still standing upon his Segway, and looking down at me, Dean told me _why_ he was in Washington DC. Dean told me that he was on his way to an appointment at the National Post Office, with the intent to make a sales pitch to the US Postal Service. Dean was hoping he could persuade the US Postal Service to buy a huge lot of Segways.
I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desart.[d] Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. - Percy Shelley, "Ozymandias", 1819 edition en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias
Segway paved the way for Electric Unicycles (EUCs). The company still going strong with their scooters, some of the best quality on the market. They didn't downfall, just pivoted direction the company/product was going
I lived in Manchester NH at the time, and got the opportunity to test ride one. I found it incredibly easy to ride, and didn't have any issues with it.
My wife and I have two Segway Mini-Bot Pros by Ninebot and have owned them for the last seven years. I ride one almost every day and have really enjoyed my experience with them. Our grandkids also love riding them.
For me it's a love-hate thing. To this day I ride my Segway clone around campus to quickly get from building to building. It's been a real boon, but not without its dangers. In the two years I've been using it for this purpose, I've fallen twice taking it through doorways. Even the slightest contact between a wheel and a wall or door frame is sure to result in a tumble. Now when I'm going through doors, I'm super careful (and slow) taking pains to avoid any contact. But I still use it, and will continue to as long as the battery holds up.
I've not been on one, but my brother, in his late 50's, uses an electric unicycle and loves it. It still has a slight balance curve, but it's hands free and can be ridden almost anywhere. He rides it to work on the base, and feels like it keeps his legs, heart, and balance strong. I'm thinking about getting one. I don't know, though, because I live in a much larger city with lots more traffic.
I bought 2 I2 units used after doing several tours because my wife and I loved them.We had recently bought an RV and they fit in a side compartment. We used them for 5 years using them to tour cities and towns as we traveled. I also do some event things several times a year and they were very handing for covering long distances at the event that would have made you very very tired each day to do without it. Since then both of my I2 units have died with control codes. I have since bought a new small one for myself and still love it for doing the event stuff, in fact I just used it like crazy this past weekend at an event.
I can only imagine how the others felt about you and your wife piloting something like that through foot traffic, just don't I implore you. I bet you never considered others when employing your bright idea. The only thing more annoying is a selfie stick in a crowd of people. You test people's restraint every time you take them out for a spin and the possibility is there that you will eventually run into someone who acts on the impulse that the rest of us have in wanting to wrap that effing thing around your neck. I don't care if you get tired otherwise, I really truly don't.
@@Davesworld7I suspect AllDry might be elderly, since they use them during tours. So I suggest you wait until you get old and find it difficult to get around before you cast aspersions on other people. Most cities and towns can accommodate them quite easily.
Does being 64 count for anything? Eisenhower was in office when I was born and I was born in Alaska only a few months after it became a state. I still prefer riding sportbikes rather than standards and avoid cruisers. It's important to walk as much as possible over 60 so that you keep things working and not atrophied and get the circulation going. Best to do it and maintain it while able to do so. I see people under the age of 50 who are darn near invalid already from trying to take the easiest way with motorized toys when they should walk. My grandmother who had emphysema in her 80s was in that state but to see people under 50 like that now? Unthinkable.
@@gatesurfer Nope not elderly, but with our first RV we did not have a tag car. We would park the RV in the bus parking area of towns like Asheville NC, leave the generator running for the dogs and then cover the 2 miles into the town. Downtown is very hilly even to the normal parking areas and we would get compliments on a great idea, or "now that's what we need". There was also a campground in downtown St Louis and allowed us to do the arch and other tourist stuff with out worrying about parking as we could use the bike racks.
@@Davesworld7We got looks and compliments all the time. Often got requests to try them and sometimes we would oblige. At the events they are covered in mini bikes and golf carts... my Segways were hardly out of place
Was a tour guide in Boston for four years. Made me find muscles I never knew I had. Spent on average eight to twelve hours a day on them. So much fun. Most of the accidents were people that did not learn to keep a safe distance from others. Many sprains, even a broken leg once. Right outside a hospital ER. Convenient, after she said "I don't need to be trained. I know what I'm doing!" Famous last words. Even owned my own machine, a gift from my Mom, 2009. Riding year round, had to adapt to the weather, even in a hurricane in Boston. The only reasons I gave up, parts were too damn expensive, and the wear-n-tear on my legs. GOOD TIMES!!!
We had 2 XTs and used them for 5years until the batteries failed, Getting thrown off is possible and happened only a couple of times for us. Experience and terrain awareness is important. Properly handed they were fun to ride.
I have owned two Segways, and used them in business. They were used primarily for direct sales, (door to door), and they allowed me to make more contacts than I could have done on foot. There is literally nothing better to used if you want to contact everyone in a a small town. I became quite proficient in using them, and had few accidents, and I have never regretted using them, although I have never used on since. I believe Kaman's intent was they be used in dense urban environments, and what killed the Segway was when they were outlawed for use in a city. In addition getting them in and out of a subway system would be impossible. They are fun, but mostly useless for most people.
The promise of fun and drawing attention to oneself were probably the biggest attractions. With hindsight, the Segway - against common sense - created an enormous design challenge: to reimagine existing two-wheeled transport. Rube Goldberg would be smiling.
I've used Segways in San Francisco as parts of tourist excursions and soon realised their major flaws if you carried any delicate camera equipment. Subsequent times in both US and UK I had to wear helmet, body protection including shin, upper body pads, gloves and sign a waiver. I found it a more profitable use of my time to video people falling from Segway's
I remember the pre-launch hype, then the launch. “Is that it? Really?” It looked utterly uncompelling at launch, and remained so thereafter. The humble bicycle is such a more safe and useful device.
Same. They made it sound like it was going to be some kind of hyper-advanced mode of travel, from anti-gravity, to a teleportation device. I remember hearing some claim that "whole cities will be built around it." And then it was released. An electric, horseless chariot.
To me this is a great example how top tech bros can get excited with a new invention that is, admittedly, tech savvy - without noticing that for an average user there's already other, cheaper stuff that fulfills the role pretty well.
Owned one, after six months of use, lack of battery longevity prompted its resale. It was an otherwise viable means of short :45 distance commutes. At up to 12 mph, it was effective.
I bought my first one,when they first arrived in N.Z., when it eventually died, I traded up to the new model, which is now my mobility transport vehicle. Great way to get around short distances which are too great to walk easily, and safe if used sensibly.
Luckily, the story did not end there. This technology led to the rise the the electric unicycle (EUC), starting around 2015. The current high end ones have suspensions and have a top speed of over 55 mph and have a range of 100 miles. They are about as much fun as a person can have.
Well all new technologies is like that, an idea, then 1 or many failed products due to technology or business problems, then a few iterations down the road, it takes off. Segway is still on this path, and those 2 wheel balance scooter is just the first step to a better mode of personal transportation. I commuted on a Sherman S to work, it's just a really nice mode of transportation, and costs far less than a Segway. Maybe in 10 or 20 years, it would be as common as a bike.
@@davidajzhang I have a V12 and an S18. They are both great wheels. I'd like to upgrade this year. Does your suspension require a lot of maintenance or give you any problems?
@@Ingothnia Yeah, mine did, actually still does do a slow oil leak. I had to service it one and now the other side leaks. However, if I just want to ride, I can choose to ignore that completely. It feels just as nice without damping, especially on the compression side.
Great niche product. I own two minipro's which are controlled using the knee bar. Great for landscaping and moving things around on a large property. I use mine to push around a heavy wheel barrow, leafblowing, mowing, etc. Very rarely fall and never injured. I don't really like it for basic transportation as I would rather bike or walk.
When released, it definitely seemed to fall short of the hype. And yet, today, there's a massive amount of popular devices that follow in its footsteps.
A friend of ours celebrated her 60th birthday by renting about 20 Segways for her 60-year-old friends to ride. The owner of the rental agency gave us a brief lesson followed by a 2-hour tour. We had a great time. No accidents. No injuries. Nothing. Just a lot of fun!
I've owned my segway mini-pro for about 7 years now. This is the small one that doesn't require a handlebar. Of the escooter, eskateboard, ebike and segway mini-pro I own, the most convenient to ride is the segway. It's the only one I don't have to lock up, because I just leave it powered on and push it around the store/office with me. It's also the best option for grocery shopping because both hands are free to carry bags. They can be dangerous if one wheel hits a bump. The device easily gets out of control and wobbly, but that's where you have to always be paying attention to the road ahead. I've had a couple falls, but I've had falls on all but the ebike also.
Segway was defensively before its time, hyped up with out having a full grasp of the limitation of the hardware available at that time. But the legacy of the Segway still lives in form of the Electric unicycle (EUC), and It to had its rocky start but last year the tech finally started to reached its maturity for mas adoption. So even if you did not get a Segway, you can still join the PEV community by baying an EUC.
People's apatite for change is usually around 10% different and 90% familiar or "evolutionary". Adding an electric motor to a skateboard, scooter, or bicycle is evolutionary and meets this criteria. Instant success. The Segway, perhaps, was too revolutionary to expect rapid adoption, especially at its price point. Other slightly more aggressive e-designs, such as the electric unicycle, EUC, and one-wheel concepts have succeeded, in spite of being revolutionary, because they are accessible to the casual user because of their low cost of entry and yet they are FUN and functional as transportation. Yes, you can spend a little or a lot on them because there's a gentle upgrade path between entry level and pro level products from which to upgrade.
They were banned in Canada as we are not mature enough to handle that high tech machine however we allow mini electric scooter drivers that travel 60 km per hr without any protective head gear.
A few months before it was introduced, I remember hearing the owner or some company representative on a morning radio program talking about how amazing and world changing this invention was going to be. Turns out it was just some kind of scooter.😊
The learning curve on a Segway is lower than with a bike. Once a person understands how it works, anyone who can walk and stand still can operate it. It was designed for riding among pedestrians. You can stand in one place on it and chat with friends, or roll along with them as they walk. Most people can't do that on a bicycle. Comparing it to bicycles misses the point of the product. As far as safety, it is limited to 12.5 mph--no faster than an athlete can run-- whereas bicycles don't really have an upper speed limit. The faster you go, the worse you can get hurt-- or hurt someone else. The Segway was also designed with tires that could, at least in theory, run over someone's foot without hurting them. Like bicycles or any other device, misuse can cause serious accidents. Going too close to the edge of a cliff is always a bad idea, whether on foot, on a Segway, or on a bicycle.
when it's value vs. the now-electric kick scooters was questioned and felt like goofy tech for a mall cop then add in a couple horrifying failures on social media, no way I'd buy one
As someone who biked seriously (had a racing license) when they came out and still rides for transportation and recreation, I still have that question.
The Segway was designed to be ridden among pedestrians. With a Segway, you can sustain any speed from 0 to 12.5 mph with practically no effort. Few people can sustain 0-2 mph on a bike. If you ride a Segway to work, you likely won't need a shower before starting your work day. Bikes and Segways don't have the same function, other than falling under the broad category of transportation. Try asking why anyone would think a car is better than an airliner. Answer: they have different functions. The car is better as ground transportation. Planes don't do so well on highways.
What??? You're unable to maintain 2 mph on a bike? Come on. My seventy-five year old wife can pedal all day at about 5 mph. I know, because my bike has a cycling computer with speedometer. Bikes are affordable, easy to maintain, and practical. Their ubiquity in the world speaks for itself. The Segway died because it was a stupid idea looking to solve a non-existent problem.
I look at the huge success of common inline electric scooters and rentals like Bird etc and compare them with the lack of success Segway had. I think price and hype vs rollout speed were the biggest factors. The difference in riding style also added to challenges and safety.
Around 1992 we in the computer biz started talking about Y2K. Around 1996 the talk started turning into general plans. But, being humans, there was no urgency nor action. In 1998 the techs had to start jumping up and down and screaming and shouting at management to get them to start applying resources to the fixes. Without the fixes most programs would fail or glitch. For the next two (profitable) years I and hundreds of thousands of IT people worked our rearends off to deal with all the issues (that had a *hard* due date), culminating in many of us working on New Year's Eve 1999 to monitor the systems that we were responsible for. Sometimes there's a lot of work, communication and notification that goes on in the background to turn potential catastrophes into nothing-burgers.
I got to drive a segway as a child at a science centre. I always imagined owning one someday, it's a shame I never will. Also I found it extremely easy and intuitive, but most people in my class didn't. The instructor mentioned most adults also find it hard at first. I really enjoyed doing a little course at increasing speeds.
The problem with segway is that they fail to move to lithium which can greatly improve their product. The footage used are mix between Segway and Ninebot products. Ninebot are far more practical and one of the largest personal mobility device manufacturer.
I had ridden the original with handlebar when it was demoed in a local Montreal mall. I hopped on and it was super natural to use. IMO, what killed it was the price. You could buy a motorcycle for that.
Rode one a few times on tourist tours. Works well. I think it wasn't foolproof enough. It's easy to underestimate what fools are running around on this planet. Also you can ride a bicycle off a cliff just as easily.
I have one, and yes, I still use it. I purchased the side cases, and the front bag - which greatly enhance the utility of the device. I did fall one time, when I tried to climb a grass slope that was too steep, and the Segway stalled out, and I had never trained for that situation. Neither of us were worse for the event, and I proceeded. Fortunately, there is an enterprising fellow in New Hampshire who still supports the Segways with rebuilt batteries and spare parts. The Segway certainly played a positive role for a period when our family was down to one car - plus bicycles and motorcycles, all part of a transportation mix.
Here’s the thing tho, he knew about scooters and still invented the Segway. And all of the ppl excited for the Segway, also knew about scooters. That’s what’s crazy to me.
The Segway HT was a party gag. Everyone wanted it because it looked cool, and no one wanted a scooter because...you already had one when you were a kid.
My only experience riding a Segway was with a Segway city tour in Sacramento, and it was really fun. I was amazed at the technology. Before the tour started, they made sure to instruct us and make practice turns and stops. The whole time was fun and incident-free.
For me: the insane hype pre-launch followed by what was launched turned me off, and also way too expensive with not enough range. With modern battery tech, they could probably extend this out to 30-40 Km or more. But scooters and bikes - with in-line wheels - make a better base vehicle than a 2 wheeled unicycle.
Not counting $500 beater car, which had much better range, at one tenth of the price...and you can have a bike or a scooter in the trunk. I mean, okay, if you can dump the $5000 for a Segway HT, you probably also own a car with a trunk to fit that Segway. It's just that you need to lift 40kg into the trunk.
I worked for DEKA for a couple of years. They do have a couple of Segways there. I tried one in a small hallway for a minute or two and then tried to move to a door, unlock it, and travel down the corridor on the other side. I was successful. So, it is possible to adapt to it with little practice - but I can also understand how some could have trouble. I walk 6 miles a day for the exercise, so I have no interest in using one to replace walking. But it was fun to try it. Besides, if you're working for DEKA, shouldn't you at least try out their most iconic device?
Our family rented these in Mexico. Very enjoyable to ride. Would not want to use one for daily transport purposes, but they are fun to play around with.
You are a disgrace to mechanical engineers and inventors. You need to ride one for a little while to see how it stops fine. No jumping required! The flaw is your inability to see how it works. 99% of the accidents the media and detractors love to show are from people who should not have been on them. I've ridden thousands of miles on them. i have fallen a few times when I did something I shouldn't have like riding down a store aisle and letting a wheel touch a shelf. The segway balances by using the wheels to speed up or slow down but the wheels have to be free to do that. If you touch the side of a wheel on an object and the machine needs to move the wheel to maintain balance, It will use all of its considerable torque to try to balance. My fault, not the machines. If a bike rider crosses a railroad track at an oblique angle and the front wheel follows the track throwing the rider to the ground is it the stupid bikes fault?
In fairness, the injury/death rate for scooters, bicycles, and mopeds is very high, so Segway did get a bad rap. But you cannot ride it safely where people walk, and that was the whole purpose, so it was never going to work.
Sorry to disagree with so many here but my wife and I love Segways. Whenever we go to a new vacation destination we look for a Segway tour. We have ridden them all over the US and the Caribbean. Made dozens and dozens of tours and never once fell, nor has anyone ever fallen in our tour groups. I know this sounds unbelievable, but due to a long ago construction accident, my wife can not balance on a bicycle or ride a horse, but she can easily do Segway's. (Might have something to do with left to right, vs. forward and backward stability, but I'm just guessing). However, I completely agree owning one is useless since there's no safe place to really ride one, unless you are dealing with a perscribed course on a specific tour.
Nor are e-bikes which have about a rate of 50% of reckless drivers which doesn't bode well because they are often driven in mixed zones with pedestrians.
I rode a Segway twice on city tours. Easy enough to learn. I recall the tour in Fairbanks Alaska. I wore Birkenstock sandals. We rode on gravel paths. At the end of maybe 45 minutes, my feet and legs were quite sore from riding on that rough surface.
yeah , if you want to look like a mega-dork get on a Segway. Meanwhile I can ride my bike for 1/4 the cost and go 6 times faster without looking like a doofus.
@@Sugarsail1 To be honest, a traditional cycling kit looks pretty dorky. I write that as one whose has ridden for several decades and has two custom bicycles, several helmets, reverse action tap shoes (speedplay cleats), many jerseys, skinsuits, and bib shorts. I feel well entitled to call cycling kit dorky.
I have a permanent condition which makes walking very difficult. I bought a Segway in 2005 after riding one as a tourist in Paris (I lived in Washington DC. It was expensive, $5k, but a life-saver for me. I rode it all over the neighborhood on errands where I would have walked, got a backpack for carrying groceries, etc. I got a tailored key with 15mph top speed, but lowest sensitivity for turning. Once you got your "sea legs", it was trivially easy to ride and maneuver, and I honestly never crashed once. I sold it in 2012 after I retired and moved to a smaller neighborhood in a completely flat area. By then the battery had lost charging and would have cost $1200 to replace. It was still in great shape and I sold it to a local dealer for $1500. Altogether a great experience.
A Segway doesn't require any special balance skills. If you can step up one step, and stand still, then all you have to do is realize that you only need to lean slightly to make it go. The machine balances itself.
Great post. Super interesting and informative. I always wondered what happened to the Segway. The video clips were fantastic and the comments from others such as Steve Jobs and others is quite revealing. You mention everything that contributed to its ultimate failure: Bad marketing, self-manufacturing and the resulting sky high price, it's actually a little dangerous even for experienced users, short range, and then the problems with cities' rules about riding such a device on the sidewalks. It's a shame because I thought it was so cool. Others here note that eBikes and eScooters and really, just traditional bikes are better at what the Segway was able to do on the streets. Your presentation shows how even a great idea cannot become a popular success unless absolutely everything is done correctly. Thank you.
I have an e-bike. It cost about half the price of what the Segway cost 12 years ago. I can ride it 100 km before I need to recharge it. I can transport 30 kg of stuff with. It has lights. It climbs hills and it has no speed limits downhill. I can lock it to bike stands. It's just a way more practical concept. I did ride a Segway once for ten minutes and it was fun! Well, that's it, it is a fun gadget. I've seen quite a lot similar stuff as the Segway, much smaller, with one or even only one wheel. People use them for a short while then send it to their basement.
I started 2006 testing electric scooters. Since 2007 is the yearly production in China about 30 million a year. Cheaper than a Segway, 45 km/h top speed 60 km range at the models in this time, 2 persons and a lot of luggage to transport.
No, it was not a bad thing. I drove a Segway for many years on asphalt and off-road, I fell a few time because I pushed the limits over the machine capabilities. Limits that I knew. I was a wild driver. Nothing was more dangerous than driving a car. It requires training and experience, like a car or even a bike.
Having trudged around a very large convention hall for a couple of days at a trade show, and having seen someone ride past on a Segway, there was a moment when I really wanted one. Then I learned the price. In addition to its use-case challenges, it cost at least twice what I'd have been willing to pay.
Not gonna lie, e-scooters are the only practical "futuristic" transportation methode. I need something to grab. I need to feel the controll. I need suspention!
I’m still holding out for flying cars. Science and popular culture promised us. I feel entitled to flying cars. I’m not gonna be satisfied until we get them.
That something to grab is only as stable as the front wheel. On EUC you don’t need to hold anything and it is driven by introducing instability, which makes it react instantly. It’s like an extension of your body.
The handlebars of an e-scooter are a false sense of security. Let go of one hand, you’re half way to the ground. They’re clumsy and cumbersome. An electric unicycle on the other hand is probably the purest form of “futuristic” transportation available right now. No need to rely on handlebars (with all the benefits of being hands free), more stability and control, slimmer form factor, and many include suspension.
One big weakness of the Segway was the stupid kickstand. It was made of cheap plastic. I tested one once, got off and when trying to park it I snapped the kickstand in half. I couldn’t believe how flimsy it was. Once the kickstand is broken, managing the Seqway was a total pain if not impossible, which made it almost useless.
5:30 See the kickstand on the one on the left? Without it the Segway wouldn’t stand up making it almost impossible to store because it would flop over in either direction. It was a brittle and small piece that held the entire weight of the unit. Surely I’m not the only person to have broken that thing.
I went to college at LSU-NO (in New Orleans) back in the late 1970s, when she was also a student there. I never met her, personally, but I heard from others that she wasn't very funny. I heard from a lot of people in the main dormitory building that Ellen was just a lot of hype, riding on the coattails of her more talented brother, Vance, after the national success of the Mr. Bill character on Saturday Night Live. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_DeGeneres
@@paulhollier6382 Not to sound sexist here, but I have noticed that most women comedians in general (we used to call them comediennes) are not funny. There are exceptions like Joan Rivers and Lucille Ball (not stand up but actress). I've watched old videos of people like Woopi Goldberg and it's just eh. Most of them quickly move out of the "comedy scene" and become "talk show hosts".
Owned one for 10 years, loved it...Going on vacation around the USA, I could Segway many cities that would take days to view. Did I have accidents, yes. Two I remember, but sand, sidewalk, and Segway don't mix, #1. When I live in San Francisco, it was my main means of transportation, parking was easy.
Huh doing the same moves in reverse while wearing a dress and heels , I thought she was every bit as agile, Mo if you want to say Fred was creative , sure . He worked endlessly to perfect combinations till they worked
I bought a Ninebot a few years ago. It's a fantastic thing. It's the adults hoverboard. Not to mention, hoverboards are everywhere now thanks to Segway, which still exists as a company with many models. Maybe this video is about the downfall of public perception for the first model or the founders foibles, but it certainly isn't even close to what you make it out to be.
Just for the record, there are no gyroscopes in a Segway. It has none because gyroscopes have nothing to do with the way a Segway works. I don't know why this keeps coming up.
The devices are actually called "vibrating structure gyroscopes" or "Coriolis vibratory gyroscopes". The word "gyroscope" means "device to show angular movement" (gŷros = going round, σκοπέω skopéō = aim, look). A device with the purpose to maintain orientation in space would be a gyrostat by that logic. A "rotating gyroscope" is kind of both. And, of course, Segway mentions all the time that a Segway HT has five gyroscopes (plus two tilt sensors). That's why it's mentioned everywhere.
Vyros are another variation and they have everything to do with how it works. What do you think aircraft use? It could not balance itself without some mult-axis input whether it's a gyro, laser ring gyro, or vyro.
@@klausstock8020 In other words they are Vyros (vibrational gyros) which have been used in advanced aircraft for decades. Most of mine use laser ring gryros, namely the 777 which I was an Avionics Tech on for decades. I wonder how he thinks a segway is self balancing? Reading the attitude of his nuts?
I remember the marketing hype...I remember thinking the device was going to be a revolution. I was about 40 years old at the time. Thank you for a great video and information.
![Summer Walker - Heart Of A Woman [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SFddctbZzw8/mqdefault.jpg)
it was often said that "the Segway is the perfect answer, but what was the question?.."
How to hit the deck quickly?
If the Segway was the answer, it must have been a stupid question. Duh.
If you have to ask.
Company owner overplayed his hand badly. He was also a scammer that didn't pay his people.
@@Skank_and_Gutterboy I didn't know about paying his people, but in the dictionary "overplayed" shows a picture of a segway.
One time I applied for an engineering position at Segway. They had a lot of custom equipment assembled but they couldn't make any of it work. I asked them to let me see the engineering drawings and schematics for the equipment so I could troubleshoot it. The manager told me, "We don't do drawings. We don't have time for that, we just assemble the stuff". No wonder they couldn't make the stuff work. Having proper engineering documentation is essential to building and debugging equipment like that. They had inoperative equipment lying around for months that they couldn't fix, but they were too busy to produce the documentation necessary to efficiently and quickly debug the equipment. After hearing that I said thanks anyway and I left. No way was I going to work in an environment like that. I'd rather go outside and pound my head against the side of the building.
Cool story bro
The real question: was it a humbug or a hoodoo!!?😂🤣😂🤣
@skypucktrader9909 The story is completely true. All that shit is probably still sitting there, and it still doesn't work.
That place sounds like a nightmare. Great move to just walk away.
E-Scooters made the Segway completely obsolete in my opinion.
Cheaper to make, no complicated stabilization electronics, no potential sudden stops. Lower weight, easy enough to carry to a charger. Regular (manual) scooters can be operated by children as young as 2 years old! So there is no need to "learn" how to control one - basically every human being on the planet above the age of 10 can control one without any training whatsoever. The list goes on.
My wife and I took a segway tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. It took me all of 2 minutes to learn it. Took her 5. I think the biggest drawback to it was the cost. At $3k+ it was out of reach to the general public.
meanwhile the Segway Ninebot scooter I purchased last year is a ton of fun.
They failed to jump into lithium bandwagon. Ninebot the company that eventually own segway produce superior product.
They where heavy, so the idea of using them with public transportation, totally failed.
Foldable electric scooters are a better solution.
"So there is no need to "learn" how to control one - basically every human being on the planet above the age of 10 can control one without any training whatsoever."
are you serious ?
It's the same sytem but a Segway is infinitely easier and safer
I have used owned and used 3 different Segways over the past 20 years. As a handicapped individual who can stand for limited durations but not walk very well, the Segway greatly expanded my mobility. I have had a few wipeouts from pushing the limitations of the Segway but I always realised I was living on the edge and was prepared to fall, hence i was never injured. In regards to the videos of people falling off the units, most were not using the devices properly. Pay attention folks. BTW I have tutored many people over the decades who asked to ride my Segway. Never had an issue bc they rode the unit with awareness. Bravo Segway for enhancing the quality of my life over the course of a few decades.
If someone can only stand for limited durations, why would they get a device that requires them to stand all the time? That's why these are such terrible devices for travel. When someone gets on a bus, or subway, or train, what's the first thing people do? They look for a place to sit down. Well not with a Segway because you're gonna be standing the entire time!
I’m a little confused. If you can only stand for limited amounts of time, why on Earth would you buy/rent/use a Segway, where you have to stand up the entire time?
My friend, look at the Lectric XP Trike. An electric tri-cycle. I own two, besides two of their electric bicycles. The trike allows me to walk and run my dog as I have diminishing walking stamina. The kids love to ride them too and they won't do face plants like a Segway will.
I keep a Segway in my trunk of my Tesla MX. When traveling I drop my wife off at the restaurant and drive to a near by SuperCharger. I ride the Segway back to the restaurant where my wife has my food ready. By the time we eat the car is charged so I Segway back to the SuperCharger, put the Segway back in the truck, pickup my wife and we're back on the highway. It's fun. I also bought a Segway for my wife, but she will not ride it. Segway is now a Chinese company with ZERO support. Segway is now a bad company, but I love my Segway.
@@fiddlerJohncalled Ninebot now. It is a bit sketchy here in the states but there are many US dealers that have all of the parts and knowledge. I have 3 MiniPros and the Z10 electric unicycle and 1 of their F35 scooters from Costco. They all perform flawlessly. So far 😊
They were just too expensive and difficult to bring places. They worked ok for patrolling large facilities, but they aren’t compatible with individual ownership. A scooter, ebike, EUC, et al, are better choices than a Segway for 99% of people. They are cheaper, faster, more portable, and just better for almost any private individual buyer.
Less active people will prefer sitting, which Segway doesn't provide.
More active people will prefer having pedals to push, which Segway doesn't provide, and having sitting as an option is way preferable regardless.
Segway's market? Not transportation, but toys. Expensive toys. Add a small trailing castor third wheel and a seat, both on flexible supports, and maybe...
@@RichardLewisCaldwell You can buy seated Segways, but not the way you’re describing. You have to keep your weight over the center of the device to control it by leaning, not on a seat on a caster in front of or behind the device, which would make it want to move in the direction of the seat with weight on it. The main factor that hurts them is cost and bulk. It would cost you more than $5,000 to buy one that goes 12.5 mph for 20ish miles of range, weighs more than 100 pounds and is bulky and wide. For $700, you could buy an InMotion V8S electric unicycle, go 22 mph for more than 30 miles, weighs 30 pounds, and you can trolley it around to easily move it when you aren’t riding it. For much less than that you could buy a scooter that goes 20ish mph with decent range, light weight, that has no learning curve and you could be riding 5 minutes after taking it out of the box. So, people do that instead, and that’s what doomed Segways.
They are even useless for patrolling a large facility. There is no way to carry any equipment or supplies. An electric scooter can even carry a second person. I live in China. On construction sites, all the supervisors use electric scooters to get around quickly. Not a Segway, expecially since you can buy about 17 scooters for the price of one Segway.
Here in China on-street parking is scarce. Drivers keep a folding E-scooter in the trunk of their car. They can park far from their destination without a time-consuming walk. They cost less than $150 US.
One of my relatives, after making some profitable business investments, acquired a $5k Segway to show off some of his new wealth. He demanded whoever socialized with him to ride his expensive toy. After several signifcant injuries to friends and relatives, the toy disappeared.
Most often relatives are not friends !!! ???
@@mikewallace8087 Rarely are two brothers raised in the same house.
@@mikewallace8087 It's just to clarify because if you say my friends were at my house last night most people assume you don't mean your relatives.
Reminds me of my rich uncle when he got a blackberry and tried to show off. No one cared or knew what it was LOL
This thing was featured in the English textbook in Chinese schools for well over a decade, or even two decades. Every Chinese born in 1980-2000 knows it.
I had a ride on one. It was a clever thing but we were told to be very careful not to go through puddles because the water could destroy the works. It was limited as to how steep it could climb and although interesting it was not as agile as an ordinary bike and certainly didnt feel as safe. It was a solution looking for a problem but not finding one.
I bought a Segway i2 in 2009. I rode it for many years and only had one fall. It was an amazingly versatile machine (moreso that EUCs or e-scooters) but not as fast. I took the time to learn how to use it properly. Lack of education, safety mindset, and reckless riding were the cause of most Segway accidents. I went thousands of miles on mine incident-free.
But why not just get an electric scooter or e-bike? These make no sense.
@@joecoolioness6399 Unfortunately these didn’t exist yet… at least I had never heard of them. I now own an e-bike and have owned two e-scooters but I’m pretty sure these didn’t emerge in the PEV landscape until several years after I bought the Segway. I remember in those first several years of riding the Segway, I was the only one out there with any sort of electric conveyance. Now there are so many other PEVs everywhere that if I ever do use my Segway i2 (which is rare anymore), I get a different kind of attention. When I used to ride it back in the day, I got a lot of attention because people wondered what it is, how it worked, and were fascinated. Now, if I ride it once in a while, people admire what a cool “retro” appeal it has (compared to all the other newer PEVs around).
@@joecoolioness6399 too true!
I cannot comprehend covering thousands of miles on something so unstable.
@@peterduxbury927 When learning to ride a bike it was unstable until I got the hang of it. When I was 63 I had the opportunity to ride a Segway. I didn't fall and it felt a little awkward at first...it was a good experience.
I own a Segway i2 I purchased it in June of 2015 I still use it just about every day during the summer and spring in the fall I love love love my Segway. My commute to work is 15 to 20 minutes in my truck and 9 minutes on my Segway. I currently have 5863 miles on it. I just used it yesterday for my commute to work. Segways are great as long as you respect them. They can be a safe alternative way to commute.
I really wanted one when they came out, but $5,000 plus it was illegal to ride it in so many places really killed it for me. Today I have an electric bicycle and I like it a lot.
Wow! I never knew! Thought Segways were alive and well! 3yrs ago did a Segway tour of Fort Worth and 5yrs ago a Segway tour of Vegas and loved it! My wife can barely handle a bicycle and yet she was zipping around on the Segway in 5mins!
Segways in Lisbon was like our hobby... Seating having a beer and watch tourist's injury themselves 🤣🤣🤣
We Aussie enjoyed our Segway tour of old Lisbon and Rottnest Island in Western Australia. I have a neurological balance impediment, but still manage them OL.
Out of 4 times I feel off twice... but cannot manage a bicycle.
Because no one ever falls off a scooter or crashes their car.
Something that costs 10 times what a bike costs and is 1/10 as useful - what could possibly go wrong?
Not even 10 times. Anyone can get a bike for under 100 dollars. And it would be more than usable. That's 1/50th of the release price of the Segway. There are even bikes for two year olds, which are also very affordable.
I have over 4,000 miles on mine. I’m 70 years old. It’s a great device.
I was on a segway tour. While standing in place the tour guide was talking to us and I lost my balance similar to how Ellen did. Like most cases, I put a foot on the ground to stable myself and the thing began to spin and nearly dumped me.
...if AI can't handle such simple real world physics issues like this, why is everyone fearing ai taking over?
Stupid idea, like the flying car. What could go wrong except crashing into pedestrians or wrecking their cars?
@@alexxbaudwhyn7572segway doesnt have AI
@@alexxbaudwhyn7572 uh it wasn't AI lol
a segway instructor in san antonio nearly push me into the canal, he was looking backwards at his students moving forwards, if I hadn't screamed " heads up" he would have hit me, knocked me into the canal, and possibly gone in himself
It wasn't a terrible idea from the start, but a typical inventor isn't a good CEO for production and selling a product. In my city there was a group you could book them for a guided city tour and that was great... But to buy one for your own was too expansive...
Invent something, then hire a really good MBA to run operations and a trusted bean counter to keep the nickels stacked straight.
*I met Dean Kamen, while he was riding a Segway in DC...*
On a very cold day in Washington DC (I think I was walking on, or near, M Street; circa 1991), Dean Kamen suddenly came up from behind me, on my left side, gliding along on a Segway. I ran to catch up with him. I said "WAIT!... _let me get a look at this thing!"_ Without saying a word (because, as I eventually found out from talking with him, Dean was a man of _very_ few words; Dean was always naturally reluctant to take a stranger into his confidence), Dean casually turned his head to look down upon me, slowed down only a little bit, and then resumed Full Speed. So tantalized was I, that I ran after him, even faster! I ran alongside on his left, and then I ran alongside on his right, at which point he could infer how genuinely interested I was. At last, he stopped. While still standing upon his Segway, and looking down at me, Dean told me _why_ he was in Washington DC. Dean told me that he was on his way to an appointment at the National Post Office, with the intent to make a sales pitch to the US Postal Service. Dean was hoping he could persuade the US Postal Service to buy a huge lot of Segways.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desart.[d] Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
- Percy Shelley, "Ozymandias", 1819 edition
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias
😂
Dean was a scammer that didn't pay his people, that was his main problem. Cool idea from a garbage person.
@@paulhollier6382asked in a British tabloid office, "Was Mandius an Aussie?"
1991? So the Segway was really a time machine all along...
Segway paved the way for Electric Unicycles (EUCs).
The company still going strong with their scooters, some of the best quality on the market.
They didn't downfall, just pivoted direction the company/product was going
I lived in Manchester NH at the time, and got the opportunity to test ride one. I found it incredibly easy to ride, and didn't have any issues with it.
My wife and I have two Segway Mini-Bot Pros by Ninebot and have owned them for the last seven years. I ride one almost every day and have really enjoyed my experience with them. Our grandkids also love riding them.
For me it's a love-hate thing. To this day I ride my Segway clone around campus to quickly get from building to building. It's been a real boon, but not without its dangers. In the two years I've been using it for this purpose, I've fallen twice taking it through doorways. Even the slightest contact between a wheel and a wall or door frame is sure to result in a tumble. Now when I'm going through doors, I'm super careful (and slow) taking pains to avoid any contact. But I still use it, and will continue to as long as the battery holds up.
I've not been on one, but my brother, in his late 50's, uses an electric unicycle and loves it. It still has a slight balance curve, but it's hands free and can be ridden almost anywhere. He rides it to work on the base, and feels like it keeps his legs, heart, and balance strong. I'm thinking about getting one. I don't know, though, because I live in a much larger city with lots more traffic.
I bought 2 I2 units used after doing several tours because my wife and I loved them.We had recently bought an RV and they fit in a side compartment. We used them for 5 years using them to tour cities and towns as we traveled. I also do some event things several times a year and they were very handing for covering long distances at the event that would have made you very very tired each day to do without it. Since then both of my I2 units have died with control codes. I have since bought a new small one for myself and still love it for doing the event stuff, in fact I just used it like crazy this past weekend at an event.
I can only imagine how the others felt about you and your wife piloting something like that through foot traffic, just don't I implore you. I bet you never considered others when employing your bright idea. The only thing more annoying is a selfie stick in a crowd of people. You test people's restraint every time you take them out for a spin and the possibility is there that you will eventually run into someone who acts on the impulse that the rest of us have in wanting to wrap that effing thing around your neck. I don't care if you get tired otherwise, I really truly don't.
@@Davesworld7I suspect AllDry might be elderly, since they use them during tours. So I suggest you wait until you get old and find it difficult to get around before you cast aspersions on other people. Most cities and towns can accommodate them quite easily.
Does being 64 count for anything? Eisenhower was in office when I was born and I was born in Alaska only a few months after it became a state. I still prefer riding sportbikes rather than standards and avoid cruisers. It's important to walk as much as possible over 60 so that you keep things working and not atrophied and get the circulation going. Best to do it and maintain it while able to do so. I see people under the age of 50 who are darn near invalid already from trying to take the easiest way with motorized toys when they should walk. My grandmother who had emphysema in her 80s was in that state but to see people under 50 like that now? Unthinkable.
@@gatesurfer Nope not elderly, but with our first RV we did not have a tag car. We would park the RV in the bus parking area of towns like Asheville NC, leave the generator running for the dogs and then cover the 2 miles into the town. Downtown is very hilly even to the normal parking areas and we would get compliments on a great idea, or "now that's what we need". There was also a campground in downtown St Louis and allowed us to do the arch and other tourist stuff with out worrying about parking as we could use the bike racks.
@@Davesworld7We got looks and compliments all the time. Often got requests to try them and sometimes we would oblige. At the events they are covered in mini bikes and golf carts... my Segways were hardly out of place
Was a tour guide in Boston for four years. Made me find muscles I never knew I had. Spent on average eight to twelve hours a day on them. So much fun. Most of the accidents were people that did not learn to keep a safe distance from others. Many sprains, even a broken leg once. Right outside a hospital ER. Convenient, after she said "I don't need to be trained. I know what I'm doing!" Famous last words. Even owned my own machine, a gift from my Mom, 2009. Riding year round, had to adapt to the weather, even in a hurricane in Boston. The only reasons I gave up, parts were too damn expensive, and the wear-n-tear on my legs. GOOD TIMES!!!
We had 2 XTs and used them for 5years until the batteries failed,
Getting thrown off is possible and happened only a couple of times for us.
Experience and terrain awareness is important.
Properly handed they were fun to ride.
I have owned two Segways, and used them in business. They were used primarily for direct sales, (door to door), and they allowed me to make more contacts than I could have done on foot. There is literally nothing better to used if you want to contact everyone in a a small town. I became quite proficient in using them, and had few accidents, and I have never regretted using them, although I have never used on since.
I believe Kaman's intent was they be used in dense urban environments, and what killed the Segway was when they were outlawed for use in a city. In addition getting them in and out of a subway system would be impossible. They are fun, but mostly useless for most people.
The promise of fun and drawing attention to oneself were probably the biggest attractions. With hindsight, the Segway - against common sense - created an enormous design challenge: to reimagine existing two-wheeled transport. Rube Goldberg would be smiling.
I've used Segways in San Francisco as parts of tourist excursions and soon realised their major flaws if you carried any delicate camera equipment. Subsequent times in both US and UK I had to wear helmet, body protection including shin, upper body pads, gloves and sign a waiver. I found it a more profitable use of my time to video people falling from Segway's
I remember when this was launched. It was hyped as the greatest thing since the wheel. When the guy came rolling out, I remember thinking WTH?
I remember the pre-launch hype, then the launch. “Is that it? Really?” It looked utterly uncompelling at launch, and remained so thereafter. The humble bicycle is such a more safe and useful device.
They talked about it as thought it was going to be something like the transporter on Star trek
Same. They made it sound like it was going to be some kind of hyper-advanced mode of travel, from anti-gravity, to a teleportation device. I remember hearing some claim that "whole cities will be built around it."
And then it was released. An electric, horseless chariot.
I was like, “That’s it???”
Same. The hype was off-the-charts, but was justified to me because of Dean Kamen's prior accomplishments. I was so disappointed by the announcement.
To me this is a great example how top tech bros can get excited with a new invention that is, admittedly, tech savvy - without noticing that for an average user there's already other, cheaper stuff that fulfills the role pretty well.
Owned one, after six months of use, lack of battery longevity prompted its resale.
It was an otherwise viable means of short :45 distance commutes. At up to 12 mph, it was effective.
I bought my first one,when they first arrived in N.Z., when it eventually died, I traded up to the new model, which is now my mobility transport vehicle. Great way to get around short distances which are too great to walk easily, and safe if used sensibly.
Luckily, the story did not end there. This technology led to the rise the the electric unicycle (EUC), starting around 2015. The current high end ones have suspensions and have a top speed of over 55 mph and have a range of 100 miles. They are about as much fun as a person can have.
Well all new technologies is like that, an idea, then 1 or many failed products due to technology or business problems, then a few iterations down the road, it takes off. Segway is still on this path, and those 2 wheel balance scooter is just the first step to a better mode of personal transportation.
I commuted on a Sherman S to work, it's just a really nice mode of transportation, and costs far less than a Segway. Maybe in 10 or 20 years, it would be as common as a bike.
@@davidajzhang I have a V12 and an S18. They are both great wheels. I'd like to upgrade this year. Does your suspension require a lot of maintenance or give you any problems?
@@Ingothnia Yeah, mine did, actually still does do a slow oil leak. I had to service it one and now the other side leaks. However, if I just want to ride, I can choose to ignore that completely. It feels just as nice without damping, especially on the compression side.
Truth
I don't feel safe at 55mph in a car.
Great niche product. I own two minipro's which are controlled using the knee bar. Great for landscaping and moving things around on a large property. I use mine to push around a heavy wheel barrow, leafblowing, mowing, etc. Very rarely fall and never injured. I don't really like it for basic transportation as I would rather bike or walk.
When released, it definitely seemed to fall short of the hype. And yet, today, there's a massive amount of popular devices that follow in its footsteps.
A friend of ours celebrated her 60th birthday by renting about 20 Segways for her 60-year-old friends to ride. The owner of the rental agency gave us a brief lesson followed by a 2-hour tour. We had a great time. No accidents. No injuries. Nothing. Just a lot of fun!
You’re extremely lucky
I've owned my segway mini-pro for about 7 years now. This is the small one that doesn't require a handlebar. Of the escooter, eskateboard, ebike and segway mini-pro I own, the most convenient to ride is the segway. It's the only one I don't have to lock up, because I just leave it powered on and push it around the store/office with me. It's also the best option for grocery shopping because both hands are free to carry bags. They can be dangerous if one wheel hits a bump. The device easily gets out of control and wobbly, but that's where you have to always be paying attention to the road ahead. I've had a couple falls, but I've had falls on all but the ebike also.
We rode one and it was great, the outlandish price is what stopped up from buying.
Segway was defensively before its time, hyped up with out having a full grasp of the limitation of the hardware available at that time. But the legacy of the Segway still lives in form of the Electric unicycle (EUC), and It to had its rocky start but last year the tech finally started to reached its maturity for mas adoption. So even if you did not get a Segway, you can still join the PEV community by baying an EUC.
People's apatite for change is usually around 10% different and 90% familiar or "evolutionary". Adding an electric motor to a skateboard, scooter, or bicycle is evolutionary and meets this criteria. Instant success. The Segway, perhaps, was too revolutionary to expect rapid adoption, especially at its price point. Other slightly more aggressive e-designs, such as the electric unicycle, EUC, and one-wheel concepts have succeeded, in spite of being revolutionary, because they are accessible to the casual user because of their low cost of entry and yet they are FUN and functional as transportation. Yes, you can spend a little or a lot on them because there's a gentle upgrade path between entry level and pro level products from which to upgrade.
They were banned in Canada as we are not mature enough to handle that high tech machine however we allow mini electric scooter drivers that travel 60 km per hr without any protective head gear.
A few months before it was introduced, I remember hearing the owner or some company representative on a morning radio program talking about how amazing and world changing this invention was going to be. Turns out it was just some kind of scooter.😊
You got it right when you noted that it offered nothing that a bike and ebike don't offer for less money and with more accessibility and safety.
The learning curve on a Segway is lower than with a bike. Once a person understands how it works, anyone who can walk and stand still can operate it. It was designed for riding among pedestrians. You can stand in one place on it and chat with friends, or roll along with them as they walk. Most people can't do that on a bicycle. Comparing it to bicycles misses the point of the product.
As far as safety, it is limited to 12.5 mph--no faster than an athlete can run-- whereas bicycles don't really have an upper speed limit. The faster you go, the worse you can get hurt-- or hurt someone else. The Segway was also designed with tires that could, at least in theory, run over someone's foot without hurting them. Like bicycles or any other device, misuse can cause serious accidents. Going too close to the edge of a cliff is always a bad idea, whether on foot, on a Segway, or on a bicycle.
Price was just crazy high when they came out. It killed the launch
How can anyone think that a segway is better than a bike/foldable bike or scooter? THEY have proven their value for 100+ years....?? 🤷♂️
when it's value vs. the now-electric kick scooters was questioned and felt like goofy tech for a mall cop then add in a couple horrifying failures on social media, no way I'd buy one
That's what they said about the horse.
As someone who biked seriously (had a racing license) when they came out and still rides for transportation and recreation, I still have that question.
The Segway was designed to be ridden among pedestrians. With a Segway, you can sustain any speed from 0 to 12.5 mph with practically no effort. Few people can sustain 0-2 mph on a bike. If you ride a Segway to work, you likely won't need a shower before starting your work day. Bikes and Segways don't have the same function, other than falling under the broad category of transportation. Try asking why anyone would think a car is better than an airliner. Answer: they have different functions. The car is better as ground transportation. Planes don't do so well on highways.
What??? You're unable to maintain 2 mph on a bike? Come on. My seventy-five year old wife can pedal all day at about 5 mph. I know, because my bike has a cycling computer with speedometer. Bikes are affordable, easy to maintain, and practical. Their ubiquity in the world speaks for itself. The Segway died because it was a stupid idea looking to solve a non-existent problem.
"I'm virtually confident"
Who on earth wrote that nonsense?
Rode a Segway while visiting Chicago once. On one of those guided tour type things. It was fairly easy to master and a lot of fun.
HAHAHAHAHA The first thing that came to mind for me was Paul Blart Mall Cop. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I could have used one after a motorcycle accident left me with not being able to walk for long. Unfortunately the 6k tag didn’t allow it.
Sorry to hear you had a accident I really hope you have recovered from it 🙌 if you’re enjoying the content be sure to subscribe thanks
I look at the huge success of common inline electric scooters and rentals like Bird etc and compare them with the lack of success Segway had. I think price and hype vs rollout speed were the biggest factors. The difference in riding style also added to challenges and safety.
I kept thinking: Y2K! Y2K! Whenever something is massively hyped, it almost never pans out.
Around 1992 we in the computer biz started talking about Y2K. Around 1996 the talk started turning into general plans. But, being humans, there was no urgency nor action. In 1998 the techs had to start jumping up and down and screaming and shouting at management to get them to start applying resources to the fixes. Without the fixes most programs would fail or glitch. For the next two (profitable) years I and hundreds of thousands of IT people worked our rearends off to deal with all the issues (that had a *hard* due date), culminating in many of us working on New Year's Eve 1999 to monitor the systems that we were responsible for.
Sometimes there's a lot of work, communication and notification that goes on in the background to turn potential catastrophes into nothing-burgers.
The 'Segway' relies on electronics and compensating systems. It is the 737 Max of the sidewalk.
Ooh, that's cold! True, but cold :)
I got to drive a segway as a child at a science centre. I always imagined owning one someday, it's a shame I never will.
Also I found it extremely easy and intuitive, but most people in my class didn't. The instructor mentioned most adults also find it hard at first. I really enjoyed doing a little course at increasing speeds.
The problem with segway is that they fail to move to lithium which can greatly improve their product. The footage used are mix between Segway and Ninebot products. Ninebot are far more practical and one of the largest personal mobility device manufacturer.
I had ridden the original with handlebar when it was demoed in a local Montreal mall.
I hopped on and it was super natural to use. IMO, what killed it was the price. You could buy a motorcycle for that.
Rode one a few times on tourist tours. Works well. I think it wasn't foolproof enough. It's easy to underestimate what fools are running around on this planet. Also you can ride a bicycle off a cliff just as easily.
I have one, and yes, I still use it. I purchased the side cases, and the front bag - which greatly enhance the utility of the device. I did fall one time, when I tried to climb a grass slope that was too steep, and the Segway stalled out, and I had never trained for that situation. Neither of us were worse for the event, and I proceeded. Fortunately, there is an enterprising fellow in New Hampshire who still supports the Segways with rebuilt batteries and spare parts. The Segway certainly played a positive role for a period when our family was down to one car - plus bicycles and motorcycles, all part of a transportation mix.
Here’s the thing tho, he knew about scooters and still invented the Segway. And all of the ppl excited for the Segway, also knew about scooters.
That’s what’s crazy to me.
The Segway HT was a party gag. Everyone wanted it because it looked cool, and no one wanted a scooter because...you already had one when you were a kid.
I think all of the other issues can be overlooked if it was priced correctly. I believe the pricing killed it
i bought a measuring tool at the Segway bankruptcy auction in NH last year. Segways, partially built.. all over the small factory.....
My only experience riding a Segway was with a Segway city tour in Sacramento, and it was really fun. I was amazed at the technology. Before the tour started, they made sure to instruct us and make practice turns and stops. The whole time was fun and incident-free.
For me: the insane hype pre-launch followed by what was launched turned me off, and also way too expensive with not enough range. With modern battery tech, they could probably extend this out to 30-40 Km or more. But scooters and bikes - with in-line wheels - make a better base vehicle than a 2 wheeled unicycle.
Not counting $500 beater car, which had much better range, at one tenth of the price...and you can have a bike or a scooter in the trunk.
I mean, okay, if you can dump the $5000 for a Segway HT, you probably also own a car with a trunk to fit that Segway. It's just that you need to lift 40kg into the trunk.
I worked for DEKA for a couple of years. They do have a couple of Segways there. I tried one in a small hallway for a minute or two and then tried to move to a door, unlock it, and travel down the corridor on the other side. I was successful. So, it is possible to adapt to it with little practice - but I can also understand how some could have trouble. I walk 6 miles a day for the exercise, so I have no interest in using one to replace walking. But it was fun to try it. Besides, if you're working for DEKA, shouldn't you at least try out their most iconic device?
The ONE device that rules them all: Electric Unicycles. They are exploding on the scene because they are better than scooters, Onewheels, etc.
Our family rented these in Mexico. Very enjoyable to ride. Would not want to use one for daily transport purposes, but they are fun to play around with.
As a mechanical engineer and inventor, the flaw concept of this kind was that it will be disastered to stop abruptly without a jump of its rider.
Someone who turned disaster into a verb! I'm impressed!
he invented it @@adotintheshark4848
You are a disgrace to mechanical engineers and inventors. You need to ride one for a little while to see how it stops fine. No jumping required! The flaw is your inability to see how it works. 99% of the accidents the media and detractors love to show are from people who should not have been on them. I've ridden thousands of miles on them. i have fallen a few times when I did something I shouldn't have like riding down a store aisle and letting a wheel touch a shelf. The segway balances by using the wheels to speed up or slow down but the wheels have to be free to do that. If you touch the side of a wheel on an object and the machine needs to move the wheel to maintain balance, It will use all of its considerable torque to try to balance. My fault, not the machines. If a bike rider crosses a railroad track at an oblique angle and the front wheel follows the track throwing the rider to the ground is it the stupid bikes fault?
Segway's downfall is attributed by the movie Paul Blart Mall Cop. No one wants to be seen as another Paul Blart on a Segway.
I don't see segways any more, but cities are full of electric scooters, an older, simpler and cheaper technology.
In fairness, the injury/death rate for scooters, bicycles, and mopeds is very high, so Segway did get a bad rap. But you cannot ride it safely where people walk, and that was the whole purpose, so it was never going to work.
The EUC is the new now.
Euc riding is a blast
Been on a Segway and had 30 minutes of training first; fun wasn't something I wanted to buy, damn safer than those deadly Hoverboard things.
A device needing energy when standing, is doomed.
An electric scooter would be cheaper, easier and saver to use.
You might want to proofread your posts before hitting the Send Button! Typos don't do anything for your street cred, Pard. 😉
@@theoztreecrasher2647 Sorry still working on my language skills
Sorry to disagree with so many here but my wife and I love Segways. Whenever we go to a new vacation destination we look for a Segway tour. We have ridden them all over the US and the Caribbean. Made dozens and dozens of tours and never once fell, nor has anyone ever fallen in our tour groups. I know this sounds unbelievable, but due to a long ago construction accident, my wife can not balance on a bicycle or ride a horse, but she can easily do Segway's. (Might have something to do with left to right, vs. forward and backward stability, but I'm just guessing). However, I completely agree owning one is useless since there's no safe place to really ride one, unless you are dealing with a perscribed course on a specific tour.
I briefly used one with no handles, learned it in seconds, real fun. It is not idiot proof, so, not for everyone.
Nor are e-bikes which have about a rate of 50% of reckless drivers which doesn't bode well because they are often driven in mixed zones with pedestrians.
Hmm. Sounds like a useful filter for Darwin Awards.
I rode a Segway twice on city tours. Easy enough to learn. I recall the tour in Fairbanks Alaska. I wore Birkenstock sandals. We rode on gravel paths. At the end of maybe 45 minutes, my feet and legs were quite sore from riding on that rough surface.
Segway solving a non existent problem. Plus it made the rider look like a tool.
I’ve been on a Segway in 2013 and it was fun.
It’s the ultimate public humiliation machine.
yeah , if you want to look like a mega-dork get on a Segway. Meanwhile I can ride my bike for 1/4 the cost and go 6 times faster without looking like a doofus.
@@Sugarsail1 To be honest, a traditional cycling kit looks pretty dorky. I write that as one whose has ridden for several decades and has two custom bicycles, several helmets, reverse action tap shoes (speedplay cleats), many jerseys, skinsuits, and bib shorts. I feel well entitled to call cycling kit dorky.
I have a permanent condition which makes walking very difficult. I bought a Segway in 2005 after riding one as a tourist in Paris (I lived in Washington DC. It was expensive, $5k, but a life-saver for me. I rode it all over the neighborhood on errands where I would have walked, got a backpack for carrying groceries, etc. I got a tailored key with 15mph top speed, but lowest sensitivity for turning. Once you got your "sea legs", it was trivially easy to ride and maneuver, and I honestly never crashed once. I sold it in 2012 after I retired and moved to a smaller neighborhood in a completely flat area. By then the battery had lost charging and would have cost $1200 to replace. It was still in great shape and I sold it to a local dealer for $1500. Altogether a great experience.
E scooters are thinner and can go anywhere they also don't require an unreal skill of balance to operate....
A Segway doesn't require any special balance skills. If you can step up one step, and stand still, then all you have to do is realize that you only need to lean slightly to make it go. The machine balances itself.
@@EXROBOWIDOW The machine balances itself but the hard is for you to balance on it
Great post. Super interesting and informative. I always wondered what happened to the Segway. The video clips were fantastic and the comments from others such as Steve Jobs and others is quite revealing. You mention everything that contributed to its ultimate failure: Bad marketing, self-manufacturing and the resulting sky high price, it's actually a little dangerous even for experienced users, short range, and then the problems with cities' rules about riding such a device on the sidewalks. It's a shame because I thought it was so cool. Others here note that eBikes and eScooters and really, just traditional bikes are better at what the Segway was able to do on the streets. Your presentation shows how even a great idea cannot become a popular success unless absolutely everything is done correctly. Thank you.
At least they didn't burst into flames
I have an e-bike. It cost about half the price of what the Segway cost 12 years ago. I can ride it 100 km before I need to recharge it. I can transport 30 kg of stuff with. It has lights. It climbs hills and it has no speed limits downhill. I can lock it to bike stands. It's just a way more practical concept. I did ride a Segway once for ten minutes and it was fun! Well, that's it, it is a fun gadget. I've seen quite a lot similar stuff as the Segway, much smaller, with one or even only one wheel. People use them for a short while then send it to their basement.
People looked stupid on them is what I remembered when they first appeared.
Exactly.
I started 2006 testing electric scooters. Since 2007 is the yearly production in China about 30 million a year.
Cheaper than a Segway, 45 km/h top speed 60 km range at the models in this time, 2 persons and a lot of luggage to transport.
roller bumpers on the front and back of the device would have helped to stabilize it. A simple fix.
I’ve ridden one a couple of times. Loved it. Too expensive though.
How can a channel with such a good video only have 2 subscribers.. well 3? Good job!
Appreciate the love🙌
I'm subscriber number 15. 😂
Because it was literally just created and has one video?
No, it was not a bad thing. I drove a Segway for many years on asphalt and off-road, I fell a few time because I pushed the limits over the machine capabilities. Limits that I knew. I was a wild driver.
Nothing was more dangerous than driving a car. It requires training and experience, like a car or even a bike.
This is a great machine. Humans are the weak part of it.
Having trudged around a very large convention hall for a couple of days at a trade show, and having seen someone ride past on a Segway, there was a moment when I really wanted one. Then I learned the price. In addition to its use-case challenges, it cost at least twice what I'd have been willing to pay.
Not gonna lie, e-scooters are the only practical "futuristic" transportation methode. I need something to grab. I need to feel the controll. I need suspention!
I’m still holding out for flying cars. Science and popular culture promised us. I feel entitled to flying cars. I’m not gonna be satisfied until we get them.
That something to grab is only as stable as the front wheel. On EUC you don’t need to hold anything and it is driven by introducing instability, which makes it react instantly. It’s like an extension of your body.
The handlebars of an e-scooter are a false sense of security. Let go of one hand, you’re half way to the ground. They’re clumsy and cumbersome.
An electric unicycle on the other hand is probably the purest form of “futuristic” transportation available right now. No need to rely on handlebars (with all the benefits of being hands free), more stability and control, slimmer form factor, and many include suspension.
I have driven e-scooters with one hand. Not being able tu use a handelbar would be clasified as a major skill issue
One big weakness of the Segway was the stupid kickstand. It was made of cheap plastic. I tested one once, got off and when trying to park it I snapped the kickstand in half. I couldn’t believe how flimsy it was. Once the kickstand is broken, managing the Seqway was a total pain if not impossible, which made it almost useless.
5:30 See the kickstand on the one on the left? Without it the Segway wouldn’t stand up making it almost impossible to store because it would flop over in either direction. It was a brittle and small piece that held the entire weight of the unit. Surely I’m not the only person to have broken that thing.
My plastic stand also broke, I got a metal copy one made, problem solved.
@@yyyzzzz For a $5K, one would expect better. That's in 2001 dollars.
I've got a Chinese copy ($1,000) - exact same problem with the stand. Crazy. I made a replacement myself.
Thanks for including Ellen Dijenerous falling on her face.
I went to college at LSU-NO (in New Orleans) back in the late 1970s, when she was also a student there. I never met her, personally, but I heard from others that she wasn't very funny. I heard from a lot of people in the main dormitory building that Ellen was just a lot of hype, riding on the coattails of her more talented brother, Vance, after the national success of the Mr. Bill character on Saturday Night Live.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_DeGeneres
@@paulhollier6382 Not to sound sexist here, but I have noticed that most women comedians in general (we used to call them comediennes) are not funny. There are exceptions like Joan Rivers and Lucille Ball (not stand up but actress). I've watched old videos of people like Woopi Goldberg and it's just eh. Most of them quickly move out of the "comedy scene" and become "talk show hosts".
Owned one for 10 years, loved it...Going on vacation around the USA, I could Segway many cities that would take days to view. Did I have accidents, yes. Two I remember, but sand, sidewalk, and Segway don't mix, #1. When I live in San Francisco, it was my main means of transportation, parking was easy.
Turns out that "Ginger" wasn't as agile as Fred Astaire!
But the book is a good read!
Huh doing the same moves in reverse while wearing a dress and heels , I thought she was every bit as agile, Mo if you want to say Fred was creative , sure . He worked endlessly to perfect combinations till they worked
@@heartland96a Not many people remember, but "Ginger" was the codename of the Segway before Dean Kamen revealed his invention at a press conference.
@@danielabbey7726 had no idea , thanks
I bought a Ninebot a few years ago. It's a fantastic thing. It's the adults hoverboard. Not to mention, hoverboards are everywhere now thanks to Segway, which still exists as a company with many models. Maybe this video is about the downfall of public perception for the first model or the founders foibles, but it certainly isn't even close to what you make it out to be.
Just for the record, there are no gyroscopes in a Segway. It has none because gyroscopes have nothing to do with the way a Segway works. I don't know why this keeps coming up.
The devices are actually called "vibrating structure gyroscopes" or "Coriolis vibratory gyroscopes".
The word "gyroscope" means "device to show angular movement" (gŷros = going round, σκοπέω skopéō = aim, look). A device with the purpose to maintain orientation in space would be a gyrostat by that logic. A "rotating gyroscope" is kind of both.
And, of course, Segway mentions all the time that a Segway HT has five gyroscopes (plus two tilt sensors). That's why it's mentioned everywhere.
Vyros are another variation and they have everything to do with how it works. What do you think aircraft use? It could not balance itself without some mult-axis input whether it's a gyro, laser ring gyro, or vyro.
@@klausstock8020 In other words they are Vyros (vibrational gyros) which have been used in advanced aircraft for decades. Most of mine use laser ring gryros, namely the 777 which I was an Avionics Tech on for decades. I wonder how he thinks a segway is self balancing? Reading the attitude of his nuts?
I remember the marketing hype...I remember thinking the device was going to be a revolution. I was about 40 years old at the time. Thank you for a great video and information.
I'm number 15. 😂
I'm late in the life of my 3rd segway mini. I have 33 acres and I wouldn't do without it. All day every day, most terrain.