

Airwheel – electronic thingamy some Sydney residents are using to get about - electic
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/cartech/hovering-flying-floating-to-work-on-top-of-the-world-and-in-breach-of-the-law-20150814-giz6r2.html?stb=fb

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bemmu
Here's my review from trying one a while back: [http://www.bemmu.com/airwheel-
electric-unicycle-review](http://www.bemmu.com/airwheel-electric-unicycle-
review)

It was a ton of fun but I did not end up using it in real life because of the
low range and unsure legal status. I still miss having one though and might
buy a newer model later to give it another go, it was so much fun to ride.

~~~
heyrhett
Thanks for the review. I think I read it before I pulled the trigger to order
one. BTW, I think some manufacturers now make unicycles with double the range
than the one you had. Silent chargers also now exist.

~~~
masklinn
> I think some manufacturers now make unicycles with double the range than the
> one you had.

Double or more, the gotway 680 is advertised for ~40 miles/70km (on flat
ground anyway)

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heyrhett
I host a beginner intro meetup for electric unicycles in the east bay.
[http://www.meetup.com/Eastbay-Electric-Unicycles-
Meetup/even...](http://www.meetup.com/Eastbay-Electric-Unicycles-
Meetup/events/224305473/)

~~~
jessriedel
Cool! Am I right in thinking that "electric unicycle" is a somewhat misleading
name since these things are self-balancing (forward-backward) unlike
traditional unicycle which require a lot of practice?

~~~
heyrhett
I consider it a unicycle because of the word etymology. uni "one" \+ cycle,
from Greek kyklos "circle, wheel".

Some guy showed up to the first meetup asserting that it was a "bc wheel",
which I later learned is from the old B.C. comics strip:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_wheel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_wheel)

I used to love those comics with cave people riding on wheels. Maybe that's
why I like these things.

With regards to practice, it took me 2 weeks to learn well enough to travel a
few blocks around the neighborhood. Other people learn faster. Many people
come to the meetup and go a few feet on their first day.

~~~
jessriedel
Thanks :)

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chrisfarms
There's a guy in Brighton (UK) with one of these... he always looks so happy
and surprisingly stable on it.

It seems to make up the relatively steep hill I live on, but I've never seen
him use it to go down the hill. Guessing it gets bit sketchy fighting gravity.

~~~
masklinn
> Guessing it gets bit sketchy fighting gravity.

The big risk is going too fast: because the wheels use balance
(forwards/backwards) to know whether to accelerate or slow down, if the wheel
goes beyond a certain speed it tends to behave somewhat oddly, some models
will lock and stop, others will "freewheel", either way the user will likely
end up eating pavement.

IIRC the latter is the behaviour of the interviewee's rockwheel, it starts
beeping (in several increments) when closing in to maximum speed, then the
systems just shut down and you get a completely unmanaged unicycle (without
electronic stabilisation). Other wheels will try to forcibly rebalance the
user, but again it's fairly easy to defeat, not much the wheel can do if you
just lean forward despite its best effort… and you eat pavement again.

Aside from that, acquaintances who've tried/used them tell me they're fairly
fast to learn and very enjoyable and convenient.

~~~
jessriedel
But can't you go down a hill slowly by just not leaning as far forward?
Trivially, these allow you to remain stopped on a slope, right?

~~~
masklinn
> But can't you go down a hill slowly by just not leaning as far forward?

Sure. But there _is_ a higher risk on losing control on downhills, and if you
do the only brake is to bail.

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prawn
There's also the Monorover class of devices that start at around $200 and
could be interesting. I've wondered about getting one to replace a 10-20
minute commute and avoid parking issues. I think these sorts of devices will
be trouble for Boosted Boards eventually - they're cheaper and smaller.

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patcheudor
This year at Black Hat Vegas there were a few people gliding around on similar
devices in the hallways. It struck me that here is yet another device to help
geeks live a sedentary lifestyle.

~~~
masklinn
> It struck me that here is yet another device to help geeks live a sedentary
> lifestyle.

How does a device whose whole purpose is to move around "help live a sedentary
lifestyle"?

~~~
throwaway7767
> How does a device whose whole purpose is to move around "help live a
> sedentary lifestyle"?

sedentary, adj. 1\. characterized by or requiring a sitting posture: a
sedentary occupation. 2\. accustomed to sit or rest a great deal or to take
little exercise.

So, sedentary refers to not getting enough exercise. If you replace walking
with one of these, your lifestylie is more sedentary than it was.

~~~
Someone1234
> If you replace walking with one of these, your lifestylie is more sedentary
> than it was.

And if you replace driving or sitting on a bus with one of these then you're
less sedentary/getting more exercise.

See the glass can be half full too.

~~~
throwaway7767
> And if you replace driving or sitting on a bus with one of these then you're
> less sedentary/getting more exercise.

No, in both cases you are being moved by an external power source, so they're
equally sedentary.

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warrenmiller
Seeing these and the 2 wheel version all around London

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retube
tube strikes driving sales ;)

~~~
m-i-l
A colleague of mine did get one for the tube strike the other week. Took him
about 1.5 hours to commute about 4 miles on it that day, partly because he was
unfamiliar with it, and partly because there only rough potholed cycle lanes
for some of the way where it was safer to get off and carry it.

Had a go on it myself. Found it a little tricky getting on, given that you
have to put one foot first and it has a tendency to start moving when you take
the other foot off the ground. I was wondering if there was a way to tether it
to an app with a big stop button you'd keep pressed until both feet were on
(although not sure how feasible that would be if the balancing thing requires
forward or backward motion).

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tim333
The Telegraph has a less accomplished reporter falling off a similar machine
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-
filter/11418069/AirWheel-...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-
filter/11418069/AirWheel-review-how-hard-is-it-to-ride-an-electric-
unicycle.html)

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pkfrank
I see people zipping through NYC on these. Usually on dedicated running/biking
paths (E River, West Side Highway), but occasionally on city streets and
sidewalks, as well.

I'm always concerned I'll see them hit an unexpected pothole or raised lip at
speed and absolutely bite it into traffic.

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JulianMorrison
I've been seeing them around increasingly in Reading and London. It may be a
new trend?

~~~
reitanqild
I saw the thing live for the first time back in May. Today I have seen 2 or
three teenagers with those without even looking.

Then again that is here in the "suburbs", can't remember having seen any of
them in the city where I work. (I did see a longboard on my way to work just
the other day though.)

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cfontes
You can see a lot of those things in Auckland too, also a few in Perth/WA

The are pretty fast in my opnion but when I checked also very expensive. (+/\-
2000k)

In cities where you get a a decent but "not reaching your home" metro(subway)
this thing is very handy.

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cjbenedikt
Have a look at this from Seattle:
[http://solowheelseattle.com/products/solowheel](http://solowheelseattle.com/products/solowheel)

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jahnu
Seen a guy with what looked like a DIY version practising on the street...

[https://vid.me/5PVq](https://vid.me/5PVq)

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madaxe_again
Neat, but refusal to update legislation will kill this like Segway, the
sinclair c5, etc. Can have a Segway in the UK but am only allowed to drive it
in your living room. Useful.

Governments want people to keep buying petrochemical cars - it's wildly
profitable for them - and why else would anyone be in government other than
for personal profit?

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tempodox
It does look a little less bulky than a Sedgeway but also less comfortable.

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nobrains
Its like the monster (Professor Callaghan) from Big Hero 6.

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jchrisa
The electric longboard is the non-goofy version of this.

