

Solowheel - rwfilice
http://solowheel.com

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jere
It seems a little bit ridiculous that they're selling this as a "greener" and
healthier alternative than a bicycle. I suppose the advantage is the size?

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apendleton
Absolutely agreed. Even just considering the energy it takes to keep its
battery charged, I'd be deeply skeptical that this device would hold the lead
for more than a few months, even if the manufacturing energy for a bicycle is
higher -- and if you care about keeping the manufacturing energy of your bike
to a minimum, you can buy a bamboo bike, or (even better) buy one used,
something for which there is no equivalent with this device both because it's
new and because I can't imagine it could hope to last 20 years the way a good
bike can. And on yet another level, I'd also have to be convinced that this
thing can facilitate car-free living the way bike ownership in an urban area
can, which is a huge source of energy savings that bikes can bring to the
table.

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jgrahamc
According to the documentation it balances front-to-back and not side-to-side
and the rider is responsible for maintaining that balance. I wonder how easy
that is (especially with any load like a backpack).

I think I'd rather spend the $1,800 on a really good bike. But I bet this is
fun to mess around on.

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davidw
> I think I'd rather spend the $1,800 on a really good bike.

For city transportation purposes, a solid, but crappy bike is much better:
it's far less likely to be stolen, and a lot less stressful.

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Dewie
This seems like I can lug around inside buildings and whatnot, unlike a bike.
I don't trust biking to a lot of places, because cretins will take whatever
they can: the wheels, the steering wheel, anything that isn't bolted on,
really.

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apendleton
You could get a decent folding bike (a Dahon or Brompton) for way less money
than that, and folded, they're not much bigger than this thing. Plus they're
street-legal in most places, likely unlike this thing, and you get the
exercise benefits of riding.

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rdouble
I agree that a Brompton is a better choice. It folds up to about the same size
as this uni-wheel thing. However, they are pretty expensive. Mine was pretty
close to $1800. I think the cheapest one (1 speed, no lighting system) is
$1000.

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ars
The segway was also supposed to change the world - and then it was too
expensive.

I'm disappointed to see that this too is far far too expensive. It needs to be
under $250 to even have a chance, but they are asking for $1,795!!

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freehunter
Under $250?! I'd say around $500. I don't know if I'd trust it if it were
under $250, not with the manufacturing technology I know of today.

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nwh
It's a microcontroller, a hub driven motor and a lead acid battery. You could
probably churn these out quite cheaply if you so desires.

~~~
freehunter
The whole is more than the sum of the parts. The first Mustang off the line
costs millions of dollars, but not because that car has millions of dollars of
parts in it rather because making the car is more than just bolting the steel
together.

These guys didn't grab an Arduino from Amazon and wire it to a pawn shop
unicycle.

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monsterix
This is interesting but then again the price point doesn't seem to help break
the do-I-look-like-a-dork image[1]. Also without the handle wouldn't it feel
that you're not in control of the machine? To me it would. At least the Segway
has a handle.

Then again, I'd rather see this product through the lens of tomorrow. When
we'd have more Teslas and Segways out there these unicycles too will find more
acceptance. Fossilization of fossil fuel ones should kind of pave way for this
type of hardware. Good luck to the guys building it!

[1]
[http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html)

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falk
This thing was on Shark Tank. They got $300,000 for 33% of the company from
Robert and Kevin. I'd link to the video, but I can't find it. It was on
episode 7 of season 4.

[http://sharktankblog.com/business/self-balancing-
unicycle/](http://sharktankblog.com/business/self-balancing-unicycle/)

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ximeng
Interesting section on illegal Chinese copies.

[http://solowheel.com/about-illegal-solowheel-
copies/](http://solowheel.com/about-illegal-solowheel-copies/)

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mapt
Their 'illegal Chinese copies' page has a Youtube video that demonstrates the
failure mode at speed:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOOXBFvKAQM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOOXBFvKAQM)

I wouldn't want to get anywhere near this - even a small obstacle in the road
and you'll see that same failure mode, every time. Good luck jumping off,
their trained rider who's expecting it barely manages.

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ajju
I like the 10 mile range, but the 24lb weight makes it difficult to lug
around.

Boosted Boards, by comparison, weighs 12-15 lbs and has a 6 mile range.

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msandford
I'd much rather spend that much money on an electric bike where all the tubes
are slightly oversized and have li-ion batteries inside them and a fairly well
hidden/disguised electric motor somewhere. Nobody thinks twice about being
seen on a bike. Plus there's the "I can pedal a very small amount and double
the range" factor.

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stcredzero
It's very compact. It's more compact than a folding bike. It also has a much
faster transition time. I wonder how the cost benefit compares with a folding
scooter? Hill climbing would be an advantage over a folding scooter. How much
of a benefit would that be in a city?

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tirant
Why are people wearing a helmet? It only gets up to 16km/h (10mph), and it
just adds like 10cm to your height. Humans can run up to 44 km/h and Ive never
seen them wearing a helmet.

It really makes the product look dangerous.

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TylerE
I bet it's classified as an electric bike....and lots of places require
helmets for bike riders.

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Lewisham
...or you need to use it on the road, in which case a helmet will protect you
if you get buzzed by a car (or worse).

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casca
This seems to have come out over 2 years ago so the price may be far too high.

I do wonder whether it would have been far more successful if they'd created a
snazzy Kickstarter video and required people to pre-pay for it.

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josephpmay
A few months ago, the company had a Kickstarter for a follow up product that
doesn't require the balancing.

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jweir
Ah! I saw one yesterday near Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I was driving and
couldn't stop to ask about it. Now I know.

Looks like a trip.

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Aardwolf
Why do they call this the greenest solution? What's different than other
electrically driven vehicles?

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stewbrew
Looks like a GausWheel for people who don't want to move in order to move.

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carlob
24 lbs?! How does the girl in the video lug it so effortlessly in her office?

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michaelbuddy
24lbs is nothing. Not something you can swing about for hours, but certainly
no problem carrying up stairs.

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coldcode
I wonder how stable this thing is for someone 2m tall like me?

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Piskvorrr
"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made
a lot of special modifications myself." \- disappointed it wasn't this Solo;
but still: seems much better than an electric scooter (for moving around in
the city, at least).

