
RocketSkates let you zip along the sidewalk at a top speed of 12 MPH - bjchrist
http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/09/rocketskates/?ncid=rss_truncated
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coreyja
Not trying to be rude, but why is engadget linked here instead of the actual
KickStarter? I can't be the only one who hates struggling to find a source
link on most news sites? Wouldn't it be more useful to just link to the
KickStarter?

Edit: Ok so engadgets source links are easy to find but still why not just
link to the KickStarter?

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jfoster
So let's also link to the Kickstarter.

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petertreadway/acton-
r-r...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petertreadway/acton-r-
rocketskates-worlds-first-smart-wearable-m)

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overgard
As a person that's bought an electric skateboard in the past and a lot of
other dumb stuff, I feel like I have a decent grasp on the target market
here... but I couldn't buy one of these, they just look so dorky. It's like
wearing cement shoes or something. Way too bulky and garish. And the marketing
video.. ugh. Like the shirtless dude and the weird slow-mo cuts and the
obvious pandering to a male audience? It just gives off a very desperate vibe.
If they have to go to such great lengths to make it seem "cool" you can be
almost assured they realize exactly how uncool it looks.

The other thing is, your target market is basically college students to start
with (probably), or kids. 400+ is out of their range. I think you can get away
with cheap/functional+dorky (regular skates), or expensive+cool, but you can't
do expensive+dorky (segway territory).

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peter-row
I think their marketing is off.

It's 10-20% of the price of a segway, and you can climb stairs, and carry them
much more easily. They also look easy to put on (unlike rollerblades).

If they can sell 500 units, they'll easily hit their stretch goals. I think
they'll do OK.

They just shouldn't be afraid of being the next segway - segway didn't fail
because it was "dorky". pg was using that as an example of the problems
companies get when they run fat and are too cloistered. Segway had a lot of
other problems (with the same root cause) - it was way too expensive, and it
was too awkward outside a controlled environment (both of which these skates
seem to solve). It also tried to sell 50,000 units on the first iteration,
while these guys are selling maybe 1000 (for the kickstarter), and can then
tweak things based on customer feedback.

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gee_totes
Not all rollerblades are difficult to put on -- check out Doop skates.

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efnx
These look neat and they made a great kickstarter video. They know who's going
to want those (25 - 30 something guys) and they made sure to have lots of
shots of cute girls using the skates. I watched the whole thing ;) It was also
fun to see my home town of Pasadena all over that video. Now I'm homesick.
Good luck to you guys - they do look genuinely fun!

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dublinben
I was actually put off by the great pains they took to make them look cool in
their video. It reminds me of the early promos for the Segway.

~~~
prawn
The shirtless guy, the slow-motion, the tricks and then the guy reading notes
below the camera - found it off-putting as well. I think that most people who
could afford this sort of thing just want a good way to get around rather than
show off.

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libraryatnight
I feel like I'll see these in SkyMall some day.

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justinph
This is kind of neat, but it negates one of the great benefits of skating (or
walking, or running, or bicycling) which is exercise.

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bignaj
I agree. They are quite cool but they are solving a problem I never had. If I
had a bunch of money laying around and was bored I would buy these but not
otherwise.

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Houshalter
Isn't it sort of similar to segways?

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lelf
Speaking of the actual _skates_. The most real are probably
[http://boostedboards.com](http://boostedboards.com). There are almost here it
seems.

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zevyoura
I've seen a few Boosted boards in the wild, they're definitely real.

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dalek2point3
I rode one at SXSW in March 2013 -- they're yet to be made available
commercially?

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zevyoura
I think they've already shipped a fair number of the Kickstarter backer reward
boards.

~~~
ibrahima
Romain Guy, a Google engineer (formerly Android, now works on their robotics
stuff I think) has tweeted about riding his, so that sounds right.

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pogue
I think this is a very interesting concept, but stylistically speaking, they
are so ugly.

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tabakd
I'm not too fond of the design of these things. They look like some kids toy.

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TheCraiggers
Seems like a neat idea if you live in a place with well-built roads. As a
resident of Michigan, where the roads typically consist of more pothole than
road, this would be useless at best and dangerous at worst.

Still waiting for the Kickstarter that brings us the 'spokewheels' from
Snowcrash (not sure if that's the actual name, it's been a few years since
I've read it). Something that can deal with potholes and road debris alike
would be a godsend.

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viggity
If I wore these, I'd have to kick my own ass.

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shasta
You'll have to catch your ass, first.

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laughfactory
I totally want a pair of these for "commuting" to work! Sure they're a little
chunky, but I think they've achieved something remarkable anyway. Besides
which it simply takes space for batteries and motors and all the gizmos and
what have you. I'm sold. I think these will be a big hit if they work as
advertised.

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ljsocal
That video pitch may be the beginning of the end of Kickstarter...these
wheelie things are not a safe, practical product and anyone who buys this
wheeliebarrow of overpromises will be disappointed. Is it possible to short a
Kickstarter project...maybe that's a Kickestarter project I should launch!

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hawkharris
This reminds me of the hover boots from the Zelda: Ocarina of Time game for
Nintendo 64. Fun memories! I see a lot of comments concerning the product's
ugliness. But, hey, not every product has to be subtle and elegant. Some
consumers may embrace the over-the-top, video game-like appearance.

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tlrobinson
This guy beat them to it: [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-
media/image/upload/18n331wztgz...](http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-
media/image/upload/18n331wztgzcyjpg.jpg)

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tlrobinson
Why does everything these days need an "app" with "games" or other gimmicks?

Boosted Boards focus on building an amazing electric longboard is much more
appealing to me.

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whyenot
The angry masculine look of these isn't my style but I really like the idea. A
10 mile range is much better than I expected. I could see these becoming quite
popular on college campuses.

I don't know about "zipping along the sidewalk" at 12mph -- that seems kind of
rude anywhere there are pedestrians traveling at more pedestrian speeds. There
is also an interesting gray area as far as traffic laws.

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MichaelGG
These look like foot-sized Segways.

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noonespecial
Based on the name, I was expecting something much more Wile E. Coyote than
this. Disappointed.

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trhway
the founder was a teenager in 198x - that explains "Back to the Future 2"
design, etc. As another 40+ years old a&& i'd personally feel strange trying
to push a "cool and fun" thing to the 20+ years olds. (Even such an
unquestionably cool, in my mind, thing as a million bucks is far from being
cool for these youngsters :).

Wrt. all these new devices, mostly electrical - they are victims of "uncanny
valley" effect - unmoving/freezed human body at speeds less than 20mph looks
spooky. Even electric bicycles look this way.

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aheilbut
I hope they come with a helmet.

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antonioevans
More kickstarter Vaporware.

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nickgrosvenor
Vaporware? Have you watched the video?

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antonioevans
I have. It's a kids toy with a slow mo video. But I am sure the founders of
this seeded this thread with enough fake accounts to make sure it gets its
much deserved publicity.

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hmsimha
You realize that all new accounts on HN show up with green usernames.
Currently, there are only two 'new' users who have posted in this thread, both
expressing negative views about the product. If they've 'seeded' this thread
with fake accounts, there's no evidence of it.

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prawn
I think they mean upvoting the story submission rather than the comments.

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s4sharpie
Can't wait for sidewalk/bikelane wars over this. Too fast for the sidewalk
with people walking. Will cyclists give up there precious bike lane space?

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glitch003
I don't think they have to, since this is not a bicycle.

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dublinben
These are probably too fast (and powered) to be considered pedestrians.
They'll like suffer the same limbo the Segway did, and end up with nowhere to
go.

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laughfactory
Naw, I'd be able to use them on the sidewalks here in San Diego without any
issues. And with the range and ride time they have I could get most places I
want to go. There are plenty of places which allow electric propelled scooters
(for example) or bikes on sidewalks...just so long as they don't go faster
than 15 mph.

