Is Your Favorite Ride a Segway?

[KarenH]

Is the Segway truly the favorite ride of CDers everywhere?

I was inspired to start this thread by my own experience. About 3 years ago, I had the privilege of riding Segways in Dean Kamen’s driveway for a few minutes at a very basic level. Yesterday, ChrisH and I took a much-anticipated two-hour Segway tour of Long Beach from Segway of Long Beach , which included fairly extensive training and was very interesting. But I had different reactions to these two experiences. I won’t answer my own poll just yet—let’s hear some of your opinions first.

[Alexa Stott]

Originally Posted by KarenH

Is the Segway truly the favorite ride of CDers everywhere?

I was inspired to start this thread by my own experience. About 3 years ago, I had the privilege of riding Segways in Dean Kamen’s driveway for a few minutes at a very basic level. Yesterday, ChrisH and I took a much-anticipated two-hour Segway tour of Long Beach from Segway of Long Beach [insert link: http://www.segwaylb.com/ ], which included fairly extensive training and was very interesting. But I had different reactions to these two experiences. I won’t answer my own poll just yet—let’s hear some of your opinions first.

This tour sounds very similar to the Segway tour I took when I was in the Outer Banks. Except the place was called Segway of Outer Banks.

But I do love Segways. They are truly amazing and extremely fun to ride around on. They ride very smoothly and even the regular ones can handle different types of terrain.

[Billfred]

Three things prevent me from losing the CR-V for a Segway:

1) Living on the second floor of an elevatorless building makes for a hard parking dilemma.
2) 1618 is out of the range of all but the most-charged Segways.
3) I don't own the CR-V officially.

That said, after I get settled whereever I wind up, I'd certainly consider it as an option (probably in combination with some form of mass transit). Insurance (and maintenance, and gas for that matter) is a beast.

[Cody Carey]

The favorite ride of 306ers everywhere is the Pogo stick... Because we've never seen a Segway work under water

[Chris Marra]

Considering how the last (and first) time I rode a Segway, it fell down and crashed on me, I'm inclined to lean towards something else.

[KenWittlief]

I would love to own a Segway if someone gave me one, but living in a hilly suburb I could not justify buying one for the amount of 'transportation' miles I would put on it. I think I would ride it a lot for fun.

for the last month or so I have been working on plans for a recumbent bicycle. Its something Ive always wanted to tinker with, and I bought a wire welder for my son's '70VW project last month

when I get the plans close to being ready to assemble the prototype maybe I will post them in a new thread. Im thinking of what is called a long frame recumbent with the seat only about 6" off the ground, infront of a 27" 6 speed back wheel. The front wheel will be a 100psi 20", and you will sit in a more or less normal lawn chair position, except with your feet up on the pedals just behind the front wheel. I have seen plans sorta like this, but not exactly what I have in mind, so I will need to be a little creative to make what I want.

The reason Im posting this here: there were a couple threads on CD recently about alternative transportation, using the Segway to get around vs getting exercise, that got me thinking about riding a bike to work. I think with a comfortable recumbent bike I would be able to ride to work once or twice a week in the warmer months. The main difference from a regular diamond frame bike is you are much more comfortable and sitting in a more normal position in a recumbent bike, so you do not have to ride fast to get where you are going before your hands fall asleep, or your back gets wretched out of shape.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I was able to borrow a Segway for Atlanta this year. It helped out a lot to get from here to there in a hurry. We had a couple of times where getting to the playing fields from the pits was essential for problems with inspections. It fulfilled everything that people said it could do and it worked well except for a few things. Where to park it during the day and where to park it during final ceremonies. I was able to hide it in the back of the inspection booth but in the stadium, there was really no place to park it while in a seat. I ended up putting it in an area where there were a lot of wheelchairs and child strollers.
I was able to ride right from my hotel room at the Omni to the pit in justs a few minutes. I even mastered taking it on the escalator when the elevator was in use. What is the most difficult thing is trying to convince someone that it is borrowed and you can't give lessons or rides. The convention center staff needs to be informed though as some wouldn't let anyone ride a Segway on a carpet in the pit building

[colin340]

unicycle is my Favorite Ride then segway
you can hop or roll anyware, it 90$ and the batters never die
but I'm off mine for two weeks due to appendicitis surgery

[Richard Wallace]

Segways are fun. Segways are cool. I've ridden several versions, starting with one of the early Gingers in 1996. A couple of summers back, I hired an intern to build a low-cost Segway-like personal mobility device as a showcase for some motors and controllers that we were developing at the time. As a life-long nerd, I am inexorably drawn to the mystique of the technical.

But my favorite ride is still a bicycle. There's no machine that can match it for autonomy, efficiency, reliability, and sheer technological coolness.

[artdutra04]

I love riding my Segway, and I'd definitely say it's my favorite mode of transportation. Riding a Segway - especially in red key - always reminds me of downhill skiing, which is my favorite sport. Nothing beats the shear exhilaration and adrenaline of plunging down a wicked double-diamond at 40 miles per hour, turning so hard your hand hits the snow, all while one-upping gravity as you go off jump after jump after jump. The skill, the danger, the stakes are all high, and the reward even higher. Gravity never ceases to be a worthy opponent.

[Madison]

Nope.

[Wetzel]

I prefer my bicycle for in city transportation.

Wetzel

[Nitroxextreme]

Gotta love old antique cars...can really feel your ride.


I hate the black key (just a sidebar)

[JaneYoung]

I've never ridden a Segway Karen, but maybe that will change some day. I've always wanted to.

Edit: I used to explore back country roads a lot with a Harley Sportster. It was a lot of fun.

[Cynette]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Nope.

[Followed by photo of the Kamikaze (amusement park) ride]
I agree with Madison! Although a segway is fun to ride, give me a good amusement park ride any day! I'm very fond of Tea Cups, smooth roller coasters and those silly himalaya rides where you go forward then backward.