For macho off roaders..

Capt'n Midnight

macho or wha ?

Riamfada

makes me and my fiat look like a pair of ponces

Webmonkey

HOw does it balance? Seems all that touching ground is the two wheels?

Capt'n Midnight

Webmonkey wrote:

HOw does it balance? Seems all that touching ground is the two wheels?

homebrew - http://www.tlb.org/scooter.html

TerrorFirmer

Lol, so cool...imagine the super cool street races....

rsynnott

Ah, for the macho American Wobblebottom.

0utshined

Maddox told me the Segway sucks .

rsynnott

0utshined wrote:

Maddox told me the Segway sucks .

Whoever Maddox is, he's a bit stupid. The use of technology in the thing is valid enough, as far as it goes. It's a self-righting 2 wheel vehicle which distributes the user's weight effectively. His 3-wheeler wouldn't work well, and certainly wouldn't be very comfortable.

The problems with the segway include lack of any apparent need, dangerousness to pedestrians, the cost, and the fact that encourages fat people to get fatter. So yes, it sucks, but not for the reasons given by the silly full-of-himself man.

0utshined

rsynnott wrote:

Whoever Maddox is, he's a bit stupid. The use of technology in the thing is valid enough, as far as it goes. It's a self-righting 2 wheel vehicle which distributes the user's weight effectively. His 3-wheeler wouldn't work well, and certainly wouldn't be very comfortable.

The problems with the segway include lack of any apparent need, dangerousness to pedestrians, the cost, and the fact that encourages fat people to get fatter. So yes, it sucks, but not for the reasons given by the silly full-of-himself man.

:eek: If you you reread the page he doesn't dispute that it works and makes some of the points you make in your second paragraph.

P.S. Whoever Maddox is? It's www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net, How could it be wrong?

rsynnott

0utshined wrote:

:eek: If you you reread the page he doesn't dispute that it works and makes some of the points you make in your second paragraph.

P.S. Whoever Maddox is? It's www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net, How could it be wrong?

He doesn't dispute that it works, however he says that something far simpler without the magical technology would be just as good, which is incorrect. All those circuits he gives out about are being used. Sorry, he comes across as ignorant.

Rhyme

How high can it go?

rsynnott

The strap-on boosters cost extra

0utshined

rsynnott wrote:

He doesn't dispute that it works, however he says that something far simpler without the magical technology would be just as good, which is incorrect. All those circuits he gives out about are being used. Sorry, he comes across as ignorant.

, He's not saying the circuits aren't being used but rather that they solve a problem that's been solved before, cheaper. Anyway, he's an acquired taste so don't worry about it.

rsynnott

0utshined wrote:

, He's not saying the circuits aren't being used but rather that they soleve a problem that's been solved before, cheaper. Anyway, he's an acquired taste so don't worry about it.

No, the other solver only solved the problem post-segway, and on a non-business basis.

0utshined

The problem I was referring to was a means to transport a single person by using an electric vehicle but whatever.

rsynnott

0utshined wrote:

The problem I was referring to was a means to transport a single person by using an electric vehicle but whatever.

Yep, Sinclair did that when he wasn't designing explosive calculators for James Bond to kill the Russian ambassador with. That's not actually the problem that the segway was designed to solve tho; it transports people while standing up. The theory was that it would feel more natural, and could be used in pedestrian areas (sensible juristictions quickly banned this).

0utshined

Sinclair? He was a fiction writer, wasn't he? So the segway allows people to stand up? bfd. Electric wheelchairs work as they are and I don't see sensible juristictions banning them so what exactly is the point?

rsynnott

No, Sir Clive Sinclair was the inventor of many things that didn't quite work out, including various radios, the first IC radio, exploding amplifers, the mechanical watch calculator, the slimline handheld CRT, the Death Calculator that tried to kill the Russian ambassador (first ever pocket calculator, used LED screen (Sinclair didn't believe in LCDs), and blinked chips on and off rapidly to save energy; if left on for a while the batteries tended to explode; the Russians apparently didn't hold a grudge, as they later cloned a number of his computers), and, of course, the C5, and electric single-user vehicle thing. All this nonsense was paid for by a line of successful multimeters and computers (the Z80 in particular).

And I'm not arguing that the segway is useful, quite the opposite. The designers and scary owners' communities think otherwise, tho.

0utshined

rsynnott wrote:

No, Sir Clive Sinclair was the inventor of many things that didn't quite work out, including various radios, ..blah..

And I'm not arguing that the segway is useful, quite the opposite. The designers and scary owners' communities think otherwise, tho.

Aah, I'm well aware of Clive Sinclair of ZX Spectrum fame but when you mentioned Sinclair iwithout clarification I could only assume it was Iain Sinclair the novelist.

In any case I'm tired, so I'll agree with your last point that the Segway is interesting but not entirely usefull at present.

Capt'n Midnight

The Segway could be useful, if it was affordable. It would mean American's would no longer need to park within 100m of their destination. Fine on pedestrianised roads. Be interesting to see how many Chinese copies show up when the patent expires.

What was Clive thinking with the C5 ? - the only place I heard they got used was in a hire place in Wales, trill seakers. used to go to the top of a steep hill and bomb down at full throttle. Then they stopped renting them for some strange reason.

StupidLikeAFox

whats a C5?

Capt'n Midnight

The whole concept was it could be driven by over 14’s without insurance, driving licence, road tax or crash helmet.

http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/c5/index.php

http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/sinclair-c5.html

and the British government passed legislation that allowed electric-assisted cycles to be used without a license, as long as they didn’t exceed 15mph.
...
The much-publicized launch was an unqualified disaster. It was held in the middle of winter and the C5's bodies skated on the snow. The press was merciless. Safety and Advertising Standards organizations got involved.

http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/c5/background.php

He has set three electric land speed records, taking a C5 from its original top-speed of 15mph to 150mph with a 0-60mph of 5 seconds, which he designed, built and drove...

150mph in a C5 :eek:

http://www.sinclairc5.com/
http://www.sinclairc5.com/facts/brochure%2013.jpg 60KB - the insides of a C5