What do people think of this as means of transportation?
http://www.segway.com/
Since I can't ride a bike due to chronic arthritis...I would consider one of these as a viable alternative to getting around.
Perhaps we can avoid a major crisis if everyone switches to a segway, bicycle, and taking the bus, subway or train?
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segway
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segway
by newbie1234 » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 14:34:21
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segway
by newbie1234 » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 14:49:28
ok, what do people think of Dean kamen's other invention featured on 60 minutes?
The machine that makes dirty water clean?
see link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/ ... 9070.shtml
The machine that makes dirty water clean?
see link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/ ... 9070.shtml
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segway
by newbie1234 » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 16:17:26
Does anyone have anything worthwhile to contribute to how these inventions will effect upcoming energy solutions?
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Re: segway
by tdrive » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 16:40:16
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('newbie1234', 'D')oes anyone have anything worthwhile to contribute to how these inventions will effect upcoming energy solutions?
Yawn... yawn... damn, I need coffee.
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by JR » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 16:44:00
They use Segways in the Disneyland theme parks. We were there in January and the management staff use them to get around the park faster. They are really cool to watch.
Didn't know till after we left that they offered a tour where you can learn how to use one.
Not sure how they work, etc. or how they would help PO. But, I'd sure like to ride one.
JR
Didn't know till after we left that they offered a tour where you can learn how to use one.
Not sure how they work, etc. or how they would help PO. But, I'd sure like to ride one.
JR
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Segway, and water distiler
by boilingleadbath » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 17:10:08
Ok, the segway is energy expensive to make, but maybe not as much as a car or motorbike. On the other hand, those are more usefull. The segway has low ground clearence, so it doesn't do great on deteriating roads.
It also uses miniscule amounts of energy to charge.
The water distiler is on significantly more shaky ground.
Mainly because it has the stirling engien, thus making it expensive, and as such will be hard to get the poor nations people to buy them. (or aid groups)
Not to mention that distiling water takes large amounts of energy - and fuel is getting rarer (including wood) in those poor countries.
It also uses miniscule amounts of energy to charge.
The water distiler is on significantly more shaky ground.
Mainly because it has the stirling engien, thus making it expensive, and as such will be hard to get the poor nations people to buy them. (or aid groups)
Not to mention that distiling water takes large amounts of energy - and fuel is getting rarer (including wood) in those poor countries.
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by newbie1234 » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 17:33:16
"Not to mention that distiling water takes large amounts of energy - and fuel is getting rarer (including wood) in those poor countries."
My understanding though was that this a low energy water distiller. (I may be wrong though...)
My understanding though was that this a low energy water distiller. (I may be wrong though...)
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by mgibbons19 » Tue 12 Apr 2005, 21:11:56
I think the segway is a great invention with tons of potential. I think their range is up to 10 miles or so, so they would be useful for commuting for lots of ppl who live too far to walk. They cannot replace cars since they are single passenger, low cargo vehicles. But, since most car trips are with one person anyway, such a thing could replace those trips. And since most of the families I know have a family car and a commuter, this would fit right in with the commuter.
The commuter is a used old wreck, probably worth 5k. So the Segway fits right in pricewise. They don't replace the station wagon, but they do supplement it. And given the hidden costs of driving, using a product such as the segway could really save the average family a lot of money.
Now, will it be embraced? Will the necessary legal and infrastructural hurdles be passed for these to be useful on a large scale? That's the real question. They have potential, they can help individual families, but to be truly useful, we need to see some specific developments. Incidentally this is all true of public transit too.
The commuter is a used old wreck, probably worth 5k. So the Segway fits right in pricewise. They don't replace the station wagon, but they do supplement it. And given the hidden costs of driving, using a product such as the segway could really save the average family a lot of money.
Now, will it be embraced? Will the necessary legal and infrastructural hurdles be passed for these to be useful on a large scale? That's the real question. They have potential, they can help individual families, but to be truly useful, we need to see some specific developments. Incidentally this is all true of public transit too.
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by Antimatter » Sun 17 Apr 2005, 00:39:40
Segway's are a novelty more than anything else, there are far more practicle alternatives. Even a cheap $200 Chinese electric scooter can travel as far and as fast as a $5000 Segway. You can get lots of electric scooters and bikes of various quality - check ebay.
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by pup55 » Sun 17 Apr 2005, 08:18:52
I have seen these in various places.
In your case, where you have trouble getting around, I can see it would be useful.
However, there are a few issues in my case: I am up here in suburbia, and go 14 miles through heavy traffic to work. This is about 75% of my fuel consumption. There is no sidewalk for approximately 50% of the route, so impractical for me.
It's about 30 miles down to the central city. No way to make it down there, even if I wanted to, which I don't.
Now, it could be useful to travel the 1 mile up to the grocery store. However, haulage space on these things has got to be limited to approximately a backpack full.
In the Kunstleresque world of small towns and localized communities, where everyone can work and/or get most of services they need within a range of a mile or so, these could be wonderful. But, in suburbia, it does not address the root cause, which is things are too spread out.
There is another issue: I have never seen a female on one. The soccer moms probably burn 40% of the gas in suburbia hauling their kids around and going to wherever they go during the day. The can of worms here is that in Kunstlerworld, the kids are free to get wherever they want on their own, like we did in the early 60's. We are currently not set up for that.
(I must tell you a parenthetical story, this is another true story: No one out here in Suburbia would think of letting their kids (and I am talking 14 and 15 year olds) ride a bike to the movies, which for me is about 3 miles away, 100% sidewalked. It's considered too dangerous. They continue to drive them up until the time they are old enough to use the car themselves. Not only that but the herd instinct is so strong out here that some of these kids would be literally embarassed to appear at the movies in any other way than their mom dropping them off. The local shopping malls do not even allow bikes on their property.)
So, unless things change out here, the amount of fuel saved by these things will be zero.
In your case, where you have trouble getting around, I can see it would be useful.
However, there are a few issues in my case: I am up here in suburbia, and go 14 miles through heavy traffic to work. This is about 75% of my fuel consumption. There is no sidewalk for approximately 50% of the route, so impractical for me.
It's about 30 miles down to the central city. No way to make it down there, even if I wanted to, which I don't.
Now, it could be useful to travel the 1 mile up to the grocery store. However, haulage space on these things has got to be limited to approximately a backpack full.
In the Kunstleresque world of small towns and localized communities, where everyone can work and/or get most of services they need within a range of a mile or so, these could be wonderful. But, in suburbia, it does not address the root cause, which is things are too spread out.
There is another issue: I have never seen a female on one. The soccer moms probably burn 40% of the gas in suburbia hauling their kids around and going to wherever they go during the day. The can of worms here is that in Kunstlerworld, the kids are free to get wherever they want on their own, like we did in the early 60's. We are currently not set up for that.
(I must tell you a parenthetical story, this is another true story: No one out here in Suburbia would think of letting their kids (and I am talking 14 and 15 year olds) ride a bike to the movies, which for me is about 3 miles away, 100% sidewalked. It's considered too dangerous. They continue to drive them up until the time they are old enough to use the car themselves. Not only that but the herd instinct is so strong out here that some of these kids would be literally embarassed to appear at the movies in any other way than their mom dropping them off. The local shopping malls do not even allow bikes on their property.)
So, unless things change out here, the amount of fuel saved by these things will be zero.
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by oowolf » Thu 21 Apr 2005, 19:14:31
A clever invention that accomplishes nothing. Something George Jetson might have owned. What the hell is wrong with walking?
The illusion of progress: 40 years ago in a small Montana town, the post office and the grocery store were in adjacent buildings. It took a person about 5 to 10 seconds to walk from one building to the other. Today, the post office and grocery store are 2 1/4 miles apart. It takes at least 5 minutes to DRIVE a 3000 pound ICE powered vehicle from one to the other. Human beings do this all day, every day, and apparently don't see anything ludicrous or harmful in such a BIZARRE mode of existence.
Its a wonder I haven't OD'ed on sarcasm.
The illusion of progress: 40 years ago in a small Montana town, the post office and the grocery store were in adjacent buildings. It took a person about 5 to 10 seconds to walk from one building to the other. Today, the post office and grocery store are 2 1/4 miles apart. It takes at least 5 minutes to DRIVE a 3000 pound ICE powered vehicle from one to the other. Human beings do this all day, every day, and apparently don't see anything ludicrous or harmful in such a BIZARRE mode of existence.
Its a wonder I haven't OD'ed on sarcasm.
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by Ryan » Fri 22 Apr 2005, 08:29:46
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('oowolf', 'A') clever invention that accomplishes nothing. Something George Jetson might have owned. What the hell is wrong with walking?
The illusion of progress: 40 years ago in a small Montana town, the post office and the grocery store were in adjacent buildings. It took a person about 5 to 10 seconds to walk from one building to the other. Today, the post office and grocery store are 2 1/4 miles apart. It takes at least 5 minutes to DRIVE a 3000 pound ICE powered vehicle from one to the other. Human beings do this all day, every day, and apparently don't see anything ludicrous or harmful in such a BIZARRE mode of existence.
Its a wonder I haven't OD'ed on sarcasm.
The illusion of progress: 40 years ago in a small Montana town, the post office and the grocery store were in adjacent buildings. It took a person about 5 to 10 seconds to walk from one building to the other. Today, the post office and grocery store are 2 1/4 miles apart. It takes at least 5 minutes to DRIVE a 3000 pound ICE powered vehicle from one to the other. Human beings do this all day, every day, and apparently don't see anything ludicrous or harmful in such a BIZARRE mode of existence.
Its a wonder I haven't OD'ed on sarcasm.
Great post. I walk everywhere. So does my wife. Work is ~1.5 miles away. I used to live about 10 miles away and would ride a bike. We relocated in order to be closer. My walk takes less time and is more peaceful than riding a bike and dealing with crazy drivers.
People will need to adjust. Right now they're living far from their places of employment. Switching to a better gas-mileage vehicle will help for awhile but eventually I think people will need to be at least within 20 miles of where they work so that they can ride a bicycle rather than drive.
Unfortunately people want to believe Bush and others when they talk about the hydrogen cars that will let they continue doing just what they're doing now.
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by Claudia » Mon 30 May 2005, 13:52:24
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ince I can't ride a bike due to chronic arthritis...I would consider one of these as a viable alternative to getting around.
This is the main reason people use Segways in my area -- it fits a disability niche.
Obviously there's nothing wrong with walking, if you are physically able to do this. Same with bicycling.
However, if neither of these are viable options and you're trying to hold on to as much independence as possible, it seems reasonable to explore the Segway.
In my town there is a surgeon with a spinal cord disorder who uses a Segway to travel through the hospital corridors.
There's also a young man with a hereditary muscle/metabolism disorder who uses a Segway everywhere in town -- even inside buildings.
If you have a disability, you can get a disability sticker for the Segway. It helps cut down on the dirty looks from people who think you are lazy. I believe this also exempts you from sideway restrictions in many locales.
In case people are curious why people don't just use a wheelchair -- there are many conditions in which people both cannot walk and cannot sit for long periods. Standing is also healthier for many people with partially immobilizing conditions.
For anybody who wishes to express some sentiment along the lines of "the disabled aren't going to survive peak oil anyway, why bother" -- just pretend you already said it and we heard it, so you can save yourself the typing. We have already heard this many times on this board and do not find it particularly helpful when we are making plans on how to be the least possible burden to our families. If the Segway won't work, it won't work, and we'll find out by investigating the actual pragmatic issues involved.
On the other hand, if anybody has experience with these pragmatic issues -- like repair, charging, power use, restrictions -- that would of course be very helpful in troubleshooting this as a viable solution to mobility problems.
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