Jump to content

Best Name for EUCs


Mortal Coil

What is the best name to describe an EUC?  

62 members have voted

  1. 1. What would you chose as the best name to describe the contraptions that we ride? When someone wells 'what the hell is that?' when you zoom past, this is what you yell over your shoulder.

    • Electric Unicycle
      43
    • EUC
      8
    • Segwheel
      0
    • Hoverwheel
      1
    • eWheel
      6
    • Gyrowheel or Gyroroue
      0
    • Monowheel
      4


Recommended Posts

Most of parents who buy  a skateboard or rollerblades for their kids never ridden one. They learn by themselves, or just using parent's hand for support.

There's absolutely no reason why a hoverwheel with similar motor power and battery as hoverboards, cannot have the same price tag ~$100. It's essentially the same thing, just one motor and one controller instead of two. And we're not talking about powerful 16"+ wheels, we're talking something like Luffy with its 10" (?) wheels and 350W motor. Even ewheels.com sells IPS a130 for $375, and that's a low-volume production: https://www.ewheels.com/product/ips-a130-turbo-edition/ With volumes similar to hoverboards, the price will drop to the same levels, $100.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Aneta said:

Links to those retailers carrying hoverwheels?

https://www.mediamarkt.be/nl/product/_segway-hoverboard-gyropode-ninebot-one-s2-1611475.html

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaMarkt

 It is Europe's largest retailer of consumer electronics, and the second largest in the world after American retailer Best Buy.

Number of locations
850+ in 13 European countries

 

Big enough? :D 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If hoverboards were still bursting in flames en masse, they wouldn't be on Walmart's shelves in thousands of stores across the country: https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=hoverboard

Those were issues with early counterfeit hoverboards. Companies like Hover-1 afaik are U.S.-based (but of course, with manufacturing in China) and have stricter standards of safety.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MediaMarkt - sorry, I was narrowmindedly thinking about U.S. retailers only. I searched Best Buy, but found only hoverboards and segways. I don't know of any American retailer selling hoverwheels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

This is better than it looks at first! Rollbot, Wheelbot, you're on to something.

Yeah, not tacky and isn’t already in use. Maybe I’ll patent it 😁

7 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

 

Edited by Jpd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rollbot, wheelbot are not good choices, either. Bot means robot, which our wheels are not, they don't drive autonomously. Bot also means, according to Merriam-Webster, 

Quote

the larva of the botfly, which is an internal parasite of animals. It lives typically in the stomach, finally passing through the host's dung and pupating on the ground.

Yikes!

Bot also has - no less - 222 definitions on UD:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bot

most of which mean not good things. So, bot is out.

Next attempt to insult our lovely hoverwheels with an inappropriate name - ?

giphy.gif

 

Edited by Aneta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After recently buying a solidly built e-scooter from Hover-1 at Walmart for only $99 (Hover-1 Pioneer), seeing that their website https://www.hover-1.com/ doesn't even have a storefront, so they have a huge contract with Walmart on hoverboards, e-scooters, I have a feeling that hoverwheels will be the next Hover-1 category of products. All it takes is another contract with Walmart for kids hoverwheels, and later, adult hoverwheels, and the rest will be history. No doubt they will market their products as hoverwheels (even if it is not the name of any specific wheel, but rather category) and buy the rights to use it, if necessary. I don't know if the right to use word "hoverwheels" as a category needs to be licensed. For example, on their products page https://www.hover-1.com/products they have a section called "hoverboards", but each individual product is not called hoverboard directly, only as "self-balancing electric scooter", e.g. https://www.hover-1.com/hover-1-superstar-specs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Flyboy10 said:

In our case, until everyone owns an electric unicycle and there is one company or product that is known for its superior performance or quality, it will be known as an electric unicycle by definition. In this case, it might be called a Kingsong or a Gotway unless some new manufacturer blows these two out of the water in terms or quality, safety, performance, or marketing. 

I like this. Logically thus our wheels should be called a(n) Inmotion. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If a big USA-based company with high production volume and experience in self-balancing electric scooters, like Hover-1, starts producing hoverwheels in volume and makes fat contracts with retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc., all these Chinese garage-level companies that are currently "top 3 electric unicycle manufacturers" will be obliterated and soon forgotten, as no one will buy their $2000-3000 pieces of plastic garbage when $500-1000 for adults or $100-200 for kids well built analogs will be available at your Walmart or Target. "Kingsong wha? Song of the King?" The new hoverwheels will be made like tanks, designed to be abused by American kids. Free, no-hassle returns. I'm still thoroughly impressed by quality of Hover-1 Pioneer e-scooter, this thing is built like you can put nails into concrete with it! I feel better supporting an American company (with production in China) than a pure Chinese company putting out utter garbage, like Minimotors (a big name in the world of e-scooters).

Edited by Aneta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Flyboy10 said:

I want everyone to own an electric unicycle so in the one second I have to shout back at the person asking what it is, I will say electric unicycle. This will guarantee that they will find this forum, Marty Backe's youtube channel

How about a Backewheel? Or a hoverBacke? :efee612b4b:

5 hours ago, MR BRAD said:

I like this. Logically thus our wheels should be called a(n) Inmotion. :)

I think you just declared war (within another war) :efee612b4b:

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Aneta said:

All it takes is another contract with Walmart for kids hoverwheels, and later, adult hoverwheels, and the rest will be history.

:roflmao:

10 hours ago, ir_fuel said:

Until the day Walmart realises nobody buys those "hoverwheels"

Exactly! Sorry folks, Walmart (and the world of product distribution) doesn't work this way. They will never carry a product UNTIL it is selling a very large volume ($$).

If you want electric unicycles to increase in popularity, then we need to do it the old fashioned way. We need to share our experiences and talk to people about it. When someone yells out, "Hey, what is that?" We need to stop and tell them. We need to help new people learn to ride. We need to make cool videos showing how awesome it is and why people will enjoy it. We need more people being emissaries for the sport. We need to promote exciting events like the LA EUC Games. We need to invite journalist to meet our group when we go for a ride and show why electric unicycles are better than scooters, e-bikes, etc.

Honestly, I don't hate the name "hoverwheel" (unlike the segwheel moniker), but the truth is there is only one person in the world using that name currently. I guess I'm leaning towards agreeing with @Flyboy10 that it's not that important what we call it as long as we get out there and enjoy what we love and share it. Personally, I'm going to try to make more videos and talk to more people about it.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, ZenRyder said:

I guess I'm leaning towards agreeing with @Flyboy10 that it's not that important what we call it as long as we get out there and enjoy what we love and share it. Personally, I'm going to try to make more videos and talk to more people about it.

Same here. And you make some nice videos, so keep 'em coming!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Talking to people and making videos won't start a chain reaction, we're too small for that, it's like trying to ignite a wet log with a spark. We need a canister of lighter fluid over that log to ignite it. Only an aggressive ad campaign by a big U.S.-based manufacturer and retailer can do that. If it happens, they will need a catchy name for this new (to majority of people) category of PEVs/toys. Hoverwheel is a no-brainer for that.

I agree that Walmart, Target, etc. won't start selling a new product that doesn't have a proven track of being popular. So, some company will need to start the ad campaign and selling hoverwheels on their site first, then big retailers will pick it up once the volume becomes significant.

I just don't see why hoverwheels can't be as popular and ubiquitous and cheap as hoverboards. It's the same principle, same risks and challenges, a bit harder to learn, but no harder than skateboards. (with skateboards, you can't even use training wheels or baby stroller; and skateboard flying out of one's feet and rider falling hard on the ground on their side or back is a typical learning experience with skateboards)

Edited by Aneta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What the overwhelming community voice will speak when these one-wheeled self-balancing electric scooters become as commonplace as hoverboards and are NOT called "electric unicycle" by millions of people, as well as dictionaries, web sites and web search results, SKUs and labels in stores, etc. When saying "electric unicycle" will get a blank stare? Or people referring to that video of Justin from Grin Tech with real electric unicycle? What we have is not an electric unicycle, it's just one-wheel version of a hoverboard, period.

Edited by Aneta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem with the "Walmart theory" is that electric ridables such as electric unicycles make very limited sense as toys, novelties, or cheap impulse buys. Their real potential is using them as serious vehicles in capability between a bicycle and a car (regarding speeds and ranges where one would use them). There is a reason that 90% of buyers get the biggest and baddest wheels they can (even if that's just a V8). That's where the value lies. New possibilities provided by new capabilities.

Would Walmart stock a $2000 device? A $1000 ridable? I doubt so. These aren't the mass market prices they are looking for.

Kids' toys and impulse buys and $300 wheels and 20kph ridables and "last mile" and short-lived trends like the hoverboard (or a mass-sold, cheap "hoverwheel") are a dead end. Probably even detrimental to the real thing by sabotaging public opinion with an inferior product (*cough* scooters *cough*).

If it ever happens like this, "hoverwheel" will designate a cheap, mostly useless trend thing while "electric unicycle" will describe the real thing for the people who know what is really possible.

So maybe there is space for both:efeebb3acc: I sure hope not.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's exactly what will happen - hoverwheels will mostly be a toy for kids (and during initial 2-3 years, every kid will want one; the excitement of a new toy will wear out, of course, with time; that every kid wants one is unmistakable in their mesmerized eyes when you pass them on a hoverwheel). And there will be bigger versions for adults, but not powerful, similar to how Walmart sells both e-scooters for kids and adults, but the latter are quite underpowered, like 250-350W tops. Powerful wheels still will need to be sold by somebody else. But that separation between toy hoverwheels and powerful hoverwheels won't change the fact that "this" name (whatever it will be, although I strongly suspect it will be "hoverwheel") will become universally accepted. It will be silly and futile to continue to call it "electric unicycle" then, especially considering that "electric unicycle" is a motor-assisted version of pedal-driven traditional unicycle, so it's a wrong definition of what we have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...