News Story: "Is Solowheel the Future of Urban Transportation"

[Jason McNeil]

This is probably the first time a journalist has actually spent a bit time to learn how to use a Wheel. 
It's very Solowheel focused, as if nothing else existed, but hey it's a Seattle writer who crafted the article around the personality of Barefoot Ted. 

http://www.thestranger.com/features/2016/08/17/24463427/is-solowheel-the-future-of-urban-transportation
There's some hints about Solowheel's next product
"The next generation Solowheel is being designed by local engineering firm Pensar. "That wheel will be badass," McDonald says. "It'll be lighter, more powerful, more scalable [for mass production], and it'll have exchangeable lithium batteries." 

[The Fat Unicyclist]

44 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said:

There's some hints about Solowheel's next product
"The next generation Solowheel is being designed by local engineering firm Pensar. "That wheel will be badass," McDonald says. "It'll be lighter, more powerful, more scalable [for mass production], and it'll have exchangeable lithium batteries." 

But will it be faster and with a better range? 

[US69]

quote:

Since you're in an upright position, most crashes are normally pretty harmless—you just kind of hop off.

haha...the MUST be talking about solowheel...because it is the only one which is soooo slow...that you can hop off :-)

 

[Citi Wheel]

"The wheel's inventor, Shane Chen, 59...says 10,000 Solowheels roam the world's streets. In China, where the wheel is more popular, companies have produced about 10 times that number of knockoffs..."

 

Finally a real quoted number of how many EU riders there are around the world, at least for Solowheel.

[Keith]

I particularly loved the 20 minute assessment that you were physically fit enough to be allowed  to learn how to ride a Solowheel, I could do it in 10 seconds: "Can you stand on one leg for 10 seconds without falling over?"; " Yes you'll do!".

My thoughts were along the same lines as @The Fat Unicyclist and @KingSong69, a highly advanced new version might be nearly as good as the competition.

@Jason McNeil, I'll fully understand if you cannot answer this question, but how can their be two patents for the same thing Shane Chens and the Simerays:http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US20090266629. (The latter is certainly an electric unicycle but boy what a horrible design!) Surely both, to all intents, are also simply stealing ideas off of the original (and presumably now expired) Segway patents?

[Paddylaz]

Would love to know what sponsorship/salary deal B.T. has with solo wheel.

Apparently (admittedly this is second hand information) he organises meet ups for eucs as long as you have a Solowheel and is a complete dick to anyone who comes with something different.

[Keith]

Very interesting article here dated May 29, 2013: http://www.oregonlive.com/small-business/index.ssf/2013/05/with_solowheel_shane_chens_inv.html

Some interesting quotes from that article (my bold text) (My comments)

When Shane Chen  caught a glimpse of a motorized unicycle at a trade show a few years back, a thought flashed through his mind. 

"I can make that better," the Camas, Wash.-based inventor said. (So didn't invent it then?)

Within a month, he had a prototype. After a year, he had a product. Today, he's sold 1,700 Solowheels, (So apparently has sold 8300 in the next 3 years) which use the same gyroscopic motor technology as the Segway.  (!)

Chen says the Solowheel is not a direct response to its biggest competitor, the Segway, though it uses the same auto balancing system.