Chris Westland Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 On 12/16/2016 at 4:00 PM, Jason McNeil said: Very true! Adding to the list... One more thing ... sadly, the S1 advertising says it only "Appeals to riders that are 16 - 50 year olds." At 67, I am out of their demographic, so will have to stick with the Inmotion V8 that should be arriving any day now from @Jason McNeil . I'm shedding no tears ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 I found that age definition amusing too. Based on the (admittedly unscientific) poll on this site, 60% of riders are over 40 and most of us wouldn't qualify by Segway's terms. Segway seems to be floundering to guess at their user demographic, or perhaps they are trying to limit perceived liability. Either way it underscores how manufacturers are still unsure of the nature of the US market. Is it a toy? Is it a practical last-mile transportation solution? Is it a primarily a youth phenomenon? The abundant 1-star reviews on Amazon don't help matters much. I am surprised Amazon allows people who haven't actually bought the product to write "reviews." The audience for EUCs seems to be more of a psychological profile than an age or economic bracket. If all the old guys [*I'm in that bracket] on this forum tried it and wrote a review I'm sure there would be a lot more balanced 2, 3 and 4 star reviews, but instead the Amazon reviews are polarized: either they love it or they hate it. Even among those who are "verified purchasers" of the Segway/Ninebot One S1, most of those reviews amount to "I couldn't figure it out or didn't want to make the effort, so I hate it." As much as we might want to believe that EUC will someday become a popular mass-market transportation solution, those reviews suggest it's not happening among the general public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 5 minutes ago, Ombre said: As much as we might want to believe that EUC will someday become a popular mass-market transportation solution, those reviews suggest it's not happening among the general public. We will have to wait for the kids. For the average adult it is just a little too difficult to learn to become a mass transportation solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Westland Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 2 hours ago, Ombre said: I found that age definition amusing too. Based on the (admittedly unscientific) poll on this site, 60% of riders are over 40 and most of us wouldn't qualify by Segway's terms. Segway seems to be floundering to guess at their user demographic, or perhaps they are trying to limit perceived liability. Either way it underscores how manufacturers are still unsure of the nature of the US market. Is it a toy? Is it a practical last-mile transportation solution? Is it a primarily a youth phenomenon? I tend to agree ... it's likely the Segway lawyers that wrote that ad copy ... I think EUCs appeal to older guys here and in China, so I would also agree that Segway is confused about the S2's potential market. On the other hand, the S2 looks a lot like my IPS Zero (IPS overstates motor power on the Zero; I think it is the same 500W sustained power as the S2 with the same batteries more or less). The S2 is a little heavier, and looks like it is a more fastidious construction on the inside. I like my Zero a lot, so I'd probably like the S2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 10 hours ago, Panotaker said: I bought one of the new Segway One S1 from Amazon a few days ago. First let me say that I have years of experience on a regular unicycle. I regularly mountain bike on a Kris Holm KH24 24" mountain unicycle, (it's called MUNI) and have rode a 10 foot giraffe unicycle. I first learned how to ride a unicycle when I was 12 years old, and I am 60 years old now, so I have been at it a while. I also own a regular 2 wheel Segway, so that experience probably helped too. The S1 is my first electric unicycle, and it was a piece of cake for me to learn how to ride it. I literally rode it on my first try. I was a little wobbly the first couple of tries, but after a couple of minutes, I rode it around the block with no problems. After that, I was able to turn off the speed limiter, and was able to ride it at full speed. I still had to flip thru all the pages of the tutorial though. It's been cold here, so I have only rode it for around 5 miles, but I have pretty good control of it, but I am not ready to ride it on a crowded sidewalk just yet, but I should be after a few more miles. The Segway S1 is a lot of fun to ride. I like it because you can take it anywhere. It only weighs 25 lbs, so I can put it in my car, take it anywhere, and ride it around. I can't do that with my regular 2 wheel Segway. It's too heavy. I have to put it in my truck to take it anywhere, and that is a pain in the butt. So come this summer, I plan to put a lot of miles on the S1. I am curious to know if anybody that rides an electric unicycle, has ever tried to learn how to ride a regular unicycle. I was wondering if it was easier to learn how to ride it faster, than somebody that has never been on any type of unicycle. Normally, it takes about 2 weeks for an average person to learn how to ride a regular unicycle, if you practice around 30 minutes a day. For those that are curious about mountain unicycling. Once you learn how to ride a unicycle around the block, you can start to MUNI. You just ride the easy parts, and walk the hard parts. You pick it up pretty fast. It looks hard as hell, but it's actually pretty easy, and it gets you in fantastic shape. If an old guy like me can do it, anybody can do it. Hey! I live in Austin too! I have a Segway too. I now ride Ninebot One E+. I tried regular unicycle several years ago (at age 45ish) and couldn't master it and gave to my lawn mower when we moved to a new house. At that time I was thinking "wouldn't it be cool if the unicycle balances itself...". Obviously someone listened to me and came up with EUC. Anyway, let me know if you want to get together in the holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panotaker Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 5 minutes ago, Planetpapi said: Hey! I live in Austin too! I have a Segway too. I now ride Ninebot One E+. I tried regular unicycle several years ago (at age 45ish) and couldn't master it and gave to my lawn mower when we moved to a new house. At that time I was thinking "wouldn't it be cool if the unicycle balances itself...". Obviously someone listened to me and came up with EUC. Anyway, let me know if you want to get together in the holidays. Look for me in the Ninebot App. I go by the same name there. The most people I have seen in Austin there is 5. Usually there is less than that. I don't know how accurate that app is though. I can probably hook up with you this weekend. Let me know if you want to learn how to ride a regular unicycle. I can teach you. As far as the age thing. I think they did that for a couple of reasons. A lot of people over 50 are out of shape, and we usually take a long time to heal when we get hurt. I don't know what the average age is, but I bet it's around 40. Young people are not going to flock to this sport for a couple of reasons. First they are hard to learn to ride, and they cost a lot of money. Maybe if they where cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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