Who's Most Likely to Buy/Use EUCs?

[sanman]

I'm curious - what kind of people are most likely to buy and use EUCs? Is there any typical profile here - anything that users have in common? Is there any demographic that has a greater affinity for this type of transportation? Are there any demographic markets which EUC vendors tend to go after?

The thought occurred to me that EUCs might be particularly attractive to RV owners. Think about it - when you're driving an RV, it's to go sightseeing, or camping, etc. When you park that big lumbering RV somewhere, like at a campground, it becomes your local campsite where you've "pitched tent", so to speak. You don't want to start up that big lumbering beast again just to go to the local Mom-n-Pop store, or to take a look around. Better to break out the EUC and use that.

Another group might be boaters - you sail somewhere, moor yourself at the marina or whatever, and then you bring out the EUC to give yourself some onshore mobility.

Another obvious group could be college/university students, or other young people who aren't necessarily in the position to be able to afford a car. College campuses themselves are quite spacious.

Who else might particularly see the benefit in owning/using EUCs?

[dpong]

50-something men.  A large demographic for these things. 

[dpong]

Just now, dpong said:

50-something men.  A large demographic for these things. 

Of course only those 50-something men who are a cut above...  Naturally. 

[electricpen]

People living in dense cities such as NYC could benefit from an EUC. Students could in theory but wheels currently are priced a bit high for most students to afford. Pilots are always looking for something to get them around once they land. They have pretty limited payload in terms of weight and space for a lot of small planes.

[electricpen]

Currently though if you look at the demographics of this forum it is mostly middle aged men with disposable income and excess confidence/bravery. And circus performers and acrobats apparently if you watch the video thread.

[sanman]

43 minutes ago, electricpen said:

People living in dense cities such as NYC could benefit from an EUC. Students could in theory but wheels currently are priced a bit high for most students to afford. Pilots are always looking for something to get them around once they land. They have pretty limited payload in terms of weight and space for a lot of small planes.

 

I think the price point would have to drop by a factor of 2 or 3, in order for students to be drawn into the market in a more significant way

Unfortunately, there's no leasing option, the way you can do it with cellphones. I remember, in my first couple of semesters at university I was living in a dorm, and I'd lease a mini-fridge for the semester from some fridge rental company. They'd come around to the dorms at the start of the semester to offer them up, and then show up at the end of the semester to pick them up again. That might be the way to do it.

The thing is that the technology and feature set keep improving fairly rapidly, and so there's a depreciation associated with whatever you buy. You've got to weigh that against a rental/leasing cost. I notice various people commenting here that they started out with one wheel, and then soon shifted to a better one, etc. Leasing should allow you to upgrade for free, or else do it for a small fee.

Many corporations lease PCs/laptops for employees, rather than buy them - again due to the continual obsolescence, depreciation, and life cycle management issues.

People don't lease bikes because they're more affordable and don't go obsolete so quickly. Do any EUC vendors offer trade-in deals?

 

[Keith]

7 hours ago, electricpen said:

Pilots are always looking for something to get them around once they land. They have pretty limited payload in terms of weight and space for a lot of small planes.

Absolutely, when I was flying full size, a 'plane's use was limited by the difficulty actually getting to your destination once you had landed at an airstrip that was almost invariably miles from anywhere. You tended to use it most where the airport WAS The destination (I.e. To fly into an airshow). In those days there was no Uber and even an expensive taxi could be hard to lay your hands on. Sandown in the holiday Isle of Wight was a favourite destination as the airport was only just off the beach and town. I would have loved having an EUC then, but might have possibly thought "Hmm buy an EUC or have the money for another 8 flying hours - tricky!"

7 hours ago, dpong said:

50-something men.  A large demographic for these things. 

I think you will find that this is the demographic that have the money to spend on what is, unfortunately at the moment, still seen as fun curiosity rather than a serious means of transport. I think parts of Asia are already beginning to see this as serious, cost effective, means of transport - they are helped by much lower costs in that region I believe?

@sanman there have been two polls on this that may answer your questions, see: 

 and also: 

Legal issues also restrict ownership by state or country as well - for example there appears to be 10 times as many EUC's in Paris as in London as Parisians appear to have no legal problems at all (not sure if it is actually legal or just a case of "who cares?") whereas The UK government made a big thing of banning Segways and then Hoverboards in public.

[WARPed1701D]

7 hours ago, electricpen said:

Currently though if you look at the demographics of this forum it is mostly middle aged men who had disposable income and excess confidence/bravery.

I fixed that for you. I think EUC ownership ensures the transition to past tense for this sentence.

[LanghamP]

Environmentalists, ecologists, conservationists, and other people who would want to own and use a zero-emissions vehicle.

Don't these make up virtually 100% of EUC owners?

[Catlord17]

In my case, it's...

Guy in 40's, has a good job, wants to save miles on his new car to slow down depreciation and make it outlast the payments.  And have fun, go where a car can't, and de-stress with it.  So I guess that puts me in the "middle aged guys" demographic, but I'm not sure I would say I represent "has disposable income" yet.  I'm not really so much a conservationist as a pragmatist.  And there's the fun/relaxation factor.

But I think one we are all missing is the people who are determined enough to learn the damned thing.  lol  I can tell that mastering mounting is going to take a while.

Most likely to buy it are those people who have a serious enough use/need for it.  And that's gonna be transport.

[ubertoad]

Big kids.

[ir_fuel]

5 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Environmentalists, ecologists, conservationists, and other people who would want to own and use a zero-emissions vehicle.

Don't these make up virtually 100% of EUC owners?

Hell no!

I drive dinosaur bone burning sports cars and I love driving on track.

I Wouldn't classify me as one of the above categories  

[radial]

I think I fit all the criteria.  North of 50 years-old, enough disposable income to support this latest hobby, close enough to work the wheel might actually get some practical use as another commuting option.  Oh, and I'm a sucker for challenges.   

[DaveThomasPilot]

Private aircraft owners.  Wheels take up much less space than a folding bicycle. 

When we had Dahon bicycles, they weren't fun to ride at all.  Nothing like a full sized bike.

Mid 60's for age.

[LanghamP]

Another question to ask is why aren't EUC's much more popular. They are directly comparable with bicycles price wise, require little energy to ride, and might be competitive with cars depending where you live (I don't think suburbs are safe enough for EUC's because the cars pass too close at too high speeds but that's also true with bicycles). And EUC's aren't that hard to learn to ride.

[Mono]

7 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

And EUC's aren't that hard to learn to ride.

That depends on the definition of hard. I am absolutely sure, EUCs would be much much much much much more popular if 90% of all adults had learned how to ride them as a child, as it is the case for bicycles. There is the answer to your question.

[electricpen]

24 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Another question to ask is why aren't EUC's much more popular. They are directly comparable with bicycles price wise, require little energy to ride, and might be competitive with cars depending where you live (I don't think suburbs are safe enough for EUC's because the cars pass too close at too high speeds but that's also true with bicycles). And EUC's aren't that hard to learn to ride.

A lot of this comes down to publicity/visibility. I didn't learn about EUC's without some focused research over a significant period of time about electric rideables. I was looking for commuter options in a dense city environment that would play nice with public transportation. EUC's didn't even come up after days of looking at electric skateboards, hoverboards, and scooters. Most people simply don't know they exist as should be apparent by the number of people who stop us and ask questions about it. EUCs simply have zero mass market exposure. Having Justin Beiber or some popular TV show have one even once would increase exposure dramatically.

[ir_fuel]

+1

I only discovered that they exist 2 weeks ago.

And we all learn to ride a bike as a child. It's part of growing up. Guess we'll have to prepare the next generation so once I get the hang of it I'll use my "beater" wheel to get the six year old on it (since she can ride a bike now ). She has all the rollerskate protection gear so she should be good to go.

 

Another issue is the legality. I think it is considered as a toy where I live and can't be used to ride on the road / bicycle lanes I presume. Only on the sidewalk and even there at moderate speed (if it is legal at all). That's not going to help.

 

And you have to admit this stuff is a lot more expensive than a bicycle. You can have a basic bicycle for $100. Not that you would want to ride it in the forest or race the Tour De France with it, as it for sure won't be super high quality, but how far would you get on a $100 euc? Now I do agree that a decent foldable bike that you would use on your daily commute is not cheaper at all.

[AllenF]

I fit a number of the descriptions mentioned earlier in this thread of the type of person who is (or would be) interested in EUCs.

I am in my mid fifties and am a partner and cofounder of a medical research and compliance company. I own a couple of midlife crisis toys already: sports car, yacht. No kids so my disposable income can't help but grow.   My wife and I travel abroad regularly; this year Nicaragua, last year Bora Bora and Tahiti, the year before Hawaii, etc... Next year we will be vacationing in Mauritius.

I am also pretty adventurous; not afraid to try new things.

As far as practicality is concerned, it was not a consideration for me at all. An EUC for me is completely impractical. There is absolutely no reason, other than fun, for me to own one. No one I know even knows what it is, nor have I ever seen anyone ride one my state, which is part of the attraction for me. I received my Inmotion V8 last Friday and can't wait until I am confident enough to take it out on the street, instead of simply tooling around in the grass in my backyard as I am doing now.

 

[Tech Nossomy]

 

On 01/08/2017 at 4:02 PM, LanghamP said:

Environmentalists, ecologists, conservationists, and other people who would want to own and use a zero-emissions vehicle.

Don't these make up virtually 100% of EUC owners?

Strange that you see it that way. I bought my wheel to solve a problem: how do I get from A to B at nearly zero cost where I dont have to park (bicycle / car) and I dont have to wait (metro / bus / uber)?

[Mono]

38 minutes ago, Tech Nossomy said:

Strange that you see it that way. I bought my wheel to solve a problem: how do I get from A to B at nearly zero cost where I dont have to park (bicycle / car) and I dont have to wait (metro / bus / uber)?

Same here, though I think an ecological footprint comparable to an airplane might have given me a second thought.

EDIT: OK, the zero cost thing is very much so exaggerated. My cost per km for my three EUCs stands currently at 27ct and 32ct and 100ct per km, and overall at 36ct/km (writing off the full purchase costs which is of course too pessimistic). Projected in 1 and 2 years from now it will become 20 and 15ct/km overall, or 11 and 7ct/km for the most used model.

[mrelwood]

On 8/1/2017 at 6:34 AM, sanman said:

RV owners....

boaters...

students...

young people...

aren't necessarily in the position to be able to afford a car...

Ha! I completely miss all above categories! I do have a green lifestyle, but for me the EUC is 100% for recreational use. If I was still able to ride a bike (rare disease restricts mobility) I think I'd be still quite far from buying an EUC. But as it is, it is a perfect vehicle to take me outside and a gadget for me to be enthusiastic about.

I do realize that I'm in a miniscule minority as EUC riders go.

[cloudust]

On 8/2/2017 at 0:49 AM, ir_fuel said:

Another issue is the legality. I think it is considered as a toy where I live and can't be used to ride on the road / bicycle lanes I presume. Only on the sidewalk and even there at moderate speed (if it is legal at all). That's not going to help.

I think as long as you have insured your EUC, you can ride it legally in Belgium. But one of the condition is the max speed 20km/h if I remember it correctly.

https://www.autogids.be/autonieuws/juridisch/segway-hoverboard-wegcode.html

 

[Dingfelder]

On 8/1/2017 at 2:48 PM, LanghamP said:

Another question to ask is why aren't EUC's much more popular. They are directly comparable with bicycles price wise, require little energy to ride, and might be competitive with cars depending where you live (I don't think suburbs are safe enough for EUC's because the cars pass too close at too high speeds but that's also true with bicycles). And EUC's aren't that hard to learn to ride.

I think they're vastly harder than bikes.  And growing up, a unicycle was, to me, the very definition of a hard thing to ride.  I think lots of people are up for small challenges, but lots of people aren't necessarily up for big challenges.  Especially ones that could entail hitting the ground a lot. 

All the less for that demographic most likely able to afford a nice wheel and perhaps even have the leisure time to use one -- men taking a step away from their youth and a little closer to fragility.

[Dingfelder]

On 8/1/2017 at 6:30 PM, AllenF said:

I fit a number of the descriptions mentioned earlier in this thread of the type of person who is (or would be) interested in EUCs.

I am in my mid fifties and am a partner and cofounder of a medical research and compliance company. I own a couple of midlife crisis toys already: sports car, yacht. No kids so my disposable income can't help but grow.   My wife and I travel abroad regularly; this year Nicaragua, last year Bora Bora and Tahiti, the year before Hawaii, etc... Next year we will be vacationing in Mauritius.

I am also pretty adventurous; not afraid to try new things.

As far as practicality is concerned, it was not a consideration for me at all. An EUC for me is completely impractical. There is absolutely no reason, other than fun, for me to own one. No one I know even knows what it is, nor have I ever seen anyone ride one my state, which is part of the attraction for me. I received my Inmotion V8 last Friday and can't wait until I am confident enough to take it out on the street, instead of simply tooling around in the grass in my backyard as I am doing now.

 

Except for the money part, where we're just about exact opposites, almost everything else you said matches up with me perfectly.  When I see people insist that EUC's are not a toy, I tend toward the "Oh hell yes they are, even if they are or can be something else besides."  The one thing I did not buy an EUC for was practicality.  Risking injury in my 50's, especially, is not at all practical.  Exactly the opposite.