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Segway Buyers Are Going Nuts! (1 Viewer)

Francois Caron

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François Caron
Can these be modified as golf carts?
Oh, crap! You just found the Segway's target clientele! Install a beefier motor, add a golf bag attachment, mount some grass-rated tires on the thing... Just perfect! And since many golf players usually have tons of money to burn on their hobby, they'll just pick one up at the overpriced pro shop and ride off into the sunrise! :D
 
E

Eric Kahn

golf carts are cheaper than the segway and have more range and also probably have better hill climbing ability
 

Dewitte

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Apr 25, 2002
Messages
173
I guess my big problem with the whole thing is that the owners of such devices will use them to intimidate pedestrians. Sort of like when an SUV tailgates a sedan because it's not going "fast enough." I fear the Segway will just give status bullies another excuse to bypass common courtesy.

De
 

Ron-P

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Was at Disneyland the other week and an employee was demoing one. There are 3 or 4 keys that come along with it for different speeds. The red key will provide the top speed of 12.5 mph. I was not impressed. An oversized quiet scooter. For a couple hundered bucks I'd buy one, they are not worth more than that. A worthless invention.


Peace Out~:D
 

Ryan Wright

Screenwriter
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Jul 30, 2000
Messages
1,875
1) A Segway is too fast for sidewalks in busy areas.
Err, a Segway's speed is controllable. You can go as slow as you like. Furthermore this whole "SUVs for sidewalks" thing is silly. Everyone needs to ride a Segway before making blanket claims that they're bad, evil devices intended to harass and maim pedestrians. I have yet to ride on one, but from what I understand, it is difficult if not impossible to run someone down with this thing. Sorry, but Segways aren't going to be attacking pedestrians. They work fine in crowds and are no more dangerous than another pedestrian. People can run a lot faster than 12mph, so you can't claim the Segway's speed is a safety issue. If it were, then we should outlaw running on sidewalks, too...
 

Joe Szott

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Alright, let's not go attacking folks HT setups here for cost/benefits. If anything must be sacred in these forums, it is that! I think the WAF is bad enough, let's not add FAF (Forum Approval Factor).

Let's remember that the Segway is a brand new product, there is no way to know how it will all shake out just yet. Sure, it costs $5,000 but that is the first generation. I would bet that in 3-4 years one of those might run $1000 or less. Anyone remember when an IBM XT cost $3000? Look at computers now, the prices on Segway will come down as well. At $1000, even I would consider owning one rather than purchase a new $20,000 car to get to work.

People keep talking about it replacing walking, but it also replaces just as much driving. Don't know about you, but driving a car all day is maybe 10% more effort than watching TV for me. Stading up, walking, riding a bike, or Segway all require you to use your abs for balance -- gently, but they are still used.

Plus, Segway is faster than walking but more manuverable than a bike. For city folk, you might want to get across town faster than walking all the way there, but riding a bike on the sidewalk is just way too clunky. Add to this that riding in the street is very dangerous and you start to see the use of a people mover device. You also have the added benefit of being able to take it in hand right onto mass transit, ever try getting a bike into an El or a subway?

So it has it's uses. Will it change the world or make lions lie down with lambs? Probably not, but is it worth a shot to those willing to pay for it? You bet, just like everything else in our culture. Something is only wasted if no one wants it ;)
 

JoshF

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 21, 2000
Messages
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For city folk, you might want to get across town faster than walking all the way there, but riding a bike on the sidewalk is just way too clunky.
Hee hee. Sorry, I can't help laughing at the naivete here. There is no way in hell I would ride a Segway down a NYC sidewalk (or street, for that matter). It's tough enough to navigate through the pedestrians, tourists, cars, taxis, buses, loiterers on foot as it is. I get my shoulder bumped and my feet stepped on almost daily. I can't imagine the chaos that would ensue should thousands of Manhattanites get Segways. Talk about a nightmare.
 

Ryan Wright

Screenwriter
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Messages
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Alright, let's not go attacking folks HT setups here for cost/benefits.
Not attacking, just showing that it goes two ways here. You can't engage in an expensive hobby and then slam others for doing the same. There are an awful lot of people in this thread talking about the "fat rich lazy snobs" on their Segways who forget that normal society considers Home Theater a hobby for - you guessed it - "fat rich lazy snobs".

It's like people on a BMW message board ripping the "rich Porsche owners" for "wasting money on stupid expensive toys." It just doesn't make sense.
 

Michael St. Clair

Senior HTF Member
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I've got no beef with people spending money on things like this, and I've never been critical.

On the other hand, I've never asked for society's laws and infrastructure to be changed to give special consideration to me because of home theater, vehicles, or other toys that I own. If Segway owners want special consideration, they are opening themselves up to serious public scrutiny!
 

Seth_S

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 12, 2001
Messages
335


The foot traffic is so dense in the mornings and afternoons in every major city that Segway owners would end up going no faster than people on foot - maybe even slower because of its size (you wouldn't be able to cut in between people in front of you who are walking slower than you).

On Bikes in Cities:
Riding bikes in city streets is actually pretty safe. Most drivers are so terrified of hitting a biker that they're pretty cautious around them. You should never ride a bike on the sidewalks - too many people (it's actually illegal in many cities).

On bringing the Segway into the L or or Subway:
Never going to happen. Again, during the mornings and afternoons in major cities, mass transit is so packed that you have to fight for standing room.
 

Allen_Appel

Second Unit
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Dec 13, 2002
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It isn't that Segway owners (and potential owners) are asking for special lanes or rights of way, but it's silly that Segways are being banned before anyone has really ridden one, and certainly before anyone has been injured by one. Someone on a bike or inline skates goes far faster and has less control than a Segwayer. I don't know how things are in Philadelphia, but in DC and the surrounding suburbs, drivers are not only not afraid of hitting bicyclists, but either don't see them at all or think it a fun sport to nearly hit them. I've been almost clipped so many times that I've developed a real phobia about riding and have given it up. Bikes are allowed on the DC subway and take up far more room, but I think the Segway will be replacing the subway ride for most users. Although I doubt the fat, lazy, rich early-adopters of the Segway are doing much subway riding at all.
 

Dan Lindley

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Sep 19, 2000
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I'd like to see a bit more live and let live around here. How do we know how fat or lazy Segway owners are or what the effects of the thing will be at this stage? Maybe some early adopters are skinny bearded idealist poets spending a hard earned sum that is very important to them? Geez, who knows?

The thing will play out. We'll find out if they are safe, etc in due time. The critics (w/o harsh adjectives by or toward them) may be right, but let's step back and admit most of our conjectures are speculative.

If a free society can't allow a few folks to experiment with the Segway, that is sad (with of course quick and due concern for public safety issues).

dl
 

Chris Knox

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Aug 10, 1999
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154
I wonder at the end of the day, who really gives a sh*t?

I mean Geez, spend your money on your home theater, or your car or your velvet Elvis paintings and quit bitching about someone with a little money to burn that wants to try out something new. Ask yourself, "Does this Segway issue matter to me 10 minutes after I post it?"

Many of us have more money tied up in home theater SOFTWARE than the cost of a segway. I cannot imagine why someone goofing around on one should matter a rat's ass to you. Would you rather be struck by a car or a segway?

Why do you really care? Really?

Someone from the segway forum could just as well make the trek over here and then go back and tell his friends in the segway forum, "Jesus guys, these weirdos are buying Legends of The Fall for the third time because a couple of new additions to the video and audio! Man you wouldn't believe it, someone was just talking about getting a pair of 150.00 video cables and saying he can actually sorta see the difference from his 100.00 pair! One guy over there has divided his living room in something called 11th axial resonances and divided it up length, width, and height and is running thread everywhere in the room to mark the lines so he knows where to put the speakers in relation to the spot where the listener's head should be! And then there is this total loser who is buying 1500.00 worth of 'acoustic foam' that looks miraculously like packing cushion so he can cover his walls and 'acoustically dampen' his theater! But it doesn't stop there! There is another tri-lam who is taking 10" woofers and ripping out the cones and epoxy-ing the voice coils to steel braces that is attached to the baskets and running an in line amp from his decoder that is filtered and then bolting them all to his couch and floor joists so he can feel it when the dino's stomp the ground in his movie!! Are these guys the biggest losers on the planet, or what?!?!?"

I wonder...

Chris
 

Mike__D

Supporting Actor
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Most drivers are so terrified of hitting a biker that they're pretty cautious around them.
Says who?! I lived in Philly for 5 years and most motorists ignored me on my bike, and rollerblades for that matter. Hell, one lady hit me in front of the art museum when I was in-line skating. I became a much better bike rider and in-line skater because I needed to avoid so many vehicles cutting me off or not seeing me.

I can't believe the criticism the Segway is getting from people that probably never tried one. I checked out that Segaway forum, and found a video of a local news channel interviewing one of the owners. He got rid of his car and uses it to commute to work. He saves over $600 a month now.
The "use a bike" argument is weak. Maybe people don't want to exercise before & after work, showing up sweaty and smelly? If people really want exercise, they'll do it some way or another.

And I agree with the poster who pointed out about people spending money on HT equipment, yet think $5000 on Segway is a waste. Seriously, who are we in this forum to criticize people for being lazy when our toughest activity is pushing a button a remote? :b

History has shown people have a problem accepting new things. I guess this thread just goes to show history always repeats itself. My question is, will we ever learn from history?

Mike D.
 

Matt Gordon

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 21, 2001
Messages
534
I'd rather get hit by a R1 DVD release of "Ed Wood" with lots of cool extras than a Segway. :)

But that's just me. To each his own.
 

MickeS

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Jul 24, 2000
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EXACTLY! I can't believe the jealousy, smallmindedness and outright hostility shown here just because some people want to have a cool, comfortable thing to ride around on.

Let people do what they want with their money, as long as it's not hurting anyone else. OK, of there'll be problems with "sidewalk bullying" we'll deal with it. OK? Geez.

I would love a Segway myself, but I refuse to pay more than $1K for it, if that. I want to ride the bus to work, but that would for me mean a 30 minute walk, take the bus, change buses, and then another 10 min walk. The alternative would be a 60 min bike ride that leaves me drenched in sweat. Now, taking a Segway to the busstop (10 mins), take the bus, then another Segway ride (15 mins) sounds a hell of a lot more inviting to me. You people can argue all you want that it wouldn't fit YOUR lifestyle, but it would fit mine like a glove.

They won't let me take a scooter on the bus, and I don't know if they'd let me take a Segway either, so the above scenario might never work. But they need to do SOMETHING to make us less reliant on cars, and a Segway is a small step in the right direction.
 

Zane Charron

Second Unit
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Jul 19, 2000
Messages
458
Well, here's my take on the Segway as a city planning/transportation buff.

Any claims that the Segway will change how cities are planned is rubbish. There are much larger works at force here (economics, transportation and politics) for an expensive (for the forseeable future) "scooter" to cause any signifigant differences in how planners, policitians and citizens layout their cities/suburbs.

If Segways are to be allowed anywhere, it should be on multi-use recreational paths, not sidewalks. Bicycles are not allowed on sidewalks for a reason (speed difference), and Segways should not be either for the same reason. Can I drive a moped on the sidewalk if I go slow?

I don't see the Segway really replacing any form of transportation. It may fill a very small percentage of the populations transportation demand, but certainly less than 1%. Maybe someone who lives within 3 miles of their job AND has a good path to use AND lives in a relatively mild climate AND has somewhere safe to lock it up/store it could make use of them for commuting. The fact is that most US cities/suburbs don't have the infrastructure to handle them, i.e. frequent recreational paths. And since the numbers are so small, they won't be influencing politicians any more than bicycle advocate groups do now (not to say that they are ignored, but usually brushed aside except in a few places in the country).

Here in Europe the Segway might have more impact. But not much. Not with such small sales numbers. And even then they would be treated essentially the same as bicycles , which operate at about the same speed. Contrary to popular belief, most bicyclists aren't Greg Lemond, and travel a comfortable 8-10 mph.
 

JayV

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 30, 2002
Messages
612
Full disclosure: I saw one demoed, thought it was neat to see such technology in operation, and would have loved a ride. I have no intention to get one, particularly because I now live in the suburbs, I want to see if its reliability plays out, I don't believe claims of magic energy sources (although electric vehicles can help reduce smog), and I'm convinced that I would look silly riding around on one.

That said, the only thing more amusing than Segway enthusiasts in this debate are the passionate Segway detractors.

The fact is that most US cities/suburbs don't have the infrastructure to handle them, i.e. frequent recreational paths.
This isn't a fact. It's an assertion based upon your belief that Segways should be banned from sidewalks due to their speed.

My point isn't to pick nits here, but to question the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doom) the anti-Segway crowd is gleefully spreading around. Yes, we should treat any new technology or idea with skepticism. But that should be informed skepticism.

What I'm seeing is two camps: 1) We hate the Segway because it goes too fast (would everyone be happy if it topped out at 8 MPH? If so, do you think it's unlikely the top-end will be slowed down on consumer models if speed becomes a concern?) and 2) We hate the Segway because either we or the users are elitists.

It's true that the hyperbole of Segway enthusiasts is premature at the least and silly in the extreme. But I hardly see how this is different from anything else. An evening's worth of TV will inform you that Verizon cellular service will make your family closer, DaimlerChrysler will save your soul and Coca Cola will help racial harmony.

-j
 

MarcVH

Second Unit
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Dec 26, 2001
Messages
324


(Aside, there are many places where bicycles are allowed on sidewalks. It's generally not advisible from a safety perspective, though, either for the pedestrians or the bicyclist.)

Yup; the radical differences in manuverability are among the reasons why bicycle traffic and pedestrian traffic don't mix very well. Peds can stop instantly, change direction instantly, sidestep, and other various manuvers that are generally not possible with a bicycle (or any other vehicle.)

The question left is whether the Segway mixes better with vehicles like bicycles and cars, which need a right-of-way and take space to stop and turn, or mixes better with pedestians, who do not. This seems like something which needs to be determined from experience.
 

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