How would you change the Segway?

Believe it or not, it's been almost six years since Dean Kamen's highly-anticipated, mysterious "IT" project was revealed to be the Segway personal transporter, yet far from fundamentally revolutionizing the way we get from here to there as the pre-release hype would have had us believe, you'd be hard-pressed to spot one of these pricey gadgets anywhere outside of a few golf courses or in a certain Apple founder's garage. It's not that the idea of a personal battery-powered vehicle isn't sound, you say, it's just that the thing costs too damn much (over five grand last time we checked) -- but we can't believe that's the sole impediment to adoption. Would a significant price drop really be the only thing it took to turn a nation of car-addicted commuters into one of happy, self-stabilizing Segway riders? Or are there other core issues -- size, speed, and safety, perhaps -- that need to be addressed before the appeal of powered personal transportation reaches critical mass? As always, we love to hear your constructive suggestions and criticisms here, so please have at it...

[Bogdan @ Sep 7th 2007 9:21PM]

Add horn and GPS?

[BeforeISleep.net @ Sep 7th 2007 11:54PM]

All this Segway hate..... *sigh* I've put about 350 miles on mine so far this summer, and I can honestly say that it is a wonderful solution for city living. There are millions of us, so you'd think there would be a market. The problem is the misperceptions people have. To clear some of the misconceptions:

A) The Segway is not as expensive as people think. Yes of course five grand is a fair bit of money, but think of hoe much money people spend on public transportation in the big city over a few years. No, it's not as affordable as a bike or a cheap electric scooter, but I pay about $112 a month in financing charges for mine. I save at least that much by no longer having to take the bus / subway / cabs / use my car all the time and pay for gas and parking.

B) It saves so much time. I always get places faster than I would get there using my car or public transportation.

C) It goes in and out of buildings with ease, and has a stair-assist mode. It is about as wide as a person's shoulders. It fits through doorways easily and most elevators have no problem with it. I lock mine up outside buildings all the time. It has an alarm mode, won't start without the key, and is too heavy for a thief to quickly carry away.

D) It's completely sealed and waterproof. They test them by running them through a foot and a half of water. I love leaving it out in the rain because it cleans off the dirt. :-)

E) The Segway is a BLAST to ride. 12.5 mph is pretty damn fast on the sidewalk, and it is so responsive that it feels connected to your body. I rode mine about 10 miles through downtown DC today in 90 degree heat, up and down hills, but didn't break a sweat because I had a great breeze the whole time. And it's very stable if you learn how to ride it properly (i.e. don't do stupid things like take turns too fast).

F) The embarrassment factor reduces itself after a few goes. Yes, if you *think* you look like a dork, you will feel self-conscious. But riding it is so much fun, you really don't care what people think. I will admit that all eyes are always on me, but in reality most people are just intrigued, and plenty of people think it looks very cool. I'll promise you this: no matter how dorky it might look to some people, EVERYONE wants to take a ride.

There is interest in the machine. People kept stopping me to ask where I got it, and yes they asked how much it cost but they didn't balk at the price as much as you might think. The problem is that the marketing sucked and there was WAY too much hype and it soured everyone on the machine even though it is incredibly innovative, fun, and useful.

Plenty more Segway thoughts, pictures and video at my personal Segway blog, http://www.beforeisleep.net/labels/segway.html :-)

Matt

[Get_a_horse @ Sep 8th 2007 1:53AM]

The cost of owning a Segway isn't just the $5,000 you need to buy one. It is also the $1,650 you need to spend every 2-3 years to replace the batteries when they die. While the cost of charging the batteries may be negligible, the cost of replacing them sure isn't.

[McKay @ Sep 8th 2007 3:01AM]

Way to make it better? Add an electric motor to a bicycle. I don't need any super expensive balance technology when I have a leg I could stick out. And maybe you could charge the battery when you're going downhill or peddle, if you don't mind your legs getting SOME exercise.

[macbrain @ Sep 8th 2007 9:11AM]

I second what Matt was saying about his ownership experience. I have put 1100+ miles on my segway since I bought it back on April 23. Its my opinion that, until you get ahold of one and use it for a day or two and see how it can be integrated into your own life, then you have no right to bash or hate it. It's amazing how the online tech-savvy community, while being so intelligent and so forward on other technologies... Its amazing to see how backwards, ignorant, and intolerant of this technology people are. The vast, and I mean VAST majority of people I know and have interacted with in the past 4 months (and it has been hundreds) love the Segway and think its the coolest thing ever.

[Antony @ Sep 8th 2007 9:19AM]

My bateries are 5 years old and have carried me 32500miles. READ the manual and look after them. Yes the original distance has reduced and is not too keen on very high (100+) or very low temps like the newer ones but they still work. If you really have to use the full 25 miles (or close) often then get another form of transport as the Segway was developed for short trips.

[AnneH @ Sep 8th 2007 2:36PM]

Improve Segway? Make it fly.

AH

[Andrew @ Sep 9th 2007 1:19AM]

I would make the burlington vermont police stop calling it "bleeding edge" technology on the news when they get interviewed on this "new" technology. I hate Vermont...

[js @ Sep 7th 2007 9:21PM]

Make it freaking affordable.

[Lars Groeger @ Sep 7th 2007 9:27PM]

hmmmm......segway bribed you in the end.....
Well first of all....never let the President of the United States struggle with one of this things...... this picture is burned into the minds of Millions of people and its gonna take Millions of Dollars to reinstall the segway as a safe vehicle.......so thats why: REBRAND / REDESIGN

[Jeremy K. @ Sep 7th 2007 9:32PM]

What the heck are you talking about Lars?

[Jason @ Sep 7th 2007 10:11PM]

Bush fell off the Segway. Interestingly, the guy that took the picture of it and laughed at Bush went off to not only fall off one, but broke ribs too, all on video.

[Matt @ Sep 8th 2007 12:02AM]

Bush fell off the Segway because HE DIDN'T TURN IT ON first. Yes, I'm serious.

[Viking @ Sep 8th 2007 3:36AM]

Well If BUSH fell of the Segway - that’s is perfect marketing outside the US!

Otherwise, it is way to geeky, to slow and to expensive.

Why not buy a bike with an electrical engine?

[Martijn @ Sep 9th 2007 3:14AM]

Maddox said it first:

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=segway_more_complicated_than_it_needs_to_be

[debobis @ Sep 7th 2007 9:24PM]

price and portability

i like bicycles not just for exercise but for getting around short distances and touring around new places. if i can *afford* a segway and it's relatively portable i'd get one.

[Reid Sorenson @ Sep 7th 2007 9:33PM]

You raise a good point. I've always been puzzled by the Segway because I don't really see the benefit over a bicycle. It's got about the same speed and range as most bike riders, and allows you to carry just as little along with you, yet it costs $5,000 and doesn't give you any exercise.

[debobis @ Sep 7th 2007 9:49PM]

yeah, exercise isn't in the equation with the segway. it's designed to transport you from A to B relatively safely and conveniently. it's perfect for times when u dont want to sweat(like tourism or going to work in a suit) or you need to conserve energy(like police patrolling).

i live in tokyo and i always thought that a good portion of the millions of bicyle riders here would trade in their bikes for a segway if it was easy to park(small/portable) and affordable.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Sep 7th 2007 10:15PM]

@Reid Sorenson

Riding a bike will keep you in shape during the commute while riding a Segway allows you to eat a Big Mac as you commute. Bike wins, hands down.

[The ZeroCorpse @ Sep 7th 2007 10:40PM]

My electric bike gets me to work every day. I don't sweat unless I want to (pedal or don't. It's my choice.) and the electric bike cost me less than 1/5 the price of the Segway.

The only think making the Segway useless to consumers is the price. For $5000 I can get a pretty nice used car, or a really, really nice moped, or an high-end electric bike PLUS an expensive hooker.

I'm just sayin'...

Lower the price. WAY lower. There's NOTHING about the Segway that warrants that price tag. If you want it to be a toy for rich people, keep it in the thousands. If you want to revolutionize the way common people get around, sell it for under $800 and make it available in the mall.

[Geminitojanus @ Sep 9th 2007 2:34AM]

"There's NOTHING about the Segway that warrants that price tag."

Err, there's nothing about the margin costs of the Segway that keeps the cost high, but they sunk a good chunk of change on R&D, that's money they're not going to be seeing for quite a while. It's still economical for them to stay in business and make just a few hundred at a time; it'd be nice if they could drop the cost to make a few thousand at a time, but it's gotta be hard after considering how much they invested. (It'd be especially bad if it turns out Kamen can't sell the increased inventory too, who the hell are you going to liquidate them to?)

[wako @ Sep 7th 2007 9:26PM]

The thing is pretty cool and I still think it is. If it was more more affordable Im sure it would've been a hit from the get go. They really overestimated the market on how much a consumer would spend for such a device. Sure having a Segway would be nice but for two grand or five grand or however much they are trying to get for one, the two legs that god has given us all will do for now.

[windham @ Sep 7th 2007 9:26PM]

Make it a grand and i got a check right here.

[john @ Sep 8th 2007 3:05AM]

I couldn't agree more. The only reason IS the PRICE. It's much too expensive. Hell, for a little over five grand I bought a used BMW motorcycle. Five thousand dollars is too much.

[macona @ Sep 10th 2007 11:23AM]

I DID buy a 99' BMW R1100R for the price of one of these two years ago. And it can do one thing the segway will never do... Carry a chick on the back!

[Marty @ Sep 7th 2007 9:26PM]

As long as GOB Bluth drives it, not a darn thing.

[David Clark @ Sep 7th 2007 9:56PM]

"It's an idiot on a scooter, it's gotta be Gob."

[Salamio @ Sep 7th 2007 9:26PM]

seat and price

[Ken Li @ Sep 7th 2007 9:27PM]

Smaller, foldable, and under 20 pounds.

[Mmm Vapor @ Sep 7th 2007 9:28PM]

Cost too much and the smugness that goes along with ownership has to come way down. More capabilities go up stairs off road and not just on a crushed limestone bike path. Also an infrastructure has to be created for recharging these things and storing them. But in the end it will come down to cost and i would rather take a stab at building one for almost one fifth the expense like the recent Students at MIT did. Thats just me though....

[o rly @ Sep 7th 2007 9:28PM]

I'd throw some D's on that bitch.

[Nick @ Sep 7th 2007 9:28PM]

It's not that much faster than walking, right? And walking is good exercise, why give that up. And what people do with them when they get to where they're going? Can you park it outside? If not, it's friggin enormous--where are you going to put it? I would get one of those tiny scooters first.

[Mitch R. @ Sep 7th 2007 9:47PM]

Actually it goes up to 12.5mph

[chris @ Sep 7th 2007 9:30PM]

I would make it fly.

[Jonathan Keim @ Sep 7th 2007 9:31PM]

A smaller design, and yes, more affordable

[Rich Henry @ Sep 7th 2007 9:31PM]

Really? You have to ask? Alright here it goes,
1) Freeway legal
2) Thumpin' stereo with crazy wicked bass
3) Hands free cell phone abilites
4) Rims dawg
5) Hydraulics (I know I know, that's a given.)
6) Airhorn for all those damn Lark riders
7) Air foil for cornering, like the old Porsche's had.
8) Loud, fake exhaust can
9) Super fresh graphics
10) Mega phone to talk to the honeys!
Any questions?
8)

[Papa G @ Sep 7th 2007 11:20PM]

Yep, this is the best one. Just make it cheap, and I would be able to buy one now instead of 3 years from now.

[BoneJob @ Sep 8th 2007 4:09AM]

Oh snap!

[RB @ Sep 7th 2007 9:33PM]

Make it affordable, hell yes! Take their concept 4-wheeler (the centur) and make it street legal and affordable. At $5000 most people would easily say: Why pay so much for less performance? I can buy a car. It's not going to be easy to convert people to a "green" way of thinking or electric vehicles of any kind when the sticker shock prevents people from considering the option.

[Mitch R. @ Sep 7th 2007 9:35PM]

Make it lightweight and "Fold" into something the size of a backpack or suitcase.

[Carlo @ Sep 7th 2007 9:36PM]

add 2 wheels

[Antony @ Sep 8th 2007 9:20AM]

The motor costs 1100$ (and there is 2) as they are the highest output motor in the world for there size in mass production. Noise cancelling in the advanced gearboxs and 4 computers......how is it possible to build it for less? Even the batteries are military grade for safety and the safest Li-ion batteries in production.

[Miguel Mendoza @ Sep 8th 2007 6:54PM]

subtract 2 wheels.

[Paul Barwick @ Sep 7th 2007 9:37PM]

Price. If the price were in the hundreds instead of the thousands, than it's likely you would see them all over.

[Michael Kohne @ Sep 7th 2007 9:37PM]

I'm pretty clear that the price is the biggest problem it's got right now. Heck, if I want a low-speed electric vehicle, I can put batteries and a motor on my bicycle for a hell of a lot less than a Segway would cost me.

I'm not sure, but I bet the other problem is that the initial hype monster they had going turned around and bit them, but good. There was nothing short of teleportation that could have lived up to the hype they had going prior to release. I suspect it still leaves a bad taste in people's mouths.

But frankly, 5K is WAY too damn much. If you aren't rich, how can you possibly afford to buy one of these things?

[Brian R @ Sep 8th 2007 2:39AM]

THERE in lies the flawed logic for 98% of the public. THIS IS NOT A VEHICLE.
At the very beginning it was made law to be allowed on sidewalks and path systems so as not to create a hazard on roads with vehicles.
Also, who the heck walks where they could drive? I know of only a handful of people who walk 10 miles round trip to work every day in 90degree weather.
It's designed to replace DRIVING, not WALKING. Aside from the "exercise loss", I'm not going to take an hour to get somewhere so I can arrive sweaty (and I'm sure there;s people that DON'T sweat magically-heard that a million times) and exhausted in my pricey business suit ready to do business with clients that can't stand my odor. I'd (logically) drive or *gasp* take a PT (Segway)!
This is like saying you're lazy for driving a "horseless carriage" because you don't want to take care of a horse!

[will @ Sep 8th 2007 12:31PM]

i didn't understand any of that brian R...

who's side are you on? what are you saying?

[ANDY @ Sep 9th 2007 4:07AM]

well there is a way to reduce price, ADD A THIRD WHEEL. and if someone was smart nough to add suspension to the 3rd wheel, then u could emulate a segway's controls. then all those redundant chips and hardware would be removed resulting in a cheaper price.

[karts41 @ Sep 7th 2007 9:42PM]

give it an extra two wheels, three more seats, a roof and doors, a V8 engine and iPod (new gen of coarse) compatibility.

[kauff @ Sep 7th 2007 9:42PM]

It's a solution looking for a problem, I can't think of no scenario where the segway is more convenient, than a bike, a motorbike or a car.

As Michael Dell would put it, sell whatever's left of the company and give investors their money back.