Focus Design's SBU self-balancing unicycle: because you didn't look dumb enough on a Segway
By Paul Miller 
posted Oct 18th 2008 11:21PM
posted Oct 18th 2008 11:21PM
[Via Hack a Day]
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Not good. I can see it now. Some electronic part fails and you fall flat on your face. At least with the Segway you can step off...
Well, he's wearing a helmet indoors, so +1 for that.
Already invented. I just slap a couple of training wheels on mine and off I go!
This product is useless, as you have to allways be on a surface that does not have any irregularities, if you should hit a pot hole it is all over, there is no way with such a small diameter wheel that this can compensate.
@Jay
"Some electronic part fails and you fall flat on your face."
I'm pretty sure the battery dying would come long before some other mechanical or electrical failure. Combine that with the fact that you can't actually pedal/balance the thing yourself and you have a recipe for hilarity.
I can't tell from the picture or the video, but do those pedals actually pedal?
If so, WHY?
No, their FAQ says there's no pedaling. Kind of a shame. If you could pedal it and the gyro kept you upright it would be pretty cool. That would probably make it a bit lighter too.
You can't tell? The pedals are right on the axis. They are just there to put your feet on.
I can't pedal? That's so confusing.....
I kid, but someone is going to try out a floor model and will be struggling to pump their legs.
I want one.
Nick Alfeo is a rankmaniac
i just want to know how to control speed wit no pedals
Why is it that Segway riders are considered lazy when motorcycle riders are not I wonder?
Segways replace short car trips and are great for the environment.
Why does Engadget continually diss them?
I wish most people wold get out of their car / motorcycle and use a Segway. That would benefit everybody, no?
Um...probably because Segways and the like are perceived to replace walking. Motorcycles are not.
Actually, your suggestion would lead to the extinction of humanity, as no one would ever get laid again.
No.
Motorcycles are used in place of cars, while Segways are used in place of legs.
Some people NEED to have their legs replaced. I used to think this kind of thing was lazy until my husband's pelvis was crushed in an accident. A Segway or something like this would be a much better choice than a wheelchair for lots of people who are unable to get around completely on their own. (And don't worry, he can walk now.)
I'll use an example, in a local mall, the security guards use segways. If they could use motorcycles in place of segways or walking/running a a crowded mall, why the hell wouldn't they?
I use my motorcycle daily to commute 35 miles to work. A Segway is not going to be able to do the same thus I am not lazy for owning/riding a motorcycle. A Segway on the other hand is not going to take me anywhere my two legs can't with the exception of getting there slightly faster thus the inference of laziness.
These things remind anyone of that old school super nes game where you race these things on crazy winding tracks....
Uniracers :D
@ Drew
Good to know.
And god forbid anyone get any physical exercise to get around somewhere.
@ Reader
Couldn't because of the angle of the picture. If you set bike pedals in the right way and took a picture like that, it'd look like they were on an axis, too.
It's actually a pretty good workout. For your core, from balancing.
And where is the part in the video where he actually turns?
If the Segway is the motive equivalent of the fanny pack, this is a pair of horn-rimmed glasses with tape on the bridge.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Pogo sticks are for transportation?! I thought they were for bouncing around uncontrollably for seconds at a time before falling flat on your face, teetering sideways into your neighbor's hedge, or slamming your butt into the sidewalk, all while desperately trying to look as if this is fun for you.
Just wait until we have the problem, like with the segways, where they flip over. Talk about a disaster.
Uh, what's wrong with a pedal-powered bicycle?
They're big, heavy and require you to pedal. I just throw the SBU in my trunk or carry it up the stairs anytime I want; and I'm not all sweaty with I get there. Plus it's just a really weird experience to be cruising along with nothing in front of you, with your hands free.
God forbid you get sweaty!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=folding+bicycle&btnG=Search
Looks like bullcrap to me.
To balance or turn a unicycle, you need to use your legs to turn the seat, which turns the wheel. When you stop, you have to do significant back and forth pedaling and seat turning.
This shows none of this. All it does show is him moving his hands to keep it balanced, which is the opposite of a "self-balancing" unicycle.
I think that's a natural reaction to being on one of these things while it's moving. He isn't pedaling, so the thing propels itself, and the movements he does make are small which further indicates that it is in fact self-balanced.
Wait.. "Focus hopes to do a limited run of ten SBUs next month, at $1,500 a month." a MONTH? That's a typo right?
As a unicycler myself, you don't need to use your legs to turn the seat. When riding forward all you need to do is tilt the wheel and you'll follow an arc just like a bike, or you can force a uni to turn by supplying the torque with your arms. I agree that idling will be difficult when you can't quickly roll back and forward and adjust for falling sideways, though.
Nicely said, and true. I'm the guy in the video. I can direct the SBU wherever I choose, but idling doesn't work very well. I just put my feet down when I stop and the unicycle stays between my legs. Put my feet back on the rests, lean forward and I'm off again.
-Daniel
Fit it with a lounge chair and I'll think about it.
Kind of reminds me of something out of the comic strip "BC"....
I think it would sell better with some sort of handlebar to hold onto and to turn.
A bit more intuitive control.
Sure it wouldn't be as unusual, but more popular.
lol I'm at UCLA, and there's this guy who rides around to class on campus on his Segway. Every time he's on it going through campus he seems to be on his cellphone. Every time. Except for the past couple weeks I've noticed that he doesn't move his lips ever while taking a call. Ever.
I'm jealous I don't have a Segway myself nor a person to silently talk to on the cellphone every time I'm on it =[...
Another unicyclist here...
While i look at this thing with the same jaundiced eye with which i gaze upon electric bicycles for taking something healthful and fun and reducing it to YA lazy American fat-ass maker, i am sure it will be a great deal of fun and, in spite of what i just wrote, i might consider buying one. In closing: unicycling is super fun.
GIZMODUCK!!!!
http://users.cwnet.com/xephyr/rich/dzone/hoozoo/images/gizmo2.gif
Haha! u beat me to it. the first thing I did was to search the page for "duck" to see if anyone thought the same.
Stop fooling around. Make a hover board already. Or at least, give us a powered Freebord.
Amen! Take the magical properties of gyroscopes and make a damn hoverboard.
1) Take gyroscopes.
2) Do...something with them.
3) Hoverboard!
If there was a highway-speed equivalent I would buy one in a second. It's true that if the gyro goes out, you're screwed. So include a backup gyro, not a difficult or expensive thing to add. Both gyros run all the time. If one gyro goes out, the other one increases to double-speed until you're out of harm's way.
This has the lowest possible rolling friction, so it's as energy-efficient as a wheeled vehicle can be. Even if it was gas-powered, it would be a huge step in cheap transportation of people.
It should also be incredibly agile. I don't know if this version is, but it should be.
Engadget posted on a concept drawing of a unimotorcycle a long time ago, and one has been built by a kid from Canada if I remember right. It's a good idea.
hilarious title
You could SO EASILY masturbate while you rode that. *cough*
There needs to be a tray to hold my Big Mac and super size fries, and an oversize cupholder please. I will have to keep my energy up while riding, since that look a lot like exercise! And that seat looks like it will jam between the cheeks of my large ass.Maybe I'll just get one of those geriatric scooters instead.
It's a very very long time I'm waiting for an improved Segway to show up.
One with better batteries, lighter weight, faster speed, higher autonomy, more confortable/enjoyable ride and possibly some new tricks up its sleeve like some hoovercraft -like air cushion or mag-lev accessory; and you know what?
This is not it!
It's for folks who cannot paddle and have a predisposition for helmets inside of buildings, pretty much 'nuff said.
But does it come with a monkey suit? Cause then I'd get one!
The role-call of ugly, embarrassing and all-together impractical personal transport solutions wouldn't be complete without the Sinclair C5 (see Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5) which actually shipped, and was used in the UK!!!
notice none of the pictures on wikipedia have people sitting in them.. wonder why? :)
Just because you can... ...Doesn't mean you should.
This really is a pathetic product.
Please tell me it is a joke.
Even if it isn't.
Tell me it is.
Seriously.
i'm sure the inventors don't have speed bumps or holes in the roads or wrongly placed sewer covers in their city.
good for them.
Sweat-free, relatively cheap, lightweight personal transport. Why is this such a stupid idea? Come on, are you really saying that it is a bad idea because someone might fall off it? Really? Sounds like something someone would have said about bikes before everyone had one. I used to rollerblade from 14th and 1st in NYC up to Times Square every day, and that gradual uphill meant I was full of sweat when I got to work. This would have solved it, and unlike the Segway, it would have stored next to my desk at work.
The real questions in my mind are how fast can it go and does it have enough range to get me to work and back in a close-in urban environment (about 10-15miles total between charges sounds right).
Not terribly practical but it looks like it would be fun to play around on. $1500 for a unicycle though?
I agree with LarryX3, Give me something with some speed. I have a bicycle for short commutes and I'd get a regular unicycle if I wanted to play in the parking lot. Designer Tommy Forsgren created the Hermes in 2002 as a design exercise. This is what the next iteration of the Segway should be. It would have a special place in my garage right next to the Speed Triple...
http://www.toyfon.com/html/dc_hermes.htm
Sponsored ads: Lumbar Spine Surgery. Hmm...
Something similar has been around for a while;
http://tlb.org/eunicycle.html
Unicycle seats are not the most comfortable things on the planet. My man parts hurt just thinking about riding it for any kind of distance and over any kinds of bumps. Still it might be fun though. I might try to build one when I get some free time.
What do unicycles and fat girls have in common?
They're both fun to ride... until you're friends see you.
So an edit feature would be kinda nice so I didn't look like a dumbass. Until YOUR friends see you that is.
Oh come on... that's pretty damn awesome!
To be fair this has been described before by Trevor Blackwell.
There is also a great Youtube video from Slovenia of the "Enicycle" which adds one key advance to this concept, it has an effective steering mechanism which allows you to learn to ride (and steer ) it pretty quickly. There is a video here of the inventor riding it around town, around a shopping mall and into his office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXim_GPW0xw
John