Focus Design's SBU self-balancing unicycle: because you didn't look dumb enough on a Segway

The world of personal transportation, with few exceptions, has littered the earth with embarrassing paraphernalia. In-line skates, pogo sticks, the recumbent bike -- all disasters to personal style. Mix in electricity and you get the Segway, or alternatively, Focus Design's SBU electric self-balancing unicycle. The SBU can be steered by leaning left to right (like a regular unicycle) and uses Segway-style gyroscopes to power your lazy ass forwards and backwards. Not a new idea by any stretch, but Focus Design is actually crazy enough to be working on bringing this thing to market. Focus hopes to do a limited run of ten SBUs next month, at $1,500 a month. Peep the video after break to see if you can handle the shame.

[Via Hack a Day]

[Jay @ Oct 18th 2008 11:26PM]

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.

[Konstantin @ Oct 19th 2008 1:50AM]

Already invented. I just slap a couple of training wheels on mine and off I go!

[iEye @ Oct 19th 2008 7:48AM]

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.

[kal326 @ Oct 19th 2008 1:31PM]

@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.

[Jon Nelson @ Oct 18th 2008 11:31PM]

I can't tell from the picture or the video, but do those pedals actually pedal?

If so, WHY?

[Drew @ Oct 18th 2008 11:44PM]

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.

[Reader @ Oct 18th 2008 11:45PM]

You can't tell? The pedals are right on the axis. They are just there to put your feet on.

[BigD145 @ Oct 19th 2008 1:08AM]

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.

[Bob Jones @ Oct 19th 2008 12:38PM]

I want one.

Nick Alfeo is a rankmaniac

[adam @ Oct 19th 2008 11:05PM]

i just want to know how to control speed wit no pedals

[)law( @ Oct 18th 2008 11:46PM]

These things remind anyone of that old school super nes game where you race these things on crazy winding tracks....

[ac14 @ Oct 19th 2008 12:45AM]

Uniracers :D

[Jon Nelson @ Oct 18th 2008 11:47PM]

@ 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.

[Daniel Wood @ Oct 19th 2008 2:27AM]

It's actually a pretty good workout. For your core, from balancing.

[jeff gyro @ Oct 18th 2008 11:57PM]

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?

[Drew @ Oct 19th 2008 12:04AM]

Um...probably because Segways and the like are perceived to replace walking. Motorcycles are not.

[Artie Lange @ Oct 19th 2008 12:14AM]

Actually, your suggestion would lead to the extinction of humanity, as no one would ever get laid again.

[o29 @ Oct 19th 2008 12:14AM]

No.

[puhsitch @ Oct 19th 2008 12:44AM]

Motorcycles are used in place of cars, while Segways are used in place of legs.

[eph.zero @ Oct 20th 2008 9:28PM]

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.)

[noyp @ Oct 19th 2008 7:15PM]

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?

[Razor @ Oct 20th 2008 12:04PM]

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.

[Nouman @ Oct 19th 2008 12:02AM]

And where is the part in the video where he actually turns?

[Artie Lange @ Oct 19th 2008 12:08AM]

If the Segway is the motive equivalent of the fanny pack, this is a pair of horn-rimmed glasses with tape on the bridge.

[gad get @ Oct 19th 2008 12:24AM]

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.

[Graham @ Oct 19th 2008 12:29AM]

Just wait until we have the problem, like with the segways, where they flip over. Talk about a disaster.

[Evan @ Oct 19th 2008 12:36AM]

Uh, what's wrong with a pedal-powered bicycle?

[Daniel Wood @ Oct 19th 2008 2:35AM]

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.

[Evan @ Oct 19th 2008 11:50AM]

God forbid you get sweaty!

[Einhanderkiller @ Oct 19th 2008 3:55PM]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=folding+bicycle&btnG=Search

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Oct 19th 2008 1:05AM]

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.

[Paulmichael @ Oct 19th 2008 4:29AM]

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.

[Nippero @ Oct 19th 2008 1:46AM]

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?

[hh10k @ Oct 19th 2008 1:50AM]

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.

[Daniel Wood @ Oct 19th 2008 2:18AM]

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

[frankXchange @ Oct 19th 2008 2:12AM]

Fit it with a lounge chair and I'll think about it.

[Charles Lee @ Oct 19th 2008 2:35AM]

Kind of reminds me of something out of the comic strip "BC"....

[max @ Oct 19th 2008 3:39AM]

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.

[Jay Park @ Oct 19th 2008 3:46AM]

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 =[...

[beans @ Oct 19th 2008 3:47AM]

GIZMODUCK!!!!
http://users.cwnet.com/xephyr/rich/dzone/hoozoo/images/gizmo2.gif

[jK @ Oct 20th 2008 4:43AM]

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.

[liin @ Oct 19th 2008 4:17AM]

Stop fooling around. Make a hover board already. Or at least, give us a powered Freebord.

[Paulmichael @ Oct 19th 2008 4:32AM]

Amen! Take the magical properties of gyroscopes and make a damn hoverboard.
1) Take gyroscopes.
2) Do...something with them.
3) Hoverboard!

[LarryLarryLarry @ Oct 19th 2008 4:37AM]

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.

[Mabedan @ Oct 19th 2008 4:49AM]

hilarious title

[Matt @ Oct 19th 2008 5:07AM]

You could SO EASILY masturbate while you rode that. *cough*

[groggle @ Oct 19th 2008 8:00AM]

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.

[KilgoreTrout @ Oct 19th 2008 8:34AM]

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!

[Bad Beaver @ Oct 19th 2008 9:21AM]

It's for folks who cannot paddle and have a predisposition for helmets inside of buildings, pretty much 'nuff said.

[Troels C @ Oct 19th 2008 9:22AM]

But does it come with a monkey suit? Cause then I'd get one!