Is Swegway The New Swag Of 2016?
According to the timeline in Back to the Future II, we all should have been riding around on hover-boards by the 21st October, last year. Yes, Nike may have actually made the self-lacing shoes as sported by Marty McFly in the film, but hover-boards? Not so much.
The Swegway is often referred to as a hoverboard but it doesn't hover and it really doesn't look like one, see an example on SwegwaysHQ, but it is the closest we can get with modern technology .We don't have the magnetised floors needed to enable a Back to the Future style hover-board to hover, but we do havewheels, which mean we are left with a self-balancing scooter without the handles. We could all buy one and pretend that we are living in the future – if only they hadn't been banned by the police.
Despite being one of the hottest gadgets sold in 2015, last October the Swegway was confined to use on private property in the UK, and deemed no longer legal to ride in public. The Metropolitan Police released a statement saying that the gadgets are technically motor vehicles, so can't be used on pavements – but don't meet official guidelines for use on roads, either. Moreover, after such reports, Amazon, the online e-commerce giant, was forced to pull back from the sale of hoverboards.They deemed it unsafe for use, and the UK and US sites banned the sale of hoverboards. Bad news if you have just shelled out over £300 for one. The reaction from the public to the news was negative, with many people commenting to the press asking, 'Since when is a 9mph machine more dangerous than a stupid cyclist on a pavement?'
However, they are allowed on the pavements in Germany, Portugal and Sweden, places that seem to embrace green alternatives to the motor car. Not that the UK ban has slowed down sales, or seen a drop in the number of people wanting to own one. In fact it is not uncommon for customers to want to buy more than one at a time, with some shop owners reporting customers that have come in to buy 30 at once. With some models selling for up to £1500 each, depending on their spec levels, you can see why these boards bring a smile of glee to eager gadget shop owners.
Swegways come in a variety of different variations offering custom paint jobs to extra height clearance to allow you to go off-road. Something that would appeal to those living in flats or apartments, that don't come with their own private road or garden. You would feel a little restricted by only being able to zoom around your own living room, especially after paying out so much money for one.
Mastering the art of riding a Swegway is another matter entirely. The board remains stationary while you are standing upright on it, but it only takes a small tilt of your toes to move you forwards. The first time you try out a board, you may find yourself toppling off it in all directions, so make sure you practice somewhere with plenty of space around you, and preferably not next to your mothers best china cabinet!
With a top speed of 9mph (10km/h), you can soon 'feel the need for speed' once you have mastered your board. Going forward by simply tilting your toes that way seems easy enough, but at some point your will need to turn the board to prevent you from crashing face-first into a wall. You do this by favouring one of your legs – you want to turn left, you lean onto your left leg. The in-built gyroscope is so sensitive that it really doesn't take much directional movement at all, and can feel almost imperceptible.
But....there is always a but! Dare you take your Swegway away from the relative comfort, security, and stability of your living room carpet into the outside world, then you have to re-learn and react to the board all over again. Outside hazards such as bumps in the road, a pot-hole, and even fallen twigs and leaves can throw you off into an undignified heap while your friends look on, and laugh.
Some argue that Swegways are simply part of the hipster craze, and people are only buying them to look cool. That was until the ban of course, so now it could be a case of trying to look cool at home while you glide serenely between the living room and kitchen when you fancy making a cup of tea.
Despite the ban you can be sure to see Swegways and electric scooters like these on the streets more and more in 2016.
