I2 hitching and a Segway built for two

[bvelke]

Hello all. I've been a member of the forum for a while and an avid reader but I think that this is my first post. I thought I'd share some amusing videos of a custom hitch for my I2.

This is pulling a lightweight trailer:


And this is pulling a "Velke" mower attachment -- like you see being used by professional landscaping companies:


Cheers,

-Bob

[KSagal]

I loved both videos... I like the trailer in the first one, but am more impressed with that round little road that goes no place... Very cool. Most roads I know attach to another road...LOL.

On that 2nd one, it looks to be a great and flexible way to add a passenger but not have a huge rickshaw... I just wonder with the small wheel how much of a bump it could take without throwing the passenger... Still, I believe it has a tremendous potential...

[JimNPHX]

Cool videos!

Just out of curiosity . . . I noticed there are many "options" to pull behind a segway. From trailers to people carriers.

What is the battery life and weight limits when pulling something?

Thanks

Jim

[quade]

Originally Posted by JimNPHX

What is the battery life and weight limits when pulling something?

Too many variables;

Rolling resistance
Wind resistance
Weight
Grade

I'm sure Polo will chime in here shortly, but there simply can't be a simple answer other than, "less than if you didn't."

[Desert_Seg]

Originally Posted by JimNPHX

Cool videos!

Just out of curiosity . . . I noticed there are many "options" to pull behind a segway. From trailers to people carriers.

What is the battery life and weight limits when pulling something?

Thanks

Jim

Jim, we've pulled more then 300KG (including the glider) with our i2 and trailer system.

Can't tell you battery life as we never measured it but I'd presume it would be much shorter.

Steven

[JimNPHX]

Thanks for the replies . . .
I see they have the "rickshaw" pulled by bicycles and I saw that they make them for Segways too. Just wondering how many batteries one would need to do an evening worth of business. ((10) 2 person rides ???)
I realize weight and distance is a factor at the same time I could only guess on both.

Thanks

Jim

[Desert_Seg]

We pulled our SegShuttle (aka rickshaw for a Segway) for more than 10 minutes with the total of 300KG and we still had full battery (nothing flashing).

I'd have to do more tests to be able to accurately answer your question.

Steven

[KSagal]

I have not done distance tests either, but I do recall a day that I did many errands, and at least 2 miles had this trailer with about 100 to 150 pounds of lumber on it, and at least 2 miles more with over 200 pounds of construction debris on it. That day in total I used the seg for over 12 miles. I do not recall being particularly low on juice, I just finished my projects...



(This picture was not the day with all the weight that was described...)

I also use a 4 wheel trailer for heavy loads, as I find it holds the weight better with less shift to the back of the platform. The tongue weight on a rig like this is about constant, even uphill or down. Fast stops do push the seg, but not necessarily up or down, mostly forward...



I have many different trailers, and this one I used with my 70 pound son and 35 pound daughter, one on the trailer, one on the platform with me, and we easily do a 6 or 8 mile round trip with no appreciable excess use of energy that I would not see if alone. I should point out that with a trailer, I do go slower, and that speed seems to eat more power than weight does, at least for me.

So, I would guess that slow rides would get you far more time than fast ones, regardless of all else. Some of the more technical among us may weigh in here, regarding the consumption of power, regarding speed.

[quade]

Originally Posted by KSagal

Some of the more technical among us may weigh in here, regarding the consumption of power, regarding speed.

Rolling resistance is more or less linear with speed. (Double the speed, double the resistance.)
Wind resistance increases at a rate the square of the speed increase. (Double the speed, quadruple the resistance.)
F=MA (Double the mass, double the energy required to accelerate and stop.)
HP=33,000ft lbs / minute (Double the weight and you'll need double the HP to go up the same hill at the same rate.)

Just off the top of my head, I would expect that if you doubled the weight by towing, you'd get roughly 3/4 the distance if you were on smooth and level all OTHER things being equal. Going up hill; probably a bit less than half. The key to this whole thing would be knowing how much weight he's talking about.

[KSagal]

I do not doubt your numbers regarding rolling resistance or the wind resistance, but is that all there is to it?

I believe that there is a cost in going faster, and that cost is very much measureable. At segfest in Florida, I recall a chart that gave distances based on average speed.

I seem to recall that doubling the speed gave less than half the distance, as if it was clearly non linear... (This may be because of the wind resistance...)

I do recall that the available distance to glide for a 180 pound person was in excess of 20 miles, on NiMH batteries. (If the average speed was 2 mph...)