Some nice pics and videos

[charmed]

http://sethbuckley.com/gallery/Segway?&page=1

[Casey]

Excellent picture site Charmed. Thanks.

[charmed]

quote:Originally posted by Casey

Excellent picture site Charmed. Thanks.


No problem. I sent the owner of the site an email to see if he might stop by to say hello. It shouldn't be long before first-hand reports start becoming alot more common.

[sbuckley]

Hi! I received your email...I'm glad that you liked the pictures and short movies. The Segway was pretty awesome to ride. The version I got to ride was the Industrial model, so I'm not sure how it compares to the Personal one that you can preorder. Let me know if you have any questions. I will try to remember to check this thread.

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FYI: My machine got quite a bit of traffic after posting that link on slashdot... 1.2 gigs of data.

[charmed]

quote:Originally posted by sbuckley

Hi! I received your email...I'm glad that you liked the pictures and short movies. The Segway was pretty awesome to ride. The version I got to ride was the Industrial model, so I'm not sure how it compares to the Personal one that you can preorder. Let me know if you have any questions. I will try to remember to check this thread.

---
FYI: My machine got quite a bit of traffic after posting that link on slashdot... 1.2 gigs of data.



Thanks alot for stopping by, sbuckley! Very good of you. And good for you for tossing some sensibility into the mix at slashdot. You're a rare breed to have already had the chance to try it.

It would seem that the model for sale to the public (the I model) would be the same one that you rode. Rumors of a smaller consumer model are still just rumors.

If you have the time and inclination, anything you could post here about your experiences (time on board, ease of use, stopping ability, whatever) I am sure would be appreciated. There are a few members here who have sent in their deposits and are eager to hear any sort of first-hand impressions available.

One thing I'm wondering- how did it happen that you got the opportunity?

Thanks again,

charmed

[Blinky]

Welcome to the site sbuckley. Glad to see and hear from people and their oppertunities on being able to ride a Segway. You looked like you had a lot of fun on that thing.

[sbuckley]

Sorry for taking so long to reply...I was under the impression that the model being released was the Personal model. We got to ride the Industrial model. We were told that they had two other models as well, forming PIE: Personal, Industrial, and I forgot what the E stood for. Maybe everyone here knows all about that...anyhow on to your questions:


Time on board: probably about 5 minutes. My family all had to have a chance too! I drove from over an hour away to do it.
Ease of Use: very easy. Driving it around involves a little leaning and turning with a control on the left handle bar. There is an LCD panel on it with a "face" that looks like it was "borrowed" from Apple. It is not very informative, there was no text on it, only faces - happy, sad. Only used for battery life, I think.
Battery Life: was very poor. Should have just made it gasoline... If you run low on battery it has a feature where it uses its remaining power to move the wheels while you walk behind it...the life would be longer if you only used the "slow" key... which brings us to
Keys: there were two keys, and each one gave a different maximum speed. I think that was all they were for.
Moving Forwards: just lean forward, it doesn't take much to make it go.
Moving Backwards: opposite of foward. It doesn't like to go fast in reverse, though. If you go too fast, it shakes the platform. The face on the LCD screen might even give you a frown, but I can't remember.
Stopping: just stop leaning and it will stop.


Maybe you'd like to know if I would buy one. I'll be brutally honest, and answer with an easy "No". IMHO, I can't see any reason why I would need one. Especially at $5K. Would I get one if they were $1K? No. How about $500? No. I would glady take one if I won it, though... I could auction it on eBay.

The main reason for not getting one would be battery life. It was really bad; a full charge didn't last very long at all. The LCD doesn't have ANY information on battery charge or estimated range, not even a simple speedometer/odometer. That seems like it would have been helpful -- the battery gets low and you get a frowning face. That's pretty helpful, don't ya think?

There's not much else that I can say about it. It was really fun to ride on, but if you've ever ridden a scooter (the push-with-your-feet kind) you've had just as good a time.

If there are some more questions, I'll check this thread again. I apologize for sounding negative.

Oh, how did I get this opportunity? It's who you know! I need to leave it at that.

[Brooster]

Thanks for the comments Seth. The LCD does indeed display battery charge info, along with a lot of other info. Perhaps you rode one that wasn't fully charged? Kinda sounds that way.

Anyway, best wishes from Chicago, and Happy Thanksgiving!



Brooster