[KSagal]

While I don't have the challenges that some others have, I can really appreciate the universal design factors in the segway in a manner that is rarely seen elsewhere...

I did not view the above video, (My computer called an error and told me try later?) but I am responding to the thought that the elderly would prefer the gen 1 over the gen 2...

The thought of a rigid control shaft like on a gen 1 makes the structure of the segway more conventional, and more easy to conceive to those who are unfamiliar or marginally familiar with it... The thought that it offers support or is easier to use is not based on segway use, but on external factors of how other things work...

In fact, speaking for myself only, the gen 1, while I loved it, is actually harder to ride... Think back to the early days of this forum, in that people had to constantly be reminded that they had to lean into the turns, and leave the control shaft behind. I can recall developing that very technique, where I would lean hard, but leave one hand behind (at the center of the seg) so I could steer. On hard turns one direction, I would actually cross steer, and bring my right hand to the left grip so I could lean easier...

All that goes away with the gen 2. You keep your hands with your body, and everything goes the same way... You no longer have to learn to lean with most of your body, but leave this or that individual part out of it...

Much in the same manner of actually walking. If you are walking against a strong wind, up a steep hill, a person will instinctively lean their whole body into it. They will not leave an arm or other part out of the lean, unless acted upon by a foreign influence...

In comes true universal design. The gen 2 actually responds more closely to the way a human actually motivates themself. It does not do as we do except for your arm, or except for this or that. It just does as we do...

All segways require the operator to learn to trust the machine. This is something that many people do have to struggle with... But the gen 1 machine also requires people to learn to lean in a specific way, that the gen 2 does not require...

Each person needs to evaluate a segway and its application to their situation on very personal criteria. While I do see that a rigid control shaft adds some capacity, it comes at a cost or expense elsewhere. I do not see that one design is clearly superior to the other for all, but I do feel that the gen 2 design is superior for far more.

Any way you slice it, to seg is far better than to not seg....

Now I must go and try to figure out why I was unable to see this video...