Solowheel sighting!

[Bob.Kerns]

Yesterday, I went to an appointment in the south bay, via Segway/ferry/Segway/train/Segway.

On the return trip, as I was disembarking from Caltrain with my Segway, a guy on a Solowheel came by.

We ended up travelling together as far as the Ferry Terminal, when he headed up Market, and I headed to the boat.

It seems like a really nice commuting option, small and l ight enough to take on the train with you. 10 miles of range, handles steep hills.

The big drawbacks are it is a bit heavy (I believe he said 45 pounds?) to have to carry if you run out of battery, and it can't go very slowly, so it can't really be used when it's crowded. It is also harder to learn -- he spent 3 hours, with several falls, in the learning process.

It's also a bit slower than the Segway; I didn't try to estimate the speed, but I had no problem catching up with him quickly when forced to drop back due to pedestrian traffic. (He has an eBike that will do 28 MPH, but he finds the Solowheel to be more fun, as well as more practical for commuting via train).

He's getting a fast charger, to charge it in 30 minutes I think it was.

Interestingly, he was concerned about using it responsibly to avoid a backlash (this Is San Francisco, which banned the Segway before they even saw it).

Also, he reports having often encountered another Solowheel owner in the wild (someone who lives near the train station).