Segway is over?

[Steve Lusardi]

I also love my X2 Golf, but I understand the reasons for stopping production. They are too expensive. They are built too well.Service was terrible. Parts and accessories were hard to find and also way too costly. The corporate value was not the machine, it is the IP and the thousands of patents that goes with the company. Will we continue to receive service and parts in the future? Yes, we will for a while, but after 10 yrs., it will become very scarce for sure. If you want to continue use beyond my guess of 10 yrs., you had better stock up now with spares now.

[MuttonChops]

Originally Posted by gbrandwood

This really is a shame to hear

Whilst I thought their cards were marked from the day Ninebot acquired them, I had hoped that somehow they would live on forever. The plant that is closing in New Hampshire is the company behind the 'real' Segway brand. The products it manufactured were the products that I fell in love with back when I first discovered them in 2003.

The company that lives on is obviously more successful at selling products into their target markets but they are a far cry from the vision that started it all off.
The story revealed in Steve Kemper's book, Code Name Ginger, was one set on changing the world, revolutionising human transport, cities... it wasn't to be.

Still, for all of those miles racked up on two self-balancing wheels, what a glide it was.

Good luck to all of the employees from the factory and the various businesses that my be affected by this change.

Well Said.

The smaller models and variations will never match the design quality of the original . . . i2 model being best overall IMHO . . .

As much as I love gliding should be up front. Since purchasing a high end e-Bike (nearly the price of my i2) have not glided more than a mile and e-bike is nearing 960 miles. SEG is more fun, SEG is better uphill, while e-bike has had no objections from the uninformed-about-EPAMD-laws, e-bike has more range and overall greater speed.

Can't bring myself to sell the SEG. For now it's in storage with batteries charged before they were removed.

9.5 Years Gliding, Nearing 12,000 miles

[JohnM]

What happens to all the cities that were re-designed for Segways?


http://content.time.com/time/busines...186660,00.html

[gbrandwood]

Originally Posted by JohnM

What happens to all the cities that were re-designed for Segways?


http://content.time.com/time/busines...186660,00.html

You were there at the beginning and you are here at the end. Fitting. Your position did not waiver throughout.

I'd say Universal Design was the biggest influencer for cities in the end. City's are becoming more accessible for pedestrians, bicycles and mobility devices, not the Segway PT specifically. Less emphasis on single occupancy multi-seat vehicles propelled by diesel and petrol, more on cleaner, smarter human transporters.

[JohnM]

IT'S ALIVE!!!

[RobOh]

Well... I made it to the end, too. After posting my previous reply to the thread (and noting I really wanted to pick up a used but good condition i2) as of a few days ago I am now officially a Segway i2 owner once again. The first full-sized Segway I’ve owned in maybe a dozen years was delivered to my doorstep with only 300 miles on the unit and I’ve spent the past few days turning the next generation of O’Sullivans on to the majesty and glory that is Segging. I really am glad to own an i2 again... I’ve dreamed of this moment and now it’s finally come true just as Segway stops production. I was an early adopter at the very beginning with a Gen1 (and SegwayFest 2003!), then an i180, then an original i2... and now the loop closes with my second i2. Bittersweet but now I can glide again happily for years to come.

Big shoutout to Steve807, thanks for getting me rolling again. Thanks for getting my girl excited about the technology, too. So glad to be in this moment, no matter how bittersweet it is.

[enviroglide]

Originally Posted by Philip

This news is very upsetting and disappointing for many of us here, including International Distributors, Dealers, Tour operators....and just about every person who ever owned a Segway PT.

But for the time being there are still brand new Segway PTs available to buy, and will be for some time. The party is still going!

Segway, Inc. are well-stocked with spare parts for years to come, and the service centres will continue to remain active into the future. With so many PTs out there in active use, I hope and imagine there will be a good business case to continue to provide technical repair service for many years.

Here in New Zealand my business intends to continue offering RST repairs for the foreseeable future. This includes Level 3/4 (factory-level) repairs such as replacing and programming CU Boards and BSAs, replacing motors, power supplies. etc). I imagine that many other International Distributors also intend to do so.

Locally, we have hundreds and hundreds of active Segway PT users who rely upon their devices for work, tour businesses or for personal mobility. Larger countries have thousands.

One day, a fresh full-sized PT will appear, designed and built with the benefit of 20+ years of experience. At various intersections of price and weight there is definitely a market of full-sized PTs, and now the world has experience of self-balancing machines, getting over the conceptual hurdle of making sale will be easier in the future. We know where that point sits for a ~$10,000 machine with LeanSteer that weighs 50 kg. We also know were that point sits for a ~$1,000 machine with knee-steer that weights 15kg. Last year hundreds of thousands of self-balancing machines were sold, and has been the case every year for a while now (most of these units are being sold in China, where last year I watched them coming off the production line in enormous quantities).

I still believe that - one of these days - a very significant portion of people who currently think e-scooters are such a good idea will come round to the benefits of self-balancing devices - be it in small or large form factors. For example, it is my opinion that 50% of people who currently buy and use e-scooters would prefer and be better served by S-PRO (miniPRO) or S-PLUS (miniPLUS) devices....but they just don't know it yet. And in that scheme of things hardly anyone knows the benefits of full-sized wheels for a safe and comfortable journey from A to B.

I guess only time will tell, but I still think that in the future we will all dive standing up - or so it has been said :-)

https://segwaynz.wordpress.com/2012/...talking-heads/

Philip

Phillp I agree with you wholeheartedly I’ve been saying the same thing for the past couple years. I met you many years ago in Boston at the launch of the Gen 2 product. I wish there was a way to keep the PT line going as we have so much ground to still cover and I think eventually many of the escooter people will be converted to the PT product. If it’s available. We have been having dialogue with other dealers/distributors to brainstorm ideas. Would you be interested in join a call?

[SWSWFL]

....Ahhhh. Got the bug in early 2004 and took some tours, bought mine in Georgia in May, explored the idea of a dealership, attended the big SegFest in October in Bonita Springs, FL, serendipitously (?) near where I had recently moved to from Kentucky. Kept the unit for three years but really seldom used it, but had to buy new batteries at dealer in Sarasota. Sold it in April, 2007. Still love to see them at the airport. (Just noticed the last time I visited here was March, 2018. Goodbye and good luck, everyone.)

[Fireplug911]

We got ours just a few months ago from a tour guide business which had closed down due to COVID Have had a blast so far as new enthusiasts.

[Steve807]

Originally Posted by RobOh

Well... I made it to the end, too. After posting my previous reply to the thread (and noting I really wanted to pick up a used but good condition i2) as of a few days ago I am now officially a Segway i2 owner once again. The first full-sized Segway I’ve owned in maybe a dozen years was delivered to my doorstep with only 300 miles on the unit and I’ve spent the past few days turning the next generation of O’Sullivans on to the majesty and glory that is Segging. I really am glad to own an i2 again... I’ve dreamed of this moment and now it’s finally come true just as Segway stops production. I was an early adopter at the very beginning with a Gen1 (and SegwayFest 2003!), then an i180, then an original i2... and now the loop closes with my second i2. Bittersweet but now I can glide again happily for years to come.

Big shoutout to Steve807, thanks for getting me rolling again. Thanks for getting my girl excited about the technology, too. So glad to be in this moment, no matter how bittersweet it is.

I sure am glad it found a new home.

I got into Segway kind of late in the game.

I rode my first Segway at a local mountain resort in 2013 and immediately fell in love with it. Loved it so much I went the next weekend and rented one again.

Here is a picture of me enjoying my first ever Segway ride at the mountain resort. I’m the one with the grin on the far right.




Bought one soon after at a nearby Segway store. Sadly that store was gone just a few short years later.

I remember when I first rode one I was amazed. It felt like an extension of my own body. So much fun.

After buying my Segway I soon bought the book Code Named Ginger. I devoured the book and enjoyed reading it but was a little disappointed in the ending. I really wanted to see Segway become the transportation revolution it was originally envisioned to be.

I thought the full sized Segway was an amazing product. But after a few years I realized the sidewalks in my area were just not suitable for Segways. Too many upturned sidewalks from tree roots and no maintenance. It made for a very rough ride and there were just too many cars on the streets to feel like I could ride safely.

So I wanted to find a good home for it where it would be taken good care of and enjoyed.

So glad it found the perfect home.


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