Electric Bikes or Segways

What would be a better option to ride to work. A electric bicycle or a segway? What would you prefer?

As a Segway and owner / rider / commuter (exclusively for 2 years) in all kinds of weather and an all weather eBike commuter now (who still rides his segway once in a while) I'd have to say I prefer a work commute using my folding eBikes.

The normal eBikes aren't allowed on septa durring peak hours (rush hours) and not at all on amtrak unless checked as luggage.

Folders are allowed on buses, national trains (amtrak) and even airplanes (as luggage, depending on battery chemistry).

All this is true of Segways too except since I have a mobility impairment, I can always take my segway (peak or off-peak) on public transit however the segway is an i2 and the lithium mangneese polymer batteries are not allowed on airplanes {which is a big issue for some}.

I almost forgot.... aside from much hacking and / or increasing the wheel size of the segway tire, there is no way to get the darn things over 14mph or so... compared to my folding eBikes top end of about 34mph now... and my folder is about 45lbs (compared to 114lbs for i2 segway) with sufficient pack for 20-25mi at 30mph or 35-40mi @ 20mph - and onboard ability to recharge from mains in about 2 hours (to 90-95%)..

The one other advantage of eBikes over Segways... the reason I got into eBikes in the first place, if the power fails (for any reason other than explosion) then you can always gear down and pedal! The profile of my folded bike is much smaller than my segway, on public transit the Segway requires as much room as a person... the eBike fits in a carry bag (large but not grossly oversized).

Given all the parameters and my own personal experiences over the past 3-4 years of electric commuting (beginning with a GoPed ESR 750ex) I would say "folding electric bikes" are the way for me.

Just my .02c

-Mike

PS: Don't think I'm dissing the segway, my son and I love riding it and truthfully it is quite useful and nimble in urban areas and still gets a sufficient "wow" effect to get peoples attention (so they don't walk into your path) sadly bikes flying along at 15 on the sidewalk are likely to get clotheslined or worse.

They have a Segway Tour rental here in chicago Its basically a 3 mile ride through grant park. Its 50 dollars for the tour which is a rip off. Hopefully my electirc bike company will be competing with them and offering tourists something better like an electric bike. Let the tourists go where they please instead of all riding like ducklings following each other on segways.

lester12483 said:

They have a Segway Tour rental here in chicago Its basically a 3 mile ride through grant park. Its 50 dollars for the tour which is a rip off. Hopefully my electirc bike company will be competing with them and offering tourists something better like an electric bike. Let the tourists go where they please instead of all riding like ducklings following each other on segways.

Click to expand...

Ahh... that is a bit pricey I suppose, I know in the bahamas the tours work out to about 15.00 per head which is reasonable, same with iTours in Philadelphia... Rentals are expensive no doubt but there is alot of risk to the owner.

I didn't know you were thinking of tours... I hate to say it but segways are better for tours and easier to manage in urban areas. Biking and more even eBiking take more skill and experience to be safe and useable for touring purposes.

That said... there is a market not addressed yet in the tourism arena which would be eBike tours / rentals. This would allow for the people who want to travel to a destination but then control their own touring (think moped in the bahamas)... I do see this as a viable market opening.

Best of luck!

-Mike

Segways are what? Over $5,000 retail?
Compare with eg Go-Ped ESR 750 Hoverboard Li-Ion Electric Scooter at about $2,300...
Sorry, other than flawed legalities, can't see the attraction myself.
Tks
Lock

Lock said:

Segways are what? Over $5,000 retail?
Compare with eg Go-Ped ESR 750 Hoverboard Li-Ion Electric Scooter at about $2,300...
Sorry, other than flawed legalities, can't see the attraction myself.
Tks
Lock

Click to expand...

Having ridden all (still do)... Segway has several other advantages, it really is better for urban use... I ride the thing in malls and such (yes King of Prussia mall and The Gallery in philadelphia)... I can careen through pedestrians with slalom like ease (it really is akin to skiing), opportunity charging is all there, the safety features actually work... I found this out when mine failed because of a bad battery while my son and I were riding it (also had to pull it + my son back home, why do you think we ride ebikes now mostly).

For straight up riding out of your living room to the store and back, nothing beats the point to point of a Segway... I can mount inside, roll out the door, close it and lock it and be off - all without so much as a thought.

Getting a segway onto public transit and up steps is far easier than a full sized eBike too... it "walks" up or helps at least making getting it up the steep amtrak stepways a piece of cake compared to my 26" eBike or my folder in open state.

When Septa gave me crap long ago about the Segway... I rode it into and up to their offices on Market Street, to bitch them out for trying to impede my right to travel... If you look at the rules for segways on septa, say thank ya.. I pushed and pushed them to publish a known set of rules and they finally did.

Ahh.... don't get me wrong, if the cops would FOFF about the GoPed... I would likely be riding that more than eBike or Segway... with LiPo upgrade and maybe a DC BLDC Inrunner and reduction system... crud, the eBike bug got me.

The only problem with Segways is their speed limiting. If they did 20mph, I would likely ride it more than I do my ebike for short hops to the store (remember door to door is much more convenient, and shopping at wawa on a segway - yes inside the store) is a freakin trip.

-Mike

At 20mph could you control a Segway? I think it might be hard.

How would you stop suddenly without going airborne?

Actually... my segway is a bit faster than most (which is very complicated to explain but required modification of both CPUs at the same time to avoid checksum overwrite of the firmware/os) and yes it is stable at 20 and even 22mph... stopping is about the same, takes a bit longer but it works well as 14mph regulated - my range is lousy (about 8mi) at those speeds... compared to > 20mi range @ 14mph.

-Mike

How about exercise? Can ya pedal the Segway if power is low? or for exercise if ya want? or for warmth if it's cold out?

Lock,

You can't pedal and if the packs die or have an issue you get excercise - pulling a 110-115lb segway home.

eBikes are better for all around commuting purposes, built in failsafe and redundancy (you and me)... this is exactly why I began with eBikes and why I prefer them (much easier to hack into faster versions too... segway took me 2+ years of reverse engineering, probing and testing to come up with a hack and if I release it to the world - Segway has already threatened to sue me for IP violation if I release the info... Kind of a waste of time really - since I don't use it anymore really.

-Mike

Segways aren't legal to use here on either sidewalks or roadways. It's hard to see why they can't be used on the road. It's a good thing that bikes aren't a recent invention, because they would be pretty certain to be banned here otherwise...

So, I'd have to say the bike would be better. The Segway would be an expensive sculpture.

Actually, that's the one thing I do like about the Segway... or at least, all the lunch tabs Dean K picked up getting his EPAMD boilerplate legislation slotted into State and Provincial laws... In Ontario they ARE now legal, on any road *or* sidewalk. Ya don't need a license or insurance or helmet. Catch is, ya need to be "disabled", and of course you can only buy this one brand of electric "scooter" from one guy in the US and it costs about $5k...

To me this smells like opportunity. A crack in the wall. If a Canadian firm comes up with a scooter design w/similar operating characteristics, made in Canada and retailing for a fraction of the price... well, I just want to ram this down some Provincial gullets... stay tuned...
:lol:
Lock

Lock,

Just wait for Segway to go out of business and then the US govt will force the IP patents to the public since the vehicles are used for disabled persons.

Then others can produce them - you could even build your own (not as hard as it sounds - gyros, accell and firmware).

EPAMDs here in the states are legal at a federal level and the states can decide on their status on a state by state basis when used by non-impared persons but for use by the impaired, states can't do squat (same as Canada now).


Please don't get me wrong - I love my segway I just don't use it much since my bikes are more convenient, portable, compact, faster and can carry more cargo. The only drawback to eBikes is putting them on and off a train, the segway assists a user with the stairs - eBikes dont (yet, but I'm working on it!).

-Mike

mwkeefer said:

...you could even build your own (not as hard as it sounds - gyros, accell and firmware).

Click to expand...

No need for that Mike. When the Canadian Feds studied Segway they also studied some cheap Chineesey scooters and couldn't find any significant performance differences from a safety standpoint... (PDF copy of Transport Canada report attached here..)

And at sub 60lbs in vehicle weight, not much need for an assist up stairs
Lock

Between the two, I'd prefer electric bikes. I wouldn't have range anxiety with an electric bike and it seems more practical and versatile. I don't know if I'd try curb hopping with a segway.

Including electric scooters in the mix, for particularly rough terrain and long distances, I'd definitely go with an electric bike.

For much longer distances in an urban environment where you have the assistance of a transit system (Train or bus), definitely a folding electric scooter. I have much more important things to be doing than riding on a bike for more than an hour (And there's no way in heck I'm going to risk not being able to board the bus with a regular bike due to a full bike rack. I've already been there, done that.). A folding electric bike would be competitive here, too.

That's been my experience on (electric of course) subways... The whole back half of the scoot tucked under the subway seat... no need to fold. But yah, plans for my next scoot are for folding, but up and not down. Same "form-factor" folder up as an upright vacuum cleaner. Much less floor space than pedal bike or even bundle buggy
Lock

Of course the segway. It makes more fun driving around with this little thing. In addition it is a bit more visible

Segways are banned from roads in Chicago. That kinda limits your riding range.