On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 10:55:27 -0700 (PDT), RobertH wrote:

The only potential advantage over in-line two wheelers is that,
supposedly, it won't fall over.

Weather & cargo too.
--
Cliff

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 23:32:35 -0700, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

Instead if falling over, it would fall frontwards or backwards. Still
falling over.

HUH?
Must be a winger.
--
Cliff

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 19:42:00 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Or... .you could say it has 4 wheels, which it does, All four are
essential to the operation.

How so?

Or we could just be stupid

Good point.
--
Cliff

On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 04:38:02 -0700 (PDT), Jim Wilkins wrote:

On Apr 7, 10:22*pm, Gerald Miller wrote:
...
Which was it, Honda or Toyota came up with a more elaborate version of
this that was shown on TV a few months back. IIRC it had three wheels
and only carried one person. Looked somewhat like Granny's rocking
chair!
Gerry :-)}

Like these?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta


http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...gbv=2&aq=f&oq=
--
Cliff

On Apr 7, 9:05*pm, Charles Lessig wrote:
This reminds me of Smokey Stover's Foomobile except it has a top.

http://tinyurl.com/cnks7f

On Apr 7, 3:32*am, Cliff wrote:

*http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...pr07,0,2638670.....
[
GM, Segway think 2 wheels
The companies plan to develop a two-wheeled, two-seat electric vehicle as a
clean, safe and inexpensive alternative to traditional cars.
Associated Press
April 7, 2009

New York -- A solution to the world's urban transportation problems could lie in
two wheels, not four, according to executives of General Motors Corp. and Segway
Inc.

The companies plan to announce today that they are developing a two-wheeled,
two-seat electric vehicle designed to be a safe, inexpensive and clean
alternative to traditional cars for cities across the world.

The companies said their project, dubbed PUMA, for Personal Urban Mobility and
Accessibility, would include a communications network allowing vehicles to
interact with one another to regulate traffic flow and prevent crashes.

The 300-pound prototype runs on a lithium-ion battery and dual electric motors
and .....
]

I remember a popsci article where a fella built one of those, two
wheels only, small gas engine, no electronic stability control, had a
photo of someone on the hood trying to get it to tip, and could not
tip it.

Builder used a cool trick...


Dave

wrote in message
...
On Apr 8, 2:37 am, "Calif Bill" wrote:
"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message

eonecommunications...





wrote:
On Apr 7, 9:50 am, Cliff wrote:

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 06:35:51 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I imagine it gently drops the front onto the casters, then brakes
hard, wasted time and then limited braking force from the rear wheels.

What rear wheels?
--
Cliff

If it were on the main/drive wheels and the front casters, for the
purpose of describing vehicle dynamics it becomes appropriate to
describe the main/drive wheels as the 'rear' wheels.

Overall the vehicle has one (or two?) wheels in the back to prevent it
rolling over backwards, the main drive wheels, and two (looks like 2)
casters in the front.

Dave

Sure makes me wonder how it'd handle the snow and ice we get here in Red
Sox Nation. (And it gets even WORSE elsewhere in the nation.)

And how would it handle steep San Francico style hills?

Anyone know how the Segway responds to icy sidewalks and steep hills?

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

Actually Segways handle SF hills ok. There is at least one tour company
that uses Segways.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

There's a lot less mass to get up the hill. Think of one of the simple
machines, the inclined plane. As the mass of the object increases, the
force (work being done) increases. Small mass, small amount of batteries
also. More hills, less distance traveled. I do see them on some hills, but
most are down towards North Beach and the Marina Green area. Smaller hills
than most.

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...
On Apr 7, 6:56 pm, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
Jim Wilkins wrote:
[push a cart on a Segway]

I'm having trouble visualizing that grocery cart thing. Where are each
of your hands when you're pushing or pulling it? Is any other apparatus
involved which hooks onto the cart?

Maybe I could do it easily with an empty cart, but a full week's load of
groceries takes me more than one hand to comfortably push (and steer).

Jeff (Who's probably missing something here.....)
Jeffry Wisnia

I had to see it done first, too, with the overloaded trash hopper from
the lab:
http://www.yankeesupply.com/catalog/...ction/view.htm

The Segway they loaned me was the older model with twist-grip
steering. One hand on the steering grip, the other pushing the hopper.
It took some practice but not as much as opening and maneuvering
through the heavy, self-closing fire doors.

It helps that in the Army I learned how to control the heavy floor
buffers with one hand.

Jim Wilkins
_____________________
Theres actually a store that supplies Yankees? Bermuda shorts, blue wigs,
black socks and white shoes?
MMC (in Florida)

Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Apr 7, 10:22 pm, Gerald Miller wrote:
...
Which was it, Honda or Toyota came up with a more elaborate version of
this that was shown on TV a few months back. IIRC it had three wheels
and only carried one person. Looked somewhat like Granny's rocking
chair!
Gerry :-)}

Like these?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta

The Germans switched to larger cars as soon as they could afford them.
When I was there in the early 1970's the various tiny cars were
already curiosities and museum pieces.

Personally I need a vehicle that will carry wheelchairs, 10' pipe,
lumber, corrugated roofing, machinery, etc. Even if it were free an
extra tiny vehicle that doesn't carry cargo would cost me more in
insurance than it would save in gas, the CRV does all of the above, in
any weather, and gets over 25 MPG. I've tried using a motorcycle with
saddlebags for everything, including long camping trips.

The real irony is that emissions and safety regulations eliminated
vehicles such as the 1978 Accord I had, which would also hold 10' pipe
internally and delivered 36 - 38 MPG in normal driving and well over
40 on a trip. I still have a 1980 one in round tuit status, the
mandated changes dropped its mileage to barely 30. It was roomy and
comfortable enough to hold my parents and me on a long trip around
eastern Canada

Jim Wilkins


I remember those old Hondas--when they first started importing them in
the '70s I think they claimed 50 mpg on the highway.
Ironically, I've noticed that Honda recently came out with a car called
a "Fit" which looks a bit like the Honda Civic of old. I'm sure it
doesn't get nearly the same mileage though. For that matter, the
"Smart" car doesn't get the mileage it should IMO to justify the tiny size.
I'm just annoyed at Segway making another claim that they are going to
change life as we know it on planet earth.

Steve

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001

Blake wrote:
"Mark & Steven Bornfeld" wrote in message
...
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Apr 7, 10:22 pm, Gerald Miller wrote:
...
Which was it, Honda or Toyota came up with a more elaborate version of
this that was shown on TV a few months back. IIRC it had three wheels
and only carried one person. Looked somewhat like Granny's rocking
chair!
Gerry :-)}
Like these?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta

The Germans switched to larger cars as soon as they could afford them.
When I was there in the early 1970's the various tiny cars were
already curiosities and museum pieces.

Personally I need a vehicle that will carry wheelchairs, 10' pipe,
lumber, corrugated roofing, machinery, etc. Even if it were free an
extra tiny vehicle that doesn't carry cargo would cost me more in
insurance than it would save in gas, the CRV does all of the above, in
any weather, and gets over 25 MPG. I've tried using a motorcycle with
saddlebags for everything, including long camping trips.

The real irony is that emissions and safety regulations eliminated
vehicles such as the 1978 Accord I had, which would also hold 10' pipe
internally and delivered 36 - 38 MPG in normal driving and well over
40 on a trip. I still have a 1980 one in round tuit status, the
mandated changes dropped its mileage to barely 30. It was roomy and
comfortable enough to hold my parents and me on a long trip around
eastern Canada

Jim Wilkins

I remember those old Hondas--when they first started importing them in
the '70s I think they claimed 50 mpg on the highway.
Ironically, I've noticed that Honda recently came out with a car called
a "Fit" which looks a bit like the Honda Civic of old. I'm sure it
doesn't get nearly the same mileage though. For that matter, the
"Smart" car doesn't get the mileage it should IMO to justify the tiny
size.
I'm just annoyed at Segway making another claim that they are going to
change life as we know it on planet earth.

Steve

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001

But they did. It wasn't a big change but it was a change. We went from
being a world where no one used a Segway to being a world where some people
do use Segways.




I'm leaving tomorrow to visit the in laws in Seattle. I notice a far
greater Segway presence there than I do here in New York. I get the
sense there is far more bicycle commuting there as well, and bike racks
on the buses. We're pretty backward here. ;-)

Steve

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001

"Mark & Steven Bornfeld" wrote in message
...
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Apr 7, 10:22 pm, Gerald Miller wrote:
...
Which was it, Honda or Toyota came up with a more elaborate version of
this that was shown on TV a few months back. IIRC it had three wheels
and only carried one person. Looked somewhat like Granny's rocking
chair!
Gerry :-)}

Like these?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta

The Germans switched to larger cars as soon as they could afford them.
When I was there in the early 1970's the various tiny cars were
already curiosities and museum pieces.

Personally I need a vehicle that will carry wheelchairs, 10' pipe,
lumber, corrugated roofing, machinery, etc. Even if it were free an
extra tiny vehicle that doesn't carry cargo would cost me more in
insurance than it would save in gas, the CRV does all of the above, in
any weather, and gets over 25 MPG. I've tried using a motorcycle with
saddlebags for everything, including long camping trips.

The real irony is that emissions and safety regulations eliminated
vehicles such as the 1978 Accord I had, which would also hold 10' pipe
internally and delivered 36 - 38 MPG in normal driving and well over
40 on a trip. I still have a 1980 one in round tuit status, the
mandated changes dropped its mileage to barely 30. It was roomy and
comfortable enough to hold my parents and me on a long trip around
eastern Canada

Jim Wilkins


I remember those old Hondas--when they first started importing them in
the '70s I think they claimed 50 mpg on the highway.
Ironically, I've noticed that Honda recently came out with a car called
a "Fit" which looks a bit like the Honda Civic of old. I'm sure it
doesn't get nearly the same mileage though. For that matter, the
"Smart" car doesn't get the mileage it should IMO to justify the tiny
size.
I'm just annoyed at Segway making another claim that they are going to
change life as we know it on planet earth.

Steve

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001

But they did. It wasn't a big change but it was a change. We went from
being a world where no one used a Segway to being a world where some people
do use Segways.