pt and segways

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.bookofseg.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.bookofseg.com/</a><br /><br /></div>the inimitable pt, due to a contest that went his way, is now a proud segway owner, active user, and website maintainer. if you've ever wanted to know how it <i>feels</i> to ride a segway, or other aspects, check it out: he's got the device covered from top-to-bottom in his inquisitive, thorough style. the segway guys should hire him: i had no desire to get one but now my interest is piqued.<br /><br />(and for those of you who don't know who pt is: no, my shift/caps keys aren't broken. ;))<br /><br />p.s. for those of you interested, pt has a <a href="http://www.pocketpcmagic.com/newkids/">massive picture collection</a> of the new (ipaq 1910, viewsonic, and dell axim) ppc's, where he stacks them up and shows them off side-by-side.

[Paragon]

I can think of no one better suited to the Segway then pt......they are both a little ahead of their time. :)

Dave

[Jimmy Dodd]

I can think of no one better suited to the Segway then pt......they are both a little ahead of their time. :)

Dave

That's a polite way of saying they're both a little weird, isn't it? :lol:

[alan williams]

I can think of no one better suited to the Segway then pt......they are both a little ahead of their time. :)

Dave

That's a polite way of saying they're both a little weird, isn't it? :lol:
Though accurate. :wink:

[Paragon]

As for pt....... weird only in a nice, helpful, friendly, knowledgable, sharing kinda way.

Dave

[ECOslin]

During my mountain biking period, during my late teens through my later 20's, I broke innumerable frames and rims. Sometimes I broke them while not going any further than the sidewalk outside my apartment. I often chose a mountain-side and went thru the brambles straight downhill.

Richmond isn't really sidewalk friendly. The maintenance folks try, but trees, heavy trucks and weather do a good job at mangling level surfaces.

Nice informative website, but still, I'd choose a mountain bike thru traffic over a segway on the sidewalk anyday.

Edward

[handheldplanet]

pt is THE MAN! We should start calling him THE pt.

Anywhoo, I love the site. The cost-justification for the HT is incredible (I never even thought of it that way before). Now, I can see myself owning one of those someday.

Go pt!!!

[pt]

the segway ht isn't for every area (or for everyone) in seattle, wa it's great for me, i use it to get to and from work which is a big hike, it goes over all sorts of rigorous terrain. if you enjoy mountain bikes- those are the way to go, it's much better to have a happy mountain bike rider than an unhappy segway owner.

cheers,
pt

During my mountain biking period, during my late teens through my later 20's, I broke innumerable frames and rims. Sometimes I broke them while not going any further than the sidewalk outside my apartment. I often chose a mountain-side and went thru the brambles straight downhill.

Richmond isn't really sidewalk friendly. The maintenance folks try, but trees, heavy trucks and weather do a good job at mangling level surfaces.

I'd choose a mountain bike thru traffic over a segway on the sidewalk anyday.

Edward

[C Brandt]

I used to live in Davis, CA, where the Segway would be perfect. The entire city is littered with bike paths. Davis has 48.8 miles of bike lanes and 49 miles of bike paths. More than 80 percent of all streets within the city have bike lanes and/or bike paths. This is the highest such ratio of any city in the country!

If only I hadn't moved to Sacramento, I'd be able to justify buying one (to my wife)... darn it!

Chris

[ECOslin]

I'd actually love to ride and use one, conditions don't permit it here. I'd likely soon break it. I can re-weld a bike frame easy enough.

Edward

[revolution.cx]

One aspect of your commute that non-Seattleites won't realize is that your commute path isn't through pedestrian intensive areas. Once you are out of Fremont that is.

Now if they had just flattened Queen Anne when they did Denny you'd have a straight shot. Which side do you go on?



the segway ht isn't for every area (or for everyone) in seattle, wa it's great for me, i use it to get to and from work which is a big hike, it goes over all sorts of rigorous terrain. if you enjoy mountain bikes- those are the way to go, it's much better to have a happy mountain bike rider than an unhappy segway owner.

cheers,
pt

[JonnoB]

I used to live in Davis, CA, where the Segway would be perfect. The entire city is littered with bike paths. Davis has 48.8 miles of bike lanes and 49 miles of bike paths. More than 80 percent of all streets within the city have bike lanes and/or bike paths. This is the highest such ratio of any city in the country!

If only I hadn't moved to Sacramento, I'd be able to justify buying one (to my wife)... darn it!

Chris

It was this reason that some theorists projected changing cities with respect to sidewalks, etc. If it takes off, I can see that being the case, but I think too many people don't work where they live and this will never happen. Not to mention it is hard to replace a $200 bike with a $5000 motorized auto-balancing scooter that kids can't do tricks on.

[Paragon]

How is it in snow?

Dave

[bdegroodt]

How is it in snow?

Dave

I can see the cottage industry of HT mods coming now. HT snow chains. HT off road tires. HT reinforced weldings for mountain bikers that can't behave on their HT.

Man it pt one of the luckiest guys ever or what?

[pt]

in seattle, most people drive, there aren't many people on the sidewalks here, which means it's just me and bike folks really.

i take it right over the queen anne hill, while some of the folks i know on bikes need to walk their bikes up that hill, i ride right over, here is my commute:

http://www.bookofseg.com/images/myglide.jpg

cheers,
pt


One aspect of your commute that non-Seattleites won't realize is that your commute path isn't through pedestrian intensive areas. Once you are out of Fremont that is. Now if they had just flattened Queen Anne when they did Denny you'd have a straight shot. Which side do you go on?

[pt]

for my training in new hampshire i took it in the snow, it worked really well, i was shocked how great it worked.

it doesn't snow in seattle so i don't think i'll be able to test that again.

cheers,
pt

How is it in snow?
Dave

[Paragon]

Man is pt one of the luckiest guys ever or what?

Yeh! The Segway, and Beth Goza both in a few short weeks. :D

Dave

[pt]

I can see the cottage industry of HT mods coming now. HT snow chains. HT off road tires. HT reinforced weldings for mountain bikers that can't behave on their HT.?

segway, llc is working on tons of solutions, stay tuned. so are many 3rd parties. i know that i'm personally working on some mobile device applications for some verticals, i can't wait to see what happens.

Man it pt one of the luckiest guys ever or what?

the universe is a funny thing, it seems that there's always balance, the last 2 months have been both the best and worst months, mother nature gives and takes like nobody's business.

cheers,
pt

[bdegroodt]

Man is pt one of the luckiest guys ever or what?

Yeh! The Segway, and Beth Goza both in a few short weeks. :D

Dave

No kidding. And an awesome trip to Japan and a Sidekick and and and... :D

I wonder, what do you do with the HT when you get to where you are going? On a bike, you chain it to a bike rack or a street sign, what about the HT?

[bdegroodt]

segway, llc is working on tons of solutions, stay tuned. so are many 3rd parties. i know that i'm personally working on some mobile device applications for some verticals, i can't wait to see what happens.


Does this mean the animated today screen thing is scraped for the holiday vacation? Now that you have a new toy to be busy with?

the universe is a funny thing, it seems that there's always balance, the last 2 months have been both the best and worst months, mother nature gives and takes like nobody's business.

Very true.

[revolution.cx]

I saw that, but that shows you bombing over the Aurora bridge which I'm having trouble visualizing as a sustainable action. That bridge is death itself.



here is my commute:

http://www.bookofseg.com/images/myglide.jpg

[pt]

No kidding. And an awesome trip to Japan and a Sidekick and and and... :D

man, if you guys only knew the other side of the coin...anyway, it's all good. the full spectrum of life, good and bad, is something i think i'm glad to be around :-]

no matter what, i really like sharing these things with everyone, and especially the folks here who really "get" mobility and new technology, i'm glad ya'll like the photos and site(s). this is a great community of folks to share things with.

the sidekick got retired, it was an amazing device, but i need a pocket pc phone for work.

I wonder, what do you do with the HT when you get to where you are going? On a bike, you chain it to a bike rack or a street sign, what about the HT?

i take it in my office, or i lock it up, here's an article about locking up my segway ht:

http://www.bookofseg.com/secure.html

cheers,
pt

[pt]

Does this mean the animated today screen thing is scraped for the holiday vacation? Now that you have a new toy to be busy with?

there's something big cooking up with animated today, and that's all i can say :-]

cheers,
pt

[pt]

I saw that, but that shows you bombing over the Aurora bridge which I'm having trouble visualizing as a sustainable action. That bridge is death itself.

it's the freemont bridge, there are bike / people only lanes, it's the bridge right next to adobe / getty images. i thought it was called the freemont bridge, hmm. i guess i can take a video or something, it's really like any other part of the commute.

cheers,
pt

[bdegroodt]

i take it in my office, or i lock it up, here's an article about locking up my segway ht:

http://www.bookofseg.com/secure.html


Wow! The videos are great. Best advertising I've seen for a Segway yet. I just spent 5 minutes watching pt using a Segway on a tiny screen. Eat your heart out BMW Films!

Would it be fair to say a Segway and NYC wouldn't mix?

[don dre]

It look slike it might fit some segmetns of the pop. I live in Philly and there are bike trails all over the place. However, I'm not very interested in seeing them on the sidewalks. I can see it now, old lady flattened by HT...hit and run. At any rate, I am carless already. I ride the train to work everyday. I read, sometiems I read this site, on the way to work. Most places have no Public Transit and so are forced to ride. Where would you put groceries? At any rate, if it cathes on enough there may be other designs to follow. For now I'll keep by subway/rail pass.

[pt]

that's funny you say that, i work for the company that does all the bmw films (http://www.fallon.com) , so i guess it makes sense i'd have some thoughts about making some films for cool engineering.

segway and nyc would mix, i know there are people who used them there, but i don't think i would.

cheers,
pt

Wow! The videos are great. Best advertising I've seen for a Segway yet. I just spent 5 minutes watching pt using a Segway on a tiny screen. Eat your heart out BMW Films! Would it be fair to say a Segway and NYC wouldn't mix?

[pt]

It look slike it might fit some segmetns of the pop. I live in Philly and there are bike trails all over the place. However, I'm not very interested in seeing them on the sidewalks. I can see it now, old lady flattened by HT...hit and run.

there's always a chance of that with a bike, skateboard, etc...to own a segway ht, you need to go to training, so that's pretty good. it was interesting most of the people at my training were twice as old as me, and i think they'd be a little upset if i said, but they were old ladies. so it might a fairly older population using these.

At any rate, I am carless already. I ride the train to work everyday. I read, sometiems I read this site, on the way to work.

if there was a train i'd do the same, i miss reading on the trains when i was in nj/nyc.

Most places have no Public Transit and so are forced to ride.

yah, in seattle it's all one-car-cars.

Where would you put groceries?

there'sa front cargo bag that is huge, it carries all my groceries, i thought it would too small, but it carries i've bought so far.

At any rate, if it cathes on enough there may be other designs to follow. For now I'll keep by subway/rail pass.

yep, we're at the first stage, i think if you can a train is better than a car...together, train peeps', bike peeps' and segway ht peep's maybe we'll reduce the number of cars out there.

cheers,
pt

[klinux]

Good site. Lucky b@st@rd! &lt;jealous>

[don dre]

there's always a chance of that with a bike, skateboard, etc...to own a segway ht, you need to go to training, so that's pretty good. it was interesting most of the people at my training were twice as old as me, and i think they'd be a little upset if i said, but they were old ladies. so it might a fairly older population using these
The bikes are on the street and not the sidewalk. The skaters mostly stick to City Hall (since they ruined LOVE Park) but they are also not allowed on the sidewalks. Maybe I was wrong. the headline might read:
"Young punk run down by old lady on HT armed with tomatoes."
Do they have a little bell like the bikes with baskets? how about a headlight? Rain protection? Or do you grow gills in seattle? 8O
I'm waiting for the three wheeler version with a high powered super soaker built in.

[pt]

The bikes are on the street and not the sidewalk. The skaters mostly stick to City Hall (since they ruined LOVE Park) but they are also not allowed on the sidewalks. Maybe I was wrong. the headline might read: "Young punk run down by old lady on HT armed with tomatoes.".

my segway ht takes the streets. i live in one of the 32 states that allow the segway on sidewalks, but that doesn't mean i take them. that said, people use the sidewalks for bikes and skateboards all the time, laws are selectively enforced it seems.

"young punk" well, perhaps, the units are $5,000 you need be over 18 for the most part to have one, and you need to take training classes, if there are people who are going to do things with old ladies and tomatoes they're going to do that, segway ht or not. i'm not sure they are many young punks that have $5,000 to blow.


Do they have a little bell like the bikes with baskets? how about a headlight? Rain protection? Or do you grow gills in seattle? 8O
I'm waiting for the three wheeler version with a high powered super soaker built in.

if you look on the site, there are baskets. i could get a bell if needed, or a head light. but i don't ride at dark, so i don't need a headlight.

it doesn't really rain hard in seattle, just a mist so it's fine, the segway ht can get really wet, it's pretty much water proof in that regard.

i don't think there will be a 3 wheeled version with a super-soaker any time soon.

cheers,
pt

[bdegroodt]

if you look on the site, there are baskets. i could get a bell if needed, or a head light. but i don't ride at dark, so i don't need a headlight.


An excellent use for the white LEDs. Low power use and super bright. Add one of those to the top of the handles and one at the base (Hi beam/low beam :D) and a couple of red ones on the back of the wheel protectors and for good measure, a "third brake light" on the back of the helmet and you're golden!

I'm telling you, there's a big market in the after market accessories here. It's embryonic now, but give it time. The after market industry for cars in the U.S. alone was $135 billion in 2001. :idea:

[sweetpete]

congrats pt and thanks for the informative site. i just hope that segway concentrates on getting some canadian cities to accept their use on the sidewalk. i'd love to use it in vancouver. my commute to work is only about 2 km and i walk on most days (15 minutes), but i have been a huge fan of the short trip replacement use. most of my daily trips are withing 5-10 km radius and i see this as the perfect method of getting around for these tasks.

one question though, why the big secret around dean's house? he did a tour of it for one of the network newsmagazines. was it something that was just too personal to share? :cry:

[don dre]

the young punks will be run down by vengeful old ladies. around here we don;t ahve many bikers on the sidewalks except on off hours. our suburbs don;t really have sidewalks and the roads are dangerous. if it can take mud they will be able to use bike paths since only half are paved. interesting, so seattle is like a mist tent. i think i might get an ht just so i can ring the bell and put a bow on my basket. not that i like being conspicous. do they have orange ht's? okay, i'm not serious. but that thanks for the info.

[Tom Eichers]

Have to keep a watch out for pt next time i am in Fremont area. :) would love to see that HT whizzing by.

Nice rightup on that baby, if I lived closer to the city I could talk myself into one real easy.

Have fun pt.

[pt]

one question though, why the big secret around dean's house? he did a tour of it for one of the network newsmagazines. was it something that was just too personal to share? :cry:

no big secret, the last round of people going are going this weekend, then i can talk about it. it was my choice and seemed the proper thing to do.

i'll stuff posted soon.

cheers,
pt

[pt]

look for me, i'll be going by almost every day :-]

cheers,
pt

Have to keep a watch out for pt next time i am in Fremont area. :) would love to see that HT whizzing by.

Nice rightup on that baby, if I lived closer to the city I could talk myself into one real easy.

Have fun pt.

[sweetpete]

one question though, why the big secret around dean's house? he did a tour of it for one of the network newsmagazines. was it something that was just too personal to share? :cry:

no big secret, the last round of people going are going this weekend, then i can talk about it. it was my choice and seemed the proper thing to do.

i'll stuff posted soon.

cheers,
pt

that makes sense pt. thanks

[Santa Fe]

My driveway is longer and more hilly than PT's commute to work and my mountain bike works pretty well for going to the mailbox and beyond. I guess a bike doesn't have the "geek" factor but it sure makes more sense.

My bet is that it will wind up in the back of the garage when the new wears off.

[bdegroodt]

My driveway is longer and more hilly than PT's commute to work and my mountain bike works pretty well for going to the mailbox and beyond. I guess a bike doesn't have the "geek" factor but it sure makes more sense.

My bet is that it will wind up in the back of the garage when the new wears off.

I don't know about that. I saw some video of the HTs doing the streets of San Francisco and they didn't look like they were having any issues. Maybe there is a "geek factor" to the HT, but a mountain bike also means lots of pedaling, and I think PT covered why that's not so bueno for him (Or many others.).

Why would an HT be any more or less likely to "wind up in the back of the garage" than your mountain bike?

[pt]

My driveway is longer and more hilly than PT's commute to work and my mountain bike works pretty well for going to the mailbox and beyond. I guess a bike doesn't have the "geek" factor but it sure makes more sense. My bet is that it will wind up in the back of the garage when the new wears off.

my commute is over 7 miles and tackles the one of the highest points in seattle (queen anne hill) here's a route:
http://www.bookofseg.com/images/myglide.jpg

forgive me for doubting your driveway is 7 miles, has similar terrain and angles of grade-- but um, send a picture?

as far as mountain bike vs. segway, sounds like you've found a great a solution and should stick with your bike, it's much better than a car and it's much better than having a segway and being unhappy.

for me, give my travel situation, a segway ht makes the most sense-- but it's certainly not for everyone. it might not makes sense for -you- but that might not apply to others.

cheers,
pt

[pt]

I don't know about that. I saw some video of the HTs doing the streets of San Francisco and they didn't look like they were having any issues.

in seattle, there are many places that the segway ht can go, and cyclists need to walk their bikes up (or over) while the segway ht glides right up and over. i wouldn't pit them against each other (bike vs. segway ht) i will say this--

we should be saying "bikes and segway ht's vs. cars" united we stand.

cheers,
pt

[Santa Fe]

Sorry PT, my driveway is 4 miles of gravel with one big hill not seven. I just think the bike is a better device but appreciate the desire to try new technology (the hype seems ahead of reality to me at this point). From an economic point of view the bike wins (although maybe not since I have five that all cost over $3500 each...everyone has a passion).

[pt]

something is really only "better" when compared to something else, for my travel needs a segway ht is a better fit-- if i had a 4 mile gravel driveway, i think i might consider a mountain bike as well.

hype, perhaps-- i bought one and it's replaced my car and is saving me $16,000.

as far as having 5 montain bikes x $3,500 each = $17,500. wow, i couldn't do that, but i admire your passions as well :-]

all that said, we're both _not_ using cars, and that (to me) matters more than any bike vs. segway ht chats.

if you have a chance, ride one-- it's pretty amazing.

cheers,
pt

Sorry PT, my driveway is 4 miles of gravel with one big hill not seven. I just think the bike is a better device but appreciate the desire to try new technology (the hype seems ahead of reality to me at this point). From an economic point of view the bike wins (although maybe not since I have five that all cost over $3500 each...everyone has a passion).

[Santa Fe]

Next trip to Seattle I'll bring one of my bikes and trade you a ride. Good luck and have fun with this. Hope they bring out a "sports model...."

Two mountain bikes, two road bikes and a cross bike to do the job of one segway may not be very efficent...but as you say it beats cars.