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The image was part of the problem, but any new technology has the barrier of looking weird when first introduced (VR anyone?). The real problem was that they we
by vannevar 4y ago
The image was part of the problem, but any new technology has the barrier of looking weird when first introduced (VR anyone?). The real problem was that they were super expensive, and there were cheaper alternatives that did most of what a Segway did. Electric scooters ultimately co-opted the Segway vision because they were much cheaper, handled 90% of the use case, and had a large market of 20-somethings who had ridden Razor scooters into their teens, so it was a familiar experience.
- skybrian 4y agoOr possibly e-bikes, which also seem to be popular and I think appeal more to older people?
- dionidium 4y agoSegways do look really dorky, but so do the modern scooters. The first time I rode one I felt ridiculous. And my opinion on that hasn't really changed. In fact, I think Graham kind of nailed the feeling of being upright and stationary while piloting a moving object; it feels sort of pompous and aloof. But I'm talking here about how I feel on an electric scooter. So, yes, he's right about that feeling, but he's wrong that it's what held them back. That could have been overcome. Even the price could have been overcome, if the experience were compelling. But it wasn't. They were too big and too heavy -- too impractical, in other words.