Heavy Duty Electric Unicycle Maker Takes On Segway 93
formaggio writes "Designer Chris Hoffmann developed the Ryno, a heavy duty electric unicycle with a top speed of 25 mph, a range of up to 30 miles and an impressive 25-inch thick tire. The cost for a pre-production Ryno is a whopping $25,000, and Hoffmann already has five orders, but he expects the market model to cost about $3,500."
Re:BC Comic (Score:5, Informative)
I got one; I've generally heard it called a "BC wheel" or an "Impossible Wheel". Could never get the hang of riding the thing - with a normal unicycle (or even its cousin the Ultimate Wheel) you can put pressure on the pedals to stop the unicycle whizzing off and leaving you to fall to the ground. With a BC wheel you just have to balance incredibly well - it's hard. Some people (often younger people, I think) can pick up the balance quite quickly.
Some folks made an ace video of some properly skillful BC riding:
http://vimeo.com/7390720 [vimeo.com]
I like seeing unicycles mentioned on Slashdot because balance sports generally seem to be enjoyed by tech-minded people. I suspect it's because they can require an intense but non-intellectual concentration - and possibly because they are non-competitive, unconventional and still easy to enjoy even when there's nobody else to join in.