Comments on: Wheelsurfer

Wheelsurfer

sjvilla79 — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 04:49:43 -0800

Imagine rocking down to the shops on this thing. The Wheelsurf is a motorised monocycle powered by a chainsaw engine. Designed by Brazilian engineer Tito Lucas Ott, the rider sits inside the turning wheel, and steers by leaning the whole machine into corners – hence 'surfing'. The wheelsurfer takes practice to master and you need to be relatively well coordinated. Weight distribution, body balancing and throttle all play a part in a successful ride. See images. Via Beyond Tomorrow.

By: bap98189

bap98189 — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:01:42 -0800

Monowheels are nothing new. They have been around since the mid 19th century.

By: zardoz

zardoz — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:01:53 -0800

I'll take ten! Very cool, I wonder if it's street legal (DRTW) BTW, I loved Beyond 2000, haven't seen it's new incarnation.

By: NinjaPirate

NinjaPirate — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:07:59 -0800

Spot the nerds in the photo gallery. I'd personally die before I got in one of those things, but purely as part of my time-saving ethic.

By: LairBob

LairBob — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:21:39 -0800

I love that video on the images page--really shows some of the aspects that make it so "thrilling" (like spinning head-over-heels inside it while you're riding, and that hilarious sequence where it gets away from the guy and he has to sprint after it down the beach).

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:22:24 -0800

This beats Segway to all hell, anyway. Wonder what the range is on that thing in real-world use.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:25:03 -0800

Hard to see straight ahead, surely?

By: alumshubby

alumshubby — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:31:05 -0800

Get it up to 40 kph, then slam on the brakes and see if the forward motion gets it to rock up over those two stupid little idler wheels -- it might be fun flying @$$ over teakettle.

By: caution live frogs

caution live frogs — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:35:21 -0800

Didn't Mr. Garrison invent this on South Park a few years back? Or does this model not feature mouth- and ass-mounted controls?

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:35:57 -0800

Can this be far behind, then?

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:45:08 -0800

Instead of the Verve's Bittersweet Symphony, their video would be a lot better with Benny Hill chase music.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:10:03 -0800

That thing is the future. I want one.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:20:08 -0800

So then, couldn't I just order one that works without going in and out of my ass and mouth? Mr. Garrison: Well, I... guess you could.

By: freq

freq — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:31:24 -0800

the riot wheel looks like it would be more dangerous to pedestrians and thus more fun.

By: lowlife

lowlife — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:41:32 -0800

wfrgms, just about everything is better with benny hill chase music. It certainly makes rush hour far more enjoyable.

By: homodigitalis

homodigitalis — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:49:02 -0800

Cool way to kill yourself.

By: asok

asok — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:58:59 -0800

Where would I put the shopping basket?

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 07:21:22 -0800

freq: That RIOT wheel is so cool I'm getting an ice cream headache. But I don't quite understand how you'd steer it. Leaning?

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 07:48:02 -0800

I have to say this immediately brought to mind that South Park episode.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 07:53:28 -0800

Yeah, the RIOT wheel is cool, but it was made for Burning Man. Ew.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 08:17:03 -0800

Funny, they chose to call it the Wheelsurfer over the Concussionator? The RIOT wheel is cool and incredibly scary to ride on, I'm sure. leotrotsky, steering is for people who care where they are going. Let the RIOT wheel steer you to where it wants to go. Maybe its a zen thing?

By: clevershark

clevershark — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 08:30:04 -0800

LairBob writes "that hilarious sequence where it gets away from the guy and he has to sprint after it down the beach" Actually it seems the guy let it go on purpose to show how the contraption balances itself.

By: linux

linux — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 09:08:09 -0800

Hey, it's Steamboy!

By: chibikeandy

chibikeandy — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 09:10:41 -0800

I can't wait for all the kids in my neighborhood to get the cheap knockoff versions of these, especially dangerous cheap knockoff versions. It's like the whole motorized scooter thing 2 years ago...

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 10:06:07 -0800

posted by OmieWise: Yeah, the RIOT wheel is cool, but it was made for Burning Man. Ew. Huh?

By: delmoi

delmoi — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 10:57:25 -0800

RIOT Wheel >> wheelsurver > everything else.

By: Satapher

Satapher — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 11:08:26 -0800

Huh? burning man is made out of people different than the ones on tv and in movies

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 11:15:27 -0800

Satapher writes "burning man is made out of people different than the ones on tv and in movies" Burning man is made out of people who wish they were different than the ones on tv and in the movies.

By: Jon-o

Jon-o — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 11:17:58 -0800

Lets be honest, this Wheelsurf thing is really only marginally cooler than it's dweeby and recessive cousin, the Segway...

By: Satapher

Satapher — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 11:30:35 -0800

Burning man is made out of people who wish they were different than the ones on tv and in the movies. dont be a moron. yes we are all made in the image of one god, we all sleep, eat, shit, bleed and fuck... but the guy who invented the Riot Wheel is much different than the cubicle working, rum and coke drinking, will and grace watching, boring as fuck american manchild.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 12:28:20 -0800

Satapher, wait a minute, people actually watch Will and Grace? Damn, I just pause it and think about messing on Debra Messing. I think the point about Burning Man is that it used to be cool when it was waaaay fringe. A friend who went last year said it was just about ruined by the busfull of asshole frat looking guys out to party, party, party and ogle the nekkid hippy chicks.

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 12:32:27 -0800

Meanwhile, General Grievous is suing over patent rights.

By: retronic

retronic — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 12:49:36 -0800

wfrgms: Instead of the Verve's Bittersweet Symphony, their video would be a lot better with Benny Hill chase music. That would be Boots Randolph's signature tune, "Yakety Sax."

By: stenseng

stenseng — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 14:44:28 -0800

Burning Man is just a Trek Convention for people who consciously TRY to be "weird, different, subversive, etc," instead of just being themselves as opposed to the many cool people in the world who actually ARE weird, different, subversive, etc, merely as a byproduct of truly being themselves. It's as they say out here in the West, all hat, and no cattle.

By: stenseng

stenseng — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 14:45:54 -0800

that said, the wheelsurfer is :coal:

By: alumshubby

alumshubby — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 17:26:45 -0800

I've been wondering how long it would be before somebody mentioned General Grievous.

By: Satapher

Satapher — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 20:46:58 -0800

I think the point about ~~Burning Man~~ America is that it used to be cool when it was waaaay fringe. A friend who went last year said it was just about ruined by the busfull of asshole frat looking guys out to party, party, party and ogle the nekkid hippy chicks

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 16:21:56 -0800

Have any of you guys even been to Burning Man? I thought it was fun, though you know me, I'm the sort of person people go to Burning Man to get away from.... I like the big wheel.