Q: What’s more expensive and less functional than a bike?
Posted on 04. Aug, 2008 in Trends
A: Toyota’s Winglet, “a personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position.”
Basically, you stand on it and drive around. Toyota claims a range of 5-10km at a top speed of 6km/h, like a smaller, lighter, slower Segway. No word on the Winglet’s price, but it will likely be less than a Segway and more than the $250 price tag for the used bike that I got on Craigslist for my girlfriend.
For urban transportation, that bike has a range of maybe 10km and a top speed of 30kmh with an inexperienced rider. Not that much better than the Winglet, but the difference is that you can get better at riding a bike. A more experienced rider might have a range of 20-30km and top speed 50kmh, but the Winglet will never go farther than 10km without a 1-hour charge or faster than a brisk walking pace.
Plus, you can put racks on your bike to carry stuff. With the Winglet, you’re limited to what you can carry on your body. There’s also the whole exercise thing. And fun.
The Winglet might be great for elderly or disabled people, but the rest of us should probably stick to bikes and self-respect.
via Gizmodo
