Not as easy as it may seem.
BALANCE has never been my strong suit — I fall over standing still, let alone on a motorised skateboard, so when an Aussie company asked me to test out theZoomR, I said my farewells to my loved ones and said yes.
Let me paint you a picture of my first time stepping on the self-balancing, responsive board. Just imagine an extremely drunk baby learning how to stand up (Note: No drunk babies were hurt in the making of this analogy).
That was me on the 3VOLV ZoomR for the first 10, *cough* 200, minutes. The board is uber responsive to your movements, you lean forward to make it go forwards and backwards if you want it to go back. It’s smooth and easy to use. But getting on and off it is a skill I am guessing even Tony Hawk himself would falter at.
I may have backed into a few walls while practising but 3VOLV founder Trent Fung said it takes a good 10 to 30 minutes to master. So don’t judge me, OK?
“The key is when you stand on it to look ahead and not at your feet. Choose a target and ride towards it,” Mr Fung said.
The target was my dignity and unfortunately I never managed to ride towards it successfully in front of my co-workers, many of whom mastered the ZoomR with ease, some even choosing to play dress-up while riding it.
When asked about the demographic most likely to master the ZoomR Mr Fung said he couldn’t pick one having seen everyone, from his 70-year-old neighbour to children in his family ride them with ease.
The ZoomR goes to 10km/h and you can ride 20km before having to charge it. The recent reminder by the NSW Government that “self-balancing smart scooters, also known as hoverboards, cannot be registered for use on NSW roads due to safety concerns, a Transport for NSW spokeswoman told news.com.au
“Hoverboards currently cannot legally be used on roads or road-related areas such as footpaths and carparks,” she said.
In my opinion, this is ludicrous. If you want to ban something that proves a hazard to the public on our roads and footpaths it’s high heels — have you seen a woman walk in those things? I know when I’m walking in them things could go either way. I mean people are in legitimate danger around me. It’s touch-and-go for most of the walk.
My finale thoughts on the ZoomR, and high heels? It’s great fun, and if I can learn how not to consistently make out with the floor while riding one I would enjoy it even more.
[Source:- news.com]