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Ryno founder Chris Hoffman with the unique, one-wheeled
motorbike. PHOTO: Ryno |
MOVE over Segway, the Ryno is ready to launch.
When Weekend
Witness first reported on this one-wheeled motorbike in 2012, the Ryno
was still in prototype stage.
Now its American co-founders, automotive expert Chris Hoffman and
software fundi Tony Ozrelic, are finally ready to start building a limited run
for Americans who paid a $150 (around R1 500) PayPal deposit.
“A limited, short production run, special edition Micro-cycle will
be available for the first few lucky people to sign up. Expected delivery will
be in the second quarter of 2014 for a total price of $5 295,” states the
website, but “the air conditioning is free”.
Ryno also wants to export to South Africa and invites importers to
contact them on their website.
Ryno requires new owners to go through a brief training programme
prior to taking ownership.
Initially, they only have dealerships in the U.S.
Fast it is not, with a maximum speed of 16 km/h, and after 16 km,
the two SLA batteries will also be flat. But Hoffman did not make the same
mistake as most electric car makers by locking in the batteries, as the rider
can slide out both sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries without any tools to change
the batteries in seconds. Recharging time is six hours.
Ryno advises riders to keep extra batteries at their destination or
carry them with them “so you can keep riding all day long”.
Both the battery pack and the electric motor are contained inside
the wheel hub. Riders speed up by leaning forward, and backwards to slow.
Tilt and steering is done through the hips, using foot pegs as
leverage — hence the short course that a new owner needs to take.
Its makers say it is not difficult to learn to ride, stating it’s
“an easy-to-learn dance of balance and poise”. A novice setting has built-in
balance redundancy to provide a solid platform to riders even up steep ravines.
