Ryno wants to compel cars off the road with their freaky electric motor-cycles

How dare anyone call this thing a motor-cycle or even a ‟bike”? Nonetheless, it's getting a lot of attention. In my view, the Ryno is closer to a one-wheel Segway than a motorcycle.

Chris Hoffman, of Vancouver-based Ryno Motors, says it steers like a motorcycle and balances like a Segway. To ride it, you need to shift your weight from side to side; acceleration is done with a twist grip. His daughter had the idea for the bike from a video game and asked Hoffman to build it - of course he said yes, and in 2009, the Ryno prototype was born.

In terms of distance, a 90 minute recharge gives it about 30 miles. It can apparently hit a top speed of 25 mph but that clearly depends on the weight of the rider. How does it stay up? A micro controller knows where the centre of the earth is, and when the bike deviates from that, it brings itself into balance. Although, it looks like the riding position demands the operator to move weight forward into the arms.

Currently, Hoffman is topping up his first round of funding. The company plans to have a model in production for 2013 at a price of $4,000+. For that money, you can get a real motorcycle!

Although, it's simply annoying to see this much attention go to what looks like a toy gadget , Hoffman's ultimate mission is to reduce traffic congestion and get cars off the roads. But is putting these motor-cycles on roads, in bike lanes, onto sidewalks and inside building a good thing?

The Ryno is cute and clearly aimed at women and it ‟appears” less dangerous than a motorcycle. But is it really? Think about all small children getting run over on the sidewalks with this thing.

Ryno claims they are poised to make a fundamental change to the industry. Less cars on roads means more motorcycles, and more motorcycles means safer roads for riders so if Hoffman can get people excited about it, more power to him. I'll wait and see. What do you think?

Here's Hoffman's update on production

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