Are people really interested in "hoverboards"?

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

Why? Seriously, they look absolutely ridiculous, and pretentious as hell.
It's a segway without the stick in it.

Also, why is it called a hoverboard? It's not hovering. It's still connected to wheels. If that's what classifies one, then my car is a hoverboard.

I ask because I was working late one night, just before closing, and these two guys come in, one walking and the other rolling in on this lit up piece of plastic.
He also opened up half of our fridge doors, grabbed some drinks, and then didn't close any of them.
And was just a douche in general.

Is there really a market for these things?

 

[PsychicTaco115]

If there's something that's overpriced, gimmicky and not that useful, you bet your ass there's someone willing to buy it

Personally, I wouldn't call those wheelie things 'hoverboards'

They're supposed to actually hover, damn it! That's the whole jist!

 

[Zhukov]

What can I say, Back to the Future was really, really popular.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

I don't get it either.

If it was an actual skateboard that actually hovered, sure, it'd be cool.

But as it stands it's a segway thingy that's often slower than just walking or jogging, so what's the freakin' point?

 

[Saelune]

I just see it as assholes looking for excuses to go to stores without shoes. At least that's my experience when I worked at Gamestop.

I remember being like "HOVERBOARDS ARE REAL!?" And then being disappointed.

 

[charmander25]

I think Hoverboards are too dangerous to use. Especially those news I've read that it can explode while using it due to overheating. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Leg End]

It was assholes noticing that Back To The Future Part II's date was coming up and decided to cash in on the term. The actual term for them is "self-balancing scooter".

I think Hoverboards are too dangerous to use. Especially those news I've read that it can explode while using it due to overheating. Just my 2 cents.

If I remember right, that was because of mostly cheap ones having their battery overheat and combust because apparently temperature cutoffs stopped being a thing.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Not sure. I'm guessing it's a way to adequately display having more money than sense, without a road for which to show said excess. In all honestly, I'm pro anything that rich kids will break a leg with.

That being said... like any long term, rain or shine motorcyclist like myself will tell you... people with more money than sense is ultimately good for the vehicle market. So many weekend warriors take a single spill on their brand new bike, get frightened, and sell it to someone like me for a far reduced price that you can spend a thousand on repairs and flog it off at a profit.

Well... that used to be one side job I used to have. It's too expensive now, with increased checks and duties. But early adopters do help improve the marketability of some devices. I suppose it's just social evolution that such a business of consumer vehicles transcending the road to inflict us all in places of former safety.

 

[charmander25]

Yeah.. and sometimes it overheats because of being overcharged. I think there should be required hours to fully charge it and make sure before charging it again, the battery should be fully drained. Just like cellphones

 

[Vanilla ISIS]

This is the closest thing to an actual hoverboard that exists at the moment:


I would say that they're definitely on the right track.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Not even an actual hoverboard interests me that much. I see something like that breaking in the first week of using it.

Those new ones with wheels are just dumb. I really can't see the point of them.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I personally think they're stupid, and makes you look like a douche canoe.

That said, the greatest thing about them is that I can see people fall flat on their face when they fail at standing on them. I've seen glorious face plants, and I've laughed at every one of them.

 

[Thaluikhain]

At first I thought this thread would be about real hoverboards, and my answer was going to be "but you'd fall off them easily".

Then I saw it was about thous...motorised skateboard thingies? I guess if you like normal skateboards, sticking a motor one is better, maybe. Still, falling off is an issue.

 

[pookie101]

im very interested in hoverboards.. how else are we going to have a reliable source of videos of people hurting themselves

 

[IceForce]

ikr. I drive a hovercar to work every day.

Oh and, those round rubber things underneath my hovercar? They just help it uhh... hover, yes.

 

[Leg End]

At first I thought this thread would be about real hoverboards, and my answer was going to be "but you'd fall off them easily".

Then I saw it was about thous...motorised skateboard thingies? I guess if you like normal skateboards, sticking a motor one is better, maybe. Still, falling off is an issue.

Shit, if we're on that subject, we got them and they actually kick ass.

 

[Panzer Camper]

I think they are neat, you race around balancing on this little segway thing. I've never ridden one but it looks like fun. Everyone that hates them so far (as shown by this thread) never has ridden one and thinks they're stupid because it doesnt actually hover (nothing skateboardy ever pragmatically will, get over it), and the people that own them tend to be douche bags. Honestly the hate towards them seems way more douchey than the hoverboard or their owners (which normally seem to be teenager kids in my area) but hey keep up the cricle jerk of hate. I do it too with other stuff so I'm not judging, but you're probably just denying yourself a good time if you have the opportunity to ride one and scoff as you walk away.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I think Hoverboards are too dangerous to use. Especially those news I've read that it can explode while using it due to overheating. Just my 2 cents.

You should see the news when some teen died from one. He was using it on the street and as he got near the road, he fell from it and onto a incoming bus!

 

[Schadrach]

I think Hoverboards are too dangerous to use. Especially those news I've read that it can explode while using it due to overheating. Just my 2 cents.

That's just a matter of cheap chargers and their batteries (said batteries explode if overcharged, and the cheap charging circuits they tend to use in those things have a habit of not cutting off when they should). Also, said batteries in anything that can wreck is probably a bad idea to begin with, since they are explosive if punctured as well.

This is the closest thing to an actual hoverboard that exists at the moment:


I would say that they're definitely on the right track.

So long as you are fine with being limited to short trips where you only travel over copper coated surfaces. The "engines" are basically pairs of magnets spinning on an axis. It looks like the big improvements they made for the 2.0 are giving it a wider base so it's harder to tip and getting quieter motors to spin the magnets.