Two Wheels Good, One Wheel Better: Ryno Electric Unicycle

The trouble with most vehicles is that you can't drive them on the sidewalk. Or through a hotel lobby--people tend to object.

Neither of those are concerns with the Ryno, an electric, self-balancing unicycle, the brainchild of Ryno founder Chris Hoffman.

The Ryno wasn't actually Chris's idea, but that of his daughter--who one day saw something similar on a videogame, and asked if dad could build it.

Chris has taken his daughter's preliminary sketch into a full, working product--one that manages 20 miles on its lithium iron phosphate battery, which takes around 1.5 hours to recharge.

Top speed depends where you're using it. The Ryno can more or less be ridden anywhere you can walk (though we suspect stairs present a problem), which means you can use it on the sidewalk or the road.

On the former, you're legally limited to 12.5 mph, but on the roads it'll do 20 mph--suitable for a jaunt around your neighborhood, or through crowded city streets.

Though the Ryno isn't on sale yet, and Chris is looking for investors, he estimates an eventual retail price of around $4,500--less than that of a considerably less cool Segway.

And judging by the reactions of people in the video, we know which one we'd rather be seen riding...

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This story originally appeared at Green Car Reports.