This One-Wheeled Electric Motorbike Looks Like Something Out of a Sci-Fi Movie
Meet RYNO, an all-electric ‘micro cycle’. Or more specifically a one-wheeled motorbike. Yes, you heard it right. The RYNO is the end of a challenge set by the designer’s daughter who asked her dad if he could make her a motorbike just like the one in her favorite video game.
Six years later the engineer, Chris Hoffman unveiled this unbelievable vehicle. He describes his invention as a “one-wheeled, ultra-efficient, urban personal transportation device of the next generation.”
Let’s get a little more specific. In design, it’s more Segway than a motorbike and technically it’s a self-balancing electric scooter. Made from a 15-inch motorcycle tire, the RYNO weighs 160 pounds and is powered by two electric motors that run off two quick-change batteries. These two power packs will give you about 15 miles in between their 6-hour charges.
The great thing about the RYNO is the styling as it looks way better than the clumsy Segway. RYNO’s design was inspired by the cool single wheeled motorbike in the manga, Venus Wars. The comic was published in Japan from 1987 to 1990 and translated into English in the early 1990’s. It was then turned into a cult film in 1989. The film follows the story of two thriving colonies on Venus, Ishtar and Aphrodia. When a war breaks out between the two nations, the monocycle hero, Hiro, gets pulled into the centre of the conflict. But, of course, the RYNO isn’t as quick as the crazy motorbike in Venus Wars. It was designed to get you through thick traffic, not escape murderous enemies. It can hit a top speed of about 10 miles/hour. Something around the pace of a fast jog. It can carry the rider plus luggage load of about 260 pounds.
Ryno Motors’ website states the cycles are “built and assembled just outside of Portland, Oregon, using the highest quality materials, components and of course, the best of a highly skilled workforce.”
Ryno Motors pitches their product to individuals wanting to easily navigate the city, extolling the virtues of being able to move from sidewalk to tarmac without hindrance. But they also push the idea of the RYNO for business.
Encouraging the use of the vehicle to aid security guards as well as bring a fast and efficient way to get around large construction sites of business campus. Segway once pitched the same idea, but somehow a security guard on a Segway never took off.
It is hard not to compare this vehicle with the Segway, they both use a similar technology and could be pitching at some of the same markets. The stumbling block for the RYNO and the Segway is regulations around their use in cities. Being faster and more bulky than bikes, but slower and more agile than scooters, these clean vehicles can fall between the cracks when it comes to where and how they can be used.
