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Electric Monocyle Tumblebug Available On Alibaba

Just take a look at this beauty! An all-electric single wheel electric monocycle that you can order now.


(Alibaba EV electric motorcycle)

With 2,000 watts of power and a top speed of 30 mph (48 km/h), this rolling abnormality isn’t kidding around. This thing could seriously mess you up in a crash. But at least the whole contraption only weighs 88 lb (40 kg), so it’s not like you’ve got a giant motorcycle to crush you mid-tumble.

And hey, I’m not your momma. I’m more like your well-intentioned friend hyping you up for what is obviously a terrible idea. If you look at it a different way, it only has half the wheels of a 60 mph electric motorcycle, and so 30 mph seems fairly logical, no?

If you do decide to pick one of these up for yourself, you’ll be pleased to know that you could outfit it with up to 1,360 Wh of battery. The manufacturer claims the Panasonic battery has enough capacity for 35-60 miles (60-100 km) of range on a charge.

Of course, Technovelgy fans know about science fiction Grandmaster Robert Heinlein's amazing tumblebug monocycle from his 1940 classic novella The Roads Must Roll:


(Heinlein tumblebug from Astounding SF June 1940)

Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain, some twenty-five yards behind the leading wave. It had been a long time since the Chief Engineer had ridden one of these silly-looking little vehicles, and he felt awkward. A tumblebug does not give a man dignity, since it is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized on a single wheel. But it is perfectly adapted to patrolling the maze of machinery 'down inside', since it can go through an opening the width of a man's shoulders, is easily controlled and will stand patiently upright, waiting, should its rider dismount.

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