So I was at the Clark County Fair Tuesday and was touring the exhibits. I came around the corner and what do you think I saw? A whole rack of SBUs!!
The designer and builder of the SBU, Daniel Wood, was there as well and he gladly answered questions about his ingenious product which he manufactures directly out of his shop in Vancouver, WA. I have to confess that at first I was not real happy about a unicycle that destroyed the pure essence of unicycling, but now, after seeing the SBU demonstrated and explained in person I have changed my opinion. The SBU is quite remarkable and definitely requires more skill than we give it credit for. However, the simplicity of the SBU remains with a guarantee to be able to learn how to ride it within an hour. The SBU’s high-end battery is top of the line in today’s technology and lasts for two hours on a charge. I was not too pleased with the SBU’s weight of roughly 24 pounds but I had to remind myself that this unicycle has a battery and a motor. 
As Daniel was explaining the SBU I couldn’t help but also keep an eye on the video being played on the TV. It was some awesome footage of him riding a SBU around San Francisco with friends and, of course, Adam Savage who received a SBU. Adam appeared to be greatly enthralled with the SBU and it was hilarious to see him learning how to ride it. At the end of Daniel’s excellent explanation and demonstration of the SBU I picked up his business card
and brochure which I made him sign. 
It was really cool to meet Daniel and the SBU. If you are anywhere near the Clark County Fair I strongly suggest heading down there and checking out his booth. If you can’t head on down to the fair at least visit the SBU’s website http://focusdesigns.com/. Keep in mind that the sport of unicycling whether its from flat, to MUni from street, to daily commuting, is still evolving. Give the SBU a chance and check it out, you won’t regret it.
Is it just me, or does the OP read like a commercial sales pitch?
No SBU thread is complete without mention of Trevor Blackwell’s SBU. While he may not have built the first SBU, his own design was freely available on the Internet years before Mr. Wood even began his work.
Despite the claims on the Focus website, there doesn’t seem to be anything revolutionary about this product. Trevor’s software has been open-source for five years now.
An example of a revolutionary SBU would be one that could self-balance when the rider steps on or off. Perhaps some method of flattening the learning curve, such as a flywheel to aid in lateral balance. Or a digital riding instructor that could offer advice (vocalized through a synthesizer) based on the rider’s performance.
Of course, I wouldn’t want any of the above features… those would be more suitable for the mass market. What the experienced unicyclist would want is a SBU hybrid of sorts. Imagine a self-balancing electric moped unicycle? One could dial the amount of “electric assistance” he desires, based on his riding skill. The motor could be programmed to “kick in” once the rider achieved a certain speed, allowing the rider to stop pedaling.
A unicycle like that would make me flow in my shorts…
Eww. Or did you mean flux? 
I think there’s one thing about the new SBUs that’s relatively revolutionary, and that’s the fact that you can buy one! He’s actually got them to market, at a reasonable price. Also the cycle is amazingly light and looks great. I’d love to have one, but not until I’ve got a Schlumpf 29"…
Photos
Well, I don’t know what to say; the photos were somehow taken off from my post. 
I will attach them here below and hope they stay this time.
Well, I think getting this to a commercially available product is impressive. Notwithstanding this is my current avatar (I have no connection) I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing I had the money to buy one of these just for the reaction walking the dog on one. Hopefully these will still be around when I win the lottery. I just need to start entering it…
I happen to be up in Clark County at the moment, and went and found the booth so I could take a ride on one. I’ve also ridden on Trevor’s. I talked with the designer, who said he’s talked with Trevor, but didn’t use Trevor’s design; they both independently developed something similar. (He started out with a self-balancing toy-sized Segway).
It’s definitely a more finished product than Trevor’s. Trevor’s is definitely at a workshop-prototype level, while this looks like a salable product. I liked the fact that it’s a little more responsive than Trevor’s; with Trevor’s I felt like I had to lean forward too far to get it to go; the SBU was closer to a normal unicycling position. I didn’t get to ride it extensively as there were a ton of people around, but it seemed like it wouldn’t take long for a unicyclist to be comfortable on it. (A non-unicyclist, I’m not so sure about). I did manage to bang a “pedal” into the back of my legs trying to step off.
It supposedly can cruise at 8MPH and has a battery life of 2 hours.
It’s a fun thing to try. I can’t imagine it being a serious commercial success, though maybe it could appeal to Sharper Image types, guys who love toys and have too much money.
Good to hear that you saw him and were able to ride the SBU there! (I signed up to test ride it on another day) I will say that it’s funny that all non-unicyclers think it’s an amazing thing and that he will become a wealthy person while the unicyclers aren’t thinking it will really go anywhere. Just interesting and congrats again on going to his booth; sounds like you had fun.
This may help expand the number of uni riders
For me it looks like a fun thing to ride just to check it out. I doubt I would buy one. I like the challenge of balancing, I need the exercise of pedaling, and my 36 can beat 8 mph and it is easy to balance. A tough sell to experienced uni riders.
For a non uni rider to get used to riding this, that may make them view unis as less intimidating. It appears these things are easier for a novice to learn than a uni, so that can only help us. I have no idea if these things will catch on with the general public. I hate to damn it with false praise, but it seems more logical to me than a Segway. If it becomes a fad and sells millions, expect our sport to grow rapidly.
I hope it will go somewhere, but being around this sport for 30 years I’ve seen a lot of “great ideas” come to market (most of which that were a lot less great than this one) and few of them ever go anywhere. The general public may lack this experience and just see it for the cool thing that it really is.
But to really go big, the SBU will either need powerful marketing or a lot of time to find its audience. Once he’s spread it around for a while, and had lots of people do test rides, maybe the next step will be to hire a PR firm to get it on the Today Show and similar high-visibility places. Or, like Tom said, to get it into the Sharper Image catalog. Or those airline catalogs (then for $2200!)
I’m still getting used to randomly seeing my picture on the internets. Thanks to the guys who stopped by the booth and wrote about the SBU here.
Check out our latest video of Adam Savage receiving his SBU:
I’m trying to get it to go viral.
-Daniel
you guys and your sbu’s
im kickin it old school in my sbq (self balancing quadricycle) 