You might be surprised to learn that a unicycle is on the rise as a serious option for transportation solutions, especially in the urban realm along with scooters and electric bikes. The problem with the bigger personal transport modes is that they command the need for significant storage space, a challenging factor for many urban residents. Many of these same residents however do wish to have a viable solution for personal travel that can easily be paired with trips on public transportation.
Announced in April of 2020, the InMotion V11 is seeking to turn the world of personal travel on its head by offering a superior brand of unicycle travel with a revolutionary technology that is rife with modern innovation.
InMotion V11
One such compact, portable, and minimally space-invasive solutions is the InMotion V11 unicycle – the first unicycle to feature a built-in adjustable suspension. The V11 includes the world’s first built-in air-spring pedal suspension design. This allows for 3.3 inches of vertical lifts, a distance from which it can absorb most dips, nooks, and bumps.
It comes ready with a superb integrated electric motor that is rated at 2,200 W. It is, however, capable of peaking out at 3,000 W, promoting serious traveling prowess. Its functions are not limited to urban street travel either. Thanks to its superb integrated air suspension, one similar to that leveraged by motorcycles and cars, it is conducive to ‘off-road’ travel. Its ‘Off-Road Tire” makes it more durable in absorbing drops and shocks that are often a natural part of off-roading excursions.
Travel Specs
The V11 is equipped with an 84V battery with a 1,500 Wh capacity. This little high-powered travel juggernaut has an impressive 75-mile range on a full battery. It is capable of supporting a payload of 265 lbs, climb angles as steep as 35 degrees, and travel at a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour. If that sounds slow, rest assured it feels much faster than traveling 31 mph inside of a car. And if it sounds like it is too fast, that’s because of a travel device of its kind, 31 mph is likely more than most will be able to handle. While you have the capability of achieving such speeds, rest assured that most would not dare get up that high.
The 3-inch by 18-inch tire is a thick road warrior that promotes a better grip for enhanced stability and is capable of handling most types of terrains. The V11 is also the first unicycle that comes equipped with a built-in stand, allowing peace of mind when the traveling stops.
Charging
The 84V lithium battery pack can be charged fully within 10 hours with a single charger. However, the V11 offers a dual charge option, which knocks the charging time down to just 5 hours for full reload. There is even a USB charging port option included.
Additional Features
Traveling on the V11 does not need to occur solely in the light of the day hours either as the unicycle comes equipped with the brightest electric unicycle headlight on the market (7800 lux) and responsive brake light, reminiscent of that rear lighting system of most vehicles.
The pedals are large and are fitted with grip tape. This allows for 20% greater friction, which improves V11’s stability during travel.
Aside from requiring far less storage space than a bicycle or a scooter, the V11 is portable. While it weighs approximately 60 pounds, a fold-up handle at the top means you won’t have to carry it around, but roll it next to you, much like you would do with a piece of luggage while traveling.
The V11’s cooling system involves a high-performance heat dissipation capability, utilizing convection, conduction, and fan, which is surely a necessity for cooling down the controller and the powerful motor within.
Learning Curve
The V11 is not immediately learnable, there is a bit of an adjustment process to its mastery. After some practice and making the appropriate adjustments, it begins to feel natural to ride them and commuting rides become much easier. But it is certainly no beginner’s bike and requires patience and attention to get used to.
Pricing
The pricing for the InMotion V11 stands at $1,999. There is an option to pay the full price right away or put down a pre-order deposit of $500, with the $1,499 difference invoiced at a later time. The shipping will begin from the San Diego warehouses late October, but the shipment arrivals can be expedited by 3 to 4 weeks with the air shipping option.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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