Training Wheels Go High-Tech

I probably still have a few scars from my transition to a two-wheeled bicycle. In fact I still remember quite vividly the first time I wobbled down the driveway on two wheels -- minus training wheels and without my dad's trusty hand on the banana seat -- and felt the freedom and exhilaration of a "big boy" bike.

Well, someone has actually reinvented the training wheel. As reported by Wired's Geek Dad blog, Gyrobike is selling a new kind of training wheel that employs a gyroscope (remember the Segway?) to maintain balance at low speeds. A disc inside the wheel spins independently to help the bike maintain balance.

The company claims that its new and improved training wheels not only re-center the bike when it wobbles but also teach correct biking technique. The following video from the Interbike 2009 conference gives a decent demonstration of how the technology works:

This video shows a happy young biker learning how to ride in just 30 minutes:

According to its Web site, the San Francisco-based company also is planning to release a version of its gyrowheel for adults. Adults? I thought the whole point was to help children learn how to actually ride a bike and eventually maintain balance on their own, but I guess I'm just old-fashioned.

Photo courtesy of Gyrobiker, via Wikimedia Commons