Segway Glides Barcelona

[nerfman39]

Last weekend found us in Barcelona so the opportunity to take the Segway tour with Barcelona Glides was not to be missed.

The tour meets at the Place St. Jaume in central Barcelona from where it's only a short walk to the office to pick up the machines. Luckily the tour had several people all of whom were experienced on a Segway so the training was kept to a minimum.

Then the bad news, it seems that the Barcelona authorities have decided to clamp down on all wheeled transport in the old parts of the town. Not just Segways, bicycles scooters everything. Therefore the tour wouldn't be following the usual route. :mad:

Despite these problems, the ever cheerful Edgar took us off down some of the back alleys, then out along the beachfront and back through the tiny streets of the Born district.

The total trip of over two hours was very enjoyable and a lot of fun. After an i2 the i180s that they use take some time to get used to but everything went well after a little bit of adjustment and I didn't fall off!!

I can throughly recommend Edgar and his tour, it's informative, varied and interesting and the sights of Barcelona are not to be missed. Hopefully he will be able to get permission to carry on with the tours even if it can't be in the old town. :)

Ian

[Madsegs]

As a friend of Edgar i know him well and his tours. Segways are still not legal to use in Barcelona but he is trying hard to get permission to use them on a planned/agreed route in the city. It is likely that it will not include the beachfront.....which is the easiest and fastest part of his tour. This will also remove quite a bit of milage from his great tour.
At the moment it is just Barcelona that has taken this stand and our Spanish law does state that it is up to the local govorning body to decide. I hope this negative segway attitude does not spread as Spain is the largest market outside of the USA.

[Desert_Seg]

... I hope this negative segway attitude does not spread as Spain is the largest market outside of the USA.

This was true last year but is no longer the case. Japan and Germany have taken the lead this year, although Spain is still in the Top 10 and maybe even in the Top 5 (I can't remember where they landed)!

That being said, the advantages of touring a location on a Segway is an event not to be missed and greatly enhances the tourist experience. Unfortunately not all municipalities view it as a boon :mad:

Steven

[Madsegs]

This was true last year but is no longer the case. Japan and Germany have taken the lead this year,....

Steven

Sales here have almost stopped as the importer is in Barcelona! The fact that the trusted i series is not avaliable is also a major factor. The wireless i2 cannot be used anywhere as in the i button (airports) and the overweight i2 is not well suited for European customers as it is more difficult to place in our small cars (in some cases impossible). We dont all have RV´s and ramps, in fact i only know 2 people personally that use ramp to get the segways into there vehicles. Fit the handles to lift and the segway becomes bigger! 50kg needs two people but 38 generally needs one.......

With the ban in Barcelona sales might stop as there is a bigger second hand market from that area. Many sales where for tours that have now almost saturated the market and many are now selling out as i have been approached recently by a few wanting out.