I'm 60 years old & 285 lbs., neither of which are recommended according to the directions that come with the transporter. However, I'm a man, and we don't read directions or ask for directions. I use for my business at the airport and just went shopping at Sam's club. Once I mastered slowing it down, traveling downhill, I've reduced the likelihood of falling significantly, since the proverbial "speed kills" applies to ninebots as it does with automobiles. My response when folks tell me I'm either too big or too old to be on a ninebot or I get a disapproving scowl: "Men are just boys with bigger toys". Probably the most important fact when deciding to buy one is the ninebot is self-balancing. People stop me every day and ask how long it took to learn to ride? It dawned on me, most people assume I am balancing myself on the scooter; once I explain and demonstrate it is self-balancing, I can see the lightbulb turn on in their head that this is something they can do too. Training: A good venue to train in operating the ninebot is a tennis court. I used the tennis courts in my neighborhood to develop my ninebot riding skills. When not in use, I visited the courts during the week. The fence surrounding the tennis courts helped me when trying to keep my balance while traversing the courts and the smooth surface, no seams or cracks, provides a perfect pavement. (The Segway is self-balancing and doesn't require above average coordination, as say, in riding a skateboard). After about an hour performing figure 8’s and circles, I had developed a basic skill-set for operating the Segway. Safety: I recommend always wearing a helmet, especially beginners, when riding the Ninebot. The first time I rode down a steep hill, I fell backwards hitting my head on the cement curb. Fortunately, the helmet took the impact of the blow with no physical side effects to me, other than, an occasional grand mal seizure 😊. Keep in mind, unlike a traditional scooter there are no handlebars to grasp or to cushion a frontal collision. Remember, Speed Kills! For the physicists reading this, assuming my weight and top speed of 10mph is equivalent to 1,291 joules of energy released upon impact - BTW for a point of reference: a 9mm bullet weighs about 7.5 grams and leaves the muzzle at about 800 mph for muzzle energy of 467 joules. I also strongly suggest purchasing and wearing a “surfboard coil attachment” while riding the Ninebot. (See update below dated 1/17/20). Ninebot Weight: The ninebot weighs about 30 lbs., which can make it cumbersome to carry for long distances. Having been a weightlifter for over 40 years this really hasn't been an issue. However, it's something to consider when deciding to buy or where you will use the device. It's probably the most tedious when climbing up stairs. Several of the Atlanta Marta stations lack escalators; and I find I get a bit winded, carrying the transporter, while climbing several flights of stairs to reach the exit gates. Battery Life: See entries below dated 7/30/19 & 3/14/20. Ankle Pain/Injury: See 6/28/20 entry below. 6/24/19: I've been using the ninebot now for over a month and have logged over 90 miles. I've fallen 4 times, fortunately, I was moving at slow speeds when falling. (I have skinned elbows/knees, sprained shoulders and a bruised hip to prove it - but I figure it keeps me young, not many 60-year old's riding these things - why let the kids have all the fun). Discovered that the sidewalks in Atlanta are worse than the roads. I'm constantly studying the pavement ahead of me in order to anticipate significant gaps in the pavement. I have mastered drops up to 2", however, if the gap is raised more than an inch, I get off the ninebot and walk over the gap. I can handle a raised gap up to an inch, more than that and I risk falling, so I get off and walk it over the hump. I can now navigate over speed bumps, I have found that you want to go slow, but not too slow over the bumps - which takes some practice. (Word of caution, not all speed bumps are the same. In other words, the "pitch" of speed bumps can vary tremendously depending on the paving company which did the installation. I avoid or walk around speed bumps with an extreme pitch). You have to respect and understand your limitations when using the ninebot. - it's not a toy and if you're not careful can do some major damage to your body. One last point, this thing is built like a tank. I fell going down a steep hill when I bruised my hip, the ninebot continued down the hill probably exceeding 25 mph and hit an embankment. It beeped for a couple of minutes, I shut it off and turned it back on and it was good as new. Of course, it's got some blemishes, but the thing is rugged and seems to be holding up well. It's a real machine and should be treated accordingly. 7/30/19: I have logged over 150 miles as of today. The good news is I haven't fallen since my last update posted 6/24/19. My ninebot came in handy today. A customer left a rented vehicle at one of the airport's (Atlanta - Hartsfield) onsite parking garages. One small problem - he failed to tell me which parking garage & was unavailable, since he was on a plane back to Los Angeles. There are well over 10 garages and lots to park vehicles at the airport. So, I started with the economy lot and worked my way to the daily parking garage. I found the vehicle on the 2nd floor of the North Terminal daily parking garage. I probably logged 3 - 4 miles before I found the vehicle. It probably took about an hour to navigate the different garages and lots. Had I been on foot, it would have easily taken twice as long and I'm sure I would have been exhausted by the end of my search. I still had about 15% battery power remaining at the end of the search. I have concluded that because of my weight I get about half of the 13 miles advertised between full charges. In other words, instead of getting 13 miles on a full charge, I probably get between 5.5 - 6.5 miles. 9/10/19: Yesterday was a first. I was on my Segway heading to the Marta station in east Atlanta on the sidewalk. For some reason, someone had cut a 2’ x 1’ rectangle in the middle of the sidewalk slab and removed the concrete. Well before I could stop, I hit the hole and was thrown from the Ninebot. Fortunately, I had the foresight to roll with the fall this time. Learned another lesson, wear long pants, unfortunately, because of the heat wave here in Atlanta I was wearing shorts – bad idea. Skinned my knee pretty good, however, it was only a shallow abrasion. BTW, in the spirit of full disclosure, approximately 3 years ago I fell from a ladder about 15 feet to the ground. Had 10 broken ribs and both lungs collapsed as a result. Took my first helicopter ride lying down to the hospital. After about a month in the hospital I was released. I am now half titanium, my better half, since they had to insert metal plates to repair my ribs. (Look up “rib plating” on YouTube some time – just don’t watch on a full stomach 😉). I only mention this to add some perspective of why falling from a Segway Ninebot for me is inconsequential compared to a much more severe mishap. 10/1/19: Recently, my ninebot, when started would continue to rotate clockwise. I would shut it down hoping it would correct itself to no avail. Obviously, there was a malfunction in the gyroscope system. I fixed the problem by starting the ninebot while I was on it. The ninebot performed a couple of clockwise circles, but returned to its normal operating function after the two rotations. It has been operating normally for the last several days. 11/3/19: I recently added a couple of low-cost items to my ninebot - see attached image. I bought a kickstand, which is very useful when charging my Segway. This keeps the transporter vertical while charging or turned off and costs about 10 bucks on amazon. Another benefit is the kickstand is an indicator of which side to step on when riding the Segway. This is helpful when it's dark outside and the arrows on the footpads are difficult to see. I also bought an inexpensive bike lock, which I leave attached to the knee guides on the transporter. I used the bike lock this week when I attended a local high school football game. The parking lot was about a mile from the stadium. I dropped my wife off at the entrance gate and used the ninebot to return to the gate. I locked it to the gate at the entrance; after the game was over used the ninebot to return to the offsite parking lot. 12/2/19: Lately, I have been challenged by Atlanta police officers at the airport for using my Segway ninebot. They claim that mechanized scooters or hoverboards are not allowed in the airport terminals. (Note: hoverboards & ninebots are not permitted on commercial airlines). However, when I site that I have the right to use my ninebot as defined by the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) they back-off. Of course, being 60 years old with thinning gray hair allots me with a certain amount of latitude, if you will. I’m sure, if I was a 13-year-old boy riding this thing at the airport – the outcome might be a little different. Additionally, I’m not disabled, but they haven’t thought to ask that question and I don’t intend to tell them otherwise (i.e., “Don’t ask – don’t tell”). 12/4/19: Thought it might be helpful to list the locations where I have used my Segway ninebot and approximate number of visits in parenthesis: • Sam’s Club (Twice a week) • Walmart (Once a week) • Costco (Once – see issue below) • Kroger (Twice a week) • Home Depot (Once a month) • Lowe's Home Improvement (Once per Month) • Publix (Once a month) • Atlanta Marta Train System (3-4 Times a week) • Hartsfield Airport (International & Domestic Terminals) (2 times a week) • Bass Pro Shop (aka Cabela’s) (4 times a year) • BJ's Warehouse (Once a month) • The Dump (Furniture Store) (2 times a year) • Macy's (Mall) (2 times a year) Two of the locations above have issues with my ninebot: 1)Costco: I have been asked, politely, not to use my ninebot at Costco. They appear to have a well-known policy promulgated amongst their employees prohibiting the use by customers of mechanized scooters and/or battery powered personal transporters within their stores. 2)Hartsfield Airport: Documented above 12/2/19 update 12/10/19: Below is the response I made to a comment about my review regarding and I paraphrase, I'm lazy and should walk more. "You obviously did not read the entire review. With the exception of store visits, all use of my Segway is for work. The amount of time and Uber/Lyft fees this equipment has saved me has more than offset the $400 I paid for the unit last May. My Uber/Lyft fees use to run between $50 - $75 per month. I have only used Uber/Lyft 2 times since May. In other words, on average the ninebot has saved me $375 in Uber/Lyft fees during the last 6 months. Said differently, I will have recouped my investment in the Segway within 7 months. You would be hard-pressed to find an investment with that level of return on any piece of transportation equipment. " 1/17/20: Today, I had a close call with my ninebot and a moving car, fortunately, I wasn’t on the Ninebot when it was almost hit by a passing automobile. Let me explain; I was on the sidewalk riding down a fairly steep hill when I hit a significant divide in the sidewalk. Instead of falling, I was able to stay on my feet and run in front of the ninebot after hitting the divide. However, the ninebot continued onto a busy highway causing traffic to stop. Several cars came to a sudden stop and I was able to retrieve my ninebot without incident. However, I felt bad knowing that my Segway could have caused an accident by a car swerving to avoid hitting the transporter. This is the third time this has happened to me. The other times, I was lucky and there were no cars on the road. I’ve concluded that this is an unacceptable risk that has to be mitigated. Tonight, I ordered a “Coiled Stand UP Paddle Board Surfing Cord” on eBay. The surfing cord is designed with a lanyard at one end and ankle strap on the other. I intend to attach the lanyard to the knee control bar and obviously the strap to my ankle. I will provide an update at a later date, once I receive the surfing cord and have had a chance to use it. Update: I received and installed the coiled surfboard cord today (2/4/20). (See latest photo upload). It works better than I had anticipated. I was concerned the coiled cord might be too long and possibly drag on the ground or worse, wrap around the wheel axle. As explained above, I attached the lanyard to the knee control bar and the strap to my ankle and it works just as I had hoped. There's enough slack in the cord to easily get on and off the Ninebot without any problems, but still control the transporter should it get away from me. The cord appears to be about 5' long when fully extended, which is sufficient in securing the Segway within one's control should the operator lose contact with the foot pad of the transporter. I am confident, should I lose control of the device, the addition of the surfboard cord attached to my ankle will prevent the Segway from running off the sidewalk and entering the street, uncontrolled. 1/30/20: Since buying the Ninebot in the spring of last year there are several issues that might be of interest: 1. Several reviewers have complained about the nascent beeping, due to exceeding the speed limit or degree of incline programmed via the operating system of the transporter. I have noticed, during one of the software updates this was addressed. It no longer beeps multiple times when confronted with exceeding speed or the degree of incline limits. Note: It will continuously beep when 5% of battery power remains, which is a good thing. 2. Over the course of owning the Ninebot, I have noticed that when one of the wheels takes a more severe shock than the other wheel (example: sidewalk crack 3” drop right wheel, none on the left wheel) and as I continue to ride; the ninebot will sometimes pull to the side of the wheel that received the harder shock. In other words, similar to a car’s lack of front alignment the steering wheel will pull to the right or left. Most of the time, this won’t correct itself until it is recharged. To compensate, one has to continuously engage the knee bar either to the left or right depending on the degree of misalignment. Shutting the device on and off doesn’t appear to correct the problem. However, after recharging, it has always returned to its normal operating function. I suspect, that my weight, exceeding the 220 lbs. limit, has a lot to do with this issue. So, it probably isn’t prevalent for most riders – Just the Fat Ones', Like Me! 3/14/20: Battery Life - Lately, I have noticed a significant reduction in battery performance on my Ninebot. I equate this to several factors: (Also see update (5/23/21) below regarding tire pressure) 1) My weight now exceeds 315 lbs. 2) Ninebot has over 400 miles of usage. 3) Have allowed the battery to charge down to below 5% several times. I’m probably lucky to travel 3 miles before running the battery down. However, a lot of my usage lately has been on some pretty steep hills in Atlanta. I’ve noticed that the battery heats-up on steep hills and consumes power at a much more rapid rate. The simplest solution for this problem is for me to drop about 100 lbs.; but that “ain’t” going to happen anytime soon. 😊 So, as a “work-a-round” sort of speak, I bought a Power Converter on Amazon (Buy What BW-150 150W Car Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Outlet Converter) today. My plan is to charge the Ninebot while driving my car, which should provide enough charging time to replenish the battery to at least 80% allowing me to use the transporter throughout the day. I will add an update after receiving and using the converter. 6/28/20 Ankle Pain/Injury: I have noticed that over the course of using the ninebot I have at times felt a lingering pain in my exterior ankles. Fortunately, the strain has been one or the other ankle not both at the same time. Usually, the pain recedes after a week or two. The strain appears to be in the Anterior Talofibular Ligament (ATFL) of the ankle. This ligament seems to be the main ankle ligament for balancing and bracing while riding the ninebot. Similar to ice skating and skiing one's ankles are used extensively in bracing, maneuvering or steering the ninebot. The big difference between these winter sports and the ninebot is one's ankles are bound in a boot to add support when skiing or skating. This support reduces the amount of strain on the ankle ligaments and prevents injury. The same cannot be said for the ninebot unless you want to wear boots. Again, probably because of my age or weight (probably both) the average rider won't encounter this injury. 8/17/20 Had a bad fall on my ninebot today. This is the 1st time in a long time, since I've fallen. I was riding on the sidewalk and hit a sewer connection which wasn't plumb with the sidewalk at the College Park, GA. Marta station. Fell pretty hard, good news is I had long pants on this time. Bad news is I skinned my forearm pretty good and was covered in blood as I limped to my car. Also, managed to sprain my knee. However, I continued to ride my ninebot to the car parked behind the Marta station. I felt I needed to finish my ride on the ninebot or otherwise someone might have been inclined to call an ambulance - I looked pretty bad. Several cars stopped by to ask if I was ok, I said I was. I'll be honest, I'm starting to wonder if I might be too old for this game. Nah!! ," that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" (Friedrich Nietzsche). 😣 9/25/20 Because of the impact of the fall on 8/17/20 my ninebot had been on the "fritz", sort of speak. While riding the transporter it would pull to the right and occasionally would pull hard to the right without forewarning. Several times I almost fell and this defect significantly negated from the fun in riding. I attempted numerous times to reset the equipment to its original factory settings to no avail. I thought it was a "death knell" for my ninebot and I put it on the shelf for a couple of weeks. My thought was I got over a year out of a novel piece of equipment and all things considered (ie, age and weight) it was fun and worthwhile while it lasted. Then yesterday, I thought I would try to reset the equipment one more time. While working thru the app via cell phone, I came across a factory reset option. This must have been a fairly recent update. I initiated the reset and voilà my ninebot is now working great. So "kudos" for the ninebot team for adding this function to their app. 😉 5/23/21 Yesterday, while using my ninebot the outer wheel rim was scraping against the ground. It was obviously due to low air pressure. I noticed the other tire was also low, but not enough for the wheel rim to touch the ground. It dawned on me, this was the 1st time, since owning the ninebot, I had to add air to the tires. It appears that this may have been an oversite that has reduced the amount of time between battery charges. In other words, it requires a lot more energy to propel a vehicle on under inflated tires than fully inflated. Substantiating my conclusion, I noticed that a trip at the airport usually requiring 3-quarters of battery power only required 1-quarter of battery power with the increase in tire pressure. So my comment above, regarding the degradation in battery power may not be entirely accurate. 10/1/23 Just a quick update. Yes, I’m still using my Segway on a regular basis. The best analogy I can make is comparing bicycle use in the Netherlands during WWII to my use of the segway. I use it every day for work, leisure, and shopping. And yes, I still fall from my segway occasionally.