Seg...stick.

Step 5 Drive wheels.

Real Segway wheels are huge. There are good reasons to use large wheels (better performance on cracks and rough terrain, for example). For the purpose of building a homemade self balancing vehicle, I've found it easier to use smaller wheels. Segstick's wheels are almost absurdly small (6"). But something in the range of 8-12" would work well with the gear ratios available in cordless drills (low gear) or commercial robot-type gearboxes.

It can be tricky to find good drive wheels for a project like this. The vast majority of wheels you might find lying around are caster wheels, with bearings built in. Drive wheels have some way of transmitting torque from a rotating shaft to the wheel, such as a key. The DeWalt drill chucks can accept up to a 1/2" keyed shaft. Some other drills may only go up to 3/8"...avoid these.

Here are some good places to look for drive wheels:

AndyMark, a supplier for FIRST robotics parts. Segstick use 6" AndyMark wheels with a keyed 1/2" hub.

Skyway also sells nice drive wheels in larger sizes.

Of course, you can also make a caster wheel into a drive wheel by fabricating and/or attaching a hub. Depending on your level of machining experience, this may be easier than trying to find a drive wheel exactly the size you want.

Comments

[clomok]

Is that knife on the table home-made as well?

[scolton]

Nope, that's an Allen wrench set I got in Tokyo.