This sci-fi electric unicycle is the RYNO, a future-badass alternative to the Segway that looks like it got beamed down from the year 2114. But it’s here, and it’s real, and I got to ride it.

Chris Hoffmann took his 13-year-old daughter’s sketch from a dream to a real, self-balancing, one-wheeled motorcycle that you can ride. And now he's ready to sell it to the world.

The Ryno is able to handle inclines up to a 20-percent grade, so it’s largely San Francisco-friendly. It also takes about six hours to charge up fully using a 12-volt DC charger. That gives it a ...

By Ben Coxworth November 03, 2011 The RYNO is a one-wheeled self-balancing electric personal transportation device, designed for short, low-speed trips View 3 Images View gallery - 3 images ...

The RYNO isn't all that difficult to ride; a 10-15 minute lesson should suffice. It's meant for moving around a warehouse or mingling with pedestrians, so 10 mph is "plenty fast," Hoffman said.

The RYNO consists of a lightweight frame set atop a single wheel powered by an electric motor. It can go up to 10 mph and travels about 10 miles on one fill of its rechargeable battery.