Not very long ago, hoverboards were the future. When skateboards rolled everywhere, their wheel-less descendants were already floating in our imaginations. The allure was so compelling that the movie “Back to the Future Part II” — released in 1989 but set in 2015 — even features a hoverboard chase scene. (Then again, it also had jet-powered flying cars and the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.)

Now that hoverboards have finally arrived, they’re not exactly what we expected. For one thing, they don’t actually hover; you have to balance on a board with two wheels. It’s really just a Segway without handles.