Tag: scooter

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Personal Transportation

The Nimble Urban Scooter carries you and your burden

Every day, people put way too much weight on their shoulders and backs without realizing it, leading to discomfort and possible pain later on in life. Outside of some sort of clunky trolley, there isn’t much that can be done about it. At least, that was the case until the Nimble Urban Scooter came along.

The follow-up to the Nimble Scooter Classic, the Nimble Urban Scooter is a slimmed down version of its predecessor that focuses on a more agile ride while retaining the versatility of carrying a wide array of stuff. Its front loading cargo rack features custom made bungee straps to secure all sorts of boxes — even fitting bike accessories — while its linked steering system lets riders perform sharp turns safely.

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Personal Transportation

Pack, sit, or ride the eFOLDi 3-in-1 scooter

One thing most people take for granted is how mobile they truly are. For some, usually the disabled or the elderly, lack of mobility is a problem they are forced to deal with every single day.

The eFOLDi three-in-one scooter not only aids those in need of mobility support, but anyone at all seeking a way to get around just a little easier. The 42lb. aluminum scooter is able to fold up into both a suitcase and a chair for maximum versatility wherever one may find themselves. The eFOLDi in scooter mode features a four four point balancing system, a battery that gets 14 miles per charge, and a motor that can reach a top speed of 12.5mph — all with a maximum load weight of 220 lbs.

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Personal Transportation

Smart Ped kick bike assists riders to travel farther, faster

While there are a variety of ways to get around city streets, all of the effective ones — bicycles and motorized scooters for starters — require all-or-nothing decisions due to their lack of portability. As such, the opportunity to combine them with multiple forms of public and private transportation to cover longer distances isn’t really there.

FlyKly is attempting to cover that middle ground with the only legal kick bike on the market: the Smart Ped. The minimally designed scooter’s standout feature is its all-in-one kick assist system that propels riders farther with every kick. In combination with its 16-inch wheels, Smart Ped aims to provide a smooth, less intensive, more comfortable ride, reaching speeds of up to 16 mph while doing so.

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Luggage and Bags Personal Transportation

MODOBAG luggage/scooter combo gets you to your gate in a jiffy

Packing light is the cardinal rule when flying, but sometimes that can’t happen. Occasionally, it’s necessary to pack a lot more. In these situations, it just isn’t fun wading through the airport masses with a carry-on and multiple bags to check in.

The MODOBAG attempts to alleviate the situation by providing weighed-down travelers with the option of hopping on and taking it for a ride. The carry-on/scooter combo features a fully motorized 2000 cubic inches of space within a lightweight aluminum chassis weighing in at under 20 pounds that travelers can use to cruise around at a top speed of eight miles per hour, enjoying steady control with a precise steering column.

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Personal Transportation

Pigeon folding scooter rests on your shoulder

There’s always a caveat to the type of transportation you choose to reduce the length of your commute. With a car, there’s inevitably traffic. Most people opt for public transport to avoid this, but the problem lies in most stops not being close to home. You could cut down walk time by riding an electric scooter there, but then you’re forced to leave it. Likewise, bicycles make you the target of combined commuter hatred at the height of rush hour. Push scooters offer a great balance between the two, but can weigh a lot. PIGEON is a foldable push scooter designed to improve your commute. Consisting of just three parts made from aluminum and wood, the PIGEON can be folded into a thin profile with a single foot press and slung over the shoulder. Even if the price is bit bloated considering the materials, the portability of this product separates it from others like the ion Smartscooter or the Me-Mover that may offer the same, but still weigh a ton while doing so. Backers can expect their own in May 2015 for £135 (~$216). PIGEON hopes to raise a modest £2,000 (~$3,200) on Kickstarter.

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Personal Transportation

Ion Smartscooter looks like non-electric models, gets you on your way

The last miles of any commute are some of the most painful. Who wants to walk twenty minutes at the very beginning of the day or after having worked eight hours every day? Although there are some solutions, bikes and scooters are either too bulky to transport easily or too dirty in terms of fuel.

Probity Cell LLC has created the ion SmartScooter as a low-cost, clean alternative that will get you where you need to go, fast. It’s top speed of 15mph is powered by a lithium-ion battery that charges in three and a half hours and lasts for more than 1,000 cycles, ensuring a long and sustainable life. In addition, its foldable nature makes it so that it can be more easily transported than a bike, especially because it only weighs 26 pounds. The ion SmartScooter joins scads of other personal transportation devices like the Me-Mover and Halfbike.

The company is starting off slow with just two production runs, but they want to minimize any issues through their Kickstarter campaign. They were aiming for a modest $40,000 to do so, a goal that has shown interest by many. If they’re able to back up their claim of squeezing 500 miles out of the scooter for less than a dollar’s worth of electricity, they’ll be able to convince many more to grab one of their own for the introductory price of $399.

 

 

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Personal Transportation

Halfbike breeds a sawed-off scooter and tricycle for urban transport, exercise

The Premise. Urbanites don’t love cars and instead find alternative forms of mobility. Public transportation is a good idea in theory, but delays and unreliability spell trouble for people in cities. Most opt for some kind of personal transport that they own or rent such as skateboards, rollerblades or the ever popular bicycle.

The Product. Halfbike is a personal transportation device that looks a bit like a manually-operated Segway. It features one big wheel in front and two small wheels in the back. The rider pedals just like on a traditional bike, but stands directly on the pedals, which is why the creators say that their product combines jogging and cycling. A long wooden shaft rises up from the front wheel with a single handle on top for the rider to hold onto, steer, and brake with.

The Pitch. The campaign for Halfbike begins with a video of the token “cool urbanite” riding the product around a busy city. The viewer recognizes his coolness from the hoodie he wears and he glides around with ease, even doing tricks off of staircases and skittering over streetcar tracks. Despite his finesse and agility, the rider still looks a little silly cutting through the crowds with this odd device. Halfbike’s creators hope to raise $80,000 in its 31-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. Halfbike is certainly not half the price. Early-birds can enjoy zipping around the city for $799, with a regular price of $899. Tiers go all the way up to $7,000 which includes a trip to bike-friendly Amsterdam. Estimated delivery date is currently set at September 2014 for the bikes themselves. A stretch goal of $150,000 would allow the creators to begin offering different colored versions of their product.

The Potential. No matter how technologically advanced the world gets, people will always search for alternative means of transportation. The Halfbike, while an interesting idea, doesn’t quite look finished. The bare wooden plank in the center and the white metal frame make it seem more like a prototype. It may be good for the creators to attempt to “hip” it up a bit, especially if their target market is comprised of young, cool urbanites. Still, the Halfbike’s versatility cannot be ignored and its size, definitely smaller than a bicycle, offers a much more convenient option for young people on the go.

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Cycling Personal Transportation Travel

ShareRoller turns clunky sharebikes into speedy e-cruisers

The Premise. In major cities around the world, bike-sharing programs are popping up allowing residents or tourists to borrow a bike and get where they’re going more quickly, but what if making use of this program involved less physical exertion and more fun?

The Product. The ShareRoller is a smaller motor that attaches to any bike or scooter whether it’s borrowed or not and allows riders to enjoy a smoother ride with motored assistance or no pedaling at all. The motor is designed to allow for 12 miles of range and offers 1 HP to get some speed going. The motor includes LED headlights to add visibility while riding in the dark, and also has a USB port to charge phones or tablets while commuting.

The Pitch. Inventor Jeff Guida shows off his love for sharebikes in his native New York City and demonstrates how a ShareRoller can speed up the heavier shared bikes. The product supports New York’s Citibike program, but also similar products in many other cities. With plenty of example photos on how to attach the motor and a convincing video, it’s easy to tell how much passion has gone into the development of this device. Guida and his team need $100,000 for injection moulding and to set up assembly facilities for the ShareRoller.

The Perks. Kickstarter supporters can get a ShareRoller for a pledge of $995, saving a whole $350 off the retail launch price, and should be riding in style by June of this year. An extended range battery which will add an extra eight miles of powered riding is available at the $1,295 tier, and New York City residents can get a beta ShareRoller in April for $1,995, which will be swapped out for the production model when it becomes available.

The Potential. The ShareRoller is a cleverly designed fantastic idea for urbanites who have access to bike shares or can commute using bikes or scooters easily, but there are some hurdles to overcome. First, the price point is steep for what it offers, meaning that making owning a ShareRoller economical involves a lot of two-wheeled commuting. Second, the weight of the device at between 6-7 pounds, plus an additional half pound for the extended range battery, is a little heavy unless there’s no walking to be done from the bike to the destination. There’s also the question of whether using the ShareRoller will be legal in the cities that offer the bikes it suports. This could be used by cities themselves to offer bike shares for people who are unable to propel themselves on a bicycle, but for the average consumer the ShareRoller still has a ways to go before becoming a crucial accessory.

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Personal Transportation

E*Lution scooter provides the glide for grownups

E'lutionScooters can be an efficient way to get around town, but sometimes you don’t want to show up on their kids’ toys. The Australian developers at E’Lution Have worked to design a scooter that would work for adults to move around in an urban environment. This includes  overcoming a few challenges, which include supporting taller and heavier humans. They also designed brakes that won’t overhea, and they changed the folding mechanisms on the scooter. While their campaign is quite ambitious with a $600,000 goal, they are happy to take donations of any size. But if you want an E’Lution Scooter, be prepared to drop  $275 AUD.