Scooter | Evolving Consumer

Half Way There

A Half-Track is a cross between a tank and a truck. These aren’t used so much today, but the notion of “half” still exists as the Halfbike suggests.

Its designers, which launched a Kickstarter campaign to help bring the device to market, see it as truly half way between a scooter and a bike. It is actually a tricycle of sorts with a big wheel in the front and two small tires in the back, but it is designed as an urban transport solution – making it easier to go from point A to point B than on a traditional scooter – but still smaller than a traditional bike.

The unique design could also give a serious workout to the glutes, quads and buttock muscles as there is no seat! But thanks to its small size it could be ideal for navigating crowded urban streets. Video after the jump

The Scooter Evolved

The scooter has been rolling along ever since making a comeback in the late-1990s. We didn’t there would be much that could evolve with the simple scooter, but then the E’lution EVO came along.

This scooter features a hubless wheel system that is rugged, sturdy and looks rather high-tech – or at least as high-tech as a scooter can be. The hubless wheel has the promise of a smoother ride, which could mean that the annoying scooter isn’t going away anytime soon. The developers of the E’lution Evo are now looking to a Kickstarter campaign to get this one rolling. Video after the jump

Reinventing the Wheels

Introduced at the ISPO Munich show last month the AeYO looks to reinvent not so much the wheel, but perhaps the way wheels can be used. It is part bicycle, part skates and part scooter. While the feet are placed in in-line skates, it thus allows the legs to move freely and provide forward acceleration but at the same time the handle and front wheels keep the feet stable so there is little chance of falling.

While it again won’t reinvent the wheel it could create a new way to get rolling. Continue reading Reinventing the Wheels

Runner Scooter

Who wouldn’t want an Audi convertible? Well, the Mini Runner isn’t exactly something for cruising down the highway, but it could be something for the younger crowd to get very excited about. It is a balance bike that converts to a scooter! It is made of lightweight aluminum and is suitable for kids aged three to eight, so it might instill some love of Audi that is there for life!

Audi Mini Runner Official Website

Scoot Pack Ready to Fly

We’ve seen folding bikes that can help a commute to work, and now Glyde Gear has something for the younger crowd. For those heading back to school in just a few weeks there is the Glyde Gear Fly, which is part backpack and part scooter.

As a scooter it can be ridden like any other, and is made of a glass-reinforced nylon foot platform. It actually consists of three wheels to help maintain balance for those bringing a load of books back and forth to school. The foot platform can folded up and the Fly worn as a traditional backpack. It is made of 600 denier polyester and features a large 25.4-liter main compartment, along with front utility pocket and even a water bottle pocket. There is a padded back panel and shoulder straps so it can be worn like a backpack as well.

Glyde Gear Fly Official Website

Scrooser is Scooting

The scooter craze keeps going. Ever since the scooter made its return almost 20 years ago people continue to ride to two week foot-powered pushers. There have been some unique twists along the way, but Scrooser Manufactory in Germany is looking to Kickstarter to get its fat-wheel design up and rolling.

This version features a batter power pack that can run for up to 25 days in urban environments and allow people to get from point A to point B with more than just some shoe leather. Video after the jump

Scooter Pogo Stick

Are there just not enough ways to hurt one’s self? That is the first question we had when we saw the Kickstarter site for the JumpX, which promises big air and a smooth ride. It is essentially a pogo stick and a scooter and can glide and jump.

As the video below suggests it looks like it could be fun… and dangerous. We just hope the inventors are taking some of that Kickstarter money and saving it for a legal fund! Video after the jump

New Turn for the Scooter

We sort of thought the scooter was so 1990s or at least so 2003. But Swiss based Cycon thought the scooter could get another turn and gave it a bit of a twist in the guise of the Circleboard, which offers curved handlebar stem that don’t rotate. The two front wheels – yes there are two – are also mounted to the internal hardware and this allows for a carving effect.

In other words this isn’t a go from point A to point B scooter – not that most scooters ever were an actual form of transportation. This is one that offers riders the chance to take to the parking lot and do tricks and other useless things. We’re not really sure why anyone would to, but it seems that this one – so maybe that’s reason enough. Video after the jump

SkiMotion Scooter Gets Whole Body in the Action

The traditional scooter requires one leg to push the device, which in our minds doesn’t provide a lot of exercise. But the SkiMotion actually requires a “butterfly leg motion” that includes the hips and upper body. This isn’t exactly a new concept and this is far from ideal for commuting – and probably will have you walking it up hill – but it is another one of those workout devices for those with a bit of money to spend. Video after the jump

It’s a Bike, It’s a Scooter, It’s…

Part bike, part scooter and part concept, the Scoobike combines the push of a scooter with the pedal power of a bike, resulting in a very strange device. This is the brainchild of Archyaska Amy – not to be confused with ScooBike Ezee Sprint, the Swiss made commuter bike, or SCOOBIKE, the Brazilian based cycling retailer – which allows users to either ride like a bike or a scooter. It is a simple and elegant design, and something can be said for that, but frankly that’s all we have to say! More images after the jump

BMX Skateboard Scooter

What do you get if a BMX bike were to somehow mate with a skateboard? Technically this is impossible, not just because the BMX bike and skateboard aren’t actually living creatures, because even if they were they’d have different chromosomes and thus not be able to produce an offspring. But getting past those issues, we return to the question at hand, and since this sounds like the makings of a mad science experiment gone bad – let us also say that a third ingredient is added to the mix, namely a scooter.

So now we’re really crazy. But the result would the sbyke, the invention of Bart and Steve Wilson, who apparently broke their BMX bike, ruined a perfectly good skateboard and created a scooter-like contraption.

The sbyke – which is confusingly pronounced “spike”- has a fixed-position front wheel that isn’t turned using the handlebars but rather by the shifting weight of the rider. There is a break attached to the handlebars to stop this thing at least.

(Video after the jump)

Continue reading BMX Skateboard Scooter

Big in Japan: The Robo Skateboard

The Segway is really just a grown-up version of those annoying kiddie scooters – a fad that we keep hoping will finally run out of steam. So we’re skeptical about the still very much in development robotic skateboard that is currently being tested in Japan. Why do the Japanese need a robotic skateboard would be the first question to ask, as the island nation is rather crowded to say the least!

But that doesn’t seem to stop the designers at the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo from working on a very high-tech board. The Robo-Skateboard prototype according to online reports weights about 15kg, is about 30cm wide and 60cm long and about 25cm thick. It works much like a regular skateboard, where you stand on it and lean to make turns. Your shifting body weight will thus let you steer, but lean forward and you’ll get to pick up some speed. Put your weight directly on your feet and you’ll be flying like Tony Hawk – almost anyway, as this board can hit speeds of 10kph.

Continue reading Big in Japan: The Robo Skateboard