In the quest for a vehicle to help us move on...the quest for an oh-so-cool pair of eco-friendly wheels to haul us about!
Fido (An electric scooter built by vintage scooterists)
This one is hard for me. You see, I have loved the Fido since before there was a Fido. And the first photo brought me in even closer.
I love the idea of it - a very simple and elegant form designed to do what you need it to and to be repaired by the average human being. I love the reality of it - it's a very practical machine that has a realistic range and realistic speed and lots of little perks to make it perfect for lots of jobs. I have never met them in person, but I am a big fan of the people who dreamed it up, invested their lives in it, and have now built it. Jeb Gast, the Fido founder, was a
big inspiration to me when I decided to build my electric Vespa and he has continued to impress me since. I even love the
old building they restored for the factory and I wish they were a little closer so I could swing by and check out their
coffee digs. I can't imagine a cooler scooter company anywhere.
But that level of coolness comes at a price. I can't imagine what they have had to invest to get this thing off the ground and I know that a 72 volt, 35 amp-hour battery pack is a big investment in itself.
On the more personal side, I know my own finances and have known all along that I can not afford to buy ANY new electric scooter. But I have held onto a hope of buying a new Fido all through its development. And I held onto that hope until the price was finally announced. The first batch is up for pre-order with a price tag of $10,500. When I found that out, I realized that the Fido is out of my reach and I worry that it will be for many others as well. I wish them great success and hope that they find buyers who are able and willing to make the investment for a very cool and capable machine.
Monday MotorBikes (Formerly the Bolt M-1) (An electric moped built by vintage mopedders)
Love it with the spoked wheels
While I've never looked at the Fido and thought - hey I could build (a reasonably acceptable version of) that,
I have done that with the Monday. [If you're ambitious in that way, check this out:
1977 Mopeds Indigan Roller. Just order that without the gas motor, add batteries, a motor, some brackets, a controller, and a throttle. ;-) Everything is so simple on the internet!]
That looks like fun to me!
To be fair, you'd spend a lot of time and money doing it, but a reasonably acceptable version (with a lot fewer cool features) could be built in a garage.
but it's pretty cool with mags too
On the other hand, for $6,000 you can buy this rather cool bike with very few headaches and lots of cool features like Bluetooth this and USB that and keyless other stuff. (You know you love instant gratification.)
The Monday is definitely an interesting machine as far as it capabilities. It's a 20mph e-bike in
Economy mode, but it's a 40mph motorcycle in
Sport mode. (I believe that Sport mode doubles the voltage from 24-48 volts.)
It is a very cool machine, and $5,995 is an attainable number for some of us.
Motochimp
Now, let's go a little goofy! Double K sent me this link this week and I knew I had to share it with you!
48 volt, 350 watt, 19 mph, all the usual stuff
Just your friendly neighborhood MotoChimp
I haven't found anything to indicate that it's headed to the US any time soon, but goshdarnit, it's adorable!
Can't you just see this thing in a Gorillaz video?
Other Bits of Related News this week:
Piaggio announced that
they are finally getting ready to produce an
electric Vespa.
I think that's everything.
May you find your gas-free ride and may the air clear.
