I've been listening to a band called "Milky Chance" lately. They snuck into my awareness through a few soundtracks and a little satellite radio in JG's car, so I looked them up. The first
Milky Chance video I saw hooked me easily - they were riding around on funky German scooters, Schwalbes. And that got me to thinking about my favorite Schwalbe - the e-Schwalbe that was introduced a few years back. It's one of those forbidden fruit things for me. It's a very cool vintage scooter that sits right at the top (with Fido) of desirable, factory-built, electric scooters - but they are not sold on this side of the Atlantic (and would be out of my budget if they did.) Yep, I am an incurable scooterholic.
And that got me thinking of desirable, factory-built, electric scooters that are available in the US. I made a quick list. Then I realized that many on my list are still not quite available. So the list kept changing.
So here's the available list:
Interesting bikes - they look cheap and their designs borrow very heavily from famous Japanese gas-powered scooters, but I have read many positive reviews. They definitely have the highest ranges and speeds I have ever seen listed for production electric scooters. (I have recently read several bad reviews for ZEV and their speed/range claims)
This one skirts the old scooter/moped/electric bike line pretty heavily, but it's low priced, rugged, based in Canada, and looks like a blast to ride. To Daymak's credit, they have followed through on their Kickstarter promises beautifully. Bonus points for a solar panel on the battery pack!
The only one on this list that I have seen in person. The Govecs scooters originate from a German company that obviously has high quality standards. Not cheap, but I think this one may be worth the money if you are in it for the long green haul. (I linked to the Austin electric scooter shop where I saw the Govecs.)
At first glance I wanted one and I have not gotten over it. I would sticker it up like an Apple product and tell people that it came from Steve Jobs' personal collection. ;-) Seriously, though, it has impressive specs and it's readily available. Bonus points for high geek factor!
Coming Soon
Built by a huge transportation company (Mahindra) with lots of resources for design and manufacturing, this bike looks promising, low-priced, and has more hauling capacity than most two-wheelers - the Genze could fill a lot of needs for the right buyer. They have been selling e-bikes here for a little while, but they are still taking reservations for US sales of the Genze scooter.
Currently on an Indiegogo campaign, the Bolt M-1 looks very promising, but it's not yet available. It's American designed and built by some dedicated mopedders. Bonus points for the long-legged white hound photo! (my Sasha approves!)
My dream American electric scooter - built by American scooterists who have been dedicated to the cause for many years now. They are getting close to production in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but they are not quite there yet. Bonus points for company dog motif!
Not Coming at All
A vintage bike with modern running gear, impressive performance, and German engineering. Sigh...They are not sold here and it does not look like there are any plans to do so in the future, snagit!
May you scooter dorks (like me) enjoy knowing what's out there to choose from and may you find something non-polluting to get you around!
