Foldable Electric Scooter — Awesome! (Crowdfund It)
After sharing our recent post on the crowdfunding campaign for MicroPower Chips, someone from MOVEO also contacted me about its campaign for its foldable electric scooter. This is the lightest such scooter out there, according to MOVEO, and it really does fold up in such a way that it is easily transportable — includes luggage wheels and all. It reminds me of the Transformers, one of the best cartoons ever (note: I haven’t seen the movie). Naturally, I couldn’t pass on covering this crowdfunding campaign.
If you prefer videos, there’s one on the campaign page, where the crowdfunding push was just launched (like, moments ago). By the way, don’t be alarmed if you click on over to the campaign page and notice that it’s note on Kickstarter or IndieGogo. The crowdfunding platform is called JumpStartCity and is actually quite new. But anyway, back to the foldable electric scooter.
The goal of the campaign is to “complete the development and start a limited series production of [Moveo Co’s] ultra light weight folding electric scooter.” The majority of the $1.65 million (!) the company is aiming to raise would go back to the people who pledge in the form of gifts.
$1.65 million seems like quite a steep goal. But, apparently, about 15,000 visitors visited the campaign page even before it launched.
The scooter weighs 25 kilograms, has a carbon composite body, has 35 kilometers (22 miles) of range at 45 km/h (28 mph), uses the LiFePO batteries that recharge from empty to full in just an hour, and takes just a few seconds to fold up (watch the video).
By the way, a 10% discount on the scooter is being offered for every pledge made within the first 24 hours of the active stage.
Here’s one more interesting bit about JumpStartCity and the MOVEO campaign from the MOVEO rep who emailed me:
A new and expectedly very popular feature of the JumpStartCity crowd funding page, which was also driving Moveo to them is the promoter role: registered community members can apply to become promoters for events of their choice and can actually win awards after a successful campaign by advertising the event and thus helping to collect pledges.
Moveo builds on this feature very strongly and is going to offer several free and highly discounted scooters for top promoters helping to collect a minimum amount of pledges. They will actually give away any number of free scooters by leaving the top category open, so anyone reaching the threshold there will be eligible for a free scooter.
“MOVEO won the Renewable Energy Award in the Innovative Technology category at the 7th RENEXPO® Central Europe, Hungary’s leading energy trade fair and Central Europe’s Platform for renewable energy and energy efficiency,” the MOVEO website adds.
As with any vehicle, it’s not for everyone, but I could see a lot of cleantech and scooter enthusiasts getting excited about this one. I tried to get the MOVEO folks to give me a sample scooter to test out, but with just three prototypes built at the moment, they are all being tested and lugged around to exhibitions and such to get the company rolling. Maybe in the future….
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This is really cool…A couple of years ago I bought a 500 dollar scooter that I would call a toy. If they can keep the price reasonable I’m sure it will sell like hotcakes( a term that means alot;-) I do wonder what they gain from using carbon fiber vs just aluminum. I would think an aluminum frame would only add a few kilos to the total weight. and cost significantly less.
PS. the video doesn’t play.
PSS. I wish they would give some idea of the retail price..
Thanks for your comment.
Aluminum would be cheaper as a material, but manufacturing process would be a lot more sophisticated and costly than with the composite. And those few kilograms do make a lot of difference.
This only looks like a video, but is only a link to the crowdfunding page where you will be able to play the video. You will also find prices and backing possibilities there under ‘Rewards’
I have to say that I don’t get this at all. I’ve never felt a need to fold up one of my Vespas or looked to buy a scooter that didn’t have storage and a flat floor – that’s the point of those.
With folding electric bicycles that don’t stand out and make you look weird already available added to the fact that this doesn’t allow you to lock up your MOEVO properly (did no one notice that you can’t use a conventional cable/disk lock with this thing?) I can’t imagine why anyone would ever buy one of these … including the mom of the guy who designed it.
The owner could store it in their house/apartment/office. That kind of helps with the theft issue.
Wouldn’t take up a lot of room in a crowded garage either….
I’m gonna stick with “no benefit, performance-wise, to foldable electric Dahon, costs more, heavier, harder to fold/store, and is way too on the fringe for mainstream buyers”. I don’t think it will meet its goal, and (IMO) it’s a terrible product that should never see the light of day.
Thanks for sharing your views.
Would just like to point out that the scooter CAN be locked with a conventional cable lock either round the body or through the body – steering column joint.
Glad you’re here responding! (also: thanks for the update on the cable lock)
How do you plan to compete with electric folding bikes that are smaller and make similar performance claims? Also, do you think municipalities will allow this in the bike lanes? If you can’t get that approval, you’re dead in Chicago, NY, San Fran, etc.
Welcome, and sorry not being very timely with my answers.
In terms of competition: We would like to differentiate our product from folding bikes by emphasizing that MOVEO is essentially a scooter, while those essentially are bikes and we do believe that people are also making choices in this respect. This leads to a number of points: One is comfort. We offer a comfortable driving position, an adjustable seat with a backrest. No (folding) bike will have that. The second is speed and power: electric bikes (by law, and allowing for a lot of differentiation worldwide) are limited at 25km/h (you can pedal faster, but electric assist will cut off at that speed), while we offer 45 km/h. MOVEO also has a 2-wheel drive, which adds a lot to the driving experience, and 1kW power, outperforming most electric bikes (not the extreme speed machines, of course). Third, that on most electric bikes you do have to pedal, for the electric assist to work; MOVEO, being a scooter is only electric. (This often raises the skeptic question on range – but all vehicles have a range, and we all are pretty much used to refueling / recharging them as needed, before they’d run out.)
Yes, MOVEO is designed to be allowed in bike / bus lanes, that’s actually one of the main benefits of using such vehicles in crowded urban areas (again, depending on local legislation this may require certain limitations).
If you had 4 luggage wheels vs only 2, it would make the scooter even easier to move. Those travel suitcases with 4 wheels move like a trolley and are much easier to pull/push than 2 wheeled ones.
2 wheels for a 25 kg load can be quite heavy over a distance e.g. if you are tired and not especially muscular.
That is super cool!! I love the idea that it can be fold so we can carry it anywhere we go. If we visit to different places we do not have to worry on renting bikes or cars for transportation if we only have this foldable scooter. We can save money and even eco-friendly. -http://www.greenpathelectricbikes.com/