Fido Electric Scooter — Purity In The Basic Essentials
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The new Fido, just back from travels to Milan, Italy, is positively capable, energetic, and simple. Fido beauty comes from its focus on the basic essentials of an electric scooter.
This version of a sweet urban-friendly scooter is easily maintained. Its wheels are held in place by three bolts. Only five more split the rim so one has easy access to the tube within.
Learning about Fido is learning about creator Jeb Gast’s quest for an electric scooter that is clean, low-maintenance, and fun to ride. “He thought you should be able to carry everything you need in the glove-box and be able to charge your battery in your 3rd floor apartment without dragging the scooter up the stairs or hanging an extension cord out the window.”
Fido traveled to the 100th EICMA (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori) in Milan with Gast (who once operated Soundspeed Scooters in Seattle). Gast explains that Fido is very different from other potential flats such as one on a Vespa – that may involve a tow truck and more costs.
The scooter’s 2.5-kWh lithium battery charges from empty in 3 hours. It is simply removed from the floorboard and taken into your apartment or house.
The motor, again simple, is attached to the rear wheel — no chains and sprockets. Gast told Autoblog Green, “that it pulls away from the lights like a 200 or 250cc gas-powered bike.” Autoblog mention that “the company put its puppy on a dyno and saw it pull with a surprising 84 pound-feet of torque.” The setup is said to be good for about 35 miles per charge – up to 45 miles per hour.
Just settling in with renovations on the old factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Fido hopes to make 150 or so machines in 2015. The company plans to have two versions, with the leader out early in the new year with a price tag in the $5,500 neighborhood. A lower-power version is in request from rentals and more.
While all of us who want to try this bike are waiting a few more months, enjoy now more pics via Fido’s’ Facebook page and on Instagram.
As Christopher DeMorro notes on EV Obsession, writing about scooters, “some people love them, some people hate them, but one thing you can’t deny is their ever-growing popularity.” His post in GAS2, Electric Motorcycle And Scooter Sales To Top 55 Million, suggests that electric scooters (and scooters in general) are particularly popular in developing countries.
One cannot overlook the value of the small transit option. Many in today’s world are streamlining life and prioritizing a small carbon footprint. CleanTechnica emphasizes that we vote by how we spend our dollar. These days — with tiny houses, electric scooters, electric cars, and bicycles — there are many choices that make it easier to accomplish. As with any genre of transit, there is the maxi style, such as the BMW C Electric Scooter, the simplicity of the Fido, the utilitarian style of Lit Motors’ Cargo-Carrying Electric Scooter, the retro cool of QuaZZar-e Electric Scooter — and more!
Image Credit: Fido Motors
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