The GEEBEE — An Electric Scooter Aimed at Fleets
Electric micromobility is increasingly present in almost every type of vehicle imaginable; from e-bikes, to shared electric scooters, to one-wheels, skateboards and mopeds — you name it. The hope amongst active transportation advocates is that by electrifying everything on two and three wheels, we can appeal to people who otherwise wouldn’t use these “alternative” forms of transportation and clean our air, reduce carbon emissions and unclog highways by offering people alternative modes of transportation rather than single-occupancy vehicles (AKA cars).
There are a lot of companies doing interesting things in this space and I’d like to write about them from time to time as they come across my desk. GEEBEE is one such example. It is a stand-up electric scooter company based in Sherbrooke, Canada.
GEEBEE is interesting for a couple reasons. First, the design of its vehicle looks something like a hybrid between a bike and a stand-up scooter. This hybrid approach looks more durable and heavy-duty than the typical free-floating two-wheeled vehicle you see for rent on city sidewalks. You can step on it like a scooter but navigate it like a bike. I talked to the founders of the company, Jean-Luc and Sabine Le Névannau, and they designed their scooter to be all-terrain and able to go pretty much anywhere. In their promotional videos, construction managers ride GEEBEEs between massive piles of dirt, giving the sense that this can be a working person’s scooter. Both the tires and the front fork come from motorcycle manufacturers.
The GEEBEE is also 86 pounds, much heavier than the 30-pound scooters parked in cities across the US, and can hold up to 300 pounds with a front basket, so you can load it with both heavy people and objects.
Other interesting aspects of the GEEBEE in addition to its durability are that it can go 20 mph (equivalent in speed to an e-bike), has a thumb throttle similar to a scooter, and boasts regenerative braking to recover energy while you’re slowing down. The battery will get you about 35 miles of range and is swappable.
I also find GEEBEE’s go-to-market plan pretty fascinating. The company isn’t focused on consumers (at least not now). But like the Lordstown of the scooter world, it is concentrating on selling the GEEBEE to fleet owners in cities and companies to reduce the use of gas-powered vehicles in their fleets. They’ve also sold scooters to hotels who wanted to give their guests something exciting to scoot around town in. It’s an interesting game plan to start with organizations rather than individuals and build from there (though, you can still buy one as a consumer if interested).
One final cool thing about the company is that it just won the solar impulse efficient solutions label, which is a certification that spun off from the round-the-world flight by the solar-powered plane called the Solar Impulse. This label exists to recognize technologies that are solving the climate crisis. Makes good sense to me to recognize a company trying to electrify municipal and industrial fleets, all the while pushing the envelope on what micromobility can look like and do.
Specs
- Motor: 500W brushless motor (in rear wheel)
- Range: Up to 40 miles per charge
- Battery: Removable 48V 20A lithium-ion battery, 1000 cycles battery life
- Charge time: Full charge in 4 hours on standard 110v outlet (with external 90–230V 4A charger)
- Sensors: Connectivity available
- Lighting: Handlebar-mounted LED headlight and rear frame-mounted tail light
- Display: LCD display made of aluminum alloy and toughened glass
- Fork: Telescopic motorcycle-grade fork
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes with regeneration
- Tires: 17” x 2 ¾ motorcycle-grade tires
- Handlebars: Aluminium handlebar
- Sizes: One size fits all (minimum rider height 5’)
- Colors: White, black, and custom colors available
- Capacity: Maximum rider weight: 300 lb
- Weight: 88 lb
- MSRP: $2,990
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