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24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

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31–40 of 65 posts

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#32
If you're going to be this ridiculous, at least make it look cool.

Re-invent the Penny Farthing perhaps. An electric version of that, with some funky way of lifting the rider up, would be amazing.

This is like the cronut of bikes, all the downsides of a scooter, and none of the upsides of a motorbike.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#33
post #29
post #24

> the company’s engineers left Formula 1 to work on scooters “because we think electric scooters are the most important vehicle innovation of this century.” I laughed out loud. Start up PR is a competition for “what’s the most absurd thing we can say”

I actually don’t think it’s that absurd. It definitely is hype but I think e-scooters and (far more) e-bikes actually are a huge innovation in personal transport, not in pure tech but in effect on lifestyles especially when you factor in cost. I have a cargo e-bike I use as my daily driver, taking the kids to school, picking up groceries etc. If they didn’t exist I’d probably have to pay for (and deal with) a car. A…

But bikes aren’t scooters.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know you can bring your scooter inside, right?

In particular, not at the grocery store I shop at, they have no provision for it and they would ask me to bring it back outside if I tried. Even so it would not be more secure there than outside. There is no store security and the vehicles typically don't even have a key, alarm, or tracker built into them. They disappear easily.

I just roll mine around it's not really a problem

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#35
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

E-bikes have relatively huge wheels. These interact with any bumbs, curbwalls, pot-holes, rocks in much more safe manner. This with stability makes them to me much safer. Still does not do much difference when crashing to someone or something or someone crashing into you.

I was on a road bike with a peloton and half of us hit a pothole that was ~25cm deep when going at 50kmh. We had a few popped tubes and a damaged (but rideable) wheel. Good luck on a scooter. You’re a meat pencil.

I think the part that saved you here is going 50 kmph. I've wiped out on 2.5 cm at half those speeds.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#36
post #32

If you're going to be this ridiculous, at least make it look cool. Re-invent the Penny Farthing perhaps. An electric version of that, with some funky way of lifting the rider up, would be amazing. This is like the cronut of bikes, all the downsides of a scooter, and none of the upsides of a motorbike.

24 kW on a Penny Farthing-like bike ?

At 100 MPH you hit the brakes and instead of stopping the whole thing just rolls over to slam you with the same velocity to the ground ? x)

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#37
post #4

> “because we think electric scooters are the most important vehicle innovation of this century.” Perhaps.. if you've never experienced urban property theft. Which is what prevents me from buying an electric bicycle. Similarly the designers of these products seem to incorporate no anti theft technology into any of their products. A scooter that goes blisteringly fast? Hardly an innovation on it's own.

I remember when the Segway was first announced, a reporter from The Register observed that it was too large and heavy to bring inside, but small and light enough to be easily tossed into the back of a pickup truck, and it cost about $3,000, when it was introduced (which is probably double that, these days).

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#38
post #33
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually don’t think it’s that absurd. It definitely is hype but I think e-scooters and (far more) e-bikes actually are a huge innovation in personal transport, not in pure tech but in effect on lifestyles especially when you factor in cost. I have a cargo e-bike I use as my daily driver, taking the kids to school, picking up groceries etc. If they didn’t exist I’d probably have to pay for (and deal with) a car. A…

But bikes aren’t scooters.

scooters are great for apartments where there's no concept of bike parking / storage I absolutely hate having to bring my monster of an ebike down from 8th floor (via elevator thankfully). Scooters can use a large backpacks for storage instead as well.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#39
post #8

Scooters are just deceptively dangerous. The ease with which you can just hop on and go 20, 30, 40mph in instant is a false sense of security. There’s no drama, no warning, just pure speed standing upright, feet mere inches off the ground. Crashing on a 100mph scooter is sure to end gruesomely.

I think even a 20 mile an hour crash can do quite a bit of damage. It doesn't take much to crack a skull or break some bones.

My response to any kind of scooter has always been "No thanks. I like having teeth.". Just not worth it to me. I'll use an ebike if I need to. Feels much more stable to me.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#40
post #15
post #8

Scooters are just deceptively dangerous. The ease with which you can just hop on and go 20, 30, 40mph in instant is a false sense of security. There’s no drama, no warning, just pure speed standing upright, feet mere inches off the ground. Crashing on a 100mph scooter is sure to end gruesomely.

I’m unsure how the risk compares to an e-bike. Assuming speeds are equal I think the consequences of a crash are better on a scooter. You don’t have a crossbar between your legs to trip you as you fall, and you start in a standing position, so you’re more likely to land on your feet. Also your head and shoulders are above the cars so you’re less likely to end up under the car. Having said that I think scooter crashes…

> so you’re more likely to land on your feet

Try jumping of a car at 25kmh. You'll be on your feet for some time indeed, the next step is both your wrist buckling (or snapping) because you'll instinctively put your hands up, and after that your head contacting the ground. Even at 15kmh I doubt most people would handle that gracefully.

From what I gather the injuries are similar, but escooters are used by more diverse people whereas regular bicycles are more of a lifestyle choice, much more nighttime accidents and accidents involving alcohol

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-12627-x

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