Zuumer Electric Scooter: Hands-On, First Drive

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1. 
   Qatar Boy said on October 11th, 2008 at 4:14 am

   This an awesome device, very sweeeeet… I want one for the holidays. Cheers, Sameer

   Reply
2. 
   Jenton said on October 11th, 2008 at 4:14 am

   As cool as this sounds (and as much as I want to get one), I think the price point makes it more worth it to just buy yourself a 50cc moped.

   Reply
3. 
   Craig said on October 11th, 2008 at 5:18 am

   I must say that is one of the best battery mounting systems I’ve seen in an electric scooter.

   Reply
4. 
   Dan said on October 11th, 2008 at 8:16 am

   Lame, FTA
   “For those that have always wanted to feel what it’s like to surf, or snowboard, or skateboard, get on a Zuumer”

   Or get off your lazy butt, go outside and learn how to do one of these things, instead of spending over 2000 dollars on something that will make you look like a idiot or just collect dust in your garage.

   (im sure this comment will be deleted, but oh well)

   Reply
5. 
   Justin Payne said on October 11th, 2008 at 8:37 am

   LOL, its kinda goofy looking I think.

   Jif
   http://www.privacy-center.ru.tc

   Reply
6. 
   DesignMatters said on October 11th, 2008 at 9:14 am

   Innovative, useful, user-friendly? Yes. Attractively designed? No. For that reason alone, unfortunately, I think this thing will fail. It looks like a bad merger of a skateboard, old-school minibike, and push-to-go kid’s scooter.

   Reply
7. 
   liam said on October 11th, 2008 at 10:06 am

   Never heard of video eh? Seriously though a video would have been nice.

   Reply
8. 
   Edg Duveyoung said on October 11th, 2008 at 10:40 am

   The new Trikke Tribred will run circles around the Zuumer. The Zuumer has some nice features, but the Tribred has all of them too, costs only $1200, goes faster, gives more thrills per travel-foot, and develops the rider into a superior fitness that no Zummer rider can ever expect. When you see a Tribred rider, you see an athlete; the Zummer rider is mostly just cargo with no real demands on the major muscle groups.

   Reply
9. 
   Free Xbox 360 said on October 11th, 2008 at 11:13 am

   Huh. That’s look cool. I wouldn’t mind having one of those.

   Reply
10. 
    David Herron said on October 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am

    I’ve also taken a good look at the Zuumer and have written a couple postings about it. It is a truly awesome machine with a ride totally unlike anything else I’ve ridden. http://www.7gen.com/blog/20080912/24897-electric-scooters … http://www.7gen.com/website/electric-scooter/24160-zuumer … http://visforvoltage.org/forum/4832-rode-zuumer

    Reply
11. 
    Michael said on October 11th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

    The rear suspension looks very similar to that BMW skateboard:

    http://www.gizmag.com/go/1191/picture/384/

    I guess the big advantage of the 3 wheels is that it stays upright when stopped and it seems to do very tight turns, but I am not sure it is so different than a 2wheeled scooter that it would be worth the price premium.

    Reply
12. 
    Dan said on October 11th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

    Just not worth the money if you ask me. over $2,000 to look like a dork. No thanks
    Plus, no one falls for shady tricks like spamming Digg and erasing negative comments. Just makes th eproduct look bad.

    Reply
13. 
    Sebastian Schepis said on October 11th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

    Hi for those that are looking for a video of the Zuumer:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUhYBEZtn_I

    Reply
14. 
    Dakota said on October 11th, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    @Edg Duveyoung:

    I looked it up from Trikke’s site - the Zuumer goes 20 mph vs the Tribred’s 17, and it has a longer range (20 miles on the Zuumer versus the Tribred’s 12 mile range).

    Also, it doesn’t have all of its’ features - I don’t see any form of alarm or keyless start like the Zuumer.

    Now if I had $2200 for one of these - I’d be in. I commute often and the Zuumer seems more of a commuters’ scooter.

    Reply
15. 
    Edg Duveyoung said on October 12th, 2008 at 11:21 am

    Okay, okay, the Zuumer has an alarm and other electric gizmos that it can “afford” by having those huge heavy batteries. The Tribreds that I have can easily go faster than 17 mph if one puts the pedal to the metal by using one’s muscles after the motor has gotten one to the “as advertised” “top” speed of 18 mph. By oomphing it, I can get the Tribred motor to “quit” while I muscle it to even higher speeds. Daily, I go downhilling at speeds up to 40 mph — can the Zuumer take the stresses of surface related impacts at that speed? I think the rear suspension of the Zummer is highly suspect for high stress use. Also, the Zuumer has one’s feet together way-close and that makes for a poor stance for many surface challenges. The Tribred rider is much more solid, stable and dynamically poised for action. The Zuumer stance is much more akin to the Segway in that both those machines treat the rider as, well, a rider — cargo — rather than an integral part of the machine’s “power plant.” A Tribred rider is working hard to lessen the drawdown on the batteries — the Segway and Zuumer riders cannot contribute to the forward motion. For the price, the do-dads of the Zuumer are insignificant in that a Tribred can be tricked out if one spends hundreds of dollars on after market add-ons which can match or surpass the Zuumer’s gadgets, and still end up with a less costly machine. The Tribred starts by pushing the throttle button — no key. Again, the Zuumer and even that bloated beast, the Segway have their fun aspects, but no Trikke rider, let alone a Trikke Tribred rider, is going to get any thrills from those machines to lure them into purchasing — the Trikke is a gonzo, hot-shot, thrill generating, whole body fitness impacting, miracle “brute” that is as close to “alive” in the rider’s hands as any machine extant — the Trikke rider feels like the machine is an extension of the mind — it is almost a cyborg type of body enhancement that goes all the way to “Iron Man” feelings when you add the Tribred motor to the mix. When I ride my Tribreds, I feel genuinely servo assisted — call it “Borg cool.” My athleticism rides “atop” the synergies by directing the motor’s power and nuancing it with human muscle power as artistically needed. The Trikke forces the rider into fitness excellence by always giving bio-feedback that teaches the rider to conform to the Trikke’s needs when it comes to “gravity sailing.” Soon enough, one can carve with panache.I would bet $10,000 that any 100 people taken off the street and allowed to try out these three machines would choose the Tribred by a large percentage. Even out of shape, flabby-bunned couch potatoes will love the exhilaration of “being involved” that only the Tribred can provide.

    Reply
16. 
    Edg Duveyoung said on October 12th, 2008 at 11:31 am

    Truth be told, I have battery power to spare when I come back from a session — sweating and tired. Why? Because how challenging a fitness routine you get is determined by the Tribred rider’s heart, passion, and will. I can burn more calories in 30 minutes on a Tribred than two hours on a Zuumer. I come back spent from each session and feel like a White Knight.

    If one is merely and only wanting “transportation,” then the Zuumer and Segway fall far short of many other electric vehicles in the same price ballpark when one compares range vs price. And, if a Tribred rider wants to, extra batteries can be carred, and yet the Tribred will still be lighter in weight than a Zuumer or Segway, and the Tribred will then have up to a 28 mile range.

    Reply
17. 
    drivin98 said on October 12th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

    I looked up the Trikke too. Very meh. If i wanted to work up a sweat I’d ride my bike.

    Zuumer FTW.

    Reply
18. 
    Edg Duveyoung said on October 12th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    The Trikke works the whole body — the bike mainly works the lower muscle groups. And besides the bike’s trying to stuff a seat up one’s butt, biking is typically a boring gym-esque exercise machine — unless one is mountain biking. As a long-time trikker, let me attest that the thrill is still there on every carve — and “thrill” means “THRILL!!!” The psychology of trikking is 180 degrees from biking. Trikkers learn to love falling; whereas, a biker tries to keep balance with an uptight anal retentive dynamic and any turn is disliked because it slows down the bike — bikers seem to just want to plow straight ahead. On the trails, they’re, as if, all trying to “get this over with and get home for a cold one.” When I step off my Trikke, I’m pissed because I didn’t have enough stamina to keep going — I typically waste myself just goofing around in a smallish area by really putting all the power I can into each carve — or I carve up one of my local hills and when I get to the top, feel like Rocky Balboa at the top of the Philadelphia stairway with his arms flung heavenward. Bikers have these feelings, I am supposing, but they’re far and few between. A trikker gets psychic profit on each and every carve — the thrill of the falling sensation. A biker will typically have to “think about biking” and compute mileage against time before authenticating the experience fully. Trikking is all about immediacy.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love my bike too. I love to crank it and power shift and get that thrill that gears can give, but I always find myself picking the Trikke almost exclusively when I enter the garage. Generally I have to fill my tires with air every time I use a bike, because it’s been so long since I last rode. There’s a deeply satisfying reason for this — the basic thrill of the carve.

    And, let me tell you, out there in the wilds, I always feel like I have the coolest machine and NEVER feel embarrassed to be on a Trikke when a biker labors by. I’m poetry in motion — dancing with gravity — and I’ve got an extra 20 pounds of muscle for having had this much fun over the years — daily. Bikers seem “resigned to their fate,” but trikkers cannot stop inwardly smiling and instinctively recognize the biking psychology as a mental prison of sorts. A trikker knows perfect freedom on almost every carve — there’s a thousand ways to do a carve, and it just never gets dull when one’s spontaneity is fully supported.

    To each his own. I fault no one for resonating with a bike, but, for your own sake, try a Trikke for a week, gets some chops, and then see if you ever get on a bike again.

    Reply
19. 
    RJW said on October 12th, 2008 at 11:43 pm

    “Trikkers learn to love falling”

    Reply
20. 
    Seth V said on October 13th, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    Uh…ride a bike? As in a bicycle. Cheaper, more health benefits, proven technology, smaller environmental impact.

    Reply
21. 
    parry said on October 13th, 2008 at 10:27 pm

    A little secret….. Want a workout ? BUY A FREAKIN BICYCLE !!!!! Workout on a battery powered scooter?
    scooter?? Spend 2 grand on a bike skateboard, snowboard,and not look like a fool

    Reply
22. 
    Edg Duveyoung said on October 14th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    The Zuumer is a slick gizmo that is not an insignificant engineering achievement, but, bottom line, it’s mostly just a tricked out battery powered scooter with a neat high concept (the rear assembly.)

    Whereas the Tribred is a battery powered, servo-assisting, performance enhancing, carnival ride that is a fitness machine first and foremost. It may be routinely dismissed as a faddish oddity by knee-jerking negativity addicts and uneducated observers, but it is pure fun on wheels to the cognoscenti.

    Those bikers who love peddling endlessly bent over their bars with a pointy seat rat-a-tatting into their puckers can have their smug self-congratulatory false pride that their aerobic success is the all the profit possible from any exercise, but they’re not addressing the whole body’s needs for flexibility, a generous challenge absorbing sinew-stretchability spectrum, upper body muscle workouts, and all the wonders that dancing — as opposed to biking — can bring. And note that the dancing is in public and the audience frequently applauds in wonder at what they see: a Fred Astaire type dancing with a hat rack on wheels.

    Given the same initial fitness, a person using a bike cannot ever hope to achieve the fitness they would achieve if they put the same amount of time and passion into trikking. Anyone want to bet? I’ll put my money on a Trikke any day — any jury will find that it gives more fun and fitness than any of its competitors. Emphasis on fun.

    You folks who think a workout has to be Sisyphus-hard are missing out bigtime. I was a couch potato — world class — at age 59 and hadn’t been fit since the Beatles did Sullivan. Nothing got me off that couch — though from time to time I’d try to apply myself to the various offerings of jogging, biking, blading, gyms, swimming, etc.

    Nothing grabbed me, but then, suddenly, I took a chance and bought a Trikke. Instantly I was heroin-hooked. I was sore from over-using it FOR THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS that I owned the beast, but I could not stop myself from going out every day and doing things that never were imagined by me when I was nestled into my body’s form-fitting sofa dent. I lost 34 pounds that first year and gained 15 pounds of muscle, and not once — NOT ONCE — did I ever find myself making an excuse for why I couldn’t do my exercise session — rather, it was a case of finding myself making excuses for why an extra trikking session could be risked and damn the next day’s soreness.

    Then, finally, Trikke Tech added the motor, and the Tribred was born. As an HPV purist at the time, I thought that maybe this was not such a good thing, because, hey, the motor would be used to do all the work, but in real life — not so, not so. In real life the Tribred rider is puffing and oomphing it hard to lessen the motor’s drawdown on the battery. By helping out, the Tribred rider can double the amount of time that the batteries can last, and this is not seen so much as a carrot on a stick as it is viewed as a relationship with a dance partner — you want to dance forever and are lovingly conservative of your partner’s stamina.

    After five years of manual trikking, get this, I had to go through months again of being “newbie sore,” because the Tribred is so much fun that it allures you to stay out there longer, try harder, and enter a whole new carving realm that experienced trikkers already have the carving chops to explore fully as they discover their established skill-sets can be amplfied beyond their imaginations into a plethora of entertainment opportunities that are rarely available to the manual trikker. Once the Tribred rider builds up a bit more muscle (automatically) the extra 30 pounds of the Tribred become as if nothing, and, truly, stepping aboard a Tribred is — without exaggeration — an experience that is not dissimilar to Tony putting on his Iron Man suit.

    Tribred riders are soaring souls riding a borgified beast — machine and body merged to a seamless unity that frictionlessly manifests the mind’s least artistic nuance.

    Whenever you catch yourself “on automatic,” you know, such as when you suddenly realize how much you’re not even paying attention to how you’re driving your car, and yet all these wonderfully timed actions happen as turn signals etc. are all used without really engaging your mind — you may be instead attending the radio’s buttons.

    Just so does the Tribred rider equally come to oneness with the machine, and the mechanics of riding move to the background to such an extent that the minor surface imperfections are shock-absorbed without the mind having to be notified, and then the experience of carving on a Tribred becomes magic — and pure unadulterated mystic artistry effortlessly begins to manifest.

    You can talk about your runner’s high, your biker’s trance, your gym intoxications from pumping up, but I never hear about “artistry for the masses.” You can get runners who are so perfected that watching them is like being at the Kentucky Derby, and that famous nude picture of Lance Armstrong on his bike leaves no doubt what that level of performance-discipline can do for a body, and smiles of satisfaction that body-builders give themselves in the gym’s mirrored walls are proof enough of the kinds of rewards that the various fitness offerings can use as “bait.” But show me newbies coming off their first session on a Trikke, and I’ll show you some unadulterated glee. They don’t even know how to carve yet, but their smiles are identical to those smiles only found in the most successful bikers, runners, and gym ratters. Try to find a smile on a newbie runner or person lifting a ten pound weight next to a guy with muscles like pumpkins hidden under his skin.

    The Trikke is a dance instructor. All other fitness machines are closer to drill sergeants.

    And, what?, still not satisfied and want a cherry on top?

    Here tis: I’ve already saved $100 in gasoline just by running to town on the Tribred — the machine pays for itself in transportation cost reduction.

    Edg

    Reply
23. 
    electricitycycles said on October 27th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    Thanks for the video. Cool bike. Like the demo as well. Nice to see products taken out into the wild and demo’d.

    Reply

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