Introducing Lightfoot scooter

[PaPaSteve]

This is a neat idea !

Lightfoot | News - Introducing: Lightfoot

Today, Otherlab is unveiling a new kind of electric scooter designed to put a smile on your face every time you ride, whether you’re running errands, on a commute or heading out to meet friends. We call it Lightfoot – a sun-powered cargo scooter for your everyday short trips.

www.rollingsunshine.com

 

[slaphappygamer]

Pretty cool. Probably get more range if you are wearing no pants.

 

[Chalo]

The very first e-bike I ever built, back in the late '90s, had onboard PV arrays on a frame side panel and a disc front wheel. It used spacecraft grade gallium arsenide cells and could deliver 100W in full Texas sun.

It didn't charge significantly when moving because of shadows on the arrays. Turns out if you shade even part of a single cell in a series array, it acts as if the entire panel is shaded.

The rest of that bike was still advanced by today's standards. I made a boom frame out of an airfoil shaped section of sailboat mast, with the battery pack inside the frame. (Sanyo NiCd D cells in 30S configuration, haha.) It had an Allsop Softride beam for the seat, 700c suspension fork before we even had the 29" nickname, and Heinzmann 800 watt solar racer hub motor.

I had a picture of it from a friend's digital camera, but that was a whole lot of computers ago and I am pretty sure it's lost to history. I used the photo when applying for a job with a brand new space program, and I got the job. Blue Origin probably has that photo in their data archive, but I do not.

It was years afterwards before I ever considered having my own e-bike, because, well, I was young and strong and why would I want that? It wasn't like it could go faster than I could, and it sure couldn't go as far.

 

[PaPaSteve]

These guys do know how to make wicked fast electric things.
They have been doing it for a while.
Lightfoot is purposely designed to fit a road legal space with no insurance, tags or license required.
It does climb San Fransisco hills well.
I worked with / for them for a few years (10 ?) on different projects, not this one.
It's possible discussing the achievements of my World Solar Ralley bikes from 95 ~ 96 planted a seed . . .

 

[neptronix]

I think the thing is quite cool, i'd hate to crash or dump it though. I wish there was maybe some transparent bumps serving as side protection for the panels.

A bike equivalent could be neat. Panels wouldn't be as effective tho.

 

[PaPaSteve]

Solar panels on this ?

 

[neptronix]

Thinking more of an upright bike with solar panels on the rear rack and sides of the triangle.