17 hours ago
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Forget electric cars. The one means of locomotion I’ve always wanted was to ride a solar panel shaped like a horse saddle. I would pull up to the stable, wipe the sweat from my brow, and hitch up my robotic horse named “Sunrider” before barging through the saloon doors; a real “pistols at dawn” moment. Unfortunately, there are no solar-powered horses, at least not yet, but small scooter maker Otherlab is offering the next, closest thing. The Lightfoot scooter includes a massive solar panel you drape your legs across. Will it provide extra range? Perhaps. Will it be the oddest-looking scooter strolling through any frontier town or down a city street? Absolutely.
Lightfoot makers, the startup Otherlab, said in its announcement post the Lightfoot cargo scooter was inspired by the Vespa and Volkswagen bus, and it’s certainly one of those vehicles that will get an aging hippy excited. It sports twin, 120W solar panels on either side of the scooter while you rest your rear end on a small cushion shoved between them. With 750W of power per wheel, the scooter is supposed to get 37 miles of distance on a full charge and reach a top speed of just under 20 MPH. That’s certainly not the fastest scooter you can get, but–be honest–are you really going to get a solar-powered scooter for the speed?
According to the company, the scooter can then charge the 48-volt, 1.1kWh battery while it’s parked. Each hour in direct sunlight converts to 3 more miles of drive. That may equal out to 20 miles in summer or 10 miles in winter, weather-dependent. Otherlab claims this will equal about 18 miles of additional range per day. If you require a faster recharge, opt for the 600W onboard charger instead. Lightfoot also includes 2WD regenerative braking to add extra juice on the go.
The company said there’s room for two on the bench and that you should be able to park it anywhere you can park a bike (and not worry about it being stolen). Despite its name, the Lightfoot will weigh heavy on your wallet. It costs nearly $5,000. Beyond that, there’s a one-year and 2-year warranty for the most important parts. In addition, the company is promoting an “ironclad” three-month buyback guarantee, as stated, though the store page isn’t yet available. Otherlab said it expects to ship Lightfoot in January next year.
There’s enough waterproof trunk space for about 33 pounds, or approximately three bags worth of groceries, according to Otherlab. Other far cheaper cargo e-scooters, such as Razor’s $1,100 EcoSmart Cargo, are available. Similar bikes and scooters might offer more trunk space, and others promote they can fold up for easier storage. Recent noncargo scooters like the recent Segway ZT3 claim they can get nearly 44 miles in eco mode. However, the point of the Lightfoot is that it’s more economical, especially if you park it outside for long periods.
Otherlab is a San Francisco-based startup founded by Australian engineer Saul Griffith, with a team based in several U.S. cities, Australia, and Taiwan. The company claimed this was a way to have a “zero emissions” means of transportation, though that’s only true if you leave it outside for hours and only drive Lightfoot sparingly. That’s not to say it’s a bad idea, either. If you live somewhere you trust your neighbors and only need to use it sparingly, the money you save on electricity might eventually outweigh the cost of a $5,000 scooter.
