17 October, 2015

Scooting into the future with electric assist


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 hundred years ago all the smart young people were cruising the streets of New York and London on the Autoped, a gasoline powered folding scooter. In our earlier coverage of it we quoted:

“This fascinating machine represents the world’s first model of scooter. It was the only motorcycle to be built in New York City. Though adopted by the U.S. Post Office and other services – as well as fashion-conscious women in Europe and America – it was also used by New York gang members for easy getaways – they could motor down narrow alleys to escape police in cars behind them.”

Now, a century later, it's back in an all-electric model that looks a whole lot better and safer. It's the Smart Ped, made in Milan by Nino Klansek and the people at FlyKly, who previously brought us the FlyKly Smart Wheel for your bike. They gave TreeHugger a heads-up on their new device after seeing our Autoped coverage, but are now up on Kickstarter for all to see.

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