To be fair, the Äike T electric scooter is an interesting and innovative ride by itself. But the fact that it’s the world’s first USB-C enabled electric scooter is icing on the cake.
But what makes the Äike T electric scooter stand out so much from the hundreds of other e-scooters on the market?
Pretty much every electric scooter in the world is built in China. I say pretty much, because there’s one model that isn’t, and you’re looking at it.
Meet the Äike T, a European-designed and built electric scooter that packs a number of surprises.
Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that most of the cool features surrounding this scooter relate to its design, not its performance.
The performance is good, don’t get me wrong. But there’s nothing majorly innovative on the performance side. In the US it gets a 20 mph (32 km/h) speed limit, which is nice but a far cry from the faster electric scooters we’ve tested.
The 1,000W motor is certainly peppy, but again, it’s similarly powerful to many other electric scooters out there.
The battery’s 583 Wh capacity is commendable, but 25 miles (40 km) of range is once again fairly average for the nicer electric scooters already available in the US.
What makes the Äike T scooter so different?
So what makes this scooter special then? If the raw performance figures put it in the middle of the pack, then it’s all the other features and design considerations that make it stand out.
The first of which is that impressive battery. Not only is it removable, which is a nice bonus for anyone that doesn’t want to carry a 42 lb (19 kg) scooter around to find a plug. But the battery is also rechargeable via a USB-C charger, just like the kind you likely already use to charge your laptop and other devices.
It can accept up to 100W of charging via USB-C, though there’s another charge port if you want to get the higher power dedicated charger for even faster charging.
That USB-C feature means even if you’ve forgotten your charger, you can still beg, borrow, or steal a commonly available USB-C laptop charger somewhere. If you’re in class, you’ve probably got a few friends around that have one within reach. Both the battery and the scooter have a USB-C port, so you don’t have to pull the battery out to charge it.
The battery can also serve as a portable power station, meaning if your laptop or phone is low on juice then it can charge up your devices straight from the scooter’s battery. That’s probably not something most people will use everyday, but it’s a cool feature to have in a pinch. Think about it: Many of us have a big e-bike or e-scooter battery laying around that is only good for one thing: powering that ride. If you can get a second use out of it for backup power, then why not?!
There’s even more impressive tech under the hood. The scooter includes GPS anti-theft protection, and there’s even keyless smart-lock that uses your phone to activate the scooter – no key or PIN code needed.
Next, consider the physical design features. The side-supported wheels don’t just look cool, they also make it easier to change a tire. You’re unlikely to need to do that often though, since those 10″ tires are tubeless pneumatics that are less likely to get flats.
Braking is accomplished with a combination of a mechanical drum brake (i.e. no maintenance) and regenerative electric braking (i.e. also no maintenance). The entire scooter is IPX5 rated for water resistance, though it’s safer to avoid riding in rain anyway. But if you do get caught in a sprinkle or have to ride through puddles, you can be confident that the scooter can take it.
The entire construction and assembly is designed to be much more rugged than cheap imported scooters, and having European-based manufacturing gives the company the highest level of quality control to ensure those high standards.
Even things that many would consider superfluous, such as the kickstand, are nicely thought out. The double kickstand is minimalistic yet creates an extremely stable parking platform to prevent the scooter from falling over, which is good, because you probably don’t want to be knocking over and scratching up an expensive scooter.
Though even on that front, the Äike T isn’t really that expensive, at least not compared to the rest of the market. It’s priced at around €1,150 in Europe (approximately US $1,250), and in the US its available as part of a subscription program for around US $75 per month.
Suspension – what about it?
If there’s any single major downside to the Äike T electric scooter, it’s the suspension. Or rather the lack of it.
There’s no suspension in the scooter and so you’re going to feel bumps like sidewalk cracks and cobblestones more than on a full-suspension scooter.
Personally, this didn’t really bother me because was riding on mostly good streets, bike lanes, and sidewalks. I didn’t have many pot holes to watch out for and the ones I did, well, I knew where they were and I just didn’t hit them. The large 10″ tires also help smooth out smaller imperfections like the cracks between concrete slabs.
So for many people like me, it’s not a deal breaker. But if you have a lot of rough roads or bumpy trails where you plan to ride, you should know about the lack of suspension going in.
There is an upside here, though, and that’s increased ruggedness. Since there’s no suspension, there’s also no suspension to wear out or break. That might be a poor tradeoff for some, but others may appreciate knowing that the scooter is just one solid piece that’s designed to last.
In conclusion
Like I said, the scooter itself works well. I can’t commend it too much on performance because other than being a really stable platform to ride, it’s not like it’s that much different than other high end scooters in areas like speed, power, and range. It’s sufficiently fast and has a long enough range for most city riders.
The real gem here is everything else! The slick looking design, the GPS anti-theft, removable USB-C compatible battery, the nicely designed app for customizing the scooter, the ultra-low maintenance design, the automotive style tires with large diameter wheels. Even the broad, easily visible lighting is a great feature to see.
While it certainly costs more than a budget scooter, it’s also a high end, European-made electric scooter that will last a lot longer. So you have to pay a bit more than many Americans are used to for cheap Asian scooters, but you get a lot more too.
Author: Micah Toll
Source: Electrek
