Half the effort, twice the fun.
This proud and noble website is brought to you by a small group of guys, all of which are cyclists. We love cycling, and that probably reflects in the number of bike-related gadgets we review. What we aren't is scooterers. None of us have ever considered the scooter as a viable means of transportation, seeing it typically as a kid's toy that requires a lot of effort to ride. However, colour our minds changed, all thanks to the Zinc Lithium Volt 120 Electric Scooter.
This is an electric scooter. It looks like a normal scooter, and although it is larger than your average child's play scooter, there is nothing particularly interesting to at. Until you step on, and the full force of those electrical credentials kick in.
As the name suggests, there is a lithium battery in there, charged by the included wall power adaptor. Once charged (12 hours for the first time, then an hour or so after that) you flick the power switch on the scooter's side, lift the parking stand, then yank on the throttle. But nothing much will happen. Because the Zinc Lithium Volt 120 Electric Scooter is a push-and-go powered scooter, meaning that the motor will only kick in once you get the momentum going.
It works quite like the Volt Pulse E-bike we reviewed last year: you can't just sit back and twist the throttle, because you still need to add power to it for the motor to compliment your efforts. So just like the Volt bike provided equal the effort of power each time we peddled, so the Zinc Lithium Volt 120 Electric Scooter will help you along every time you push.
We found that several good kicks to build speed, while the throttle is pressed, would provide about ten seconds of forward travel before we had to kick again. bear in mind however, that as fully grown men, we were all pushing (and, if we're honest, exceeding) the maximum weight allowance of 70kg (about 11st). Kids and lighter adults will probably therefore find they get a lot more bang for their pushes.
While riding we found it very comfortable, with a tough and anti-slip footplate that was big enough for both feet, even in chunky trainers as seen in the pictures. The handlebars reach as high as one metre, so comfortable for a adult of around 6ft in height to hold, while the brake will disengage the motor and apply the disk brakes when pulled, so very safe.
It felt stable while riding, too; especially after a bit of practice on a quite, smooth road. The maximum speed this thing can achieve is 12mph, which is very impressive considering that was the cruising speed of the aforementioned bike. Obviously getting to that speed is no relaxed feat, and you will need to kick like a mo-fo to help the motor match your efforts. But when you do, it is a thrilling ride.
The Zinc Lithium Volt 120 Electric Scooter doesn't fold up like many other scooters, but disassembling the the upright pole is a fairly quick and easy job is you wanted to pack it flat. That said, at 8.5kg it isn't light, but electric vehicles such as thing never are.
So, could you (or, we suppose, your kids) ride this thing in a commuting sense? Well, if you were travelling a relatively short distance over flat-ish terrain, most definitely. Kids getting to school will find it nimble and quick, while adults (those light enough, that is) should find it a fun method of transportation on days when you're not carrying anything too big and heavy, and you don't mind getting odd looks.
£169.99
Available from www.argos.co.uk