Scooters And One Wheels

Segway-Ninebot is launching a self-balancing e-scooter with a steering wheel

Segway-Ninebot has just placed orders in North America for a new version of the company’s self-balancing electric scooter, the Ninebot S Max.

Unlike conventional Bird and Lime electric scooters, the Ninebot S Max uses the hoverboard-style parallel wheel design.

The previous version of the scooter offered by Ninebot contained a central column that reached just below the driver’s knees. The drivers pressed their legs against the column to control the steering.

The new Ninebot S Max can be operated in this way, but it also includes an extendable column with a steering wheel. The steering wheel doesn’t actually turn, but appears to be tilted left and right like a control column or yoke.

The new design should improve comfort and stability by allowing riders to hold on to with their hands.

The steering wheel also has a built-in display that allows the driver to monitor the speed of the device in real time.

Functionally, the Ninebot S Max is more similar to the classic Segway self-balancing van – a vehicle that the company finally killed last year.

At the current retail price of $ 849, however, the new Ninebot S Max is significantly cheaper than the old-school Segway at over $ 4,000.

The Ninebot S Max is not only cheaper than the previous Segway i2, it is also lighter and more powerful. The device weighs 22.7 kg and has a pair of top-of-the-line motors of 2,400 W. Power is not used to achieve a high top speed as the device only reaches a top speed of 20 km / h.

Instead, that force is needed to make quick front and rear corrections to maintain balance and provides impressive incline capabilities for a self balancing scooter.

A 432 Wh battery offers a range of 38 km.

Drivers can use the device hands-free by removing the steering wheel mount and instead using their steering to control the steering like on previous models.

The Ninebot S Max can also be integrated into Ninebot’s popular go-kart attachment, transforming the combo into a 4.8 kW go-kart and unlocking a higher top speed of 37 km / h, although the range is on 25 km (15.5) drops miles).

Segway-Ninebot has already offered the Ninebot Gokart PRO for around 1,999 US dollars. However, users can add the Ninebot S Max to the company’s go-kart kit and get the same performance for a total of $ 1,698.

For anyone rocking the go-kart kit with the old Ninebot S self-balancing scooter, the new model that hits the market today is easy to swap out and offers a nice performance boost.

Segway-Ninebot is now taking pre-orders for Indiegogo at a retail price of $ 849 and is expected to begin shipping in April.

Indiegogo has become a common platform for introducing new personal electric vehicles, and Segway-Ninebot has used the platform multiple times over the past few years for everything from electric dirt bikes to electric mopeds.

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