Segway Plans To Be A Major Player In EScooter Market
Making the shift from micro-mobility to moto-mobility
While most MO readers will naturally associate Segway with the mobility device from which it takes its name, the company is really much more than that. What you may not know is that the majority of rentable e-kick scooters that have popped up in major metropolitan areas are manufactured by Segway for the rental companies. Similarly, along with its partner company Ninebot, Segway’s products are now on sale in “225 countries and regions,” with subsidiaries established in Beijing, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Seoul, Munich, Changzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. With mobility products ranging from the ubiquitous hoverboard to kick scooters capable of reaching speeds of over 40 mph plus the selection of the company’s off-road powersports offerings, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the company has entered the sit-down scooter market.
The Segway E110A is a two-seater scooter that will soon be available in the US market, and given MO’s love of EV two-wheeled transport and scooters in general, you can bet we will test one as soon as we can get our hands on one. Why? Because the E110A appears to offer much of the utility of lightweight ICE scooters.
Resting on 12-inch tubeless tires and weighing in at just under 200 lb., the E110A can carry a rider around town at speeds up to 30 mph. Since the battery is under the floorboards, the under-seat storage is a capacious 27 liters – more than enough for most quick errand runs. With a claimed range of 35 miles, the E110A should be enough for most urban users, but a second battery can be installed to double the range. A conventional fork and dual shocks handle the bumps, and 220mm front and180mm rear discs handle braking duties.
Segway calls its scooters smart because they have several features which it believes separates them from the pack. First, there are five ways to lock and unlock the E110A: Ninebot AirLock (a Bluetooth and app combination), four-digit access code (user preset in case the phone is not available), Segway-Ninebot app remote control (pressing a button within the app sends cellular notification to E110A), button on key-fob remote, and the physical key. Since the E110A is connected to a cellular network, it can also send the owner messages and location info via the Attitude & Heading Sensing System, which covers fall detection, abnormal movement, and internal malfunction detection. All of these notifications are free for two years after purchase and go to the user via the app. After all this tech, the full-color OLED dash seems almost old-fashioned, but it is clear in full sun.
While I only sat on the bike at a press event and have no information on how the E110A functions, I can say that thanks to the low-slung location of the battery, the E110A feels even lighter than its claimed weight when rocked back and forth underneath me. Although the rules vary by state, riders should be able to operate the E110A with just a standard driver’s license, like other speed-limited scooters. No price or availability date have been set, but we should have one to test in a month or so.
If the Segway E110A hasn’t piqued your interest, perhaps the hinted-at Segway E300P, which will be capable of highway speeds, will. Time will tell if Segway can make the same type of impact in general EV transportation as it has in the micro-mobility market.
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Like most of the best happenings in his life, Evans stumbled into his motojournalism career. While on his way to a planned life in academia, he applied for a job at a motorcycle magazine, thinking he’d get the opportunity to write some freelance articles. Instead, he was offered a full-time job in which he discovered he could actually get paid to ride other people’s motorcycles – and he’s never looked back. Over the 25 years he’s been in the motorcycle industry, Evans has written two books, 101 Sportbike Performance Projects and How to Modify Your Metric Cruiser, and has ridden just about every production motorcycle manufactured. Evans has a deep love of motorcycles and believes they are a force for good in the world.
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Just under 200 lb, is that with the battery? If yes, it's a little better than Yamaha's NE0. But the NE0 has slightly bigger wheels. Well, looks like we need a MOronic comparo.
Hmmm.... this actually looks pretty good...I will wait until you see and ride one.