Urban Transport

Segway unleashes crazy powerful GT series electric kickscooters

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The Segway GT1 has a single 1.4-kW hub motor for a top speed of 37.3 mph, while the GT2 rocks dual 1,500-watt hub motors for speeds of up to 43.5 mph
Segway
The Segway GT1 has a single 1.4-kW hub motor for a top speed of 37.3 mph, while the GT2 rocks dual 1,500-watt hub motors for speeds of up to 43.5 mph
Segway
The GT series electric kickscooters are pitched for racetrack or off-road fun rather than as daily commuters
Segway
The electric kickscooters feature powerful motors, long-range batteries, full suspension, 11-inch "self-healing" tires and hydraulic disc braking
Segway
Aircraft-grade aluminum alloy construction, hydraulic disc brakes sporting 5.5-inch rotors and double-wishbone suspension to the front and trailing arm to the rear
Segway
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After announcing a new batch of high-powered electric kickscooters early last month, Segway has now launched the GT series on Indiegogo – with the GT2 SuperScooter capable of a crazy top speed of 43.5 mph.

Though the video at the end does show full-helmet-wearing riders ripping through city streets, Segway is hedging its road-legal bets by pitching the GT series as racing thrill machines for the track or off-roading rather than for your daily commute.

The first of the two member GT series is the GT1, which boasts 1,400 watts of rear-hub motor power with peak output of 3 kW for a top speed of 37.3 mph (60 km/h) and a zero to 30 mph sprint time of 7.5 seconds. The 1-kWh battery under the extra-wide deck is reckoned to offer a per-charge range of 43.5 miles (70 km), though you're unlikely to manage such figures at full tilt.

The speed demon benefits from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy construction, features 15 levels of adjustable spring suspension in a double wishbone configuration to the front and trailing arm at the back and offers dual hydraulic disc braking with 5.5-inch rotors plus motor braking. It rides on 11-inch puncture-resistant tubeless tires that have a thin "self-healing" layer inside to seal up any holes without leaking, sports daytime-running LED lights plus turn indicators and has IPX4 weatherproofing for the scooter body, and IPX7 for the controller.

The electric kickscooters feature powerful motors, long-range batteries, full suspension, 11-inch "self-healing" tires and hydraulic disc braking
Segway

If the GT1's top speed isn't scary enough for your standing ride, Segway has bumped it up even further to 43.5 mph (80 km/h) for the GT2, which features dual 1,500-W motors for peak output of 6 kW. This model also slashes the standstill to 30 mph time down to a menacing 3.9 seconds at the highest of six ride modes.

The monstrous 1,512-Wh battery pack is reported good for up to 55.9 miles (90 km) on a single charge. There's adjustable air suspension in the same configuration as the GT1, a dynamic traction control system that adjusts torque for better grip on loose or slippery surfaces and a cool-looking transparent OLED display rather that the plain ol' digital screen of its series sibling. Elsewhere though, the GT2 rolls on the same 11-inch "self-healing" tires, and features the same LED lights, braking options and weatherproofing.

As you might expect for such powerful electric kickscooters, they don't ride in at the budget end of the e-mobility spectrum. Indiegogo pledges for the GT1 currently start at US$2,499 while the GT2 comes in at $3,499. If all goes to plan with the already-funded campaign, shipping is estimated to start in August. The video below has more.

Source: Segway

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5 comments
Oirinth
My first thought was .., oh, yet another April Fools joke, but its stupid enough to be real

small wheels and a high centre of gravity are a really bad idea when moving fast .. and even worse when you need to stop quickly .. please put the same technology towards a decent electric folding bike or something where you can sit to ride and not have to experience a front flip the first time you have to emergency brake
guzmanchinky
Oirinth, the center of gravity is really low, when you stand on the deck it's really easy to carve really hard turns.
These machines are everywhere (in California) now, even though they are legal nowhere. I think law enforcement simply looks the other way, especially with gas prices above $6 per US gallon here...
yawood
How can the centre of gravity be low? For the scooter on its own it is low, but once someone stands on it, surely the centre of gravity of the overall package is then quite high. That is why it is so easy to face plant when you brake, as the high centre of gravity goes over the handlebars.
Trylon
@Oirinth, it's not the small wheels that get you when trying to stop. It's the short wheelbase and the proximity of the CG to the front wheel. Small wheels would be perfectly safe with a five-foot-long wheelbase and a more rearward weight distribution. Personally, no way I'd pay $2500 for an electric scooter, but that's just me. I had an early electric scooter 20 years ago, before they were cool, but it only cost $600 at the time.
kid-jensen
Trylon,

Sorry, but Scooters are NEVER cool. They are the very opposite of cool! Cool commuters tend to pick Electric Skateboards...

That being said, it's about time Governments made the decision to allow these to be used legally, not carry-on hoping they will go away.
Something along the lines that push-bikes are treated at present would work. Realistically, the top speed will have to restricted, but this obsession with punishing speed has been with us since the Red Flag Act, so road-users would be conditrioned to accept it.