Electric scooters have taken the world by storm in recent years, with a lot of young people living in the urban setting making use of these quick-access two-wheelers for trips around town. With a particularly strong presence in Europe and Asia, e-scooters have enjoyed a mixed reception, with some locales promoting their use, while others rolling out partial bans on them due to safety concerns.
Now, whether or not e-scooters are a viable mode of transportation depends on a multitude of factors which we’re not going to cover today. No matter what you think of e-scooters, there’s no denying that a lot of them are packing some pretty wild tech and are pretty darn cool. Take, for example, the Zebra09, a rugged, four-wheeled electric scooter that promises two crazy things we hardly ever see in the e-scooter world: off-road capability, and cargo-hauling abilities.
The Zebra09 is a creation by Chinese e-mobility company Zebra Mobility. Based out of Shenzhen, China, Zebra has launched a Kickstarter campaign on the Zebra09, and as of this writing, has raised $39,380 USD. The specs of the scooter are pretty impressive, and I’m more than certain that the 42 backers have some high expectations when it comes to the finished product.
For starters, the Zebra09 gets not one, but two electric motors that power the rear wheels. A combined 2,000 watts of output means that it’s much stronger than most e-bikes – let alone e-scooters – in the market. Speaking of the wheels, the Zebra09 rolls on nine-inch wheels with knobby off-road rubber. The entire scooter is supported by a steel frame, causing it to tip the scales at a rather hefty 45 kilograms. That’s just shy of 100 pounds. That said, its heavyweight build doesn’t go to waste, as the Zebra09 can be fitted with an optional trailer that can haul around up to 250 kilograms (551 pounds) including the rider. Imagine towing your motorcycle behind this thing.
When it comes to battery tech, the Zebra09 is packing a 960-watt-hour battery pack that promises 45 kilometers (28 miles) on a single charge. Zebra claims a charge time of about four to six hours via a standard household socket. It’s also worth noting that the scooter is resistant to the elements, with the battery, motor, and controller being rated IP6, while the rest of the scooter’s components are rated IP5. There’s also a built in LED headlight with an impressive 1,000-lumen output that should be good enough to illuminate the trails and gravel roads at night.
For extra convenience, the Zebra09 can be ridden either seated or standing thanks to a foldable saddle. It can also be folded up for storage, with compact dimensions measuring 41 x 24 x 11 inches, but good luck lifting this thing up a flight of stairs or stowing it in the back of your car without either tweaking your back, scratching up your bumper, or maybe even both.
As mentioned earlier, Zebra is crowd-funding the Zerba09 on Kickstarter, with the scooter carrying a pre-order price tag of 929 euros, or about $1,000 USD. It should go without saying that we should exercise caution when patronizing stuff on crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, as doing so is alway accompanied by a certain degree of risk. If you want to learn more about the Zebra09, you can check it out on its official Kickstarter landing page.
