Spot on review of the MiniZum: myurbanmotion/blogs/news/14776025-minizum-electric-foot-scooter-review Pros: Stable, soft ride Wide, long footboard Removable battery Sufficient torque for hills and long bridges An urbane, classic look Cons: Only partial folding Non-integrated controller pouch The Minizum is part of a family electric scooters made by Zumaround, a company based in Toronto and Buffalo, NY. The latest model combines the electric components of original version of the Zumaround -- a 20-inch tire scooter which came to market in 2012 -- with the frame of the Atom Sidewalker, the latest model kick scooter made by Zumarounds sister company Sidewalker. Weve been riding around with the Minizum electric footbike for about two weeks now, and have been impressed with its many capabilities and features. Want to know how this partially folding mini electric footbike does on NYCs rough streets? Read on. First impressions The Minizum sports a graceful and refined look, owing to its gently curving frame tubes, its metal-spoked wheels, and its rounded fenders. The fenders evince memories of the hand-hammered engine cowlings of vintage aircraft, or the undulating, external wheel houses of 30s-era automobiles. On the whole, one can tell that it was designed with a classic, urbane style in mind, contrasted with other electric foot scooters on the market that barely give visual appearance a nod. Kicking aside its integrated kickstand and standing on the foot deck, we were struck by how low the scooters center of gravity is, compared to, say, GoPed electric scooters. The Minizums low deck height gives it a stable feel, and its wide and long footdeck means there is plenty of room to position ones feet for optimum balance and comfort. Adding to the feeling of stability is the handlebar and stem, which, although capable of folding at the bottom near the headset, felt sturdy and secure. The powdered black matte finish on the handlebar and the high-quality, contoured grips on the barends also contributed to overall refined look. Powering up The Minizum is powered by a 36 volt 9 amh, lithium-Ion battery mounted on the headtube connecting the headset to the deck. Such a powerful battery on such a light frame enables the Minizum to achieve an average of 20 miles on each of the 500 plus charge cycles that the power source is capable of holding. An integrated led indicator on the battery shows how much charge is left; this is in addition to the led indicator found on the throttle/power switch unit, which is mounted adjacent to the right side handgrip. The thumb throttle activates the front wheel-mounted 250 watt, brushless hub motor, which can cruise at 15 miles per hour. This isnt the fastest scooter out there, but it still feels pretty zippy. For city riding, we found it plenty fast enough, cruising past leisurely bikers with ease. One advantage of the 15 mph cruising speed is that it is totally legal to use in New York City; according to local administrative code, stand up motor scooters are unregulated, as long as they are only capable of achieving speeds of 15 mph and below. The throttle, battery and motor are interconnected by a controller unit housed in a soft, weatherproof pouch mounted on the lower handlebar. Its a bit of an awkward arrangement, as the wires extrude from a partial zipper opening at the bottom of the pouch. It is the same configuration as that of the original Zumaround. We know from a few years experience of daily use of the Zumaround that the pouch can sometimes attract unwanted attention when the scooter is locked outside in a public place. The worst that has happened to us is that the zipper has sometimes been opened by curious parties, but mostly left alone, when they see it holds a non-descript metal box with wires, and nothing of general practical value. Riding Pressing down on the thumb throttle elicits a smooth and robust pickup which levels off into a comfortable plateau when the motor hits top speed. The 12-inch pneumatic tires help the scooter coast well in between boosts. When the throttle is re-engaged while coasting, there is a noticeable lag in motor response, as it regains traction with the already moving wheel. We found that the best way to avoid this is to keep the throttle depressed to just above the sweet spot where the motor engages, and thumb down through this spot in short bursts to keep the scooter coasting at the desired speed. Riding this way, with short bursts in between coasts, also seemed to yield the most range. The deck, as mentioned, features ample room to place ones feet at the optimum position for riding comfort. Grip tape helps to keep them firmly planted in place. The tires, inflatable up to 50 PSI, provide adequate cushion from rough asphalt, while also enabling the aforementioned long glides. Stopping is facilitated by standard front and rear bicycle caliper type brakes. The scooter performed well on long mild hills and bridges. The motor kept it chugging along on inclines as steep as 15 degrees for distances up to a quarter mile. Naturally, the scooters range will be adversely affected by these types of climbs. Its a good thing the battery can be removed from its locking cradle, enabling the user to top it off in the office or elsewhere for the ride back home. Being located in the City, we didnt have the luxury of an uninterrupted thoroughfare needed to test the motors actual overall run time. But riding in the burst-coast-burst method described above, we were able to ride the scooter all day, visiting the four corners of Manhattan. Parking and Locking The Minizum comes with an integrated kick-stand located on the bottom left hand side of the deck. While convenient and effective for keeping the scooter upright, we found that it sometimes lightly scraped the road where there were small bumps in the asphalt. A locking ring located on the underside of the frame, below the headtube, can accomodate a Kryptonite style u-lock for affixing the scooter onto a bike rack or signpost.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 06:55:24 +0000
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