Cool Concept in Personal Transportation

If you believe that personal urban transportation has an important future (which I do), here’s a really clever design that looks safe, fun, attractive—and potentially cost-effective.  Readers will note that I support a similar design (on the 2GreenEnergy “clean energy investors” page). 

This strikes me as even more appealing, in a number of respects.  Most obviously, it has a very low center of gravity, contributing to its safety, and also to its aerodynamics and sleek appearance.  The miles per watt-hour are going to be very attractive, given the light weight and pedal-assist.  At the same time, its fold-back roof makes it practical for any weather condition.

These guys have a crowdfunding campaign in place on Indiegogo, the status of which suggests that it hasn’t gotten much traction to date.

Perhaps that’s because investors know that the key to business success for these folks, and everyone else in the category, is going to be marketing.  All cool products attract some level of attention, but successful products tell their stories so as to create widespread and immediate awareness and demand, while differentiating themselves from competitive offerings.  They also need professional, robust dealer programs, getting the right sales channel in place, and making sure all the players in it all make money.

I’m rooting for these guys.  Anyone would like to see an extremely eco-friendly design in broad use, increasing fitness, reducing congestion, and, perhaps most importantly, cleaning up our environment.