Electric scooters may be a simpler alternative to full-on ebikes, but those tiny wheels don’t do well on gravel paths, snow, or pothole-filled roads. That’s where the Vinghen Ti1 comes in, as it has big ol’ fatbike-style tires.
Designed by Bulgarian engineer Tsvetan Iliev, the scooter features a galvanized steel frame (despite the titanium-suggesting “Ti” in its name), a longboard-like impregnated plywood deck, and a 250-watt rear hub motor. A 13-Ah/36V lithium-ion battery pack, located in a polycarbonate box beneath the deck, provides power to that motor via a handlebar-mounted throttle.
A top speed of 15 mph (25 km/h) is possible, unless you’re just kicking the thing along without using the motor. One four- to five-hour charge should reportedly be good for a range of 20 miles (32 km). The whole vehicle weighs a claimed 55 lb (25 kg).
Iliev tells us that he plans on adding a throttle-free electric-assist feature, which will cause the motor to automatically boost each of the rider’s kicks. It should be noted that the fat-tired Scrooser scooter already works in this manner.
And yes, the wheels … the front one takes a beefy 26 by 3.0-inch tire, with a smaller 20 by 3.0 in the back. Mechanical disc brakes stop those wheels, with hydraulic discs available as an upgrade.
Should you be interested, the Vinghen Ti1 is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. Assuming it reaches production, a pledge of £530 (about US$660) will get you one. Its planned retail price is $899.
And if you like the idea of a fattie e-scooter, but are interested in seeing something in a different style, you might want to also check out the Phatty and the Stator.
Gravel-capable electric scooter rocks a set of tubby tires [New Atlas]