Looks like it would be perfect for cruising around my town. It isn't fast, and it doesn't reach max speed quickly, but a 12 mile range means I'd only have to charge it once a week maybe.
Out of curiosity, at that point why not a bicycle?
At the point where you’re happy traveling at or below 15mph for 1.5mi total a day (so two trips of 3/4mi), the effort involved is nearly nothing.
Just for handy reference, 10mph is a mile every six minutes. So we’re talking about bike trips on the order of about five minutes at a very low intensity.
You can fold this and bring it into an office that doesn’t provide bicycle parking. Also some people detest any form of physical strain, fearing they might get sweaty or ruffle their clothing.
A five minute, low-intensity bike ride is not going to make you sweaty or noticeably ruffle your clothing, unless you’re in an environment where simply walking would.
And as a sibling noted, foldable bikes exist and are smaller, lighter, and cheaper than this.
For some of us (genetically predisposed to sweating a lot), it definitely would. I am a pretty athletic person but just walking between two rooms with a shift in temperature makes me sweat. A five minute bike ride makes me have to change clothes.
The Verge reports the Honda will launch at $995[1], while the Bromptom lists for $4700[2] so I don't know how you say it is a lot more expensive? Do you have a different figure for the price?
I'm not opposed to a bike, but as someone mentioned below the heat here during the summer isn't conducive to bike riding or walking to work. It's currently 90.5 F in the shade but I'd stay cool enough riding an electric scooter, not so with the bike.
Another concern I'd have is tail spray from the back wheel in wet weather, I've had clothes stained from a similar mechanism in the past.
The original is now a collector's item worth thousands. If Honda sells the Motocompacto it'll be mostly to Honda enthusiasts looking for a neat trunk item.
I've been daydreaming of stacking a 5 pack of em in the boot for family use exploring places during weekends away. Kids would have an absolute ball ripping around on one of those.
Hoverboards or electric unicycles might fit the bill, depending on how well your kids can balance. I have a $300 folding scooter that fits in my Honda's trunk and has more capability than the Motocompacto- the value proposition of a slightly smaller package is not amazing.
Yeah nah two wheels > 1. My kids are accident prone af so I'll give em any help they can get to mitigate that lol.
But also the Honda appeals because it's a big brand. With that comes a lot of users and hopefully lots of mods. There is lots of space in that middle bit that holds the battery and charger. Without a doubt I'd be able to sneak a larger battery in. Not to mention parts will probably be available from the multiple local Honda dealers making repairs easy af in just about any region. Lots of value that isn't just in the spec sheet.
Fingers crossed they release it here (aus). I want to switch as much of my family's transport to electric or public transport as soon as i can afford it. Fuel prices are making ice vehicles unusable.
Often-explosive miniature Segway clones in 2-wheel parallel and unicycle configs are somehow called hoverboards circa 2017. Don't like the idea of materializing it that way but created cheap supply for robotics research platform it seems.
A motocompo came up for sale locally a couple of months ago for only a couple of 1000, shame I missed it. Classic design.
At 40lbs this thing is only half the weight of the full gas-powered 'compo, way too heavy for a modern take -it's basically an e-scooter with cosmetic panels.
But it begs the question: why have something so huge if its range is terrible? Electric scooters are more compact, transportable, comfortable, you're more visible because you're standing, etc.
An e-scooter doesn't have an obvious way to pick it up and carry it with you. This is basically an e-scooter, but very narrow and shaped like a briefcase with a handle, which seems like an improvement for transporting it. It would be nice if it was a standing ride, that would probably be more comfortable.
"Hiboy" sells multiple folding models on Amazon. I have one (can't remember the exact model) and the folding feature makes it pretty convenient to carry.
Range 20+ miles, top speed 18mph. Air-filled tires are a nightmare when you get a flat, but you can replace them with non-air tires.
It looks like there's extra space inside to hold the charger above what looks like a fairly compact battery, so it would have been nice if they included some mechanism to have an extension battery optionally stored inside of it instead of the charger...
At 42 lbs or 19 kg, I find it hard to believe that anybody would be lugging this around more than a minute or two. The people I know that do take e-scooters to places typically roll them into the station and only fold them to stow, so the carrying is not very important.
The only use case I could see for myself using one would be to get from the station to the office, but e-scooters are banned on trains in the UK. Otherwise it (or similar) is something I might have considered.
I'm sure if they were properly regulated and people weren't importing iffy ones from wish.com that don't meet safety standards, this wouldn't have been such a problem.
Aside from some pilot programs, I think e-scooters are still technically banned in every public space in UK, as they are considered motor vehicles and are not (yet) insurable.
The Segway scooters are a better comparison, those can go 25-45km on a charge. There are other models that can do 100km+, it’s a quite dramatic gap to what Honda is offering.
For completeness, you can buy suitcase scooters with actual luggage space right now[1].
I actually saw a child riding one (not this model, but similar) at the airport on a recent trip. I'm sure they were having fun but I doubt it's useful enough to warrant the cost and weight penalty over a regular carry-on bag for most adults. Any adult incapable of walking through an airport likely doesn't have the flexibility and balance required to ride this safely.
Under the "Recreational Fun" heading at the bottom:
> Out shopping or sightseeing and need to leave Motocompacto outside? The steel welded lock loop on the kickstand is designed to be compatible with most bike locks.
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[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 146 ms ] threadAt the point where you’re happy traveling at or below 15mph for 1.5mi total a day (so two trips of 3/4mi), the effort involved is nearly nothing.
Just for handy reference, 10mph is a mile every six minutes. So we’re talking about bike trips on the order of about five minutes at a very low intensity.
And as a sibling noted, foldable bikes exist and are smaller, lighter, and cheaper than this.
Being heavy when riding isn’t that bad but being heavy when carried up stairs is.
I love the novelty of this; it’s James Bond’s scooter. It’s a wonderful concept, collector’s item but not a serious means of transport.
Personally, I’d rather have a 7.45kg non-electric Brompton than a 19kg scooter with a short range.
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1. https://www.brompton.com/p/823/electric-p-line-urban-with-ro...
1. https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/14/23872334/honda-motocompac... 2. https://us.brompton.com/p/766/electric-p-line-urban
Another concern I'd have is tail spray from the back wheel in wet weather, I've had clothes stained from a similar mechanism in the past.
Most commuter bikes and folding bikes come stock with fenders which eliminate tail spray.
The original is now a collector's item worth thousands. If Honda sells the Motocompacto it'll be mostly to Honda enthusiasts looking for a neat trunk item.
But also the Honda appeals because it's a big brand. With that comes a lot of users and hopefully lots of mods. There is lots of space in that middle bit that holds the battery and charger. Without a doubt I'd be able to sneak a larger battery in. Not to mention parts will probably be available from the multiple local Honda dealers making repairs easy af in just about any region. Lots of value that isn't just in the spec sheet.
Fingers crossed they release it here (aus). I want to switch as much of my family's transport to electric or public transport as soon as i can afford it. Fuel prices are making ice vehicles unusable.
At 40lbs this thing is only half the weight of the full gas-powered 'compo, way too heavy for a modern take -it's basically an e-scooter with cosmetic panels.
Yeah but this is 41 lbs, so you aren't going very far with it.
Range 20+ miles, top speed 18mph. Air-filled tires are a nightmare when you get a flat, but you can replace them with non-air tires.
It would also be ludicrously heavy.
So this is an alternative to that. Also the size and weight is more compact than escooters.
If you're going further, there's definitely better options, or bus/train.
Maybe someone will figure out how to add one.
My first thought was salarymen going from train to home or office, not for home to office directly as some other solutions would be better at.
https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/01-Honda-M...
It's like a mouse riding a credit card. It feels... human. I would like the world to have more cute nerdy fun like this in it.
Old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZB_rGFyeU
It did give a friend groin strain when he tried to get on it once, so that's an anti theft measure I suppose.
I'm sure if they were properly regulated and people weren't importing iffy ones from wish.com that don't meet safety standards, this wouldn't have been such a problem.
Not that that seems to stop anybody.
The Segway scooters are a better comparison, those can go 25-45km on a charge. There are other models that can do 100km+, it’s a quite dramatic gap to what Honda is offering.
I actually saw a child riding one (not this model, but similar) at the airport on a recent trip. I'm sure they were having fun but I doubt it's useful enough to warrant the cost and weight penalty over a regular carry-on bag for most adults. Any adult incapable of walking through an airport likely doesn't have the flexibility and balance required to ride this safely.
[1] https://www.airwheel.net
And no handle to lift it like a suitcase?
> Out shopping or sightseeing and need to leave Motocompacto outside? The steel welded lock loop on the kickstand is designed to be compatible with most bike locks.
Updated: Wheelchairs, accessibility scooters, etc exempted.