My jaw dropped.
I didn’t believe it was possible, but NextDrive actually did it.
I’ve been frustrated by what I’ve seen of carbon fiber eScooters. The rat’s nest of wires just seemed entirely wrong to me:
It seemed so twentieth-century. Like an old computer:
If we got rid of the wires with something as complex as that, surely it could also be possible with something as simple as a carbon fiber eScooter, right? After all, stop and think about it. What are we basically talking about here? Moving around electrons. That’s it, period. Passing them through chips or a magnetic motor shouldn’t make any damned difference.
I kept wondering how Apple would approach the problem (oh, if only they would!).
Well, we don’t have to wait for Apple. Because NextDrive has done it.
I posted this video earlier and said I found it very, very difficult to believe. Take the time to view it:
The Original ZERO 2.0 by Nextdrive
How is that even possible? No wires at all?!!?
And yet it’s absolutely true!
I found a video from a dealer in South Korea that documents taking it apart in real-time without any cuts. And it’s amazing to see!
[이브이샵] 넥스트드라이브 제로2 제품특성과 분해조립 Next Drive ZERO2 unboxing
Here are the screensnaps from that:
If you’re not impressed, it’s only because you don’t know what taking off the front wheel of other carbon fiber eScooters entails. Let me show you with another video:
ZERO How to Remove Front Wheel
I’d rather have a tooth pulled than go through all that! And I’d rather have a tooth pulled than screensnap all that.
And remember this: If Falcon PEV’s eScooter history is correct, that Zero scooter is the original design that others have copied.
So the Zero 2.0’s new design is a damn revolution from the people who invented the carbon fiber eScooter!
NextDrive is a difficult company to track down (it’s even unclear if it’s “Nextdrive” or “NextDrive”!). I just came across all of this today. They don’t seem to have a YouTube channel. The only promo video I’ve found is from that dealer in South Korea:
Here are screensnaps:
The same dealer has an unboxing video:
[이브이샵] 넥스트드라이브 제로2 제품 개봉기 Next Drive ZERO2 unboxing
Note how small and light that AC charger is!
The same dealer shows it being ridden:
[이브이샵] 초경량 전동 킥보드!next drive zero2 강점!
That’s not top speed. I think he was going slowly because someone was walking while filming. The deck looks rather springy. That might be good in terms of shock absorption but I wonder about stability.
And now for the inevitable monkey wrench in the works. This is, after all, China we’re dealing with.
There’s an eScooter that looks almost like it. It has a thicker deck made of aluminum (not carbon fiber) and a different rear light design. And it’s from the company that’s near-death, LeEco (formerly LeTV).
Here are two videos:
Awesome Electric Scooter – LETV Viper Electric Scooter Unboxing
SCOOTER Eléctrico⚡️ ULTRA Ligero LETV VIPER
The control screen is the same as the Zero 2.0:
And here is where things become all WTF? The LeEco eScooter has an app!
Research has uncovered that the app is all in Chinese and some people can’t fathom it. Another person says all it does it tell speed and battery voltage. I’ve asked that person if it also has an odometer function and tracks total miles traveled and am awaiting the answer.
That’s the one flaw in the Zero 2.0: No odometer and tally of total miles traveled!
As for the LeEco scooter, I suspect they might have gotten a custom build of the Zero 2.0. And I also suspect it has the smaller battery with less range. And yet, why doesn’t the Zero 2.0 have an app? Not having an odometer and tally of miles traveled isn’t a deal-breaker but it is very, very annoying.
Anyway, after seeing the Zero 2.0 modular design, all other carbon fiber eScooters are relegated to the category of Do Not Buy Junk. Seriously, stay the hell away from them. All those wires just multiply the number of problems that can develop. And no one wants to go through that disassembly process shown in the earlier video.
The Zero 2.0 probably costs twice as much as the Swagtron Pro — which I use as an example because it’s what Americans know — but I think the quality and ease of self-servicing are worth the extra money.
In my research so far, the Zero 2.0 is at the top of my list.
Previously here:
Mike Cane's Atomic Supermen 