There's a trendy new mode of transportation among the dot.com crowd in San Francisco, and it's not the newest/latest BMW or gas-guzzling SUV. It's the new breed of electric scooters. They're inexpensive, they're environmentally friendly, they plug into a standard power source, and they go up to 14 miles an hour.

The three main scooters out there right now are the Zappy from Zapworld, the Hoverboard from Patmount Motor Werks, and the Buzz, which is being distributed by Huffy. While each scooter had something to offer over the others, our overwhelming favorite was Huffy's Buzz, a scooter that's fast, quiet, easily collapsible, comes with a comfortable seat and a storage basket. But that's not to say the other two weren't just as fun to tool around on.

The Zappy and the Hoverboard have their strengths as well. Zappy is lightweight and can take a beating when going off curbs and smashing into things. It's great for doing tricks and thrashing in general. The Hoverboard, on the other hand, has a comfortably large standing platform and a really small form factor when collapsed down. Of course all of these scooters have their flaws, as the following reviews will show, but for the most part, these new scooters are more than just a lot of fun; they're a compelling tool for getting about town.

Testing methodology: Our testing methodology was simple: Give all of the scooters a real-world beating. We used each scooter to commute to and from the office, we jumped them off curbs, drained their batteries, raced them on the streets and sidewalks, and pretty much rode 'em until they screamed for mercy.
By Rick Popko ( posted on 'Honda EV' mailing list - see http://www.hondaev.org)
( EVUK footnote: you may also like to check out the CityBug e-scooter. )