Born to be mild

Are you a biker with a green streak? A Somerville company says its battery-fueled scooter is an environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

By Royal Ford, Globe Staff | December 10, 2007

SOMERVILLE - It is a swift and nimble ride up Cambridge Street, whirring through the tunnel and emerging to make a smooth left into Harvard Square - where traffic has coagulated.

The solution? Pull into the bike lane and keep rolling. This isn't some roaring sports car, but an electric scooter designed for city commuters and environmentally sensitive drivers who might appreciate a vehicle that comes in such colors as Wasabi or Very Well Red.

A company called eGO Vehicles LLC, of Somerville, has sold thousands of the scooters through 75 dealers in the United States and a handful overseas since it was founded in 2001. And with fuel prices at record highs, interest in such alternative modes of transportation is climbing.

"The eGO is built to get one person around town. If people realize they can go 25 miles or less to pick up small items, just think of the savings," said Michael Houlihan, eGO operations manager. "If we can get people to cut their use of cars by 25 percent, then we've done our job."

US sales of gasoline and electric scooters are about 100,000 annually, while globally, according to Electric Bike's Worldwide Report, 20 million light electric vehicles will be sold this year. Competitors to eGO include those with such snazzy names as Evader, Razor, Oxygen, X-port, and X-treme.

The company would not provide sales figures, but eGO is a relatively small player in the world market. Its attractions are many: It's legal to ride it in the bicycle path; you can park it at the bike rack; it produces no emissions, and it can go 25 miles before needing a recharge - a lot for city driving. You don't need a motorcycle license to operate one in Massachusetts, but you do have to wear a helmet.

It is a ride designed for folks like Ryan Shawgo, of Cambridge, and his wife, Rebecca. The couple, both engineers, take turns riding their eGO. She uses it to commute to work when the winter air turns too cold for riding her bicycle.

"If it's bad, you take the bus," acknowledged Ryan Shawgo. "But even if there is snow on the ground, it's not like you are trying to do 70 miles per hour through the snow."

As far as two-wheeled motoring goes, the eGO - which, depending on the model, costs from $1,400 to $1,800 - is for riders who were born to be mild. You cannot take a 130-pound bike that runs on 55 pounds of lead cell batteries on interstate highways or even Storrow Drive.

To be technical for a moment, the eGO is an anodized aluminum structure, with rigid back frame (think classic Harley-Davidson and pounded kidneys), an electric motor that produces the equivalent of two horsepower, disc brakes up front and caliper brakes in the rear, and weighs, with lead batteries, about 130 pounds. An extended-range battery kit (in a bag, sitting on the floorboards) pushes the bike's reach an extra 20 miles. An extension cord, which can be carried with the bike, lets riders recharge at their destinations before returning home.

The driver can select either Go Far or Go Fast driving modes, the first of which limits top speed to save stored electricity. The eGO can carry up to 250 pounds of rider and gear - including a nifty, optional trailer - and takes about six hours for a full recharge. (Eighty percent takes only three, for those who would want to recharge between appointments.)

Many of the eGO's parts and repairs can be handled at a local bicycle shop - the "shock absorber" seat post, brakes, and basic tuning, for example.

It is 64 inches long, 23 inches wide with running boards, and uses regenerative braking, meaning that when you lift off the "gas" when slowing down it helps to restore battery power.

Lead batteries are the norm. But the scooter I tested ran on a lithium-ion battery, which will probably be the power of the future. Lithium-ion batteries can store far more electricity per kilogram than lead-acid batteries, which makes a lighter, easy package - something you could take into the kitchen for an overnight recharge.

But first the price for lithium-ion batteries will have to come down before they work on the eGO bike, said Michael Houlihan, operations manager for eGO, who added that at current prices they would double the cost of an eGO.

It is a very easy vehicle to drive, with front and rear brake controls on the handlebars, split left to right. It is light enough that moving or stopping in heavy traffic, even on pocked Cambridge streets, poses no problem. It does not need to be shifted, and the throttle needs only a twist of the right wrist on a handlebar grip.

It can also be utilitarian, with optional fold-out wire baskets next to the rear wheel (they fold in so thieves are unlikely to spot and steal them), a handlebar-front rack, and a rain cover. In addition to Very Well Red, Black Tie, and Wasabi, color options include Caribbean Sky and Metallic Platinum.

A three-wheel prototype is being tested, and that would be a fine ride for anyone with balance problems. There is also a motorcycle "chopper" prototype, for anyone who wants to at least appear rakish and rowdy.

Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.