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From: Steve H on 26 May 2007 07:04 Any views on this scooter? Stability, range, build quality and easy of use being some of the questions. Al the best Stephen H.
From: Mike on 27 May 2007 04:36 May 26: Responding to Steve H... > > > Any views on this scooter? > > Stability, range, build quality and easy of use being some of the questions. > You seen this yet? www.pdq.tv We just got one, and Wow! :) I wouldn't imagine they'd suit everybody, but for those who could use one, I don't think there is anything quite like it. One thing to think about though. If you live in hilly terrain, they are not that good at standing starts uphill if that hill is steep. This may be down to our new one not having bedded in it's motor brushes yet, but I have a feeling speed is the strong point with these things, not low speed torque. They are remarkably easy to get in and out of even a small car though, which give them a distinct advantage over "normal" scooters. I'm a fan. Does it show? :) -- Yellow Submarine? Nah. Its a TeaPot! www.tinyurl.com/382gmp
From: Pete on 28 May 2007 00:32 Mike wrote: > May 26: Responding to Steve H... > >> >> >> Any views on this scooter? >> >> Stability, range, build quality and easy of use being some of the >> questions. >> > > You seen this yet? > > www.pdq.tv > > We just got one, and Wow! :) > > I wouldn't imagine they'd suit everybody, but for those who could use > one, I don't think there is anything quite like it. > > One thing to think about though. If you live in hilly terrain, they are > not that good at standing starts uphill if that hill is steep. This may > be down to our new one not having bedded in it's motor brushes yet, but > I have a feeling speed is the strong point with these things, not low > speed torque. I checked out their web site a few weeks back, They're quite a good idea. On your point about brushes, I could be wrong, but i thought those hub motors were brushless. http://www.teamhybrid.co.uk/ also make a similar unit.
From: Mike on 28 May 2007 05:13 May 28: Responding to Pete... > > > Mike wrote: >> May 26: Responding to Steve H... >> >>> >>> >>> Any views on this scooter? >>> >>> Stability, range, build quality and easy of use being some of the >>> questions. >>> >> >> You seen this yet? >> >> www.pdq.tv >> >> We just got one, and Wow! :) >> >> I wouldn't imagine they'd suit everybody, but for those who could use one, >> I don't think there is anything quite like it. >> >> One thing to think about though. If you live in hilly terrain, they are not >> that good at standing starts uphill if that hill is steep. This may be down >> to our new one not having bedded in it's motor brushes yet, but I have a >> feeling speed is the strong point with these things, not low speed torque. > > I checked out their web site a few weeks back, They're quite a good idea. > > On your point about brushes, I could be wrong, but i thought those hub motors > were brushless. > > http://www.teamhybrid.co.uk/ also make a similar unit. > Looking at the address above, "We are also the sole Europeon importer/dealer of the new Team Hybrid brushless geared motor, the Puma." Looks like they do a brushless motor, but the PDQ one isn't. Its a motor plus reduction gearbox inside the wheel hub, driving the wheel via a bicycle-type ratchet freewheel device. By the look of the wording on Teamhybrid's pages, they do the same thing apart from the Puma motor kit. The nice thing about the PDQ stuff is that they also make their own chair, optimised to pair up with the drive unit. I'm not so sure how easy it would be to match up a chair with the Viper front end from Teamhybrid though. Whatever, its a damn good idea, and running the risk of providing free advertising, we're still figuring out new ways to enjoy the new wheels we've just aquired. A note of caution though. This type of vehicle relies totally on the grip of the front wheel for drive, steering, AND braking. There are several ways you can push things into a loss of control situation and end up with a potential runaway. Losing grip up steep inclines can result in a slide-back that, if not responded to quickly enough, rapid response steering in reverse to turn the chair to face downhill and regain braking, can get pretty hairy pretty quickly. While I'm a great fan of these things, it must be recognised that they provide the capacity to hurt yourself seriously if misused. Learn how to use them though, and you can regain access to lot of "environment". -- Yellow Submarine? Nah. Its a TeaPot! www.tinyurl.com/382gmp
From: Mike on 28 May 2007 05:35
May 28: Tagging onto my own post... [...] >> On your point about brushes, I could be wrong, but i thought those hub >> motors were brushless. >> >> http://www.teamhybrid.co.uk/ also make a similar unit. >> > > Looking at the address above, "We are also the sole Europeon > importer/dealer of the new Team Hybrid brushless geared > motor, the Puma." > > Looks like they do a brushless motor, but the PDQ one isn't. Its a motor plus > reduction gearbox inside the wheel hub, driving the wheel via a bicycle-type > ratchet freewheel device. By the look of the wording on Teamhybrid's pages, > they do the same thing apart from the Puma motor kit. > > The nice thing about the PDQ stuff is that they also make their own chair, > optimised to pair up with the drive unit. I'm not so sure how easy it would > be to match up a chair with the Viper front end from Teamhybrid though. Just been looking at some of the images of the Teamhybrid unit, and it looks as if they don't really focus too much on the final setup. One thing that is very important with these things is the grip of the front wheel, and most of the images show setups that would not be able to put the optimum amount of available mass down onto that drive wheel. A couple of other points that caught my eye were the overly high handlebars, a possible source of hand/arm fatigue, and the rather "produced in a hurry" looking battery casing. Worth noting on the PDQ side, they have rear extended wheel mounting plates for their chair that help to keep the available weight on the drive wheel. Our experiments with a thicker back cushion confirm that even just moving bodyweight forward a couple of inches can significantly improve that vital grip. -- Yellow Submarine? Nah. Its a TeaPot! www.tinyurl.com/382gmp |