Modular Dual Is an Exploration Into Optimizing Urban Travel With Comfort and Electricity

Over the years, I learned that every machine you see on the streets happened to start as nothing more than an idea. From there, pen to paper or tablet, concepts like Honda Shen's Dual e-scooter take flight. Sometimes, these projects even take off and become real EVs. Let's see if the Dual is one machine we may be riding around in the future.

Now, not much information on the creator behind this concept is available. Nonetheless, a couple of details we can extract from his or her Behance page is that they are from New Taipei City, Taiwan, and by the looks of it, vehicles are a strong point.

With that in mind, the Dual gets its name from the ability to be two different vehicles in one. What do I mean? As I explored all that this design has to offer, I learned that it's both an electric scooter and an electric moped. Because of the way a seat is integrated into the frame when you first see it in its scooter form, there's no way you'd ever think a chair is hidden there.

Let me break things down a bit. Starting with the front of the Dual, let's look at the overall composition of the shapes we see. According to the project page, the inspiration behind Dual came from nothing more than another vehicle that, by the looks of it, is a Cake two-wheeler. Cake is that electric two-wheeler manufacturer from Sweden that's been all over the news recently.

The modern steering column breaks away from traditional scooters that unite the handlebars to a central pole, so what we're given is that central blue pillar that holds the bars angled slightly towards the rider. Turning the handlebars inward for something like a bicycle may be a good idea, but in my experience riding e-scooters, a flat bar makes this type of two-wheeler more maneuverable. For bicycle mode, sure, this is perfectly fine.

Speaking of "bike mode," to activate this feature, let's say, after a long day at work, all you have to do is reach down to the base of the footboard and grab that U-shaped piece of metal. Yes, this is where the seat is hidden, and all you have to do is pull it upward and, voila, rest your gluteus while making your way home.

As you extend your arm downward to grab the seat, you will notice another bar that looks suitable for taking hold of. Well, the feature is integrated into the battery pack as it's a removable one; take it out of your Dual so that it doesn't get stolen or anything like that, but also to recharge as you type away at your desk or whatever it is you do for a living.

I also noticed that the headlight can be adjusted vertically by sliding within that blue portion of the scooter, large tires for riding over obstacles, and what could be a rear suspension integrated into the footboard, a feature common in modern e-scooters. Oh, and judging by that model riding a Dual, we can also tell that it's going to be rather bulky, so maybe it's designed for more than just urban riding.

Whatever the Dual may have been built for doesn't really matter. In the end, it's nothing more than an exploration into one direction urban mobility may be headed. Even if not as a whole, maybe some manufacturer will fall in love with this design and whip out a Dual soon. Maybe they read this article.