Photo: Phat Scooters
The original Honda Monkey is going out of production, with a new, bigger model following to replace it. Purists will say the new one isn’t as quirky as the outgoing one, but we think there is still a new bike around that will most likely become this generation’s Monkey.
And that thing could be the Phat Scooter, a small, very simple, minimalist looking electric scooter with really fat, chunky tires.
The Phat Scooter uses a very simple and classy design that mostly revolves around a single piece bent tubular frame which also houses the batteries. You also get a round headlight with a bit of cowling, a seat, a retro-looking handlebar, fat tires, disc brakes, and mud guards.
“Painstaking thought and several iterations led to the design of phat scooter,” Phat Scooters founder Dan Hankins says. “We experimented with several different deck heights, battery and electrical configurations. We found that scooters with low slung decks were the easiest to ride but always had issues with turning and high centering on objects such as curbs. Bulky batteries required high decks to make room for large battery boxes underneath the scooter. This created problems on both functional and aesthetic level.”
The solution was to incorporate a very low profile battery under the deck of the scooter frame, which gives the scooter a low gravity center and a sleek look, while still offering about 6 inches of ground clearance.
The 12 AH battery feeds a 1200 W electric motor placed in the rear wheel hub and offers 95 Nm of torque (70 lb-ft). Maximum speed is reached at around 32 km/h (20 mph), and one full battery will take you as far as 48-80 km (30-50 miles) depending on your riding style and road conditions.
Phat Scooters are now taking preorders for their little toy, which comes with a discount now, being offered for about $1,500.
The Phat Scooter uses a very simple and classy design that mostly revolves around a single piece bent tubular frame which also houses the batteries. You also get a round headlight with a bit of cowling, a seat, a retro-looking handlebar, fat tires, disc brakes, and mud guards.
“Painstaking thought and several iterations led to the design of phat scooter,” Phat Scooters founder Dan Hankins says. “We experimented with several different deck heights, battery and electrical configurations. We found that scooters with low slung decks were the easiest to ride but always had issues with turning and high centering on objects such as curbs. Bulky batteries required high decks to make room for large battery boxes underneath the scooter. This created problems on both functional and aesthetic level.”
The solution was to incorporate a very low profile battery under the deck of the scooter frame, which gives the scooter a low gravity center and a sleek look, while still offering about 6 inches of ground clearance.
The 12 AH battery feeds a 1200 W electric motor placed in the rear wheel hub and offers 95 Nm of torque (70 lb-ft). Maximum speed is reached at around 32 km/h (20 mph), and one full battery will take you as far as 48-80 km (30-50 miles) depending on your riding style and road conditions.
Phat Scooters are now taking preorders for their little toy, which comes with a discount now, being offered for about $1,500.
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