In my many years of covering the micromobility industry, I thought I had seen just about every type of electric scooter out there. That was until the eLyly came across my desk and showed me just how far out an electric snow scooter could be.
This new Finnish e-scooter doesn’t look like anything else we’ve seen before, at least not in the standing variety.
The scooter’s inventor Pasi Kauppinen says that the name comes from the traditional wooden ski that Finns once employed to navigate the snow. The lyly fell out of favor as a common means of transportation decades ago, but its wooden design inspired the construction of the eLyly, which uses the same natural material in its base, stem and front ski.
Unlike the original lyly, which required a second shorter ski to be used on the other foot for kicking, the eLyly houses all of its propulsion in a single unit. Behind the steerable front ski is a tracked drivetrain powered by a 1,000W electric motor. The rubber track, similar to a scaled-down snowmobile drivetrain, allows the eLyly to reach a top speed of 25 km/h (15.5 mph).
The lithium-ion battery is said to offer a range of between 20 to 30 km (12.4 to 18.6 miles), and it takes around two and a half hours to recharge for another journey.
The entire scooter weighs in at 55 kg (121 lb.), which is heavier than most electric scooters but a lot lighter than a snowmobile. It might not be as fast or as powerful as a snowmobile, but it definitely fits better in the trunk of a car thanks to its folding handlebars.
The company hasn’t begun selling the eLyly yet and hasn’t provided any clues regarding expected pricing, but we have to assume it isn’t going to come cheap.
Those that want to try to get in some winter micromobility riding while there’s still some snow on the ground might want to look into some other options. Moonbike, which we’ve covered in the past, offers a few interesting electric snowmobile-like vehicles in small formats.
The French company has an interesting mashup between a seated scooter and a snowmobile, which seems to offer a fun and portable way to shred the snow.
Powered by a 3 kW electric motor, the Moonbike blasts up to a top speed of 42 km/h (26 mph).
That’s not going to compete well with a true electric snowmobile, but much like the eLyly, it’s definitely easier to toss the 82 kg (182 lb.) ride in the back of a truck or SUV. Thus the Moonbike seems better suited for local snow shenanigans than true snowmobiling duty.
For a full-scale electric snowmobile, winter riders might want to check out the Canadian company Taiga.
The company manufacturers electric snowmobiles and electric jet skis, though at this time of year riders in the Northern Hemisphere will probably be more interested in the former. Just keep in mind that higher power levels of between 120-180 hp (90-134 kW) put these electric snowmobiles in a completely different class than the pint-sized snow scooters and snow bikes shown above.
via: NewAtlas