Mudslinger electric scooter CAT S-41 rugged smartphone

RIDEABLE REVOLUTION

IT TOOK ME ABOUT TWO WEEKS to muster up the courage and ask designer Stuart Ivins where the battery is. Usually the battery is a unit next to the handlebar tube, or built into the tube. You don’t want to bend lithium batteries or have them in an area where metal is flexing. When he explained that the batteries are in the base, I was floored. Outside of the charge indicator on the top, the Mudslinger looks like an ordinary scooter.

It’s a little heavy at 8 kg, but quite portable and comfortable for fully grown humans. The best part is that you can jump it because of its super-flexible deck. That deck is stuffed with 8 800 mah of Li-po batteries that feed the 350 W hub motor in the rear wheel with 24 V. A full charge comes in at around 150 minutes in testing and delivers a consistent 16 km range with a top speed around the 25 km/h mark.

I got those numbers with a 110 kg frame and over all manner of patchwork sidewalks and smooth asphalt. One thing that was disappointing, though, was the scooter’s inability to make it up any decent grade of hill. Our parking lot ramp, for instance, is a reasonable 25 per cent (1:4) gradient and the Mudslinger ran out of steam midway. If you need something for some flat land cruising or to hit the boardwalk on a lazy summer day, this is what you buy. It’s also great for skateparks and anywhere else lighter riders can get their kicks.

It’s called Mudslinger because it can cope with hard-pack gravel trails and uneven surfaces. An IP55 rating also means that it’s dust-tight and splash-resistant, but not submersible so that means no water crossings. The flexible deck absorbs most of the bumps and allows you to get some good air to clear obstacles.

Keep an eye on this local company, though, there are exciting new products on the way throughout 2018 that will rock the rideable market.

From R5 500, mudslinger.co.za