Engineers Tim Ascheberg and Jörn Jacobi and their team continue the success story of the scuddy electric scooters. Thanks to many further developments, the market launch of the second generation of the scuddy Premium type is going well. This is primarily due to the increased flexibility, driving performance and ergonomics of the innovative vehicle with the two-wheeled front axle. The new model has become even more customizable, also in terms of damping. The designers have once again implemented this with components from ACE.
When the scuddy inventors presented their first three-wheeled e-scooter in 2012, it was already designed as a high-quality vehicle with road approval, quickly realized and a success within a short time. With the scuddy Premium V2, the Kiel-based company is launching a successor that sets new standards in terms of performance, comfort and variability. The basis for this progress is the trend that more and more people are discovering the benefits of an e-scooter for themselves, and not just in urban areas. The unique selling point of the scuddy is to combine the driving performance of a moped with a folding mechanism that allows all versions of the e-scooter to be folded to the size of a drinks crate. Thanks to its compact folding dimensions, a scuddy can be taken along free of charge as luggage on the Deutsche Bahn, for example. It also eliminates the need to search for parking spaces in city centers. In practice, the folding design has opened up further uses. "In the meantime, you often see scuddys at campsites. This is also due to the increased popularity of motorhomes since the Covid pandemic at the latest, and to the many traveling best agers. While the young are thrilled by the fun of driving, the elderly appreciate the flexible form of mobility and the resulting increase in vacation comfort," explains Jörn Jacobi, scuddy's technical director. He points out that the vehicle is now available in five different variants to meet the individual requirements of different user groups, each weighing a maximum of 29 kg depending on the equipment. Regardless of whether sporty driving in a standing position or comfortable driving in a seated position, a scuddy adapts to the driving needs, says Jörn Jacobi.
Built on damping solutions from ACE right from the start
In all variants, the e-scooter, which can be folded to the size 62 x 53 x 42 cm, has a rechargeable battery that can be charged at standard power outlets. Depending on the configuration and driving style, this delivers ranges of up to 70 km. The maximum speeds vary between 15 km/h and 45 km/h. The 15 km/h model, which is also suitable for use as a wheelchair for the sick with special approval, does not require a helmet in Germany and can be ridden anywhere without a driver's license from the age of 15. The 20 km/h and 25 km/h versions fall into the moped category, with the former allowed to be ridden without a helmet. Both can be ridden from the age of 15 with a moped test certificate, unless you were born before 01.04.1965, in which case you can ride without a test certificate. For the other models, which are 35 km/h and 45 km/h fast, drivers must have an AM driving license. This can be taken from the age of 16 and is part of every common driving license such as the B driving license. All models have proven a climbing ability of 30 percent in tests with an 80 kg driver. A maximum payload of 125 kg is permitted for zero-emission transport. The characteristic two wheels on the scuddy front axle provide a cornering feel similar to carving skiing and ensure driving pleasure. To ensure that this is also true at up to 45 km/h and on as many road surfaces as possible, the company founders relied on damping solutions from ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH right from the start. "The engineering team at ACE has always been responsive to us since 2012 and has also contributed damping ideas to scuddy developments to refine our solutions. Because ACE can also provide dampers that manage without deflection kinematics and thus with a minimum of space is a real advantage," reports designer Sebastian Vetter about the collaboration. Thus, at the beginning of the partnership, the structural dampers were supplemented by cut-to-size SLAB damping plates from ACE. Based on the good experience with quality, selection and flexibility, the cooperation went into the next round for the scuddy Premium V2. Among its innovations is a more intuitive folding of the vehicle. At the same time, the play-free folding mechanism ensures that users have even more vehicle at their disposal. Comfort is also enhanced by a more individual selection of dampers.
Different dampers for different weight classes
"It's a bit like skiing. There, the binding is adjusted differently depending on the weight of the rider. And it's clear that body weight also calls for different damping when riding over bumps such as potholes, roots or manhole covers," says Jörn Jacobi, giving insight into the need for individualized damping. The specifications for ACE stated that three different damping systems were needed. One part was for the weight class up to 80 kg, the other part was for the weight class between 80 kg and 110 kg, and additionally for the one with customers weighing more than 110 kg. Together, the partners used ACE's design software to determine that different structural dampers were best suited for all three classes. The basic types selected were TR64-41H-OS, TR68-37H-OS and TR79-42H-OS. As in the past, ACE provided free samples for the test phases and was able to deliver them immediately from the Langenfeld warehouse thanks to the high availability. During and after the tests, the designers integrated the components called TUBUS for the greatest possible ride comfort in each case on the swing arm. Unlike its predecessor, this was not done as a tandem design. While the smaller of the selected structural dampers, all of which are made of co-polyester elastomer, has a value of 25 Nm/stroke, the middle one has a value of 66.5 Nm/stroke and the largest 81.5 Nm/stroke. With a service life of over one million strokes, the TUBUS can also be used by real frequent drivers, and the maintenance-free elements do not require an additional end stop. The fact that they do their job reliably in temperature ranges from -40 °C to 90 °C makes the e-rollers more than fit for the future. Equally important for the designers was that assembly should be simple. The radial load of the TR-H series ensures particularly smooth deceleration. The "H" stands for a harder mixture of the material, which, compared with other radially damping TUBUS, results in the desired high energy absorption. The first test riders were quoted with exclamations such as "crass from the riding experience" and think that the further development of the successful scuddy model was worthwhile. Tim Ascheberg, the company founder responsible for marketing and public relations, also points out that the feel has also improved and that the team succeeded in designing power electronics that can be used beyond the scuddy and bringing them to market maturity. The fact that this is available as an OEM product for e-scooter confectioners is proof of both the high quality and the versatility and sovereignty of the Kiel team. The concept of their foldable vehicle is so unique that the sophisticated drive technology can also be offered to other market participants. Asked about the damping technology, Tim Ascheberg says that they are very satisfied with ACE in terms of quality and the variety of offers. This is not least because individual wishes can now be fulfilled even more specifically and the driving comfort is rated very highly by the customers.
