TurboAnt

 For Christmas 2019 hubby and I bought each other folding scooters. (Folding scooters mean that you can fold them and carry them in one hand to go into a store, or store them in the trunk of the car.) Before you think that we must be rich to afford such luxury items, let me just say that they were on sale with a deep discount and the store we bought them from gave an additional 10% discount if you signed up for their newsletter, which we both did. We've had them for several years and they've been a lot of fun.

The scooters with 8 inch wheels had a maximum rider weight of 220 pounds, went a maximum speed of 20 kmh and a maximum distance of 12K. They were perfect for quick little trail rides except that my sweetheart being 6 foot 3 hit at close to the maximum weight and the specs are based on a rider of about 110 pounds so he went slower for shorter distances and a few times his unit conked out before the end of our ride. He only had to walk about a block, each time, but that sure put a damper on our fun.

Last year his battery seemed to drain really fast making our rides shorter and shorter and the charging time seemed longer and longer. We tried to get a replacement battery, but none were available for this specific unit, so we tried buying an aftermarket battery of the same type and he built a box to house the new battery mounting it on the stem with a switch to go from the original battery to the new one. The new one with the same specs as the original battery worked for about 2 minutes at full speed, then it needed a rest before it could run for another 2 minutes. Not fun.

Before all this trouble I was wishing that we had units that were just a little better. I wanted just a little more clearance between the deck and the road so that we could go over the many speed bumps on our crescent without scraping bottom. Just a little more speed so that hubby could go up minor inclines without having to kick all the time. Just a little more power so that we could take them to the store AND back. We used them when we had to take the car in for repairs and they made it back home OK, but they needed hours for a full charge so that we could go back and pick the car up again.

I started researching folding scooters, this time looking for a manufacturer that readily supplied replacement batteries. Most scooters have the battery in the deck which puts the weight on the bottom and allows for better balance, but it also means that when you go over bumps and scrape the bottom, what's hitting the road is the battery. I found a scooter that had 10 inch wheels, which gave ample road clearance. The battery was detachable and mounted on the stem, not in the deck, and you could buy the unit bundled WITH a spare battery. It was also rated for a little more speed and a little more distance on a single charge. So in March I insisted hubby get one for his birthday.

Yay! we can go on trips without hubby having to kick all the time on his sore ankle and his scooter doesn't conk out before we get home. The TurboAnt scooter was pricey, $729 (the base unit without the spare battery was $529 Canadian) including taxes and shipping but it's specs are 30 Miles (48 km) Max Range, 20 mph (32 km/h) Max Speed 10-Inch inflatable tires, 275 lb (125 kg) Max Load and 6-Hour Fast Charging. Best of all, delivery took less that a week (3 business days) and they included a spare inner tube as well.

Bicycle riding is healthier, but since my sweetie has trouble with his back and some issues with the bones in his ankle, bicycle riding is a bit of an ordeal for him. I'm not much better as my knees protest with even short rides. We used to make a 5 mile round trip by way to the trails down to the park and back almost daily. This year we made one trip and both of us spent the remainder of the evening propped up with ice packs. The scooters let us get some fresh air and a change of scenery without as much pain.