No ordinary bicycle for me at Burning Man this year - instead I got to trial a Diggler Elite: a rugged, well-sprung, all-terrain electric scooter. The dirt on the playa varies according to the weather and usage - towards the end of the week it is heavy soft sand, when a water truck passes it is inpenetrable mud, and for the rest of the time its generally hardpacked but with sneaky pits of soft stuff to bog the unsuspecting cyclist distracted by sculpture and spectacle.
I was able to successfully Diggle in all but the wettest mud and it was FUN - the electric battery charges up fairly fast - which is lucky becos the scooter itself, laden with old-skool batteries - is no fun to push. The hub mounted motor pushes out 750 watts and best of all the Diggler glides for ages - at least 120 metres on the playa - which not only saves power but is really exciting. It was invented to replicate the sensation of skiing, snowboarding and mountainbiking in a human/motor all-terrain hybrid. Get down low over the superwide handlebars, thumb on the throttle, and gliding across the wide open playa is laugh-out-loud fun!
I was able to successfully Diggle in all but the wettest mud and it was FUN - the electric battery charges up fairly fast - which is lucky becos the scooter itself, laden with old-skool batteries - is no fun to push. The hub mounted motor pushes out 750 watts and best of all the Diggler glides for ages - at least 120 metres on the playa - which not only saves power but is really exciting. It was invented to replicate the sensation of skiing, snowboarding and mountainbiking in a human/motor all-terrain hybrid. Get down low over the superwide handlebars, thumb on the throttle, and gliding across the wide open playa is laugh-out-loud fun!
Me ripping it up on the playa
and the fabulous Miss Rachel Diggles too!
So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that a friend will be importing Digglers to Australia....and you can imagine my frustration when, in writing my review for the DRIVE section of Fairfax papers, I realized that these "two wheeled recreational devices" are banned from all public roads and footpaths...along with Segways! Since Segway technology and similar balancing innovations form the core of many new concepts for urban commuter propulsion - like the GM/Segway P.U.M.A. project and others - I am curious as to how Australia is planning to implement sustainable transport strategies into its cities. Not all of us want to hike up our work gear and ride a bike - sometimes a stand-up option makes way more sense. I have just written a fairly chunky review/criticism for Fairfax which will run in their Drive Bike liftout soon. Stay tuned for fallout!
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