Ford-Owned Spin Announces First in-House E-Scooter That Is Built to Last
Spin, the micromobility subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, today announced the launch of S-100T 1st edition, its new flagship electric scooter custom-designed and built by Spin’s in-house team. Spin S-100T, “T” for “Tough,” will roll onto Sacramento streets this summer before launching in markets across the United States over the course of 2021.
Shared-use scooters have specific needs when it comes to durability and safety. S-100T’s design is built to last. In the same way that public transit vehicles are built differently than personal cars, special consideration was given to each feature on this new model to make sure it has been built to withstand whatever conditions a city or campus throws at it.
CTO at Spin, Benny Wong, commented:We put S-100T through safety and durability testing in the most extreme environments we could think of, beyond what is necessary to pass certification and beyond what most e-scooter manufacturers do. We believe a scooter you can't trust is a scooter you can't ride. With that in mind, we have ensured that, like our other vehicle offerings, Spin S-100T is able to perform at the highest level no matter the conditions.
More than 400 different safety and durability tests were completed on S-100T during the course of development which started in 2019. For example, vehicle performance was tested to withstand from 149ºF heat to -4ºF environments to ensure S-100T will work in any climate it is thrown into. The vehicle was also tested in salt water fog to guarantee performance in extremely humid and corrosive conditions.
In addition to extensive durability testing, special consideration was given to S-100T’s safety features. The vehicle has three independent and different braking systems, including the industry’s first stomp brake.
CEO of Spin, Ben Bear, said:To achieve our vision of a 15 minute city, we needed to build a vehicle that was tough enough to handle everything a city could throw at it and then still be reliable to earn our riders’ trust. S-100T is that vehicle.
With S-100T, Spin riders will benefit from increased safety and reliability. This vehicle is designed to be a more durable e-scooter while providing a smooth experience and the highest degree of compliance. S-100T is an e-scooter built for the real world:
- Industry-leading one-second geofence detection allows for fast response in order to adhere to city compliance requirements such as no ride zones or slow speed zones.
- Custom swappable battery to create a more efficient and sustainable charging procedure, specifically designed to allow the motor performance to stay consistent across a wider range of battery charge.
- Industry-first 500W motor to help move around obstacles or power up hills and optimized drive system for best-in-class acceleration.
- 360º status light ring wrapped around the display to let riders know whether the scooter is rentable or not.
- Continuous real-time onboard diagnostics for faster maintenance response that improves the lifespan of the vehicle and leverages 100 sensors to provide thousands of scooter-health data points every second.
- Three independent braking systems including a stomp brake, in addition to a front wheel drum brake and rear wheel regenerative motor braking system.
- Industry-first oversized ultra bright 270º tail light which allows for increased rider visibility from the rear of the vehicle from three directions and from 600ft away.
Director of Sustainability at Spin, Hui Wen Chan, said:Creating a more sustainable future is one of our core values at Spin and S-100T was built with that in mind. Designed from the ground-up for efficient and sustainable operations, S-100T is more durable, modular, and has a longer lifespan than the average shared-use e-scooter. This vehicle also utilizes swappable batteries to reduce waste and emissions from our deployment operations.
This article was originally published by Spin.
