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| #LIVE2RIDE is a series of travel adventures and e-scooter reviews of fellow riders |
[SPECIAL FEATURE]
Editor's Foreword: I've made many new friends over the course of my amazing e-scooting adventure :)
Recently I've had the privilege to interview a fellow enthusiast who goes by the call-sign, Noblewolf, who graciously accepted my invitation for this special story, which will be the first in a series of collaborative blog posts covering the theme "LIVE2RIDE" - a light-hearted documentary chronicling the travel adventures of fellow riders and their choice of electric scooters.
Noblewolf is a seasoned rider of the incredibly powerful Dualtron 2 Limited Edition, one of the best off-road electric scooters that money can buy.
Here is his lovingly-written review of this amazing machine that many have regarded to be the Ferrari of e-scooters:
Here is his lovingly-written review of this amazing machine that many have regarded to be the Ferrari of e-scooters:
8 January 2017 was a fine sunny Sunday. Me and a fellow quadcopter hobbyist (or “drone” whatever you want to call it) went to this open field across my place and crashed our quads.
Well (just being honest here)… our quads spent more time bruised
and belly-up on the grass than enjoying the
airborne sunny breeze. So we needed a drink, and it’s kind of tiresome walking the
infamous “walk of shame” retrieving your crashed quads.
I borrowed my
friend’s ETWOW electric scooter to buy some drinks. It was my first time riding an e-scooter, and I really enjoyed
it. It was like watching the world zip past
you with so little effort! E-scooters
have been around for a few
years and why don’t I have one?!
I spent the rest of our crashing session browsing Carousell
looking for electric scooters. At that
time, I told myself that I got to have one, like… by today.
Hence I brought home a brand new
Inokim Quick 3 Super before bedtime.
Best of its class, an all-round multi-purpose machine: The Inokim Quick 3
The Inokim Quick 3 is a very solid, powerful and stable
electric scooter; it has a
mobile app support which is nice touch. I added a rear rack and used it to haul
my quads, remote transmitter, a
chair, FPV gears and some chips and finger foods.
The lack of suspension however, shakes my cargo in all
directions of God’s creations.
A considerable share of our pavements can be a little
unforgiving for e-scooters without suspension. The pavement to driveway interfaces with drops - some as high as 75 mm! There are cracked pavements created by tree roots uprooted and exposed over time….cracked
pavements due to…well, probably they
just wanted to crack for no reason,
creating all other sorts of unevenness. The list goes on…
Back to Carousell.
Enter the Dualtron
What intrigued me next is this machine
they call the “Dualtron”.
Being a newbie, some of my hobbyist friends told me that it is fast, powerful, and heavy. Well, I am the kind of person who, the more you discourage, the
more I feel encouraged. I’ve probably broken some screws in my skull but, **grin**,
it ain’t gonna need fixin’.
A beast waiting to be unleashed
I self-collected the
Dualtron 2 Limited (“D2Ltd” for short)
on 27 January, 2017, skipping
lunch just to be there on time to ensure that I will get the first one that comes
out of that crate.
I quickly unboxed my set like a little boy under a Christmas
tree having been good all year round,
put on the handlebar, front mudguard and voila! “Let’s go for a test
ride!”
Dualtron 2 Limited
Matt black masterpiece
I pushed the D2Ltd to the driveway and turned it on, I like the cool blue hue on the control panel, much like my Nokia 8250 screen back in the days. God, I love that phone. I positioned myself, held on tight (they said it’s powerful).
I haven’t been on a Ferrari seat yet, but I’ve tried a low-9 quarter mile on a 67-bug. So maybe I have a superlative tolerance of what to expect, knowing this is just a scooter. JUST. With the CAPS.
Suddenly there was a very strong jerk and I almost dropped off the deck, as if there was a car behind that bumped into my back. I would completely understand how that must have felt if I were in the middle of the driveway!
Check out the full suspension! This machine was built to eat rough terrain for breakfast
No Manual? Never Mind
Naturally, I
wanted to look back but the
jerk consistently propelled me
forward.
It took a few snaps to realize that as I held on tightly to the handlebar because of the jerk,
the harder I depress the
throttle.
It was at that
instant that I discovered that it was not a car that bumped me from
behind, but bearing the
brunt of the torque generated from
the Turbo-Dual mode, taking me off from at the start!
Yes, the D2Ltd
is powerful but I didn’t expect that amount of torque from the dual 60v 800w
motor…at all!
Talk about power to weight ratio, it makes sense now.
The whole
experience felt like a comedy and
I was advised to turn off the turbo and activate the single-motor.
Turbo Dual is too powerful to be enabled,
and especially if it propels you forward from a complete stop.
I can only think of only one question to shake off the initial shock - “Is there a
manual?” (Oh come on, it’s my first Dualtron scooter!) Surprisingly, there is
no manual yet! Probably the
Koreans are still compiling it.
Ready to roll!
After the test drive, I decided to roll out.
I believe that life choices are all about what you need, what you want and doing what you love. Yes, it’s about emotions when it comes to getting the scooter you want, but at the end of the day, it all boils down how you behave, how you exercise discipline in ensuring safety to yourself, and more importantly, the safety of others.
Performance Up. Portability Down
Overall, the design consideration of the Dualtron 2 Limited places emphasis on weight than portability - which is both good and bad in my opinion.
It’s a folding scooter yes, a 30 kg folding scooter.
It is meant to be folded from the ground, lifted up to the trunk of your car. It is not meant to be folded from the MRT gantry and lugged through the train door. Unless the uncles and aunties can let you through train door and fold it as you board, to which we will all be very thankful!
The D2LTD folds at the steering stem to ensure rigidity of the frame where it matters with utmost importance. There are no hinges or folding mechanism throughout the front to the rear wheel which usually would be subject to metal fatigue due to prolonged use during which you will hear a rattling noise.
Super Suspension
How the front and rear wheel suspension is designed is pure genius. It works like a torsion bar, only that it is a piece of very hard encased rubber block subject to torsion by the swing arms. Although I read some reports that it softens over time, it has yet to be felt.
You know rubber, it doesn’t want hot places with continuous imposed dead load at the same time. So I made a custom pedestal with caster rollers for it so I can stroll the D2LTD anywhere in the house with its tires off the floor and I am able to store it inside my room.
Impressive Specs
The tech specs are also impressive. The D2LTD is powered by dual 60v 800w motors with a 28AH battery. It has two charging ports where you can plug in two chargers at the same time to cut the charging time in half.
It also has a provision for an external battery via its 4-pin port - the main power switch underneath will be converted to a battery selector switch once it detects the presence of an external battery. This gives you an option where to use the built-in battery or to use an external battery.
The D2LTD has a longer deck compared to the earlier Dualtron models.
Upgraded Breaks
Previous Dualtrons are equipped with only mechanical brakes which makes an upgrade to a hydraulic braking system a necessity – for enhanced braking output. A number of Dualtron users who upgraded to hydraulic brakes swear by them, and are convinced they’re best brakes in the market…ever. Riders who aren’t used to the absence of electronic braking in the earlier models might find that a worthy upgrade.
Well, good news!
Catering to the discerning demands of fans everywhere, the D2LTD now uses an upgraded mechanical + electronic braking system which regenerates power charge back to the battery. In fact, the new braking system is now coupled with regenerative electronic brakes with user-adjustable strength (0, 1, 2 through P11) and a stoplight switch for additional safety.
Personally, the addition of electronic brakes improves the braking, albeit needs time to get used to. When the lever is pulled, the mechanical brakes engage first and electronic brakes bite after a 2-second delay.
I find it a little annoying, but still, at least, better than just mechanical braking. However, I want to modulate my own brakes as to when and where do I need to stop with sharper accuracy, and not with a pre-calculated 2-second delay on top of every time a brake is engaged. Thus, a hydraulic upgrade is inevitable.
Adding a touch of class, the D2LTD comes with a nice “Dualtron 2 Limited” engraving on the steering post and deck.
Otherwise, the D2LTD still retains the same signature looks that it is well loved and famous for.
Story Credits: Noblewolf
Enjoyed this post? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Stay tuned for the next story! #LIVE2RIDE.
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