You can see the origin of the "Zoob": The "good old" scooter is clearly the inspiration for the design. However an ultra modern and extremely effective electric drive is tucked away in the interior of the carbon-fiber construction. The innovative details are also remarkable - for example, the iglidur® bearings in the rear wheel suspension and in the spring-loaded headset afford a comfortable riding experience.
The roller speed is 27 km/h and is powered by a wheel hub electric motor that renders 0.7 to 1.2 kW. To guarantee a safe driving at this speed, the undercarriage should be constructed very accurately. The front fork is given a telescopic muffling with a 65 mm long spring travel, and the entire rear wheel trunk, made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, is cushioned by a shock absorber. Two highly stressable polymer plain bearings of the iglidur® Q type provide mobility to the wheel trunk vis-à-vis the body. A particular challenge had to be overcome by the designers in the crossing of the front wheel fork to the handle bar. Unpleasant vibrations can occur in personal transporters as the handle bar, unlike in bicycles, is not burdened by the rider's weight. NOGASCO has found an effective solution for this: The "head" and "neck" of the roller, on which the adjustable handle bar is fixed, are cushioned by a spring package with plastic disk springs along the driving direction. This spring package holds off vibrations and disturbing impact loads from the handle bar. In this critical area as well, exactly like in the rear wheel trunk, an iglidur® Q bearing provides for the essential mobility.
Bearings made of the "iglidur Q" material cope with high loads just as well with various pivoting angles and are thus ideally suitable for the application in the "Zoob" electric scooter.
All the mountings of the innovative vehicle were implemented with iglidur® bearings - with the exception of the wheel bearings which are executed as ball bearings. The designers of the two-wheeler unreservedly rely on top-quality materials and know what the modern, tailor-made plastics can perform in heavy duty applications. iglidur® Q, suitable for "heavy-duty use", belongs to the large family of iglidur® materials from igus®: Bearings made of this material copes with high loads just as well with various pivoting angles. In rough environmental conditions as well, like the one an electric scooter comes across in daily handling, the igus® bearings prove to be extremely wear resistant: in sub-zero temperatures as well as in heat and humidity. Even hard impacts, for instance from potholes or continuous vibrations, cannot impair the function of the iglidur® Q bearings.
The iglidur® user utilizes all advantages of the employed high performance plastics. They exhibit excellent vibration dampening properties, and are technically applicable in dry operation. Thus they are insensitive to dirt, can operate in liquids and even in chemicals and are completely resistant to corrosion. The varied application potentials range from the automotive industry, through packaging, up to bottling plants.
The spring package on the crossing of the front wheel fork to the handle bar prevents unpleasant vibrations. An iglidur® Q high-performance polymer bearing from igus® provides for a mobile mounting of the handle bar.
You decide upon plastic as alternative to conventional metallic roller bearings for a very simple reason: the enormous weight advantage. The extremely lightweight construction enables the roller to get remarkable mileage and to reach high cruising range with one battery charge. The maintenance-free feature also speaks clearly for the application of plastics. The iglidu®r bearings are manufactured from a base polymer, composite materials and solid lubricants respectively. The homogenous structure from these three components has the effect of the lubricant being virtually equally integrated in the bearing. This constant self-lubrication is the basic prerequisite for an extremely long service life, and as a result the bearing can completely manage without maintenance.