Banzai
Active Member
The Super73 frame is a utility design that has been a mainstay for several decades. For instance the Beam Manufacturing Company of Webster City, Iowa marketed a little putt-putt with the name of Doodle Bug using that basic frame design in 1946 thru 1948. The Doodle Bug was just a little motorized runabout scooter for those needing a means of cheap transportation. Riding trails in those days was hardly the popular sport it is today, but having a scooter built with the generic frame design based on military Cushman scooters did serve their purpose. There is still a rather popular following of enthusiasts that gather with their Doodle Bugs at their annual rallies. Other models emerged in the 1950's and by then were being called mini bikes, but were still also commonly called Doodlebugs as well. Mini bikes and go-carts were a popular home project in those days and were also available from the larger retail stores. That was at a time when everything imaginable was still being built in the US. The 1960's saw a massive influx of Japanese motorbikes eventually taking over the biking industry, and in the 1970's gave a tremendous boost to off-road competition. Motorcycling had such a huge following if someone told me that mountain bikes would eventually become more popular than motorcycles, I would not have believed them. How times have changed.
I am entirely stoked about the Super73 electric bike emerging 70 years later and duplicating the basic frame design used in times past. As a kid, that was always something on my wish list. However, the wide open space below the seat in those days was filled with a Briggs & Stratton motor, and from the time I first saw them in the mid 1950's, I can only reminisce on how they leaked gas, blew smoke, made a lot of noise, and required continual restarting. The product persisted and the several other brands available over the years used a variety of small engines.
Amazingly the Doodlebug story continues on even to this day. Not many know the origins of the Trail Bikes, as they are now called, and are still being produced under the Coleman name and Monster, and even the Taco brand name has reemerged since the 1960's with their models. There are even some electric bikes in the lineup. One from Luna and several others from Razor for kids, but the motorized 200cc units and larger are still popularized and ridden by kids that look more like big burly grown men.
When you compare the Super73 with the Z50 Monkey Bike from Honda you see a comparison of a basic design with a product that was perfected while in production for 50 years. The biggest difference is that the Super73 is a bicycle that also replicates a scooter as well. It is much less complicated, costs nothing to operate, and can be used for the same identical purpose. Does that sound too good to be true? The Super73 uses basic magnetism and some electronic components to provide amazingly reliable and silent transportation, all without any need for an internal combustion engine, eliminating a multitude of components, nor must it include an expense for gasoline in order for it to operate.
Does the Super73 fulfill a need? You bet it does, already equipped with fat tires, disk brakes, and a choice of using throttle or power assist, it can include lighting front and rear, and a set of fenders would also be nice. It is a go-everywhere bike that doesn't require licensing or gas. However, as much as I am in favor of the green solution here, when comparing the rather significant cost difference with the Coleman CT200U, I tend to want to think about this a little more before making any decision about which one to buy. The $1.5k price difference will provide a lot of gas. Unfortunately when that amount has been surpassed, the Coleman will still require buying even more gas, or it won't go.
Case closed!
I am entirely stoked about the Super73 electric bike emerging 70 years later and duplicating the basic frame design used in times past. As a kid, that was always something on my wish list. However, the wide open space below the seat in those days was filled with a Briggs & Stratton motor, and from the time I first saw them in the mid 1950's, I can only reminisce on how they leaked gas, blew smoke, made a lot of noise, and required continual restarting. The product persisted and the several other brands available over the years used a variety of small engines.
Amazingly the Doodlebug story continues on even to this day. Not many know the origins of the Trail Bikes, as they are now called, and are still being produced under the Coleman name and Monster, and even the Taco brand name has reemerged since the 1960's with their models. There are even some electric bikes in the lineup. One from Luna and several others from Razor for kids, but the motorized 200cc units and larger are still popularized and ridden by kids that look more like big burly grown men.
When you compare the Super73 with the Z50 Monkey Bike from Honda you see a comparison of a basic design with a product that was perfected while in production for 50 years. The biggest difference is that the Super73 is a bicycle that also replicates a scooter as well. It is much less complicated, costs nothing to operate, and can be used for the same identical purpose. Does that sound too good to be true? The Super73 uses basic magnetism and some electronic components to provide amazingly reliable and silent transportation, all without any need for an internal combustion engine, eliminating a multitude of components, nor must it include an expense for gasoline in order for it to operate.
Does the Super73 fulfill a need? You bet it does, already equipped with fat tires, disk brakes, and a choice of using throttle or power assist, it can include lighting front and rear, and a set of fenders would also be nice. It is a go-everywhere bike that doesn't require licensing or gas. However, as much as I am in favor of the green solution here, when comparing the rather significant cost difference with the Coleman CT200U, I tend to want to think about this a little more before making any decision about which one to buy. The $1.5k price difference will provide a lot of gas. Unfortunately when that amount has been surpassed, the Coleman will still require buying even more gas, or it won't go.
Case closed!
