{"id":133570,"date":"2025-11-13T20:55:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T20:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/133570\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T20:55:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T20:55:17","slug":"industrial-designer-invents-transformers-inspired-folding-scooter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/133570\/","title":{"rendered":"Industrial Designer Invents Transformers-Inspired Folding Scooter"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In the 1980s, Japanese toymakers invented the transforming robots that we, in the west, know as Transformers. Here in the 2020s, industrial designer (and former toy designer) Takamitsu Ikoma has designed a scooter inspired by the Transformers.<\/p>\n

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Called the Icoma Tatamel Bike<\/a>, it’s an electric scooter that folds down to the size of a rolling carry-on.<\/p>\n

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In its suitcase form, the bike is meant to be wheeled, not carried; it weighs 139 lbs, so this is for those who live in elevator buildings. <\/p>\n

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Unfurled, it will carry a passenger up to 220 lbs. It has an 18.6-mile range, and can top out around 25 mph.<\/p>\n

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The side panels can be customized with graphics.<\/p>\n

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The bike is currently in production, with a 2-3 week lead time and an asking price of \u00a5498,000 (USD $3,300). <\/p>\n


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