When you hear the word moped, odds are good there aren't a lot of super-positive connotations that come to mind. The pedal-and-engine powered two-wheeled conveyances have long been seen as an awkward halfway point between motorcycles and bicycles that manages to be less cool than either of them; indeed, the stigma is so strong, they've practically become Hollywood shorthand to quickly point out how lame a character is.
But the era of electric mobility is bringing new life to the moped concept, axing the smelly internal-combustion engines and freeing up designers to have more flexibility in their designs. Seriously: just take a look at Segway's new eMoped C80. If you're anything like us, your first thought was most likely: whoa.
In fact, you could be forgiven for not even realizing this Segway is a moped; its pedals tuck almost seamlessly into the body, making it look more like any of the array of electric scooters being found across the planet in recent years. Technically speaking, it's registered as an electric bicycle, so no license is needed to ride it in the United States; nevertheless, it's capable of hitting an electric top speed of 20 miles per hour, and more importantly, traveling more than 50 miles on a charge.
Like with many Segway Ninebot products these days, the eMoped C80 also comes with a nice array of connectivity features you can access by pairing it with your phone. You can lock and unlock it using an app, or have it automatically unlock once it recognizes your phone nearby via Bluetooth; it can even be set up to lock itself once it senses your butt has left the seat.
Segway is in the process of launching the eMoped C80, and interestingly enough, they're doing so on Indiegogo. That means you can actually order it now for 13% off the usual price; act fast, and you can snag one for $1,899, rather than the retail price of $2,199 it'll have once it officially goes on sale. (Deliveries start in November, but hey, that's not so long to wait.) Move quickly, though; Segway says there are only three left at that price.
