Development of a drifting stunt scooter
For the company Spacewheelz, Studio Rotor developed the Spacedrifter – a stunt scooter that you can use to both normally ride and drift.
Pivot from drift skate to drift scooter
Client Spacewheelz first came to Studio Rotor with a general idea for a drifting skate. After building and testing several prototypes for this, it turned out that the skate was not easy to control when drifting. Studio Rotor then adjusted the mechanism and built it into a scooter. Spacewheelz responded enthusiastically and the stunt scooter was then further developed together.
Testing, testing, testing
During several iterations we made and tested prototypes that came closer and closer to the final design. We tested with children, professional stunt scooter riders, children who had scooted a lot and others who had not scooted that much. They all stepped away from the test track full of enthusiasm. Sometimes they rode for two hours straight. This gave us enough confirmation of the concept and allowed us to further fine-tune the design.
Intuitive and challenging
This scooter is designed to be intuitive ánd challenging. At first you ride straight ahead and it feels like you’re riding a normal scooter. But when making a turn, you’ll immediately notice that this scooter behaves differently than a normal scooter. And the nice thing is: you can quickly master a simple drift move – after which you are immediately challenged to learn more complex tricks.
Smart combination of manufacturing and purchasing parts
A large part of the scooter is produced according to existing techniques. All the cleverness is in the rear of the scooter. This limits the number of manufacturing parts (and molds) to a minimum. Based on the prototype design, the scooter was further optimized for series production by a design engineer.
Patented mechanism
Studio Rotor first carried out an exploratory patent investigation. This allowed us to make a general estimate of the patentability of the system. A patent attorney assisted us to file a patent for the mechanism.
Studio Rotor’s involvement: design strategy, concept development, concept engineering, testing, engineering feedback, guidance of product development process.
Client: Spacewheelz
3D design & prototyping: Studio Rotor
Engineering: Walter van Tuijl