Kick Scooter riders use a lot of energy overcoming inertia when kicking off.

This scooter has a spring under the deck which stores the energy usually lost in braking by loading the spring when you let out a rear wheel clutch. When you start up the spring helps drive the rear wheel to make your takeoff easier.

You could use the deck itself as the spring but you would have to have the gearing very high, or you would end up standing on a tall humped deck.

This could also be done with a compressor and an air tank, but the spring seems simpler.
-- macrumpton, May 14 2004

Dubious value https://riderguide....egenerative-brakes/
One of several articles calling it hype [a1, May 15 2024]

wind-up spring energy storage for a bicycle? https://bicycles.st...ergy-recovery-syste
"Ain't gonna happen." [a1, May 16 2024]

Nice idea!
-- hippo, May 15 2024


Somebody has to have thought of this no?

It's an amazing and incredibly simple idea. Just the fun of being able to squeeze a throttle to push forward.

This has to have been thought of but [+] regardless.
-- doctorremulac3, May 15 2024


Regen braking for *electric* scooters exists but is of dubious value. Likewise for e-bicycles. Don't know if the physics would be any better for a kick scooter winding a spring.
-- a1, May 15 2024



random, halfbakery