Electric-Scooter-World.com Road Test & Report - 5/26/03
Updated 4/12/04
NUMO CRUISER LX
(Beauty is in the eye of the beholder)
We are usually happy if a scooter can make it around this route, which is 8.3 miles in length. The Numo CRUISER LX can circle it at least twice, and probably much more. It can cruise effortlessly at 17-18 mph and surpass 24 mph with the pedal to the medal if one installs the optional faster gear. The cruising speed of the Numo with the 'stock' gear is about 16-17 mph with a top speed of about 20 mph. The maximum range of the CRUISER LX is specified in the EXPANDED ROAD TESTS REPORTS Annual for 2003. The Numo is entered in the 2004 'GRAND PRIX' competition and the results will be reported in ESW NEWS.
What TERMINATOR!? The TERMINATOR route is not even a small challenge for the Numo CRUISER LX.
I had to hold the throttle down to keep from accelerating up the hill.
There will be a component in the 2004 'Grand Prix' that includes the 'Terminator route (6.8 with a 1.1 mile climb at the end) and add an additional 3.5 miles.
This is the second half of a brutal little climb that start out at 13-14%, levels off for about 100 ft, then resumes with a 12-13% climb to the top. I have to walk most other scooters up the first part, and few can climb the complete second part. (235 lb rider).
The Numo CRUISE LX carried the 235 lb rider up both parts with no hint of laboring. It had about 10 miles of battery use before even starting the climb!
The Numo CRUISER LX will go head-to-head with the eGO2, E-36, and the FORSEN for top hill climbing honors in the '2004 Grand Prix' competition.
The Numo CRUISER LX is the personification of a premium scooter. It is of excellent construction, has the largest battery pack of any scooter under $1500, and has 'huge' powerful dual disc brakes that are a good as any full size gas or electric scooter. It is fast with blazing acceleration without the danger of doing an undesired wheelie. It is in the EGO2's class of speed and hill climbing ability.
It has what looks like full size motor scooter tires that are 13" x 3" It has the standard three light battery status indicator that is part of the circular thumb throttle assembly. It is belt driven and extremely quiet for such a powerful machine. It is actually more quiet than most of the high performing smaller scooters.
It has 'full' street equipment. The dual halogen front light is good enough for DOT approval and truly lights up the road. It has both a rear tail light and brake light. It also has front and rear turn signals that I have found to be quite handy when one needs to make a 'left' turn at an intersection. Turn signals are clearly a 'major' safety feature for night riding. It has a horn that is loud enough to be heard by cars yet tame enough to not startled or piss-off bike riders and joggers when riding on bile trails.
The only 'flimsy' part on the scooter is the way the plastic deck is mounted to the super strong aluminum frame. They use 'plastic' screws that certainly won't last long. I ripped them all out (4) and said fagetaboutit! I wanted to be able to reach the batteries as quickly as possible. The massive battery pack actually uses Anderson plugs in the connections and could be swapped in and out if you have one of those portable luggage carriers handy. We are talking about over 65 lbs of battery!
The Numo Cruiser's steering column folds for transport. It will fit in a large trunk or back seat, if you can lift it! It weighs 139 lbs with battery pack. I believe the batteries can be removed one at a time such that the Numo CRUISER LX could be lifted as separate packages of batteries and scooter. I am currently looking for a small luggage carrier that I can take with me on my brutal 26 mile commute (including 'many' long winding climbs) so I can take the pack inside for charging. This works for the eGO2 and should work for the Numo CRUISER LX.
The Numo CRUISER LX has a small storage compartment in the rear that is used to hold the 24v 5amp charger. It takes from about 6 - 8 hours to charge the battery from 20%. There is protection circuitry that prevents one from draining the battery all the way down. This is good, in that the battery pack cost $200 to replace. It does make the range slightly less than what 50ah could do if run into the ground, but most people can live with that!
The ride on the Numo CRUISER LX is superb! It is like riding on a full size scooter/motorcycle. It has a wide comfortable seat like the XCaliber 600 and very effective front and rear suspension. Unlike the Xcaliber 600, the wide seat looks in proper proportion to the overall scooter and doesn't hurt the look of it's lines.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I personally like the looks of the Numo CRUISER LX except for the plastic body and the dual headlight location.
Is the Numo CRUISER the 'best' price-performance scooter on the market? You will have to decide, I currently cannot say decisively. For those who need more data, the Grand Prix' competitions published in 'ESW NEWS' will provide that additional info and insight.
The Numo CRUISER is perhaps the best commuter scooter. It is safe, fast, powerful, quiet, and built to last.
J.B.
