this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2026
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micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

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[–] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 2 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

As a rider of a Kawasaki bike I quite like, zero chance you catch me on that thing; I'd rather an actual horse

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago

Careful, it might hear you...

[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I want to get two of them and have them haul my pompous ass around in a chariot.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] jacksilver@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

In this economy?

[–] Michal@programming.dev 3 points 3 days ago

People always wanted faster horses

[–] pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works 28 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

My first reaction: LOL. LMAO, even.

My second reaction: ... Wait, this could actually be really useful if it's actually functional and affordable though.

I'm not holding my breath, but like, in theory this could actually be really good?

[–] artyom@piefed.social 18 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yeah people still use horses in many places where any wheeled or even tracked vehicle can't go. It's pretty smart.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

Will this be better than a horse though? You don't have to charge a horse, just feed it and water it (on the other hand, you can't repair a horse like you can a machine).

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Uh, you could technically have this in an apartment building, depending on the type of storage / parking available. There's gated parking places in some apartments nearby me and if this fit through the door, you could technically keep it in the bikeshed, I guess.

But a horse? Nah, a horse needs shelter from the weather, food, cleaning, medical attention. Also they're brittle af. If a horse breaks its leg, it's still more or less the only thing to do to put it down. Perhaps if you're obscenely wealthy you could try and have all sorts physical therapy devices and just supports designed for them and have them held up each night while sleeping or something but I still don't know whether it's even possible.

Oh, yeah, apparently they can survive minor breaks with modern veterinary care, but above the knee or serious, like a compound fracture and the main go-to is still euthanasia.

Anyway yeah horses are expensive af and take a lot of caring. Whatever this thing costs the cost of use should be waaaay cheaper than a horse. And horses aren't cheap to get either.

[–] pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works 13 points 4 days ago

I think it depends, but considering pure practicality, horses tend to require a fair amount of pasture and food that an electric "horse" wouldn't. You can't just leave a horse in a garage for a few months.

[–] litchralee@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

In the early 1900s, horses were the original "mobile emissions" source of pollution, causing great consternation to anyone that happened to be in their wake at the wrong time. Yes, we have troughs that catch horse poo now, but still doesn't perfectly mitigate the problem specific to horses.

And then there's the issue of horses on surfaces: on dirt, their weight cause erosion. On pavement, they can injure their hooves, plus the sound of horseshoes at full gallop on asphalt must be deafening.

(I promise this isn't a subtoot about automobile environmental impacts)

As an aside, in wilderness in America, where there is the most protection for the environment and anything mechanized (like bicycles) are prohibited, it is a bizarre historical exception that horse riding is permitted, in spite of the obvious degradation caused by trampling over everything. Wilderness is meant to be a nature-first place, but somehow it's actually horseriders-first, then nature.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

on dirt, their weight cause erosion. On pavement, they can injure their hooves

These problems would equally apply to the 'electric horse', would they not?

[–] litchralee@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

In the same way that torque/current-limited ebikes will cause less soil erosion in national parks -- case in point, Tahoe National Forest in California now explicitly permits Class 1 ebikes on trails, once they had enough data to support that assertion -- I would expect that an electric horse could also be tuned to limit its acceleration on tricky surfaces.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

LOL a horse is a living creature. It can be temperamental or ill and needs a barn and you have to clean it's shit. This will absolutely be better.

[–] Bob_Robertson_IX@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You can eat a horse. If it comes to it.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 days ago

Kawasaki is a huge zaibatsu, mostly driven by heavy industry sales. They tend to float some quirkly ideas no one buys, like the hybrid electric motorcycle.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 days ago (2 children)

In theory, it could actually be surprisingly good at uneven terrain, and Kawasaki isn't really a company known for fucking around, but on the other hand, they seem ridiculous.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 10 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Kawasaki isn’t really a company known for fucking around

Hybrid electric motorcycle. No one bought them.

[–] ulterno@programming.dev 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

But was it low quality stuff like the Cybertruck?

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Just because you don't fuck around doesn't mean success is guaranteed. Was it a terrible bike or just unpopular?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Both. Heavy, needlessly complex, trying to solve a problem no one had, expensive. They had an EV bike that also sold poorly.

This is more about compliance for Japanese grants than sales.

30 years from now, people will buy them for YouTube channels but Kawasaki had to clear these below cost.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago

So they did have a practical reason for doing it, it just wasn't to make a great bike.

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[–] LowtierComputer@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (14 children)

Just unpopular. Some dude bought one near me. I can't say I get the reasoning.

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[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 2 points 3 days ago

but like, in theory this could actually be really good?

Yeah ... in theory, this could be an electric ATV capable of handling extremely rough and difficult terrain that would stop any other vehicle.

They need to call this a Battle Cat instead of an electric horse.

[–] DudeImMacGyver@kbin.earth 22 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Can't wait to be hunted by billionaires riding these fucking things in our dystopian future...

[–] lemonySplit@lemmy.ca 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They'll just mount a minigun on it and hunt from their bunker living room using an OceanGate© controller

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago

Behold a pale horse...

[–] arcine@jlai.lu 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Get an actual horse. It's a pet + vehicle all in one !

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

I'd love to but apparently the landlord of my apartment building has some issues with it.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Hah, joke's on them. I've got a regular horse. Very green (actually brown), runs on grass (both literally and figuratively).

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago

Are you, by any chance, Professor Elemental?

[–] myrrh@ttrpg.network 5 points 3 days ago

...okay, that's pretty f*ckin' rad...

[–] hallettj@leminal.space 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Frankly I don't see how the carriage-less horse will ever catch on.

[–] ThunderQueen@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Just attach a carriage to yours. Easy

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Giddy-Up Buttercup?

[–] CandleTiger@programming.dev 12 points 4 days ago (2 children)

it runs on hydrogen to generate electricity for propulsion

wat

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 14 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

No way that thing runs on hydrogen, it would need a huge pair of balls to store the gas.

[–] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 6 points 4 days ago

aka fuel cell, aka gunna be a bitch to refuel and not very good

[–] hallettj@leminal.space 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm not going to get one, but I do want to see this concept in anime

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago

I doubt I'd pick one up, but I'd watch videos of people falling off of them.

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