Bird's new electric scooter is smart looking, with no visible screws and a more streamlined design than its predecessor, but it might not be quite as game-changing as its creator suggests.
Bird Two will soon become part of the company's flock of shared e-scooters, and has been dubbed "the Model T reborn" by its maker – a reference to the most influential car of the 20th century, which brought personal transport to the general public in America.
"With a seamless form and swanlike silhouette, Bird Two is designed to change micro-mobility forever," the company claims without irony.
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Although it might not be quite that Earth-shattering, the new scooter is still an impressive piece of engineering. Its standout feature is its new battery, which has a capacity 50% greater than Bird One's power pack and is 'automotive grade', which should make it more dependable in extreme weather conditions.
Flight of fancy
Bird Two has some other smart features under the metaphorical hood, with anti-malware measures to prevent the scooters being compromised by would-be thieves or other malicious characters. There are also damage sensors that report back to Bird's engineers if the scooter has been damaged, helping them get it back on the road sooner.
The exterior has received a revamp too. The lack of external screws means there are fewer places where riders could injure themselves, and fewer points of weakness that could be damaged by vandals.
Bird has also redesigned the scooter's kickstand, making it harder to accidentally tip over and (hopefully) alleviating the problem of discarded scooters lying across pavements. The new design is rounded off with puncture-proof tires that will cope better with rough city riding.
Perhaps not as revolutionary as the Model T, but a welcome update nonetheless. It will be arriving in cities that operate Bird schemes soon.
