When you first see the Jackrabbit e-bike roll by, you may wonder what you’re seeing. It’s got the form of a bicycle, basically, with the function of a scooter. There really isn’t a perfect category for an electric-powered two-wheeled device that takes the shape of a shortened bicycle but with no pedals to crank to make it go. For the “go” part of the equation, there’s the thumb throttle to send juice from the 36V battery to the 300W hub motor.

The inventor of the Jackrabbit saw a need and created a new device to fit. As an instructor and coach at UCSD, Tom Piszkin watched students and athletes struggle with access from point to point across the large college campus. He saw the appeal and the limitations of bikes as easy transportation for short distances, but they’re bulky and hard to store safely while not in use (bike theft being a major issue). He also saw the rise of the personal scooter with its pros and cons – small and lightweight enough to bring along anywhere, but not as stable and steady a ride as a bike.

The answer he developed is a step in between. A short bike frame that almost looks as if the middle third were missing, it’s got no complicated mechanical parts like a chain, crank, and moving pedals. What it does have is the simple electric power of a scooter to get smoothly and easily from place to place. The result is a Jackrabbit – sort of an eBike but powered like an eScooter.