Days Strider ST6 luxury mobility scooter

es three travel scooters and three 8 mile an hour scooters) and is a real departure for Days Medical.  The Strider ST6 looks to be aimed squarely at the top of the market, competing  with the likes of the Afakim Breeze and the Heartway Royale, although at a slightly lower price point. Like the Heartway scooter the Strider has very modern, striking looks; the fairing has the swept back triangular look of the Royale, and has similar integrated bumper and lighting. The chassis and wheel base is also similar in size to the Royale and should offer the same degree of stability.

As with all scooters at this price the Strider offers high specification suspension, the rear suspension is oil damped and the front suspension duties are performed by coil springs, this combined with a high ground clearance ensures that the ST6 is comfortable on all but the roughest of terrain.  To dull any vibration that makes it through the suspension and the  15 inch air filled tires the Strider is equipped with an extremely plush 22″ captains chair with headrest and lumbar support. Driving position is fully customisable, the seat can be adjusted fore and aft and the tiller features pneumatically assisted adjustment.

Under the hood the Strider ST6 is an impressive piece of machinery; a 1000 watt motor running at 4,500 rpm give it a maximum carrying weight of 35.5 stone with a maxium safe slope of 9 degrees. The ST6 is powered by two 12 volt batteries with a combined output of 100 amp hours; charging is handled by a  15 amp off board charger. This give the Strider a stated range of  35 miles per charge.

As with any road-going scooters safety is a priority. The Strider comes equiped with an integrated safety belt. To ensure good visibility it is supplied with reflectors, front and rear lights and indicators, and hazard lights. In addition to the automatic electromagnetic motor brake the ST6 comes with an  emergency hand brake.

The Strider ST6 is clearly a scooter aimed at heavy users; if you regularly spend more than an hour at a time on your mobility scooter, or perhaps travel on uneven terrain the Days Strider ST6 could be the answer to your prayers.

See more about the Days Strider mobility scooter range.

One shadow on the horizon though is that Afikim, the manufacturer of the Supersport have allegedly discontinued the standard model of the Supersport leaving the Supersport LTD or Black and Chrome as the basic model.

I sincerely hope that this isn’t a first step in discontinuing the Supersport as it is a mobility scooter that will be sorely missed.

Else where on hubpages another less glamorous scooter is getting the five hundred word treatment. This time it is the RMA Shoprider Sovereign.

In many ways the Shoprider Sovereign could be considered the anti-Supersport. The Supersport is an eight mile an hour class three scooter; the Sovereign is a four mile an hour class two. While the Supersport can be considered a legendary ground breaking scooter that opens up whole new worlds to those with mobility issues, the Sovereign is very much a traditional scooter. This is in no way a bad thing, it just makes it very hard for me to find anything to write about it. It’s red, and would suit someone who likes red. And not going on the road. That really is all I can say so I will say no more.

Drive Mercury Regatta 8

While not top of the Mercury range (that accolade goes to the Mercury
M48 GT) the Mercury Regatta 8 is in no way second best. Built to provide years of worry free use the Regatta is designed for easy use. Features include fully adjustable suspension both front and rear; a rotating admiral’s seat offering slide and recline facilities and twin rear view mirrors.

Days Strider Maxi 4

The Days Strider Maxi 4 is the flagship of the Days Medical scooter range and it has the features to match; excellent ride and comfort are provided by oil damped suspension and pneumatic tires both front and rear; the plush captain seat is fully adjustable; and the massive 70 amp/hour battery provides a maximum range of 35 miles from a single charge.

Roma Shoprider Cordoba

Like the Celebrity the Shoprider Cordoba is another 8 mph class 3 scooter that has stood the test of time. Fitted with a fully adjustable Captain seat with buttoned back which offers a great deal of comfort.

Fully independent suspension is fitted to the Shoprider Cordoba  as standard, and provides a smooth comfortable ride on most terrain. The Delta handle bar allows the scooter to be driven using either hand, and an additional handbrake is fitted as per legal requirements for class 3 scooters.

Sunrise Sterling Elite XS4

The Sunrise Medical Sterling Elite XS 4 Mobility Scooter is a road legal, 4 wheel, 8mph scooter, that has been designed for those who want to go on longer journeys, and offers the ultimate in ride comfort, performance and style. The Sunrise Medical Sterling Elite XS 4 disabled scooter gives you the independence you need.

Expecting the many of the most vulnerable people in society to have to haggle for a product that is required to maintain a normal standard of living is deeply distasteful and hopefully naming and shaming these companies with their outrageous ‘opening offers’ will help to end this sharp practice.

I can only wish them luck in their endevours, and hope that one day we can have some real competion in the mobility market place.

Now it may be the Great British Mobility, sorry ‘The Yellow Scooter Company’ just were not at all happy with Prides cat free names (and if you are going to rename the products from a manufatcurer called pride surely you should use lion rather than panther)  but even so they should consider the effect it has on the consumer. If someone was considering the purchase of  a ‘Panther ZR Sport’ for example, they could search the internet for days on end and never find a review. They also will be unable to find any competitors offering the ‘Panther ZR Sport’ so will assume that the the price quoted is the best price available. Now it may be that Great British Mobility are offering the ‘Panther’ at a competitive price, I don’t know because I don’t want to send off for one of their brochures, however Pride scooters are some of the most widely available and their fore most competitively priced scooters on the market today. The Colt XL8 for example can be had for under £1,500 pounds if you shop around.

Now I am not suggesting that Great British Mobility are the only ones to do this, the vast majority of scooters that enter the country are re badged after manufacturer (TGA re-branding Afikim and Heartway scooters for example), but it is an annoying and confusing practice that the industry would do well to stamp out.

Pride or Panther?

The extortionate prices have meant that the only people who will use the scheme are those who are so badly off that they can’t arrange credit themselves for a mobility scooter.

Hopefully though this is about to change. From June next year Motability Operations, the not for profit organisation that runs the car scheme will be taking over the scooter scheme from Route2Mobility who have had the contract for the past five years or so. While there are some fears that scooter scheme customers will get lost amongst the three hundred thousand plus car scheme customers, the likelyhood is that Motability Operations will be able to offer a better product to recipients of the Higher Rate Component of the Disablility Living Allowance. While they are keeping their plans close to their chests there are of whispers about a couple of changes that could be introduced.

1. Using scheme buying power to reduce unit costs
   One thing Motability Operations have shown in the last six or seven years is that they know how to squeeze suppliers. It is anticipated that Motability Operation will negotiate with manufacturers directly to set fixed prices on the scooters available on the scheme. Initially the knock on effect of this may be reduced choice but it should ensure that prices are at the very least on par with average retail prices.
2. Bundling scooters and cars
   For many people choosing between a car and a mobility aid is no choice at all, especially if you live in a rural area. Your are choosing between being able to get to where you want to go, but not being able to get around when you get their, or being mobile but only within a very small radius of your home. Offering the cheaper cars with a boot scooter or cheap power chair could give real freedom to so many more people (isn’t that what the scheme is for in the first place?)

While I am not expecting Motability Operations to turn the motability scooter scheme into the answer to everyones prayers, there are reasons for optimisim, and I for one will be watching with a great deal of interest. Who knows, maybe next year we will see something like this for scooters!

Coming in at £3,995 the TGA Vita appears to be priced to hurt the Royale as that is right around what most consumers would expect to pay for the NHC product (obviously well below the RRP, but this is mobility scooters we are talking about!). The obvious similarities in styling are striking, with both scooters clearly more influenced by modern petrol mopeds than traditional electric mobility scooters, but under the surface are we really comparing apples with apples? A quick look at the specifications reveal some surprises.

Despite their superficial similarities these are clearlt two very different scooters, aimed at very different users. To draw a car analogy, it is like comparing a Bentley to an Alfa Romeo: the NHC Royale is by far the bigger scooter, and has the power and range to match; the TGA is clearly a very able scooter, but is better suited to urban jaunts. In hindsight this makes sense as their is no real reason why Heartway would want to compete head to head with their own product. The TGA Vita is a scooter designed to create its own niche: the boutique scooter.