Thoughts on E scooter?
mr_eddy
Posts: 830
I am seriously considering getting a electric scooter (think a 50cc ped but electric). Has anyone got one or had chance to try one?
Do you think it would be a viable option? Not that I need an excuse but here are some anyway:
My main reasoning for giving it serious consideration is that I live 10 miles each way from work and on a few occasions already this year I have had to endure properly s**t weather. I have spend 15 years commuting by bike through all seasons and to be completely frank I am just sick getting wet/cold/sweaty/hot etc. I still love biking but the rubbish days are staying to strain my love for cycling.
My theory is that a electric scooter can be used for the really nasty days (think sideways strong wind with ice cold heavy rain etc) and because I would not be expending any energy on the scooter I could wear full waterproof gear and thick gloves - Wearing this gear on a bike is both impractical and just turns me into a sweaty mess within 2 mins!
My other thought is that given my cycle route essentially has to be on main roads with very little cycle path or bus lane options meaning I am forced to mix it up with traffic doing 15-30 mph and in foul weather people tend to drive like tw*ts, Had a few near misses recently. As a result I suspect I would be far better off from a safety point of view on a electric motorbike wearing full helmet and leather gloves etc compared to my road bike with cycle helmet and lycra. I would rather crash at 20 mph in a biker jacket and full face helmet than crash at 20 mph wearing my plastic bike helmet.
Of course besides the purchasing costs I would have to pay for insurance although a cursory check with CTM shows cover would be under £100 a year, obviously being an electric motorbike it is tax free and charging is free (removable battery can be charged at work).
Thoughts? Any other considerations i have missed.
Do you think it would be a viable option? Not that I need an excuse but here are some anyway:
My main reasoning for giving it serious consideration is that I live 10 miles each way from work and on a few occasions already this year I have had to endure properly s**t weather. I have spend 15 years commuting by bike through all seasons and to be completely frank I am just sick getting wet/cold/sweaty/hot etc. I still love biking but the rubbish days are staying to strain my love for cycling.
My theory is that a electric scooter can be used for the really nasty days (think sideways strong wind with ice cold heavy rain etc) and because I would not be expending any energy on the scooter I could wear full waterproof gear and thick gloves - Wearing this gear on a bike is both impractical and just turns me into a sweaty mess within 2 mins!
My other thought is that given my cycle route essentially has to be on main roads with very little cycle path or bus lane options meaning I am forced to mix it up with traffic doing 15-30 mph and in foul weather people tend to drive like tw*ts, Had a few near misses recently. As a result I suspect I would be far better off from a safety point of view on a electric motorbike wearing full helmet and leather gloves etc compared to my road bike with cycle helmet and lycra. I would rather crash at 20 mph in a biker jacket and full face helmet than crash at 20 mph wearing my plastic bike helmet.
Of course besides the purchasing costs I would have to pay for insurance although a cursory check with CTM shows cover would be under £100 a year, obviously being an electric motorbike it is tax free and charging is free (removable battery can be charged at work).
Thoughts? Any other considerations i have missed.
0
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Would be nice on the days when i have a cold or man flu kicking in as well.
Normal people would get the bus on the really bad days but I live in a village so getting to work by bus actually requires the use of a tram as well and it takes 90 mins and costs £7 a day!
At some point we will move house but can't afford to do that for a little while yet.
Do wiggle sell them ?
Agreed - a quick google, and all I found was something for about 2.5K!
Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
Scott CR1 SL 12
Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
Scott Foil 18
Finally found the site after a bit of hunting - assuming this is the actual site, and product you are considering?:
https://eriderbikes.com/model-30-city/
Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
Scott CR1 SL 12
Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
Scott Foil 18
You can get throttled e-bikes with no need to pedal.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
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Parktools
Tiny wheels belong on tricycles.
But on the assumption that your daughter is neither hairy nor leather clad I can forgive.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools
The issue is that electric motorbikes aren't really there yet. I was having a look the other day after realizing the London T charge will mean my motorbike commute won't be viable when that kicks in. There is a BMW maxi-scoot thing, but really expensive £15k. Cheap chinese censored scooters and some other no-name motos that might be the future, but are a risk (e.g. Vectrix scooters went bust a few years back).
I can see why people override ebikes to get throttle and extra power. Maybe future legislation will allow ebikes (with throttle) limited to 20mph and a max weight to be classed as bicycles (so can use cycle paths, park at sheffield stands, go on trains etc).
Larger electric motorbikes to be classed as motorbikes. Licenced, plates, insurance, require a driving licence etc.
The mobility scooter model is like this. 4mph can go on pavement. Higher speed capable ones can go on road with licene plates etc.
A petrol scooter will do about 75-115mpg depending on usage, and produces less CO2 than a cyclist (although a cyclists energy source is mostly renewable).
Certain parts of Europe already have that category, sub an E-scooter/motorbike but faster than an e-bike. Require registration though.
Also even if a petrol scooter does 100mpg that is still infinitely worse in terms of running costs that £0 per mile which is what it would cost me as I can charge at work (someone else's electric bill).
Just one particular link worth a read - Maybe you should look at this before posting a reply indicating that a petrol scooter is some how more efficient than a e scooter:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science ... rries.html
The fact is that a petrol scooter for me has several draw backs - Firstly they sound like a bag of angry bee's / They require trips to the petrol station (rather than conveniently charging at work) , They are more likely to get stolen by being ridden away (The E scooter I like allows you to take the battery with you) you also have to pay road tax (albeit a small amount).
Also re the reliability I can't see how a electric scooter with effectively 1 moving part CANT be more reliable than a cheap petrol scooter. For my price range I could either get a cheap scooter new (which all seem to be universally poor) or a 2nd hand scooter with 10'000 miles on it.
They found that along with other nasties the output of the chemical Benzene (with a documented link to cancer) was 3 Grams per KG of Fuel compared to 0.04 for a diesel lorry.
Quote from Markus Kalberer from the university of Cambridge:
"We showed that, in contrast to the general belief, scooters can be a DOMINANT source of air pollution, including soot and organic particles, in urban areas."
Organic aerosols = 0
N02 = 0
C02 = 0
etc etc etc.
An e scooter is WAY WAY WAY more enviromentally friendly that ANY petrol scooter. Its cheaper to run , Cheaper to insure, cost nothing to tax, has less moving parts so I stand by my original reply that an e scooter is a BETTER option for me.
It doesn't matter what other rational people think about cheap, nasty, potentially dangerous machines.
(I've had some close looks at crappy Chinese motorcycles - materials, components and assembly are all dire. I'm sure cheap and nasty electrics are no different.)
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools
This source states that an average cyclist (riding a very heavy bike) produces 21g Co2/KM
https://www.eta.co.uk/2011/12/13/co2-em ... -revealed/
Compared to a typical scooter at 101g co2/PKM:
http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/shrink-y ... -footprint
The above is based on per person per KM
I do however stand by notion that a e scooter WILL be more practical than a petrol equivalent when taking ALL considerations including emissions into account be it cost of running / insurance costs / ease of use / amount of noise etc etc.
A friend bought a cheap Chinese fake Vespa, the electrics failed and it's only done 300 miles. whilst the electric motor may be reliable the switchgear and everything around it will be rubbish. This applies to petrol or electric.
Marin Nail Trail
Cotic Solaris
Screw the rainforests.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kawasaki-ZX6- ... SwOzxZrAXv
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools
He has visited recently, so is still around to tell us.
Still no decent cheap electric motorbikes available. The Vespa electrica is quite expensive for what it is, the Zero motorbikes are nice but expensive. the supercoco is the only realisticly priced motorbike. reliability still TBC.
On a slight tangent, I wonder if we will see a growth on London streets of the green transport known as the mobility scooter? Class 3 scooters have maximum speed of 8mph for use on the road. These heavier-duty scooters come fitted with a full light kit and tend to have larger wheels, better seating, suspension all round and a much longer range – up to 45 miles per charge. no insurance or licence required! You can even get enclosed ones with heaters!
https://www.careco.co.uk/item-s-ms03079/abilize-kondor-cabin-scooter/
No - not a cool look, but corona virus free?
Let me know if you spot a city worker commuting in one!
Motorised vehicles, when observing the speed limit in cities, are generally moving at around 30mph, bicycles around 15mph. Having e-bikes moving at 20mph will just cause confusion.
As for e-scooters, they'll disappear within 12 months, too unsafe. There's already been one fatality with them in the last month. Their wheels are far too small to manage our potholed roads. Death traps waiting to happen.
Let's stick to active travel rather than standing on a glorified electric skateboard. At least with a bicycle or e-bike you get some exercise. What exactly does an e-scooter offer?