Anybody have any experience with e-scooters?
 

I've been looking at buying an e-scooter because my commute has changed so that there is a bike path that leads most of way to my place of employment (about 20 mi one-way). Has anyone used any of the scooters on this list? If so, what recommendations would you make? Things to watch out for?

tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-electric-scooters

I have a couple of the Razor scooters, the E200 and E300. They come with lead acid batteries, which are pretty useless as the main source of power, and they’re rather small...toys, really. The 200 is fine for my kid, and the 300 is ok for an adult, now that I put a lithium battery...but I wouldn’t want to commute more than a few miles on one.

The brand of decent ones that people like to use and mod isn’t listed there...can’t remember the name of it...something or other 365? Vortecks on YouTube has one he’s messed around with.

For 20 miles, I’d suggest something bigger that you can sit down on. “Moped” style. Pedals are useless, but much easier on the body for a half hour trip each way. Full suspension. Can carry enough lead that it isn’t a deal breaker to use such batteries. Cheap, if you buy used and put new batteries in.

Most e-bikes can go 20 mph but speeds on a bike path may be less. Look at a vehicle that can go 30 mph for 80+ miles. What are the local dealers like for parts and service? Do the buses in your area have racks for bicycles? What are the local DMV laws? I prefer quiet streets to bike paths to avoid pedestrians. Consider a fairing for when it rains. A combination of a front fairing and a tail box works well.

I'd not settle for for less than 30 MPH for a 20 mile 1-way commute. Spend less of your life commuting and more doing anything else.

Don't have any experience with scooters or e-bikes, so I'm not very helpful. If maneuvering in dense urban environments was a requirement, I'd go with an electric unicycle.

I think I'd go with an ebike and not a scooter.

Get a bit of exercise while you commute if you want. Just get something with an override if you're feeling lazy.

I built mine from a Trek 820 I already had plus a Bafang BBS02 and a 36v lifepo4 pack with top balancing BMS and charger I got from Ping.

Install was very easy, the battery pack build was the most difficult part. If I had to do it over again, I would just buy a pre-made pack since the prices have fallen so much.

I just looked up that number with "electric scooter" and this came up.

xiaomitoday.com/2020/10/12/buy-xiaomi-mi-electric-scooter-pro-2-m365-pro-2-coupon-deal/

(Vortek's channel on the m365) youtu.be/8TlxBnm2u04

That one looks amazing. Tough decision at that price because some electric bikes are starting around there. Thanks for the recommendation on the Vorteks youtube channel. They seems to really be into modding, some of which could make the range quite a bit better.

All good points for me to think about. I was looking at e-scooters because of price but especially the ability to fold up once at work. We don't really have anywhere to put a bike and I'd be worried about it getting stolen while I was working (construction). Also, I would be able to take public transit much easier in my area with a foldable scooter because there is very rarely open bike racks on the busses.

Using quiet streets is a good point and I'll have to research good routing but there is a new bike path that runs along the river and at least in the morning (before 7am) there wouldn't be any problem with pedestrians. However, I will have to check the laws on motorized vehicle usage on the path.

I absolutely agree with you about the bike thing and I may have to start leaning that way (especially with the distance I have to go). The trouble is that there are not very safe places to park it where I work, unfortunately. If you don't mind me asking what is the price range for building your own? That seems like a great option if I can figure out a safe place to secure it.

You could look at folding electric bikes. 20” tires(fat tires, if that’s your preference). Folds in half, so it can be carried and/or fit in a trunk. Quite a bit bigger and heavier than a scooter, though. Definitely want lithium batteries, if you have to lug it around.

My experience with folding bikes was not very good. The geometry of the bike made it feel sketchy when going any faster than ~12mph - I believe it was a relative lack of front caster. Granted, I had a 3000w motor on the back of the last one I built. I was also not a fan of the short pedal throw.

I wouldn't buy another folding bike again blindly; I'd definitely need to sit on a couple of them before I'd trust that I would like one.

That said, I favor bikes over scooters where possible.

If you shop around, you're looking at $360 for the BBS02 motor/controller kit, which comes with the chain ring, cranks, display, throttle, and wiring (all plug and play).

To that you would need to add a battery and charger, whose cost really depends on your desired range/charging speed. And, of course, a bike. But you can get a nice used bike for peanuts.

You can also go cheaper with the motor/controller and use a wheel motor kit for <$200. These are fine if you don't have lots of hills, you just can't shift gears on the motor like you can in a mid drive.

I have an e-scooter and love it, although it can be tiring during long-distance riding.

Okay, that is very affordable! I already have a Trek 820 or 850, I cannot remember off the top of my head. That kit looks awesome! I read this review about it.

edrivenet.com/bafang-bbs02-review

I think this is the route I'm going to go. A bike will be way more comfortable for the long ride. I just need to find a safe spot to put it now. I might check out a couple of the parking garages in the area I think they have rentable bike parking in locked cages which would be worth it in my opinion.

I was wondering about safer bike parking options. Good solution.

Well, I'll report back about the safe parking solution. I was more speculating that I might be able to find something like that. I have heard that some garages do have that type of option but I'm not entirely sure one is near to where I am working.

I have to admit that I'm getting a little excited to build this thing after watching the videos on it. Worst case scenario, there are quite a few co-workers with huge trucks and canopies, I think I will probably be able to "rent" the bed of one of their vehicles if I cannot find a parking garage.

The issue I had with my build was the bottom bracket. I had to get a special bottom bracket tool off ebay. And a friend's crank pulling tool since those go on taper fit. Honestly, you can just take the nuts out and go for a ride and they'll come loose eventually (don't go too far away from home to walk), which can damage the old cranks and, but you'll be replacing them anyway. Also, after riding about 20 miles on my new bbs02, I had to re-tighten the crank arms and bottom bracket.

My wife has the segway ninebot max, it's a nice piece of equipment, it doesn't feel like a cheap toy at all. Easy to ride and comfortable with the larger pneumatic tires (pump to the max for the most range of course!)

Having said that....20 miles will be haul on a scooter. Even wide open at 18mph/30kph you're looking at over an hour, with some stop signs and road crossings you might be looking at 1 1/2 hours each way...darn near 3 hours of scootering per day.

Which would simultaneously be crazy and awesome!

You can check for an electric unicycle, im actually with a gotway nikola+ but thats a bit overkill for you. There plenty of used one, i sold my old gotway ACM16 for 500$ and i could do about 50km of range. the advantage is portability. i alway store my wheel behind the driver seat on the floor. Then when the charging station is a few km away i use the wheel to come back, even in winter.there is a huge forum about the Euc. Check my youtube channel for a few video of me riding wheels: lavaboQC
Im also looking for a small electric kickscooter for my wife and the inmotion L9 look like a good one.

Drat! For a moment there, I thought I'd found a local! (Shawnigan Lake is like 30 minutes from me)

Carry on, nothing to see here...

yeah weird that so far away same name!! ok here shawinigan came from atticamek tribe i think, from Achawenegan or something like this (no writing from the autochton only oral) meaning where you haul your canoe (portage in french) because of the falls (its been called Shawinigan Falls before)

sorry to hijack the tread - we love our historic/specific region in canada!!