Electric Scooter Buying Guide
When it comes to getting around town quickly, effortlessly and cheaply, electric personal vehicles (scooters, bikes and skateboards) come out on top. Among these 3 types, electric scooters are the most popular ones because convenient to carry it, store it and use it. However, picking the right scooter for you is the key question, so we’ve provided you with some important tips to consider when shopping for a motorized scooter.
Type and Quality of the Material
When you buy a scooter, you would like to use it for a long time period without repairing it and expect it to stand against harsh conditions. Most of the scooters made of aluminum. The material is good for impact resistance. However, using 100% aluminum on the main frame of the scooter will increase the total weight of the product. Therefore, scooters which are made of the combination of aluminum and other light but strong metals such as Carbon Fiber, Keviar and Magnesium are better for long term use.
Performance, Speed and Autonomy
Performance is one of the most important element when you consider a scooter to buy. Most of the scooter brands offer maximum 350W motor power. This power considerably may not be enough depends on rider’s weight, road and weather conditions. If a rider weighted 80kg tries to climb a hill about 15° with 350W powered scooter may be difficult. If the weather is windy, climbing may be impossible.
Scooters are limited to 25km/h speed by law in Europe. This is a safety precaution. Since there is no proper law or regulation for these type of vehicles yet, the speed limit may change in the future.
Most of the scooters in the market provide 15-20 km per charge. This depends on the battery capacity. We suggest you stay away from the scooters offer lower capacity(less than 5800 mAh) unbranded batteries. This is important for battery life. The other points that affect the autonomy are the rider’s weight, road and weather conditions as we mentioned previously. Charging time is mostly around 4-5 hours for most of the scooters in the market.
Wheels, Braking and Lighting
Electric scooters are similar to bicycles in their construction and they share many common components this is including wheels as well. If you are planning to buy an electric scooter for daily commuting, you will most likely make longer monthly distance than an average cyclist. This may cause you facing tire issues frequently and regular maintenance needs. Therefore, Therefore, we recommend you to buy a scooter with the tubeless wheels.
The braking system is the most important safety element for an e-scooter. There are 2 types of braking systems: First is “handle brake”. You can see this braking system in the scooters as Electronic Braking System(EBS) or Disc Braking System. The second is “foot brake” which placed on the rear Wheel of the scooter. I strictly recommend to buy a scooter offers these 2 breaking systems together. Safety is first!
Lighting is another important safety element of the scooters. Especially when riding a scooter at night time. The scooter you are planning to buy should offer at least 200-Lumen front light. Regular lights can help you with your visibility to others but it is important for you to see the road conditions properly as well by the light of your scooter. Having rear light(braking light) or at least using reflective stickers are very important for the visibility of you by the others at night time.
Foldable or Non-Foldable
Foldable scooters are very convenient to get it with you anytime and anywhere. You can get on a train or bus and place under a seat unless annoying the people around you. Even you can place your e-scooter into your car's trunk and take it with you to your vocation. Because of all these pros, I recommend foldable scooters. Please make sure that the folding mechanism of the scooter is easy to handle.