I am going to make my purchase this Wednesday. And a late addition to the fold is an electric scooter.
Now why I am considering an electric scooter, is I live in Vancouver’s downtown east side. It’s basically where hopes and dreams go to die. so It’s not the nicest neighborhood. and I am worried about theft. a scooter would be alot more easily secured. I could basically take it inside with me wherever I go. And it’s alot easier to take it on transit. Plus the ones I’m looking at have a supposed range or 60+ Km’s but even if I only got half that It would be good.
The only downside is no swappable battery which you get with most e-bikes.
So which would you choose? e-bike or scooter?
Having had both, the clear winner in my opinion is the e-bike.
A tried and trusted mode of transportation enhanced with a motor vs. a razor scooter on stimulants, seriously, I have no idea how these things are street legal. Even a small pothole has the potential to send you to the concrete because they are basically skateboards with a tiny little handlebar.
They are also a lot less comfortable for anything beyond a 5 minute trip to the bus stop because you can’t sit down, and on most models you also have to constantly hold down the acceleration controls, which gets very tiring for your hand. A scooter is also entirely useless if the battery is empty, whereas an e-bike can still be used as a normal bike in a pinch, albeit with more exhaustion due to the greater pedal resistance.
Since I got my e-bike I haven’t looked at the silly scooters once, literally like riding a bike downhill in all directions, even against wind. It also has room for some groceries which a scooter naturally doesnt. Definitely the more useful mode of transportation of the two.
The bike will do better with any shitty road conditions, the bike is going to be more usable in winter in Vancouver even if OP isn’t planning on riding it much over the winter.
That’s a factor I hadn’t even considered OP, yeah if it’s cold or muddy a lot you definitely will want to choose the bike. The scooters are very dangerous (to you and even others) in poor weather conditions
Would a folding ebike fit the bill? Something small enough that you could lug it indoors if need be, but also with large enough (20-inch?) tires to not bottom-out on potholes? You’d get the benefit of being seated during the ride, many have removable batteries, and if the bus’s bike rack is full, you can fold it and carry on.
As a rule, I don’t ride e-scooters, as they’re fairly nerfed by California law, in addition to the troubled state of bike lanes near me. So I would steer you – pun intended – toward an ebike. Around me, I see a lot of people on Lectric ebikes, so I assume they’re at least decently competent. Of course, British Columbia is a fair bit different than Northern California.
I’m always gonna recommend cycling, even if electrically assisted, but if you’re on budget you may want to go scooter as you can get decent quality one for way cheaper.
Now I don’t know much about the “e” part of ebikes, but the “bike” part is usually utter trash for anything below like 2k while you can get an amazing acoustic commuter for under 1k
A scooter is great if you are taking transit for all long trips, but your walk from your front door to the transit stop is a little too long (or the walk from the transit stop to where you are going it too long.). A ebike is great if you are not taking transit it all, but I wouldn’t want to get them on transit (I have a very low opinion on those front of bus bike racks - they might be full when you want them). Those are very different trip modes. The scooter is for trips where you could walk but it is bit far, while the ebike is for trips you wouldn’t walk at all. Those are two different things and so we cannot give a correct answer.
Bit late to the discussion, but I’ve only just found this thread, so please bear with me.
Those are very different trip modes. The scooter is for trips where you could walk but it is bit far, while the ebike is for trips you wouldn’t walk at all
What if I’m dealing with both? For context: my city has okay transportation system, but it’s about 10 minutes walk to the nearest bus stop (not a lot, unless it’s snowing, because nobody clears the bloody snow), then either a 30-40 minute ride to city centre and switching buses, or about 5-10 minute ride in the opposite direction to the bus depot and getting on the bus there (can’t get this bus from my stop, it passes over). Either way it’s a 1-1.5 hour commute. By car it’s 30-60 minutes drive, but with the obvious caveat of gas prices, traffic jams, carbon emissions, and atrocious parking situation.
So it’s kinda both - too long of a trip to walk in general, but also short enough if it’s via public transport. What would you recommend in this situation?
Scooter, as it can easially get on a bus with you. bike and transit is a poor mix and this doesn’t sound like a bikeable trip.
Thanks!
Ebike all day for me: If the power runs out, it’s still a bicycle!
If you need something that folds, there are a variety of options but I’d go with the Tern Vektron.
I’m also very biased towards bicycles in general and would even pick a regular unpowered folding bicycle over a scooter just because they can carry more while being faster and more capable.
I’ve used a few e-scooters, and have put probably 10,000km on them between the two.
I do not own an e-bike, but ride regular bikes (probably more than 10,000km by now.
If I had to choose one, it would be an e-bike. Just because they offer greater flexibility, reliability, longevity, utility, and would work better on bad roads and trails (common in Ontario, and I can imagine so in BC).
The biggest advantage with an e-scooter is portability, and probably cost. If those factors are the top priority, go with an e-scooter.
The only downside is no swappable battery which you get with most e-bikes.
Well, if your e-scooter dies for whatever reason (happened to me), you’ll be pushing it to your destination. An e-bike can still be pedalled.
Plus the ones I’m looking at have a supposed range or 60+ Km’s but even if I only got half that It would be good.
Ok, range claims on e-scooters tend to be greatly exaggerated. My Ninebot Max has a claimed range of 65km, and even at 150lbs, there’s no way I’d get more than 45km. In colder months, the range tanks.
The exception was my Emove Cruiser, which had a claimed range of 100km, and I was able to get that much going about 18km/h on average. That was an awesome experience, but I’ve had to push that one due to a faulty battery once, then a flat that my tire sealant wasn’t able to plug.
Good luck with whatever option you go with. I’m on team folding bike, so that’s another option, with or without electric assist.
EDIT: There’s a guy on YouTube called “Nic Laporte”, who I believe lives in Vancouver. He covers a lot about e-scooters and micromobility, and there may be some good content there for you to help make a decision. Here’s one “why I ride an electric scooter” that brings up some pros and cons.
Euc
I would totally ride one of these if I were invincible, they seem fun as hell.
I don’t think I know what an e scooter is as I can’t imagine why it would be easier to take on transit or easier to secure.
One of these things:
oh. when I hear scooter I think like a vespa. Not only did the easier to secure/transit thing throw me but then comments where talking about cheaper and I was like. um. what!
Something to consider is that the scooters are potentially less safe than the bikes. The tires are so small they provide almost no gyroscopic balancing, and they can go fast enough that if you go down, you’re probably stopping by the urgent care or emergency room on the way home.
I’d get an ebike or even a regular bike over a scooter.
