I’m looking for an escooter small and light enough for my daughter to take onto a bus and then ride a km or two through a college campus?
But I’m having trouble finding a suitable model. Whenever I go to a dealer, they always want to sell me something rather huge and heavy. She’s not that big. Maybe 5’3 with a slender build? When I suggest perhaps their child model would be more suitable, they say they wouldn’t be up to the task for one reason or another.
Any suggestions on what to look for?
Interesting. So they differ from ebikes in that respect. Otoh I’ve read escooters often do regenerative breaking, while that’s not common on ebikes.
There are a couple of others things I’m wondering about, like what charging times are like? If say your battery got mostly drained riding to a workplace, could you leave it on a charger there and reasonably expect it to be topped off by the time you leave?
The other thing is how do you lock up an escooter? Do you use a regular bike lock somehow? I know these are such noob questions! lol
Ask away!
Charge times will be different between models. Some might only take 4 hours while one of mine takes like 18 hours 😂
Smaller scooters will have smaller batteries, so they should take less time to charge.
And it’s common for someone to charge at work (if allowed).
Depending on the frame of the scooter, you could use a ulock to secure it, but they are highly targeted, so if you can take it with you, do that.
You are very helpful! Thanks so much.
On the security front, I think it likely that my daughter would be able to store the scooter at an indoor location which should be relatively secure, though she would not be able to keep an eye on it at all times?
Perhaps she could store it in a locker, which would again make smaller size an asset. I’ve been researching a number of models and what I’ve determined so far is that features like keyed ignition are not common? That’s a shame given what you said about how escooters are fairly unusable without the motor.
There are apparently some disc locks you can buy that are specifically oriented towards scooters and would serve essentially the same purpose, which is to say discouraging a bad actor from the temptation of simply hopping on and riding off. They may even make an alarm sound if the scooter is moved.
Something like a U-lock would be more protection, but assumes you have something to lock it to, which may or may not be the case indoors?
Another option might be to detach the battery and carry it around on your person, but I’m not sure how heavy/awkward those things are? My ebike battery’s actually not too bad. Were I a student, I could see myself shoving it into a backpack or whatever.
A locker would be great, if it fits! Again, just make sure it’s permitted to store indoors - some places ban them because of fire risks.
Yeah, not common at all, and some higher end models have NFC or some other form of unlocking the scooter.
One of mine has a keyed ignition and it works well.
Yup! I’ve got a few. LOL
As long as the lock fits the holes in your particular brake disc, that is another option. I also have an alarm on mine, since I don’t tend to use the disc lock very often (I worry about bending the disc).
Correct. If kept indoors, there needs to be a way to secure it if you aren’t close by 100% of the time.
If you get a model with a removable battery, then that’s a good option, too. Smaller e-scooters shouldn’t have very heavy batteries. Granted, a motivated thief may still try to kick scoot away… but they won’t get too far. LOL
Good points!
She’s in a veterinary program so it’s not your usual lecture hall type situation where she could presumably carry it around and lean it on the seat next to her. Much more hands on lab work and stuff. Otoh I’ve been there a couple of times and it seems very close-knit with profs and students alike on a first name basis, so theft may not be a huge issue? Also, the vet school has its own building that’s far away from the rest of the campus, so no one else goes there. Including, alas, the bus, which is where the scooter comes in :)
Well, I do hope that she finds a transportation solution that works for her.
And congrats! You must be very proud!