Final Question. E-Bike or Electric scooter?

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?

AngryCommieKender ,

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.

_haha_oh_wow_ Mod ,
@_haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works avatar

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.

litchralee ,

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.

Showroom7561 , (edited )

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.

Seqularise ,

Euc

_haha_oh_wow_ Mod ,
@_haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works avatar

I would totally ride one of these if I were invincible, they seem fun as hell.

hemko ,

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

GregorGizeh , (edited )

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.

AlligatorBlizzard ,

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.

GregorGizeh , (edited )

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

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