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I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

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Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#101

Post by HillaryBriss »

md2be wrote: post #56
ptaipale wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand that rules for bike paths depend on local jurisdiction, but why wouldn't an e-scooter fit a bike path in Venice, CA? Over here (Finland, like all of Europe) we have roads, we have bike paths, and we have pedestrian pavements. E-scooters are always good for bike paths, and if they move faster than 15 km/h, they are not to be ridden in pedestrian areas, only bike paths, even if they are not exactly bikes.…

In Los Angeles, Motorized vehicles are not permitted on sidewalks and paths. As a rider, you are liable for all personal injuries that result from your riding. Without insurance, you are putting your financial life in jeopardy. Think about it!

I agree, but, the practical reality in LA is that the police very rarely ticket people for riding these vehicles on the sidewalk. The insurance angle you mention is interesting, but let me ask the question: practically speaking, how would any pedestrian who is injured by a scooter rider in LA actually hold the scooter driver financially responsible? What is the mechanism? Will police actually even respond to a call for such an incident?

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#102

Post by stallmanite »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #94
underhill wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I take both Jump e-bikes as well as various scooters on the regular. Honestly I prefer Jump Bikes - it's almost always cheaper and faster and safer. I definitely feel more "seen" by cars as well. That being said, with a scooter you aren't pedaling at all . Even on an e-assist bike you're still getting the adrenaline pumping and sorta sweaty. And a lot of people are afraid of riding bikes in traffic, so while even tho…

Yeah, taking out-of-town friends to the Emergency Room is fun too. Sorry if I sound snarky, but as a former EMT who has ridden scooters I know the damn things are deathtraps.

Yep, found this out the hard way and almost killed myself. Not clamoring for prohibition though. Also would never climb on one again. My remaining balance on Lime will be forever unused. Best part was the notification asking me to rate my ride which I received as I was regaining consciousness. :)

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#103

Post by HillaryBriss »

archi42 wrote: post #78
md2be wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know what shitty behavior is ? Riding on the sidewalks. Fucking with these scooters in any manner is a form of resistance.

Abstracting this basically yields: "Random stranger X did something that is not right to do, so I'll hurt another random gal/guy Y for that"? Dear god, I hope you live really far away from me.

I agree with your thought process. I myself would never do that and I definitely don't endorse it. OTOH, if we apply this principle to the scooter riding population, we see that the people who ride these vehicles on sidewalks are hurting random gals/guys too. These riders made a conscious choice to defy the vehicle code -- and for what? Having some fun? Failure to plan their route to include a little more time? They just don't feel like walking? I mean, how can they justify their endangering the walking public?

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#104

Post by masklinn »

HillaryBriss wrote: post #101
md2be wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Los Angeles, Motorized vehicles are not permitted on sidewalks and paths. As a rider, you are liable for all personal injuries that result from your riding. Without insurance, you are putting your financial life in jeopardy. Think about it!

I agree, but, the practical reality in LA is that the police very rarely ticket people for riding these vehicles on the sidewalk. The insurance angle you mention is interesting, but let me ask the question: practically speaking, how would any pedestrian who is injured by a scooter rider in LA actually hold the scooter driver financially responsible? What is the mechanism? Will police actually even respond to a call f…

> how would any pedestrian who is injured by a scooter rider in LA actually hold the scooter driver financially responsible? What is the mechanism?

Same way they would if they were injured by a car, or by someone punching them in the face.

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#105

Post by sagarm »

md2be wrote: post #58
justaguyhere wrote: post #20

During the single day of this test, I found three Wheels with intentionally cut brake lines WTF is wrong with people? I understand these things are annoying and litter sidewalks, but intentionally cutting brakes to harm someone? Jeez, this is just shitty behavior

You know what shitty behavior is ? Riding on the sidewalks. Fucking with these scooters in any manner is a form of resistance.

So, if I'm pissed off at drivers it's ok to start cutting car's brake lines?

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#106

Post by andrewla »

perennate wrote: post #72
andrewla wrote: post #29

Maybe I'm coming into this with low expectations; the best we have in NYC is the CitiBikes (by Motivate) that are strictly human powered, dock-based, and not cheap. But I love these scooters and would vote for any candidate for mayor that made it a priority to remove the blocks preventing these things from being issued. When I was in Venice on business, I used all of these scooters (except the 'Wheels', which to me l…

The larger wheels on the Wheels bikes (and electric bikes in general) seem like a big pro to me, after some injuries from small cracks in the road while riding a scooter. I think the advantage of Wheels over other electric bikes is the smaller parking footprint. Given that it's battery-powered, not dock-based (but bikes eventually get returned to hubs to avoid clutter), and cheaper than the scooters, what makes you s…

To be honest, the Wheels in particular I thought were just kind of silly looking. I also didn't want to sign up and give my credit card to another random company, when I could use most of the vehicles around through other apps. I didn't know that they were cheaper than scooters -- I don't think I ever paid more than $2 for a scooter ride, and most were less than that. Next time I'll try the Wheels.

If I was going longer haul, I tended to use one of the electric pedal assist bikes instead of the scooters, but they were slightly harder to find than the scooters, which were everywhere.

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#107

Post by andrewla »

ddoran wrote: post #34
andrewla wrote: post #29

Maybe I'm coming into this with low expectations; the best we have in NYC is the CitiBikes (by Motivate) that are strictly human powered, dock-based, and not cheap. But I love these scooters and would vote for any candidate for mayor that made it a priority to remove the blocks preventing these things from being issued. When I was in Venice on business, I used all of these scooters (except the 'Wheels', which to me l…

I've started to see quite a few electric moped/scooters by Revel [1,2] parked around Brooklyn. [1] https://gorevel.com/ [2] https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/05/29/shared-mini-motorcycl...

Yes! I've already signed up, but have yet to take one out. The only thing is that it's not a bike -- it's an actual motor vehicle that you drive on roads at normal traffic speeds, which seems vaguely terrifying to me, as I've never really driven a motorcycle of any sort.

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#108

Post by mikestew »

emerongi wrote: post #87
alchemism wrote: post #54

Ive been using an ‘adult’ push scooter for five years in an urban environment. This year I encountered the electric rentals for the first time, and bought a Xiaomi m365 (aka the Bird scooter). I also have a normal bike. They serve different purposes. Either version of a scooter is safer. I’ve been in a few situations where I’ve simply stepped off the plank and become an instant pedestrian, to avoid cars which would h…

Is the m365 good? I was thinking about getting one a few days ago. I usually cycle, but a scooter would be nice for smaller distances around the city.

(Not OP, have owned one for two weeks of daily seven mile commuting.) Good as in, "in comparison to similarly-priced scooters"? Yes, it's probably your best choice in that segment. You can spend a few hundred more for the M365 Pro or Ninebot ES4, but you're mainly getting more battery. Parts are no problem, as I'm pretty sure you could build a complete replicate from Alibaba, right down to the screws and molded rubber bits. Build quality is decent, but not great. Overall, better than I expected for $400 off Amazon.

Now, is it "iPhone good"? Quality-wise, no. It's not very water-resistant, for starters, so it won't like a Seattle winter. The 250W motor is probably fine for tourist rentals, but it can be a bit anemic on hills. The mobile app integration is usable, but pretty meh. It's a 2nd-tier Android phone: good enough for the purposes of most people, for the money spent. I have no complaints with the M365, other than questionable durability.

Therefore, because I see making a habit of this scooter thing and water-resistance is a consideration, I have one from Boosted (the e-skateboard folks) pre-ordered. Should be iPhone/Pixel quality, and priced similarly ($1600).

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#109

Post by biztos »

ptaipale wrote: post #42
masklinn wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And then the conclusion is that the most bicycle-like one is best because it's more bicycle-like. Seems like a category arbitrage rather than a fair analysis of mobility options. And refusing to take bike paths with not-a-bike is apparently eliminatory rather than making the device shoot up to the top of the ranking. Give the article opens up with > they want the rights of a pedestrian, the rights of a bicycle, and…

I understand that rules for bike paths depend on local jurisdiction, but why wouldn't an e-scooter fit a bike path in Venice, CA? Over here (Finland, like all of Europe) we have roads, we have bike paths, and we have pedestrian pavements. E-scooters are always good for bike paths, and if they move faster than 15 km/h, they are not to be ridden in pedestrian areas, only bike paths, even if they are not exactly bikes.…

Berlin has lovely bike paths covering much of the city and people still ride bikes on pedestrian sidewalks, especially (but not only) if there's no bike path there and they are supposed to use the street.

Some of the younger ones blasting music (yay bluetooth speakers) but I actually think that part is legal as long as they don't operate their phones while in motion.

So, yes, Europe is good at making traffic rules, but two-wheeled traffic has a lot of the same issues as in the US. (Maybe not in Finland?)

Re: I rode all the e-scooters, and most of them are awful except two

#110

Post by asdff »

ptaipale wrote: post #42
masklinn wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And then the conclusion is that the most bicycle-like one is best because it's more bicycle-like. Seems like a category arbitrage rather than a fair analysis of mobility options. And refusing to take bike paths with not-a-bike is apparently eliminatory rather than making the device shoot up to the top of the ranking. Give the article opens up with > they want the rights of a pedestrian, the rights of a bicycle, and…

I understand that rules for bike paths depend on local jurisdiction, but why wouldn't an e-scooter fit a bike path in Venice, CA? Over here (Finland, like all of Europe) we have roads, we have bike paths, and we have pedestrian pavements. E-scooters are always good for bike paths, and if they move faster than 15 km/h, they are not to be ridden in pedestrian areas, only bike paths, even if they are not exactly bikes.…

The scooter apps instruct you to use bike paths when available. That's why most of them are limited to 15mph so you can still use these paths, as you are moving just as fast as someone on a bike would anyway.
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