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The Rise of the Electric Scooter

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Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#201

Post by outworlder »

cdnsteve wrote: post #188

I'm sorry but really? Unless you live in California under a direct and major urban center, this is a joke. Canadian winters are -30 celcius. Future of transportation, no. Large vehicles and smaller forms of transportation should in no way "share the roadway". It's complete madness and dangerous. The Netherlands and Amsterdam in particular have this figured out long ago, smaller, separate lanes - not a white line. Nor…

I'm sorry but really? How many locations in this planet have -30 celcius winters? Just because it may not work for you doesn't mean it can't work for others. Plus, you are not in a permafrost area, are you?

> Large vehicles and smaller forms of transportation should in no way "share the roadway". It's complete madness and dangerous.

Nah. It's only dangerous if traffic laws are not respected nor enforced.

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#202

Post by frabbit »

crimsonalucard wrote: post #85
tick_tock_tick wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have the deal with the bike afterwords. Go for brunch in the mission and your friends are going back to the outer sunset with a scooter just fold it up and put it in the car with a bike either hope it's there when you get back, bike all the way, or go home then head over alone.

Get a brompton.

Or a Bike Friday Pakit https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-bikes/product/bike-friday...

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#203

Post by lkbm »

abakker wrote: post #93
modo_ wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a bike to get around SF the majority of the time as well. But lately I've been switching it up and using a skateboard for short trips. Riding the bike definitely isn't 'impractical', but the skateboard is so much less of a hassle. You don't have to bother carrying a lock (or walk to the corner to find the nearest pole to lock it to for that matter). And, don't tell my Mom, but not fiddling with a helmet and lig…

rejoinder to the helmet point: if the speed is the same, and the places traveled are the same, the need for the helmet is the same.

If the speed is the same, and the places traveled are the same, and the likelihood of an accident is the same...

Can you imagine going to a car dealership, and coming across a car with 10x the stopping distance and a center of mass twice as high as a Civic and the salesman telling you "it's just as safe so long as you're traveling the same speed and same places"? Would you buy that claim for a second?

I've avoided numerous accidents by being able to stop quickly on my bike, or by making a sharp turn. This varies greatly just between different bicycles -- a mountain bike has much better stopping distance than a road bike. There's obviously also a big difference between a skateboard and a bicycle.

There's also, I think, a steeper learning curve between skateboard and bike, though that may be because learning to bike as a child is more common. There's at least a difference in skill levels. I mostly know the limits of my bike. (e.g., how hard can I turn without skidding out?) and while a skilled skateboarder may be on par with me on that, I'm not. I can bike tens of thousands of miles without falling. I'm nowhere near the skill level of being able to do that on a skateboard.

Being able to eject yourself is also valuable. I suspect a skateboarder would have better "eject and run" options than a cyclist, so that's a point in their favor. (I've had my back tire run over twice, and both times I was able to simply run forward over the handlebars, and my hands (and head) didn't touch the grounds, but it's not always going to be that easy.)

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#204

Post by lkbm »

Goronmon wrote: post #186
molodec wrote: post #180

Ok, I understand that there is a lot of benefits to electric scooters. They are fun, convenient, and allow to navigate quickly, and great for the environment, or at least better than cars. Why not driving regular bicycles? Obesity is a growing problem, because people don't exercise enough. Mechanical bicycle is a great low impact activity for modern life. Also, bicycles aren't generally allowed on a sidewalk, but I h…

Why not driving regular bicycles? Where do you put the bicycle when you get where you need to go?

I lock mine at a nearby bike rack (yes, sometimes this requires traveling over a dozen yards). It's slightly more of a hassle than parking a scooter, but a lot less than parking a car.

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#205

Post by com2kid »

dmix wrote: post #138
com2kid wrote: post #87

I am amused this is still a topic of discussion in America. Visit China sometime, electric motor scooters (larger than the kids versions we have here[1]) and motorbikes are everywhere, the large majority of small vehicles on the road there are now electric. It is super nice, the streets are far cleaner and quieter than just a few years ago. One huge benefit China has is an existing infrastructure for smaller vehicles…

> Meanwhile in America we paint a tiny narrow bike lane on the road and pretend the white line is going to stop accidents. Separated bike lanes can be equally dangerous and more inconvenient for cyclists. If you can swing around a slow/stopped hazard then it’s not much better. It’s only good for the newbie riders who are scared of the road. The best arrangements are sharrows where both parties are sharing the road wi…

Depends on the speed limit.

Around here, on larger streets the speed limit is 35 mph. Riding a bike is considered a rather dangerous activity.

Drop the speed limit to 20 mph and maybe sharing the road becomes possible.

Seeing how other countries do it though, true separated bike lanes are the best. I agree that studies show painted bike lanes are actually more dangerous, but a physical barrier between cars and bikes is going to be the safest solution.

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#206

Post by mikestew »

flavor8 wrote: post #175
mikestew wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the scooter. On the Xiaomi in question, yes, I've found it to be problematic. The solution is the Masterlock handcuff lock. One end around the tube between deck and bars, the other end around a post. The Boosted Rev I have now has exposed frame rails so you can use your favorite bike lock.

One of these? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SZiI2KhWfU

That's the one. Weighs a chunk (maybe a bit more than a Kryptonite cable lock?), but it's solid and it solves the "lock up my Xiaomi" problem. Super-quick to lock and unlock, too.

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#207

Post by aleph4 »

rtomayko wrote: post #100
eldenbishop wrote: post #38

I rode a non-electric kick scooter (Xootr) for three years working in downtown SF. It is by far the best form of transitional transport there is and superior to bikes for 99% of actual real world travel. It was easily 4-5 times faster than walking and more importantly suddenly made the entire city open due to how insanely efficient it was for "glueing" together various forms of public transport. I could hop from tran…

I’ve been thinking about bike vs scooter a lot lately too. Austin is overrun with scooters and I used them for a little while before finding the electric Uber Jump bikes. They seem superior to scooters in every way in Austin, which makes the 20:1 ratio of scooters to bikes a bit baffling. But I can see your point in SF where I use to walk 5 blocks from my apartment to the muni train and then another five blocks from…

Also in Austin, and agree. Bikes just feel so much safer to me, especially at higher speeds for longer distances. I've already almost died twice on scooters, and have almost no close calls on my bike on a regular basis.

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#209

Post by Obi_Juan_Kenobi »

walshemj wrote: post #151
trenning wrote: post #96

I'd love to get an electric scooter for commuting but my commute is a little long (and very hilly in Seattle). I occasionally commute on my electric bike though and it's a blast. It's also the fastest mode of travel hands down in the city, second only to my regular motorcycle. The biggest thing with these low end electric bikes/scooters is that they have a hard time with the hills and really slow down and burn throug…

I think with hilly areas having regenerative breaking helps as you can regain some of the loss on the way down.

Regen is fairly common with direct-drive hubs, but it's not beneficial for range. You get something like 5% more range on a hilly route. The vast majority of energy goes to drag unless you're puttering along at 10mph.

It is very useful, but more for saving brake wear.

Re: The Rise of the Electric Scooter

#210

Post by aleph4 »

molodec wrote: post #180

Ok, I understand that there is a lot of benefits to electric scooters. They are fun, convenient, and allow to navigate quickly, and great for the environment, or at least better than cars. Why not driving regular bicycles? Obesity is a growing problem, because people don't exercise enough. Mechanical bicycle is a great low impact activity for modern life. Also, bicycles aren't generally allowed on a sidewalk, but I h…

Also, it turns out all those batteries are not exactly eco-friendly.
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