I love bikes , acoustic or electric. However, I cover most of my two wheeled miles on an electric scooter. Today I share some of the reason why I chose to get an electric scooter.
0:00 I really like cycling
0:28 Why I ride an electric scooter
0:56 Fair weather cyclist
1:45 bikes are better
2:10 Scooter are cheaper
2:26 Enough range for most trips
2:36 Comfortable for short trips
2:56 No cargo space
3:17 Scooters are more convenient (for me)
4:10 Use the right tool
it’s true I ride an electric scooter but
I really like biking it’s my preferred micromobility vehicle or better yet an ebike
it’s more comfortable you don’t have to stand they have more range better cargo capacity they
are more stable and most importantly you don’t have to worry about being assassinated by small
potholes so with all that being said you may be wondering why I ride an electric scooter my name
is Nic and I believe bicycles are the Pinnacle of human engineering subscribe for regular content
and as much as I love the bicycle Within in the city I actually cover more distance on my electric
scooter over 3,000 km in the past year why is that well I like anyone have my reasons for choosing
a specific way to move around my city this isn’t meant to be a choice between an acoustic bike
and an electric scooter more fair comparison is between the ebike and the electric scooter and
this isn’t a definitive pros and cons of each but rather my personal motivations and reasons for
choosing one over the other and to share some context I’d like to go back a few years before
I bought my first electric scooter I’m what you might call a fair weather cyclist at least for
my commute to work it involves a 5 km constant uphill all the way to work in the morning and a
lovely mostly downhill ride in the afternoon the problem is as soon as the sun refused to rise
early enough or the weather is too wet and too cold for my poultry selection of gear I would
inevitably lack the wheel to hop on the saddle and end up taking transit or more often than not
driving I know I’m a garbage human however one day I decided to buy an electric scooter this
ninebot m and from that point on I became a full-time microMobility commuter those days that
I lacked the wheel to get on my bike I no longer got in the car I got on the scooter to this day
I still commute on my bike 3 to 4 months a year and the rest on my scooter having mastered the
weather with proper gear but why did I choose an electric scooter why didn’t I get an ebike an
EUC a one wheel an electric skateboard well right off the bat the last three of those while awesome
to ride are a bit more daunting and likely more dangerous but why didn’t I get an ebike that is
the question because as I mentioned they are more comfortable they have more range they are safer
you can still get some decent exercise and most importantly they’re my favourite ride I love
riding ebikes well first and foremost is the price electric scooters are often much cheaper
than ebikes in fact to get a good quality ebike you can easily be looking at a bill of $2 to
$4,000 or more while a decent scooter can be found for around 1,000 with a used Market flush
with good deals next is range for me I wasn’t too concerned about range my commute is only 10
km round trip and another regular trip I made was about 20 all doable on but the cheapest and
smallest battery clad scooters and that’s where Comfort comes in that distance of 10 km one way is
basically the limit that I would want to stand on a scooter if I had to make trips longer than that
on the regular I would have surely gone the ebike route and the environment has a role there too
my neighbourhood has relatively smooth streets so I don’t have to worry too much about the small
wheels causing a bumpy ride or getting launched by a pothole I also didn’t need the cargo space for
the vast majority of my trips I can get by with just a backpack and while it isn’t recommended
occasionally slinging a bag on the handlebars or using the deck for a little extra cargo I would be
much better served by Pioneers racks milk crates or even a proper box bike in some cases but for
the most part I feel like that would be overkill for my daily driver and at the end of the day the
biggest reason that led me to buying an electric scooter in the first place was the convenience
when I go to work in the morning I roll out of my apartment down the elevator and out the door
when I get to work I can fold it safely under my desk and I know there’s some really portable
folding ebikes like those from EOvolt those things are awesome but that just brings us back to the
cost Factor ignoring the fact that an ebike would take up more space I’m not allowed to keep a bike
in my apartment so I leave my apartment I go down to the very bottom of my building’s parade unlock
a bolt and a padlock unlock my bike lock up the chain padlock and bolt then ride up two levels of
parking which entails opening two garage doors on the way all taking 5 minutes compared to the one
minute when taking the scooter effectively adding 8 minutes to my commute every day so let me ask
you would you rather a 22-minute commute or a 30 it’s not much but it’s not nothing so yeah
the electric scooter is simply more portable and better for shorter trips along smooth paths
that doesn’t mean I think it’s the best form of micromobility not at all it all depends on the
circumstances use the right tool for the job for now this is the tool that fits my lifestyle
for most of my two wheeled miles but I am always reconsidering my choice and as time goes and my
day daily travel needs change I expect to see an ebike in my future especially if we consider
expanding our family there are ebikes that are basically minivans of micromobility they’re
awesome but ultimately the reason I made this video is to say that everybody has their own needs
abilities Comfort levels and ways that they enjoy moving around that may mean riding a scooter a
bicycle a neighbourhood electric vehicle or even a car just remember to use the right mode for the
trip with that my name is Nic thanks for watching
49 Comments
In case anyone was wondering I say "electric scooter" exactly 47 times in this video.
One thing I am jealous of your scooter 😅😅 men you can get a seat on your scooter. That's the scooter I would have ordered if it had folding handlebars. I've got the Vsett 8 and I walk and ride. Are walk to my destination and then right back. So that's how I keep fit. Everything's about finding a balance in life
As a non-driver and pedestrian, I absolutely hate these scooters. People don't know how or where to appropriately drive them, leading to me nearly getting run over multiple times walking the sidewalk. Its even tougher because they are so silent. People really race on these things too – like I once saw a couple on one scooter (probably not safe already) race through a red light between Oakridge and 41st which is absolutely wild. There needs to be much better regulations on how these scooters are used and those regulations need stricter enforcement.
While I've certainly been endangered by cyclists not abiding by the rules of the road in the past, this is a rare occurrence in Vancouver. I've already had way more near misses with e scooters already and they got legalized only 3? 4? years ago.
I wish scooter riders would at least acknowledge the downside of them for pedestrians/people who use mainly public transit (who you don't even acknowledge as a category in your last segment). Bike-tubers in general seem to disregard pedestrians/people who only use public transit in general, which is fine as your passion is cycling. However, I do think we deserve to be thought of occasionally, as we share the road with you guys too!
Beautiful BC!
I find my KnowPed kick scooter to be more reliable than any e-scooter. Don't have to worry about batteries/range or flying off the handle bars.
E-scooters have another advantage that they integrate better with mixed-mode commuting than e-bikes do. They're smaller and lighter, so it's more manageable to take them onto buses/subways (or get a ride with a friend, or take a taxi if you get stuck somewhere) than a full e-bike.
I have both an NIU scooter (KQi3) and a Brompton which is aftermarket modded with a Swytch ebike motor. I honestly barely ever use the scooter, with the Brompton getting 95% of my time. It's super convenient folded up, and my city has some frankly terrible streets that make the scooter super sketchy to ride at times. I do worry a bit about being stranded with the scooter too if it runs out of juice, while I don't have that concern with the Brompton.
I love the fact that you can own a good ebike, a good regular bike, a decent cargo bike, and a good electric scooter for less money than a shitty car
I love my scooter, but the roads in PDX are atrocious, poorly maintained, and full of potholes. We have pretty good bike lanes marked, but they're all absolutely filled with broken glass, gravel, and debris. Bike ridership plummeted during the illegal lockdowns and never rebounded, so they're no longer a priority.
How can your apartment tell you you can't have a bike?
Have a frame lock on my bike
Sure its less safe ish
But i could cut down my prep time down immensely
No fiddling with padlocks amd chains
Just key in and bike locked and loaded
Oh my God that’s hilarious. I live in Vancouver as well. Is the commute from home to work with your electric scooter cause I just got mine just last weekend.
I ride a 🛴 (apollo phantom) for the thrill. I love the power, speed and agility when on one. I don't just casual ride, i ride for the adventure and sense of freedom. Scooters have a whole different sense of freedom and fun. A bike and scooter have their own different feeling when riding. Obviously a motorcycle has all of that and then some but that's an entire different category. A scooter is just different when you're riding through all the different bike/walking trails they have to offer. Put some earbuds in and just ride 😌.
Also riding with your partner just adds to the enjoyment as well, but solitude riding is it's own "at peace" feeling.
My Scooter Parking consists of 60 flights of stairs, but no lock, I keep it in my room.
My other was was too big and heavy, so I kept it downstairs with 2 brass locks, and it got stolen 😞
My arm was assassinated by a tiny pothole at 19 mph last week, got both major bones 🙁 lmao.
As a fellow Vancouverite, I highly recommend trying an Electric Unicycle. Eevees offers free training and has a shop in the DTES! In my opinion, it is the king of micromobility and the best form of transportation in Vancouver, period. They are definitely not as dangerous as they look!
You gotta try EUC's! They're fast, long range, and incredibly stable once you get used to it and they're fun! Incredibly fun! I mean they're more portable than e-scooters too!
Bicycles wear holes in your jeans
I dig your channel Nik and appreciate your work. I'm not convinced the iphonification of personal transportation is the right path. Like most endeavours humans engage in there is a lot of great invention and design for the "fun" part but little to no though or effort in the parts no one wants to think about. In the case of the mass takeover of all things human powered to become motorized there are things like the mining of cobalt required for the batteries that mostly comes from despot led nations and effectively slave labour. The MUCH shorter lifespan of e-things when "oops sorry we're not updating that charge controller anymore" resulting increased waste of our limited resources and the production of a very toxic waste. A quality bicycle is a multi-generational (save for wear parts) transportation device that is not yet rivalled by any other technology in terms of longevity and efficiency. Further imagine the benefits to our health outcomes at a community, city and global level if everyone got around under their own power, literally saving billions of dollars in health care costs… Humans a terribly short sighted. 🙁
I prefer my scooter over my bike mostly because its funner and gets around town quicker but i ride the scooter more because high gusty wind conditions do not effect the scooter. A moderate wind gust feels like the bike is getting blown out from under me. My 6000 watt dual motor scooter even pulls my cargo/dog trailer
up any hill no problem.
Roller girl at 4:17? Why did you cut that video? 😅
Ride both like me, got my bike back for doing exercise and riding in winter too.
Nah u get good ebikes for 1000 + – $
I never considered buying an escooter until i moved to capitol hill in seattle. I just bought an OXO and that thing is my new best friend. Its got the horsepower to get me up hills at 30mph. I get around town way faster than i do in a car
The thing with the scooters you talk about… they are horrible slow, weak and have a small battery.
Go for a "decent" scooter with >1,5 kWh battery and a weight of 35-40 kg, and the appeal of the "convenience" goes away nearly entirely.
But i still learned to prefer and love this "overkill" of a scooter, much more stable at ANY speed, much more comfortable due to much better suspension, range is hilariously long when i dont push the trigger too hard for too long,…
Just bought my first E-Scooter. Car died and decided not to replace it. Live in a state with salt on roads all winter that kills the frames so figured id retire to just a bus/uber life. Then caught someone on an E-Scooter on my road, did some research and got a bananna yellow one with a seat. Top speed is 15.5 mph. Use it back and forth to work which is 5.5 miles each way . At night the front LED headlight is like a Football field being lit up. Its fun. I even went grocery shopping with it and hung a bag on each handle bar and put the third one in the basket on the back. IT works for what its said purpose is but can see my hanging it up in November. I like that it has wheels and a motor and i DONT have a payment or pay gas, insurance, high upkeep on it.
I'm retired and there are a lot of bike paths in my area. I have a pretty good bicycle, which provides a great form of exercise and a chance to get some fresh air. I recently started looking at these scooters because they appear to be a lot of fun to ride, reasonably priced, and they are more portable than an ebike whichwould allow meto can put one in my suv and go to parks, etc. I amhoping that the battery chemistry will improve soon as my wife is concerned about possible fire related issues.
Was wondering if buying an electric scooter was a good idea for a 15km round trip to work every day… ended up getting a Honda Navi
Just buy a motorcycle
That bicycle storage quest is ridiculous, why isn't there a rack at the front?
Am surprised people don’t talk about E kits. If you have a bike you like most of the time, just put an elite on it. Helps with range & up hills. I have two & love them. I park it like a bike etc, just take off battery & take it with me. A good quality used bike can be almost perfect,put an e kit on for about $1,000.00 install and away you go. P,us you are Reusing something one of the 3R’s.
Look dude, I don't care if you'd end up saying I copied you when I make the same video verbatim but, everything you said in this video, I could say you took it out of my head. They were spot on reasons why I ride e-scooters with trad bikes being my 1st love & still is but, just not so practical in most cases. Great vid.
What I like alot about scooters is that in bad weather you tend not to get dirt and muck from the road as much as you get with bicycles.
Is this Chicago? looks a lot like New York
I personally prefer e scoter … especially for the price and the fact that e scooters can ride in the city with traffic
I recently bought an e bike for my mother and an e scooter for myself
the e-bike was with 250w motor and 100km range the price was 750 euros (Eleglide M2)
the e scooter was a 2000w 41kg monster with a realistic range of 50km and a maximum speed of 65km/h the price was 817 euros (kukirin g4)
I do not like lifting and swinging my leg over a bike bar and bikes have always bugged my knees. Step on, grab handles, and go. awsome.
Is that a apollo city?
IS THAT SCIENCE WORLD
I ride a scooter to the bus stop. Coming home, there is no bus service running at night. It is under 3 miles. I could ride a bike but I am not able to lift a bike up to the bike rack on the bus due to arthritis from damage.
Not gonna work on me since I have to climb a mountain up and down to go to work
What type of scooter are you using ?
Man, I too prefer the e-scooter for my daily commute to work, but for slightly different, but quite similar reasons. I live in a house and it's 40 miles from my job. There's a train that can take me from my area to downtown where my job is. The train station is 3 miles from my home via a bike trail, and then from the train to my job is another 2 miles. In the morning, I have to climb a total of 6 flights of stairs between the train station and the building my office is in. There is nowhere trustworthy to leave a bicycle or e-bike outside my job daily, even if I lock it to a lamp post. Sure, I could drive… but now that's a ton of money on gas and parking, and not to mention maintenance. I did the math, a $1,000 scooter plus the monthly train fare pays for itself in gas for my car ALONE in about 3 months. It's a no-brainer! Plus, I take up minimal space on the train, unlike the people bringing bicycles, and there's the perk of being able to sleep for the train ride instead of sitting in rush hour traffic before or after a long, grueling day at work. Every time I think about my choice in commuting, I pat myself on the back for coming up with such a brilliant idea in the limited time I did. I agree with the one-wheel being too dangerous to depend on daily, though it might be a lighter and more compact choice… I worry about the winter months, rainy days, and just mindless pedestrians stepping out in front of me.
💯 you cleared that up beautifully!
With an EUC, the ride would be smoother because of the bigger tire, you would burn less battery and go faster on the uphill (since most eucs have a hight torque motor) and you would have the regen braking on the downhill (even the cheapest euc by the four main brands has regen braking). I have a commute that is fairly similar to yours, maybe longer by 5 km. The safest way is by climbing a ramp next to a giant staircase that is closed off for cars and motorcycles. The ramp itself is angled at 25 degrees, no scooter (nor ebike, I think) would make the climb at the same price point an euc could.
Thanks for the video. I'm jealous of the bike/scooter infrastructure in Vancouver. Not so much here in Halifax but it's getting better.
micro mobility.. what a gay term.
I had all sorts of electric vehicles bike and scooter plus a regular bike but I like my scooter to ride to work which consists of 20 km round trip and I love it .I would not ride a scooter when it rain cause u hit a sewer cover and u are toast.
I love having an E scooter but car owners really really hate it where i live. Iv even had people try to fight me.
Commonly known as illegal on UK streets.🤔
My car now sits in the garage. It's been 4 years and I think I drove the car 3 times. Escooters are fun. I take mine everywhere. Get 100km range. I'm yet to kill the battery. Best 2k I've ever spent.