I am curious about e-scooters but have never ridden one. They have a lower centre of mass which, in theory, would offer some advantage over bicycles in terms of the severity of collisions.
Otoh would you not tend to have more control issues over uneven terrain? I think about my inline skates from the 90s. The streets suck here, and I had one too many an instance of a pothole or a bump sending me flying to keep that up.
Scooters have bigger wheels than skates, of course, but much smaller than bikes and they seem to have very low ground clearance. This makes me a little edgy.
My coworker who switched to one after riding an e-bike to work said the brakes were weaker with the e-scooter. That could just be a workmanship issue. I’d have to think about whether physics would play a role there?
I ride a scooter on a regular basis. With regards to terrain: I can do uneven terrain pretty well. The only time I’ve run into trouble is when my wheel got caught on a train track once, but that was easily avoidable. 100% I can assure you they are easier to manage than skates.
As for the brakes, they can definitely kind of suck. My scooter only has brakes on the front wheel, which makes riding in the rain diffcult, but I’ve learned to do slower braking which prevents my back wheel from fish-tailing.
I also ride a bike sometimes but I’m not very good at it, so I can’t compare.
I ride a scooter on a regular basis. With regards to terrain: I can do uneven terrain pretty well. The only time I’ve run into trouble is when my wheel got caught on a train track once, but that was easily avoidable. 100% I can assure you they are easier to manage than skates.
That’s good to hear.
As for the brakes, they can definitely kind of suck. My scooter only has brakes on the front wheel, which makes riding in the rain diffcult, but I’ve learned to do slower braking which prevents my back wheel from fish-tailing.
Ohh boy… I think I will insist on rear brakes if I find myself in the market. Wow.
How is the center of mass is lower on a scooter? It is the same or higher. The head is the heaviest part / cm³ of the body and on a e-scooter you’re standing up, on a bike you’re sitting, bringing the head a bit lower. The tiny scooter wheels will react enormously to tiny disadvantages in the road surface and the consequences of it. Hitting an tiny rock on the asfalt with a e-scooter will result in way nastier accidents than hitting a similar rock on the asfalt with a bicycle.
Same with sudden breaking: imagine the situation where you suddenly have to break and the rear break fails (on both bike and scooter) so only the front break works. The forces required in that situation to get you “flying” head first towards objects with a e-scooter are much much lower than with a e-bike (wich is heaver and more distributed over a larger surface). The chance of being sent “flying” is simply way way lower on a bicyle vs scooter in many situations, making bicycle typically much safer than e-scooter.
I’m never in my life riding e-scooters again, after having read a few articles with interviews from doctors in hospitals about how people look when they come in after accidents with scooters. And most of those were accidents with no other parties involved, just someone on a scooter hitting a tiny pothole, rock, sidewalk thingy etc.
@freebee@tunetardis regarding centre of mass - the bike, itself, is heavier than the scooter too. And “sit-up-and-beg” positioned shopper-style town bikes move your mass even further back - little chance of catapulting forward on one of those. The centre of mass is *far* lower on a bike.
How is the center of mass is lower on a scooter? It is the same or higher.
I guess I was thinking in terms of the contraption itself. The battery and the bulk of the weight would be down near ground level. But that’s a good point about the rider’s position.
The tiny scooter wheels will react enormously to tiny disadvantages in the road surface and the consequences of it. Hitting an tiny rock on the asfalt with a e-scooter will result in way nastier accidents than hitting a similar rock on the asfalt with a bicycle.
Yeah, this was main concern. There are potholes around here that are so bad your teeth may clunk together if you don’t have any sort of suspension, and I can’t help but think it would be difficult to steer your way out of those if you hit one on a scooter?
My main reason for considering a scooter was for hybrid trips where you drive to another place and then ride around. But if anything, the by-laws are even more vague around e-scooters than e-bikes in a lot of cities, so that makes me a little reluctant to take one on the road. Folding e-bikes are getting much smaller now though, so that might be the better option?
I was renewing my CAA today (Canadian equivalent of AAA motor club in US) and they mentioned they do roadside assist for bikes now. So I looked it up and among the FAQ it said:
Do we cover motorized bicycles?
Yes, provided they are conventional bicycles with standard pedals and chain and mounted with an external electric geared motor. Motorcycles, electric scooters and mopeds are covered under Plus and Premier Memberships only.
That’s interesting that scooters are only covered by their higher tiers while e-bikes are fine with the basic plan I have. Bikes are looking better and better at this point.
I am curious about e-scooters but have never ridden one. They have a lower centre of mass which, in theory, would offer some advantage over bicycles in terms of the severity of collisions.
Otoh would you not tend to have more control issues over uneven terrain? I think about my inline skates from the 90s. The streets suck here, and I had one too many an instance of a pothole or a bump sending me flying to keep that up.
Scooters have bigger wheels than skates, of course, but much smaller than bikes and they seem to have very low ground clearance. This makes me a little edgy.
My coworker who switched to one after riding an e-bike to work said the brakes were weaker with the e-scooter. That could just be a workmanship issue. I’d have to think about whether physics would play a role there?
I ride a scooter on a regular basis. With regards to terrain: I can do uneven terrain pretty well. The only time I’ve run into trouble is when my wheel got caught on a train track once, but that was easily avoidable. 100% I can assure you they are easier to manage than skates.
As for the brakes, they can definitely kind of suck. My scooter only has brakes on the front wheel, which makes riding in the rain diffcult, but I’ve learned to do slower braking which prevents my back wheel from fish-tailing.
I also ride a bike sometimes but I’m not very good at it, so I can’t compare.
That’s good to hear.
Ohh boy… I think I will insist on rear brakes if I find myself in the market. Wow.
How is the center of mass is lower on a scooter? It is the same or higher. The head is the heaviest part / cm³ of the body and on a e-scooter you’re standing up, on a bike you’re sitting, bringing the head a bit lower. The tiny scooter wheels will react enormously to tiny disadvantages in the road surface and the consequences of it. Hitting an tiny rock on the asfalt with a e-scooter will result in way nastier accidents than hitting a similar rock on the asfalt with a bicycle.
Same with sudden breaking: imagine the situation where you suddenly have to break and the rear break fails (on both bike and scooter) so only the front break works. The forces required in that situation to get you “flying” head first towards objects with a e-scooter are much much lower than with a e-bike (wich is heaver and more distributed over a larger surface). The chance of being sent “flying” is simply way way lower on a bicyle vs scooter in many situations, making bicycle typically much safer than e-scooter.
I’m never in my life riding e-scooters again, after having read a few articles with interviews from doctors in hospitals about how people look when they come in after accidents with scooters. And most of those were accidents with no other parties involved, just someone on a scooter hitting a tiny pothole, rock, sidewalk thingy etc.
@freebee @tunetardis regarding centre of mass - the bike, itself, is heavier than the scooter too. And “sit-up-and-beg” positioned shopper-style town bikes move your mass even further back - little chance of catapulting forward on one of those. The centre of mass is *far* lower on a bike.
I guess I was thinking in terms of the contraption itself. The battery and the bulk of the weight would be down near ground level. But that’s a good point about the rider’s position.
Yeah, this was main concern. There are potholes around here that are so bad your teeth may clunk together if you don’t have any sort of suspension, and I can’t help but think it would be difficult to steer your way out of those if you hit one on a scooter?
My main reason for considering a scooter was for hybrid trips where you drive to another place and then ride around. But if anything, the by-laws are even more vague around e-scooters than e-bikes in a lot of cities, so that makes me a little reluctant to take one on the road. Folding e-bikes are getting much smaller now though, so that might be the better option?
Yes, in my opinion the foldable bike is the better, safer option.
I was renewing my CAA today (Canadian equivalent of AAA motor club in US) and they mentioned they do roadside assist for bikes now. So I looked it up and among the FAQ it said:
That’s interesting that scooters are only covered by their higher tiers while e-bikes are fine with the basic plan I have. Bikes are looking better and better at this point.