To someone who lives in town and who used to ride a pushbike in fitter/younger years this looks interesting for under a couple of grand.
www.bestbuy.co.uk/product/1000112203/Xero-eScooter-Urban-Citi-3kw-Black.aspx?ref=AW&loc=OfferoftheDay&awc=2533_1300631260_febe80d4394c2b4c396b6f292e86d873
What does the panel think ?
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Looks a bit pricey, compared with this.
www.scooter.co.uk/50cc-scooter.html
I know the running costs are different - BTW are they built in China?
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My SIL got herself an electric bike. Quite good fun, I understand no licence or insurance is required - can that be right? - it pootles around quite cheerfully, occasionally reqiring a twirl or two of the pedals to help it up hills.
A lot less than £1799 too!
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>>What does the panel think ?<<
If they are any good, they should be seen in high numbers, if they aren't, they wont be,
I'd hang on a mo if I were thee.
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If the alleged 40-mile range is true, such a device would soon save me a lot of money in 10-mile and less round trips to the local shops.
Does a car driving licence entitle me to drive one though? The brochure is vague on this detail.
The thing that really puts me off is the thought of pootling along at 30-minus wearing a damn silly hard hat. I'd be terrified of being seen by people like Zero and BBD and either run over or, worse than that, jeered at.
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Were I to return to a city life, I could imagine using a scooter. Think I'd buy a petrol one though. Not sure why, just think I would.
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Long, long ago, in the deepest mists of time - I used to ride a Lambretta from near Tower Bridge (Gt Dover St.)
to Beak St. W1 where I worked for a film co.,
I can honestly say that I am damn lucky to be alive today! ... if it has to be 2 wheels, then a proper motorbike with a decent sized engine is the way to go IMO.
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I too have done the Lambretta thing in London in youth, and also the Zundapp Bella-with-dodgy-gearbox thing. And it did feel quite dangerous.
I was never hurt though give or take the odd chilblain and barked shin. What I did get was a criminal record although I suppose it's lapsed now. Long story, too boring to repeat.
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AC, you cannot leave it there !
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Posted it in the other place under another name I think.
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"What I did get was a criminal record'
Sex offenders register AC?
Easily done...
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>> Long, long ago, in the deepest mists of time - I used to ride a
>> Lambretta from near Tower Bridge (Gt Dover St.)
>> to Beak St. W1 where I worked for a film co.,
>>
>> I can honestly say that I am damn lucky to be alive today! ... if
>> it has to be 2 wheels, then a proper motorbike with a decent sized engine
>> is the way to go IMO.
>>
And the exact cc of this beast please Perro. Better than a wobbly Vespa any day.
M
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>> If they are any good, they should be seen in high numbers, if they aren't,
>> they wont be,
Electric scooters in general seemed quite common in China when I went there with work a few years ago (near Beijing).
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It looks as good as a petrol moped of the 30MPH type, if the range is enough for you - a good power output, around 4HP. It's probably best to charge the batteries "in situ" if possible (comparing with charging mobility scooter batteries, which may be similar), less faffing around.
A short review here:
electricmotoring.forumup.co.uk/about432-electricmotoring.html
There're probably others.
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Former neighbour of mine had one, used it for a 3-mile commute which he said it handled well.
I run a Honda Lead (100cc 4-stroke) scooter as my work hack; good little bike, top speed about 45mph, has proved reliable. I did consider an electric model but the savings are quite minimal unless you plan to keep the bike long-term; I was lucky to only pay £205 for my 53-plate model, and so long as I keep it well maintained (regular oil changes are essential) it should last me for some years.
A word of warning regarding the very cheap 50cc scooters seen commonly on e-bay; you really do get what you pay for. One of my closest friends works for a major motorcycle importer, and his advice to me when I was considering buying a scooter was to stick to one of the mainstream brands, ie Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Piaggio. Apparently, many of the Chinese "copies" do not outlast their warranties, spares can be difficult and the quality of both build and components is often very poor.
Scooters can also be absolute pigs to work on, as you have to remove all the bodywork to do anything beyond topping up the oil.
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As I understand it from cop programmes you do need a licence and insurance to ride anything with an engine or motor over a certain amount of bhp. I am pretty sure a lot of those cheap Chinese scooters are not road legal.
I may be wrong it just how I understand it.
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Like Harley, I have a Honda ' step through motorcycle ' . Honda quality is well known, some of the Chinese stuff is not up to the job,
I traded in my 1200cc Gold Wing for mine when it became difficult for me to change gear without leg pain.
I've never regretted having a full automatic as I can also move my legs about when moving.
Might be a bit OTT for you though, 0 to 60 in 5.7 seconds and 120mph.
Quickest armchair on the road !
Ted
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I know that £1700 ish may be a bit high for an electric "push-bike" / scooter, but I don't do pedaling anymore and would cripple myself with a kick start. I might look at prices for electric start petrol machines though.
That reminds me, I've got a perfectly good re-coil start motor mower but have since bought an electric start version for a similar reason - one pull and my shoulder is put out for a week or two !
The joys of the passage of a significant number of years.
Last edited by: Dulwich Estate on Mon 21 Mar 11 at 19:54
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>>one pull and my shoulder is put out for a week or two !<<
What, like pulling on a wheelbrace, instead of using ya daisy roots :)
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>> I might look at prices for electric start petrol machines though.
>>
Virtually all of 'em are leccy start these days DE; the kickstart is a useful back-up, but most of them seem to be on the left on scooters i.e. "wrong" side, and in common with many bikers, I suspect, I find them awkward. With a decent battery they should be needed very rarely. Mine usually starts first prod of the button.
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E-bikes support a simple lifestyle. They're easy to use; just flip a switch to get a gentle, but firm, push. They save time in two ways: 1) For errands up to a mile and on some congested commutes, e-bikes are quicker than the car; 2) Their low cost means you work fewer hours supporting them. The pace of life slows a bit while riding an electric bike. Stress goes down, enjoyment of life goes up. Fun happens!
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"enjoyment of life goes up. Fun happens!"
Yeah right. Riders of electric scooters all over the world are beating secretaries off with a stick.
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I suspect that electric scooters are held in the same regard as diesel motorbikes. :-)
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>> I suspect that electric scooters are held in the same regard as diesel motorbikes. :-)
ON. I came across this curiosity the other day: tinyurl.com/6ycqfvj
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I admit I am way out of my depth when it comes to two wheels. A search throws up quite a few diesel bikes, the military seem to be the main users.
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...the military seem to be the main users...
They are for logistical reasons - an army on the march only needs to haul one type of fuel.
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If they could do 50 miles on a charge (my commute would come down to 30 round trip, all town / city roads, using a scooter, but i'd want some range in reserve), and top 45mph, i'd be tempted to give one a whirl.
Threading to the front of the traffic light queues would be good but suspect accelerating off from the lights would rapidly drop the range left in the battery.
Maybe not for me thinking about it, but i can see they'd be valuable if i was in different circumstances.
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>>For errands up to a mile
Walk you lazy so and so. A bit of exercise isn't going to kill you!
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I once had an electric scooter, it didn't look much like what the OP had linked to but overall it worked well.
Here is one like mine :-
www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/scooters/unbranded-funrider-sit-on-scooter.asp
The range was about 5 miles (enough for when I was working in my local town) and since my local town had cycle tracks I never needed to go on the road.
Top speed was about 22mph.
I used it every day to go to and from work and cost about 80 pence a month in terms of charging it.
I looked a right idiot on it but I did not buy it for street credentials and money was tight.
One of the kids eventually broke it after 400 miles had been clocked up on it.
Before I brought it, I did enquire with the local plod regarding if it was legal.
The bottom line is that it has to have pedals and weigh less than 40kgs to be classed as a bicycle.
My scooter was 35kgs with no pedals so technically I needed tax insurance etc.
But it did not have any number plates or V5 documents.
It did have lights, indicators, horn etc.
However when speaking with the police, I did get as much as the fact they are too busy to pull me over and nick me for riding it as long as I wasn't on the main road being a pain to normal traffic (not a problem with cycle tracks).
There was one time when one of the kids was on the cycle track riding it and the police pulled it quickly.
They came running up and asked has that got an engine, to which my little horror said no sorry its electric.
The policeman replied 'oh pfd. ok you can go'
quite funny really.
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 13:49
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I am tempted by an electric bike or scooter.
Can they manage a ten-mile round trip with a bit to spare? More importantly, are they capable enough for a narrow winding A road with some fast although much fairly mimsing traffic, the latter perhaps more threatening?
I think the powerful scooters that can do 50 are too expensive for me. An electrically assisted pushbike, the minimalist solution unless you go for the Chinese bolt-on 2-stroke, 200 quid off the internet (but appallingly unrefined and noisy), seems more the thing. I think I can go most of the way to one of the two small towns 5 miles from here on back roads and through the grounds of the nearby Elizabethan palace. But I would still have a mile or so of A road, rural-suburban and limited but a bit narrow and demanding - I haven't done much cycling since I was about 15 - to negotiate.
Oh God. I can just see myself with trousers in socks and grubby hi-viz, faffing about... NO NOT ONE OF THOSE ALIEN HELMET THINGIES!
Perhaps I won't bother after all. Persuade me someone.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 19:22
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>> I am tempted by an electric bike or scooter.
>>
>> NO NOT ONE OF THOSE ALIEN HELMET THINGIES!
>>
>>
Oh vanity, headbutting concrete hurts big time.
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Any advance on 'Vain pensioner has skull crushed by concrete wall'?
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 20:14
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Yes, don't ride anything with two wheels unless you expect to fall off it occasionally. :-)
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>>Yes, don't ride anything with two wheels unless you expect to fall off it occasionally. :-)
Occasionally? As a teenager I came off my Vespa scooter twice on the day that I bought it.
Lesson 1. Do not try to keep up with a more experienced fellow on a powerful motor bike.
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Tchah! I was doing illegal Lambretta riding before 1960, and in the very early sixties had a Zundapp Bella with a dodgy gear linkage. No helmets, nothing but jeans, never seriously abraded even, charmed life no doubt.
I certainly don't 'expect to fall off occasionally' like some stoned matelot whose land legs haven't come back yet...
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I don't do stoned, I can get into enough trouble with a little booze. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 20:36
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I longed for a 175cc Lambretta, but could only afford a puny 125cc Vespa. Trying to kick start the thing was a complete waste of time. I would have to run, release the clutch and jump on.
Fun times, though.
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"but could only afford a puny 125cc Vespa"
That's odd, I had one of those too. Sort of blue green colour. Paid £45 pound for it in 1968. As you say great fun but my two wheel adventure came to an end when I came off at 30mph and looked and felt like I had been through a cheese grater.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 22:55
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>> That's odd, I had one of those too. Sort of blue green colour. Paid £45
>> pound for it in 1968. As you say great fun but my two wheel adventure
>> came to an end when I came off at 30mph and looked and felt like
>> I had been through a cheese grater.
Mine was my first mode of conveyance, and also green. Bought in the 60's, too, for the sum of £65 with the assistance of a pal of mine, who was over 21, acting as guarantor.
And, I also came a serious cropper when I was run off the road by a car and spent a fortnight in a hospital not far from Norwich. I'm OK now, though.
Twitch...
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Thu 9 Jun 11 at 14:13
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Talking of misbehaving pensioners, has Mr Snail gone off and bought a caterham or something to keep him occupied away from here?
He had a focus and said he liked bright coloured cars, wonder if he had a lime green focus rs all this time and just played it cool :-)
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Electric Scooters - any good? - Perky Penguin
