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Hot Read Hot read Feb 19

Pass away fad or the latest revolution in e-mobility?

 

The eScooter is a relatively new product to the personal mobility sector, but one that has been born from necessity because of the environments that we now live in. With over 55% of the world’s population living in cities (up to around 80% in America) and this predicted to only rapidly increase, the need for a sustainable, lightweight, personal mode of transport has never been higher. So, is the Scooter the solution? Here is Reid’s take on why it could be and what you should be looking for when buying an eScooter…

1. Eco-Friendly

 

There is a lot of research out there suggesting that the eScooter share system (where you scan and pay per journey) aren’t actually very eco-friendly. This is because of their production, vandalism by riders and the fact that they need to be picked up by a car and driven to a drop off spot if they are left in random locations. However, owning a personal eScooter yourself is actually a great step towards lowering your carbon emissions.

Research done by the Rhodium group suggested that eScooters, on a per-mile basis, have a smaller carbon footprint than ‘a vegan on a stroll’. Taking into account the manufacturing, distribution and propulsion, an eScooter on average produces only 28g of carbon per mile travelled, compared to 48g per mile for a vegan and 292g for a standard petrol car.

In addition to this, global research suggests that about one-third of e-scooter trips have replaced car journeys. This reduces congestion and helps the environment by cutting carbon emissions emitted from cars. For an example in the UK, where Reid HQ is, two-thirds of car trips in major cities are below three miles, making them easily replaceable by e-scooters.

In addition to all these great environmental benefits when comparing to other modes of transport, if you buy a Reid eScooter, we will also plant a tree in your honour! We want to preserve the environments we love to ride and scoot in. Thereby, this is our thank you for making a positive step in getting outdoors and enjoying the world we all live in.

2. Comfort

We break down the three key elements to the comfort of your ride, Deck Size, Wheel Size and Suspensions.

 

Deck Size

When considering deck size, you need to understand how your feet will be placed on it and how comfortable your standing position will be. With Reid eScooter range, we have opted for a larger than average deck to accommodate for all size of people. This means that you’ll always have enough space to have both feet on the deck: one in front of each other. With other brands of eScooter’s decks, your feet can be side by side touching or even only have space for one foot with one foot dangling. If this is going to be your primary mode of transport for your commute, then you’re going to want something comfortable day in day out. As a result, larger deck does someway in doing this.

Wheel Size

Industry experts strongly suggest avoiding wheels less than 8 inches in diameter, so we developed our E4 and E4 Plus with 8.5” and 10” tyres, respectively. Smaller wheels than this and you’re more likely to have a rougher ride in general. Worse still, you may potentially get stuck in potholes and road cracks. On the other hand, 10” tyres provide a wide diameter to deal with most bumps and lumps. Having ourselves commuted 100kms on this Reid eScooter and never had an issue, we can certainly recommend this wheel size.

Suspension

Equipped on our E4 Plus, suspension helps take out the jarring from the bigger bumps on your commute. This is a necessity for those riding on rough roads or urban cities with lots of speed bumps. Suspension on your eScooter is a nice addition for those who will be riding regularly.

3. Range and Speed

 

Range

A key factor in electric cars also translates to eScooters, how far can I ride it before I need to charge? Obviously, you don’t want to have to charge it after every commute. After all, this is supposed to be your new easy mode of transport. So, it’s important that it’s always ready to ride! In our experience, if you are commuting between 2-3 miles per day, then an eScooter with a range of around 15 miles means you’ll only need to charge it once a week for your regular work commute! Accordingly, if you can find something with a minimum of a 15 mile (25-30km) like our E4 and E4 Plus, you’ll only need to charge on the weekends. How awesome is that?

Speed

Although there aren’t currently any overarching international laws on legal speeds for eScooters (with this currently being fragemented and differeing from country to country), we believe if this does come in, it will be inline with the EU Law on eBike speed, which is 25kph. Even though you can buy eScooters with a higher top speed at the moment, if this legislation does come in, you may be in trouble. We suggest future-proofing yourself and opting for a 25kph eScooter like our E4 and E4 Plus. Then, if the laws do change, you’re at the top of their limits. Also, you have to consider that the general education on eScooters isn’t high, so whilst this is a new technology and other people aren’t aware, it’s best to drive at a safe speed instead of opting for the fastest. Remember, safety over speed always.

4. Weight and Size

 

Weight

It is important to consider that before and after your journey. You may have a little way to walk or a few flights of stairs to climb up. Hence, the weight of your eScooter may be a key deciding factor in which is best for you.

A key factor in weight is the range of the eScooter, so don’t just opt for the lightest, you may end up having to charge it after every ride! Reid eScooters do come in a kg or so heavier than its competitors. However, this is due to us wanting to focus on the comfort of the actual ride itself, where weight doesn’t come into play, rather than the carrying before and after. Having said that, at 13.1kg for the E4 and 14.5kg for the E4 Plus of the Reid eScooter range, this should still be more than manageable for the average person to carry for a few minutes either side of your ride.

Size

The great thing about eScooters is their size. Unlike a car or even a bike, they all fold. Thus, they can all fit under your desk and can all tuck away nicely inside your home. As a result, the key thing to look for in scooter size then is its folded dimensions. This will let you know how big it is for you to carry and store at home and work. It’s all about the balance, so find something that’s the right size for comfort when riding, but small enough to meet your carrying and storage needs.

5. Quality

 

The next thing to look at is the quality of the eScooters. With some retailers recording up to 30% fault rate of eScooters and with it being a relatively new product to the e-mobility scene, it’s hard to know exactly which brands you can trust. The best thing to do here is to do research online and speak to the retailer who you’re purchasing the eScooter from. They’ll be honest and recommend you the best quality scooter as they don’t want to have to be dealing with warranty issues down the line. In fact from our research, a lot of retailers won’t even stock certain brands now due to such a high warranty return rate.

Particularly, our eScooters come with a 1 Year warranty as standard and have won international design awards at the Canton Fair. So, you know you’re in reliable hands. If you have any doubts, speak to a retailer and they’ll let you know how good quality the scooters are.

Hopefully, you’re now a little wiser on the world of eScooters and may be considering making that step to a better commute. At Reid, we believe that freedom should have no limits. That’s why we’ve leveraged on our expertise of bikes to introduce a brand-new Reid eScooter range that provides the perfect solution for inner city travel! Moving away from all the noise and bright graphics of traditional scooters, we have focused on delivering not only a quality range but a contemporary sleek design that suits you, our modern-day riders.

 

Check out our full Reid eScooter range here and happy riding!

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