Category: Electric Scooter
Fast Mobility Scooter – EWheels 48v EW-72
In this video I show the EWheels EW-72. This is a full-sized 48v scooter with 10″ wheels that reaches speeds of around 14 mph. Full comfort chair and fun to drive! I take you for a ride along and show you the features of this interesting mobility scooter. I don’t know the year of the manufacture of this scooter, but it’s older. I bought it used from the local classifieds. The seller had just replaced the batteries, of which there are four because it’s a 48v scooter. I bought it for under $500, the current model sells for $3000 at the time of this writing. In the video I list the price as $3700, but that is the model with electromagnetic brakes.
I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew it went faster than most mobility scooters, I knew it had rear suspension, but after that I didn’t know too much. It has taken me a while to come to understand what this scooter can and can’t do. This video shows me riding the scooter and showing the controls. I also use a GPS speedometer to get a true speed rating. You can get a feel for how fast this thing goes.
The things that have surprised me are 1) how comfortable it is, 2) how capable it is and 3) how much fun it is to ride! This is my new daily driver and it’s been great. I use it every day to take my dog for a run and he likes to run a little faster than a regular mobility scooter, he goes about 6 mph. This scooter can easily keep up with him and his occasional speed bursts.
I can ride it for 3 days of 3 miles a day, so about 9 miles. It can go farther, but I don’t want to run the batteries down too low. It seems to charge in about 4-5 hours.
With the big wheels and both rear wheels drive wheels, this scooter is really capable. Grass is no problem, it can handle dirt, bigger gravel and snow. I’m waiting for some deeper snow to really try it, but 2-3″ is no problem so far. It does drain the battery to drive on these surfaces.
It’s surprisingly fun to drive and the chair is really surprisingly comfortable. All-in-all, I like this more than I thought I would. Would I pay $3000 for a brand new one? I don’t know. They are probably better with front suspension. I’m excited I have this one and I intend to ride it and have fun!!!
#scootercowboy #ewheels #mobilityscooter
EXTREME 36V Glion SNAPnGO Snow Ride
EXTREME 36V GLION SNAPnGO mobility scooter snow ride! What happens when you turn a SNAPnGO loose in the snow? EXTREME mobility scootering! Do you ride in the snow? I thought so. You want to know what it’s like to ride one of these in the snow? Watch this video and feel the thunder.
I started this YouTube channel a while ago for ride videos. I had 1 subscriber for a while, but they left.
Snow Ride : 48V500W Lyric (eBikeboard) Scooter
In this video I take my 48V500W Lyric (eBikeboard) out for a ride in the snow. For added difficulty, I bring the dog. I ride every day, and when the weather turns bad I don’t stop. Riding this trike gives me the stability I need, but it’s still a challenging ride. Front wheel drive can get pretty slippery. But with the suspension and larger tire size I can roll right over obstacles.
Probably not a lot of people trying to ride scooters in the snow, but if you want to, you can!
Does a Seat With a Back Make A Difference? Sunlite Backrest Saddle
Picked up this seat, wasn’t sure what difference it would make, if any. Synopsis: A seat with a back makes a big difference for stability. I would buy it again.
This is the seat I bought, the Sunlite Backrest Saddle, 9″x11″. It was the cheapest I could find at the time (~$35 at time of purchase). I bolted it onto my eBikeboard and took it for a spin. It took a little getting used to, but the difference was obvious from the first ride. Now I’m quite comfortable with it and it’s hard to describe why it would make a difference. Maybe just because it keeps me from shifting around in the seat as much.
I would like a seat that is softer and had a better tightening mechanism for the back brace pad. It’s pretty lightweight, which good and bad. The size is good, it’s comfortable enough and it’s not obnoxious on the scooter. The seat pan is plastic, so I don’t know how much abuse it can take. I would like something a little softer and better built, so maybe I’ll spend more money next time and try to get a nicer one. All-in-all, it gets the job done!
SNAPnGO Model 335: The Best All-In-One Mobility Scooter Value?
Synopsis: The best all-in-one mobility scooter value? Could be. The Glion SNAPnGO is a big step up in the mobility world, I highly recommend this scooter. After several months of real-world use, I am still excited to own this device and drive it every day. There is so much care and thought in the design that show up in little things, and Glion customer service has been stellar. The scooter is faster than many, with 3 speeds of up to 6 mph. It’s lightweight, has a FAA certified-for-travel removable 36V 6.6 aH Li-on battery with great range, ~ 6 miles. Right Side Controls; power, lights, thumb throttle with LED battery indicator. Left Side Controls; forward/reverse, speed selector, horn. Regenerative braking plus dual rear drum brakes. Comfort-style seat rotates, has removable arm rests, and can be removed for travel. Optional travel seat lightens the scooter even more and makes it easier to move. Ships with charger, front nylon handlebar carrying bag, shopping baskets, rear-view mirror, two battery keys, everything you need to hit the ground running. It’s rated for 300 lbs., does great with my ~180, I can just barely ride on grass.
Everything has been thought through in a way that makes day-in-day-out use simple and uncomplicated. Runs and rides great, I ride it every day. It is comfortable, uncomplicated and has superior performance.
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My personal mobility has slowed, so I started seriously looking at actual mobility scooters. I have been using modified scooters for mobility, but I started looking at the possible advantages of a stable seat. I picked up a used Pride GoGo Elite Traveller from the local classifieds that needed some love. I found after driving the Elite Traveller, there were real benefits on a heavy pain day to being able to just sit, not even to have to balance. I have owned several Pride scooters that I have fixed and sold, and frankly, they are very well built. After taking many scooters apart, I find Pride scooters are super tough and dependable. The scooter pictured is about 14 years old and still going strong.
An opportunity appeared to pick up a SNAPnGO through a local lost-freight liquidator at a greatly reduced price. I can’t afford $1300 to try a scooter out. It was a great price, so I took a chance. There were a few scuffs, but everything was mechanically sound and it was still new in the box. When I got it home and put it through its paces, it was clear everything about the scooter was 100%. I registered the scooter with Glion and started riding.
Now I had two mobility scooters, and I could compare them head-to-head. In the end I could only keep one (much to my grandkids disappointment) and you already know how the story ends. I like the Pride GoGo Elite Traveller scooter very much. It’s solid, you can find parts, and you can easily find these scooters used for a good price. They break down into pieces so you can load them into any vehicle. But they are heavy, they have heavy lead-acid batteries, and they are slower, at ~4 mph.
The SNAPnGO folds quickly. I can easily load it in my car by myself. It goes faster, ~7 mph, and it’s fun to ride. The light weight makes it a very nimble riding experience. It turns easily and quickly. It has good acceleration and excellent braking. The battery is lightweight and removable so you can charge it away from the scooter and you can fly with it. Even though the battery is small, it lasts a surprisingly long time. Range is very good.
The original reason I bought this scooter was primarily to take it on an airline trip, so I wanted the optional travel seat. But I wanted just the post, as I already had a seat. I didn’t see just the post listed on Glion’s site, so I reached out. They sold me the seat post for a reasonable price and sent it out fast. I had it in two days. I’ve bought a lot of parts from multiple companies, Glion has been top-notch. This is a great scooter from a great company.
I would call this a relatively expensive scooter at $1299. But remember the unique things this scooter can do. It’s lightweight, folds, is faster than average and you can fly with it. You can fly with a lot of scooters, but only the smallest and lightest can be checked at the end of the loading ramp like this one. That’s a big difference. The alternatives to this scooter seem to be above $2K, so in that sense too it seems like a good value.
Cockpit/Controls
The right hand has a simple thumb throttle with a 3 light LED read-out. It also has the power button. Hold it down for a few seconds and the scooter turns on with the lights on. A quick additional touch to the power switch and the lights turn off. (I wish it was default no lights.) It would be nice to have a LCD screen with more information like voltage, speed, odometer but it’s not really necessary. Not really going fast or far with this vehicle. The LED lights seem pretty reliable as far as showing the state of the battery. The acceleration and responsiveness is best when the battery is fully charged, indicating green, but also has good performance throughout the discharge as you would expect with a Lithium battery. There are 3 speeds, but I pretty much keep it on the top speed. It also has a decent horn, not too wimpy, not to bold. The hand brake on the right side controls the rear drum brakes and can be locked and used as a parking brake. Another interesting feature of this scooter is that when it is powered on it has a regenerative brake that makes the scooter a bit difficult to push forward. Turn the scooter off by holding the power button for a few seconds, and it freewheels and rolls easily. No brake lights, just lights, but they are bright and come in handy. I can easily ride at night.
The handlebars are a good width, the scooter turns tightly. One thing I noticed about the foot rests, they are slightly wider than the back wheels so it the front won’t fit through a space, you are not going to get through and accidentally catch the back wheels. Nice touch. At first I thought the footrests looked a little large and funny, but I end up using all the space. It is nice to be able to change my seating position and my foot positions. You can also use the space in the front of the footrest as a handle when you trolley the scooter. Nice touch!
The seat is a super-comfortable mobility scooter seat. Pretty much the same seat as was on my Elite Traveller, almost interchangeable, but not quite. The arm rests fold up and down, but I removed them for extra comfort. Without the arms I don’t feel as pinned in. There is a latch under the seat that you lift to change directions of the seat so you can get out sideways if you like. You also lift the lever when you want to remove the seat. When you remove the seat there is a convenient holder for the seat center post. To use the optional travel seat you keep the center post in and the travel seat post slides inside. You end up sitting a little bit higher, and the handlebars feel the perfect height when using the travel seat. In fact, I would say the travel seat is a performance upgrade. You sit higher, the scooter is much lighter with the smaller seat, and it performs even better!
DRIVE TRAIN
36V, 6.6 aH Lithium battery. There’s a lot to like about the battery setup. First, it meets FAA guidelines and Glion will provide you the manufacturing document you need for travel if you ask. The shape of the battery is excellent with a fold-down carrying handle. It has an on/off switch and 5.5mm charging port. The blade connection design is super solid. The battery is very easy to take on and off, and it comes with 2 keys for locking and removing it on your scooter. Comes with a 2A charger, charges in 2-3 hours. I use a Luna Cycles charger and charge to 80 percent a majority of the time. I like the Luna chargers because you can vary the charging amperage and the charge percentage.
The SNAPnGO is front-wheel drive. The motor seems just right for my size of ~180 lbs. I can climb inclines and drive over most grass. The motor is pretty quiet and is responsive. The acceleration is good. One thing about any 3 wheeled scooter, they can be a little tippy, especially turning tight when going uphill or downhill. The SNAPnGO is so light, sometimes it feels like it can tip easier than the Elite Traveller, but because it is so light it’s easier to correct. Once that heavy Pride scooter started tipping, there wasn’t as much I could do to stop it. I tipped it once. But I’ve yet to tip over on the SNAPnGO. EDIT: During the timeframe of writing this, I finally did tip over. I hit a driveway lip covered in wet leaves at less than a 90 degreee angle. The front tire slid sideways until the back tires hit, and then I tipped. It was slow, easy to manage, and with such a lightweight scooter, it was easier to deal with than a heavy scooter. Was not hurt in any way.
CHASIS
Although the frame has a simple design, it’s advanced. Everything has a purpose. The folding mechanism is solid. You push forward on the steering column and step on the release and the scooter folds quickly. The seat post comes out in slides into it’s holding tube. There is also a holding tube for the travel seat. There is a loop bar on the back that makes the back easy to grab and it protects the battery.
This will drive over the lip of my driveway, but without any suspension or pneumatic tires, it’s a jolt. I like solid tires because I never have to worry about flats. The back wheels on the SNAPnGO are a good size and roll easily. No problems there.
FOLDING
Folding the scooter is easy. You first remove the seat, then the post, putting it in the holder on the frame, push the handlebars forward and step down on the aluminum release lever located at the front of the deck and that’s it! Folds down to a size that should fit into most any car. You can see it here in the trunk of an older Honda Accord. Scooter folds down, seat placed upside-down on top of it.
Turning Radius
I can do a Y-turn on a sidewalk.
What I like Better About a Traditional Pride Scooter
Forward/reverse controller, tiller handle adjustable, neutral handle.
In the end, it’s a great mobility device. I’m putting together a video that will show everything. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Fluid Horizon: The Mobility Scooter I’ve Been Looking For
Synopsis: After more than 400 miles and 12 months, the Fluid Horizon scooter (with a seat) is a mobility winner. Why? It does it all. From street to store, 3 mph to 20 mph, it works equally well. Folds down and fits in a vehicle trunk. Slightly heavy, but you can trolley by grabbing the front wheel. Programable LCD screen, 3 modes, lights, brake light and bell. 48V 10 ah battery as tested, real-world range of 8-10 miles with 10aH battery. Solid rear tire has a different ride feel than inflatable, not as forgiving, but with front and rear suspension I have no trouble riding off a curb. I would recommend this scooter to anyone with good balance looking for super-convenient and capable mobility assistive device. As tested ~ $800-$900.
This scooter is FANTASTIC for mobility purposes.
Here’s a video I made that shows the seat and folding the scooter. Also an off-road and street ride.
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Originally I looked at a Glion Dolly for its trolley capability, but when folded, you can grab the front tire and trolley this scooter super easily, and it has a much fast top speed. *(I have recently acquired a Glion SNAPnGO… detailed post to come.)
FAST OR SLOW
I have tested a fair number of scooters for mobility assistive devices over the years. The dream was always to have something that could go slow OR fast, could fold up and be carried in the trunk of a car, wasn’t too heavy, and had decent range. This is the first scooter that has checked all the boxes for me. It’s a little bit expensive, but so is anything in the mobility space.
For mobility, you have to add a seat (~$100), but Fluid doesn’t sell a seat. Multiple companies sell the same Unicool T8 scooter with their branding. REVRides, Apollo, EMove, Fluid. You can buy it from the factory via Alibaba. This is an advantage, because there are many sources for parts. I bought my seat from REVRides, you can see it here. Each company has slight differences in their scooters, like battery size or color. Make sure you look closely when comparing models.
Watch how this quickly folds down to a compact package:
A very important feature is the adjustable handlebar height. You might not think about it, but you want a different height if you are standing vs. sitting. This scooter allows you to drop the handlebars down to a usable height when sitting. You can’t do that with say, a Xiaomi Mi M365, standard rental scooter.
The other real trick about this scooter is how people react to it. You have to take into account how the general public acts around whatever you are riding. There are zero problems riding this anywhere around people. In fact, I get a lot of compliments and questions about my scooter. (You might even be reading this after I referred you to my site!) I ride it very slow in stores, and at fairs or farmer’s markets.
The big surprise is how fast this scooter goes! When you hit the street it doesn’t accelerate super quickly, but it accelerates more higher up in the speed curve until, at 185 lbs, I hit 20-21 mph! That’s a game changer. With that speed, and a 8-10 mile range, I can ride to stores and switch modes into the 3 mph mode, and ride straight into them.
BUILD
The Fluid Horizon is durable. I have done whatever I have wanted, I haven’t babied it, and it has held up wonderfully. My front plastic cap which holds the battery in the compartment came loose, but I used some silicone and popped it back in. I have taken this scooter on multiple dirt roads and opened it up, and had a ball! I can’t believe how well it works on dirt roads. It can’t handle soft sand or gravel, but a regular dirt road is no problem.
SERVICE
I bought my unit used with 8 miles on it, so essentially brand new. When I was buying it, I tried to get a voltage reading by touching the charging pins with my voltmeter probes. DON’T DO THIS. I touched the live probe to the ground and POP! a puff of magic smoke, and the controller was gone. Embarrassed, I bought the scooter and set out to replace the controller.
Fluid would not sell me parts because I did not by the scooter directly from them. What?! So… I bought one from REVRides, popped it in and was back in business. I don’t know why Fluid were so weird about supporting their scooter after the fact. But recently, my grandson broke my LDC bracket and my conscientious son contacted Fluid to replace it and they were SUPER responsive. So I don’t know, maybe things have changed since I originally tried to deal with Fluid. Hopefully, they are selling a great scooter.
OVERALL
This PERFECT for RV park and campgrounds. Used it for nightly runs to the garbage, or to take our registration back to the office. Super convenient. At night, I turn on the lights and it is easy to ride in the dark. Front headlights, plus rear light/brake light. It’s great for city streets and riding inside stores. You can fold it up and put it in the trunk. Flats? Solid rear tire and poured some Slime in the front tire and haven’t had one the whole time I’ve been riding it.
Side note: My grandkids love this scooter and are constantly riding it. Caution is advised, one crashed and broke his wrist.
I charge my scooter with this Luna charger. It can vary the charging amps and the percentage of charge. It’s great for when I need a quick charge, but it’s also great because most of the time I can charge my battery to 80%.
Here’s another good review of the Fluid Horizon: Electric-scooter.guide
Swagtron Swagger Is a Surprisingly Great Mobility Assistive Device
Been a while since I have posted, but here’s a good one for you. The Swagtron Swagger. I added a foldable seat mount, extra long seat post, and a Schwinn seat. Small, light, inexpensive seated scooter for stores, sidewalks and general riding. After more than 6 months of riding this thing everywhere, I can say I LOVE IT!
So you don’t have to read to the end…
CONCLUSION: The Swagtron Swagger with a seat makes for a simple, lightweight, inexpensive, reliable mobility assistive device for stores, smooth roads and fun. I definitely recommend the Swagtron Swagger for people with balance looking for a slick, easy, inexpensive mobility solution.
THE SET-UP
I have been riding this setup for 7 months now and it is a winner. I bought the Swagger refurbished during a holiday sale. Here’s the link to the current Swagtron listing: https://swagtron.com/product/swagtron-electric-scooter-swagger-v1/ about $239 when I am writing this. (I paid much less). The big advantage of this carbon fiber scooter is it is lightweight, only about 17 lbs, and 22 lbs with the seat. I can easily pick it up and carry it onto a train or put it in a trunk.
The Lixada seat is a bolt-on solution (-$65): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076RYCVVM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Review of the seat: Meh. It works fine, it just looks clunky. If anyone or manufacturer has a better solution, I would love to hear about it.
You need an extended post (~$23): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076RYCVVM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Review of the seat post: Great. Love the markings on the back which allow me to quickly adjust centering and height every time.
And I used a Schwinn No Pressure Bicycle Seat (~$19): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DZGLVY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Review: Great. I put these on every seated scooter I can.
At those prices the full set-up runs ~$346.
THE SCOOTER: SWAGTRON SWAGGER
First of all, this is not a powerful scooter, but if you accept that, what it can do is kind of amazing!
The Swagger has 5 speeds on the LCD display, 3 is perfect for stores.
It has an LED light on the front that is BRIGHT. No horn. The LED is easy to read and simple to use. You hold the main button for 5 seconds and it turns on. When I am done I just put it away and the auto shut-off shuts it down in a few minutes. I put my handicap sticker right below it and covered the front logo with black gaffer’s tape.
It folds quickly and easily, and the folding mechanism seems strong. The battery lasts long enough for a full day of shopping, and a bit more. I keep it in my trunk and charge it every week or so, or after a long ride. There is a battery level indicator on the LCD and it gives a general idea of the state of the battery.
This scooter has small, very flat, wheels. They are great on smooth surfaces, but the flatness of the wheels makes turning somewhat exciting because the edge of the tire is not curved, so when you lean into the wheels while turning at speed… well, I would be very careful. It can slip quickly. I would not recommend going very fast on this scooter if you are inexperienced.
I have ridden this scooter on all sorts of terrain and it has surprised me how useful it has been. It can’t handle too many bumps in the road, but it is light so it is easy to pick up and carry between rough spots.
The brake is an electric brake and it is not very strong. But this scooter is so much like a kick scooter that dragging a foot is an effective enough way to slow down, I hardly ever use the brake. I would like it to be stronger if I went faster more. There is a stomp brake using the back fender, but with the seat added it is not very practical to use.
Speed? I would say 10-12 mph with my 200 lbs. Range? 2 – 4 miles in the real world, but I usually ride it in stores and I can use it several times before I recharge. I do occasionally ride it down to the train, about 1.5 miles. The scooter has a low voltage cutoff, so when it is drained it suddenly stops. You can feel the performance degrade slight right before it shuts down, so there is some warning. The good news is the scooter is so lightweight and small that you can kick it and use it like a kickscooter. There is some drag from the motor, to not enough to make it impractical.
I have done almost no maintenance. My grandkids rode it till it was dead several days in a row. They rode it down the dirt road at our family campout at the KOA. Sprayed it off and wiped it down, oiled the back wheel a little and that has been it.
BTW, my grandkids ride all my scooters and they love this one. It really is a lot more peppy with a youngster on it. Being able to set the speed of the scooter really helps with young kids that want to go too fast.
SEAT MOUNT
I knew I needed a folding mount that stuck up less than the folded height of the scooter. This Lixada one met that requirement, but it is mounted to the scooter with what essentially are two giant hose clamps. It works fine, it doesn’t look good. I didn’t want to drill holes if I could avoid it. Perhaps someone has a better solution, but I think any seat that mounts to common scooters will work for this application. I did not use the seat or the post that came with the mount because they would not go high enough.
The seat mount works well enough, but it is clunky looking. It is held in place with two giant hose clamps. 
They give you a piece of clear plastic to put between the mount and your scooter deck and I cut it to size with tin snips
I drilled two holes were I needed to make a cut for the clamp band and then sliced between them. 
I believe the holes have the added benefit of stopping the slice from continuing to crack.
Tighten up the clamps and you are ready to add the extended seat post. Here is a picture of the provided seat and seat post in the mount
This mount has held up fine and is relatively simple to operate. It would operate better if the manufacture quality were higher, the pin doesn’t move as smoothly as it could.
EXTENDED SEAT POST
To get the seat up high enough I needed a longer seat post. The UPANBIKE 450mm (17.7 in) one I bought works great, and the markings on the back make it super easily to line up perfectly every time. 
SEAT
I put the Schwinn No Pressure Seat on all my seat scooters. Enough said.
BATTERY
The battery is a 24v 3800 mAh Lithium, which gives you 91.2Wh, well within the FAA limit of 100 Wh. I haven’t tried flying with this scooter, but theoretically I might be able to. It recharges pretty quickly, under 2 hours. This is nice is I ever do run it all the way down, I can be back up and running in a short amount of time.
HOW I CAME TO THIS SET-UP
I was looking for a lightweight solution for an electric scooter that I could easily transport and use in public areas like stores. I came upon the Glion Snap ‘N Go : https://www.amazon.com/GLION-SNAPnGO-Travel-Mobility-Scooter/dp/B07CPD2HQ4. Looked great, but it is $1650 and though I contacted the company and tried to make arrangements, I could not find one to ride to evaluate. They did offer to sell me one and let me send it back if I didn’t like it, but I didn’t want to lay out $1650 to find out about a product. I started looking for other solutions.
CONCLUSION: SWAGTRON SWAGGER
The Swagtron Swagger with a seat makes for a simple, lightweight, inexpensive, reliable electric scooter for stores, smooth roads and fun.
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Relatively Inexpensive
- People react favorably to it in the real world
- Easy to maneuver
- Easy to fold
- Recharges in under two hours
- Cool carbon fiber pattern
- Airline compatible
Cons:
- Flat wheels
- Ineffective brake
- Obnoxious branding (I covered it with Gaffer’s tape)
- Seat mount is not the best (not Swagtron’s problem)
What Do You Want?
Went for a ride this past weekend. My wife is a runner so my scooter is how I am able to participate with her. She said she would like to incorporate a stop at nearby grocery as part of the run. I hopped off and grabbed a shot of my eBikeboard scooter in the isle. I love the eBikeboard because it has 3 speed settings and I can slow it down to mobility scooter speed (4 MPH) or speed it up and ride with my wife as she runs or really speed it up and run over to the store by myself.
The really unique thing about this scooter is I can ride it from the street right into the store. So important for people like me who have mobility issues. Otherwise I could ride it to the store and then what? This scooter fills the gap. If I could just find one that could run errands, cruise with someone running, ride in stores…. and would fold and fit in the trunk and was FAA approved for travel!
I do have to say after I had been in the store for a few minutes the manager came up and confronted me and told me my scooter had to go and I could lock it in his office while I was shopping. My wife wasn’t having any of that, and she emphatically told him this was my mobility device. He backed down like he had been accused of using a racial slur. He suddenly was emphatically apologizing, so much so he sounded defensive. I didn’t even have to say a word.
Since I started riding scooters I have only been confronted a few handfuls of times, and most times it has gone well. I have had a few people angrily confront me, but in life when someone starts in on me I try to take their anger as information that they are upset. I usually let them say whatever they have to say, I get it, scooters are confusing to people who don’t use them regularly. But I also know that the law is on my side, and I can ride what I need to where I need to. If I have to prove my scooter has the right classification, I can do that. If I have to prove my disability, I can do that. But I think most people realize pretty quickly that hassling someone over their ADA mobility device is not a good look.
Winter is coming this week. Scooting is going to start to get interesting again…
Mobility Takes A Seat
For me, mobility means I need to be able to sit down. Typical mobility scooters do not fit my needs in that they are heavy, slow and let’s face it, kinda ugly. I started using scooters 8 years ago and during this time I have ridden many different scooters. Every person that uses mobility assistive devices has different needs, some needs stability over everything else. But I still can walk short distances and have good balance, so I want to ride something more nimble. And I travel a lot. So I would ideally like something that was FAA friendly.
Many of my scooters hit the mark on one thing but not another. I keep trying different solutions as my budget allows.
A while ago I made a nice find in this GoPed ESR Sport. I bought if from an on-line classified ad and the person I bought it from had it under a pile of stuff in their garage. It wasn’t working but I took a chance, and when I replaced the batteries it popped back to life.
This GoPed ESR Sport is quite a peppy scooter. The tires are solid, just like on my GoPed kickscooter and there is no suspension so the ride is… let’s say it can be challenging. But the torque is amazing and the scooter really takes off and can really handle hills. The solid tires are nice for not getting flats in a hazard-filled urban riding environment, but you have to be really, really carefully hitting bumps. I would say top speed seems like around 15 MPH.
I was looking around at the scooter parts I had and found the original scooter seat post I made and shockingly the holes where in exactly the right place to mount it to my GoPed ESR Sport. I put on a seat with springs for more cushion and this is an amazing ride!
This scooter is great for running to the store and then riding through the store. It maneuvers tightly. One big drawback is it is not waterproof, so no riding in the rain. Also, it is pretty heavy. I can lift it, but it takes effort. All-in-all, this GoPed ESR Sport is a great ride, especially with the added seat. I think at some point I will try to make the seat folding.
I hope to ride and evaluate new scooters coming out. I back Eon scooter on IndieGoGo and they haven’t delivered and it doesn’t look like they will, despite their protestations. They also promised me a refund which has never happened and they don’t return my emails so… looks like I have lost all my money. It would be nice to have a scooter from a reputable company. I have noticed the Glion Snap N Go online, something like that would be nice to at least evaluate, but there is no where I know that I can go and test ride these scooters.
I will keep posting about what I ride and how it works in the hopes of passing useful information along.
Renter Scooters Change Scooter World Overnight
All of a sudden, everyone is talking about scooters. As a dedicated scooter rider for nearly a decade, it has been with mixed emotions that I have watched the world of rental scooters unfold.
I understand the appeal of these machines, and I have been very excited to see the progress in design and build in the new scooters coming out. I even backed a new scooter on IndieGoGo called the Eon (which at this point is looking like a scam and I have nothing to show for my money. Not happy with IndieGoGo or PayPal for how they handle their business, let alone Eon, but just let me say I would be VERY skeptical about spending money with IndieGoGo and WOULD NOT use PayPal and absolutely would use my credit card. More about this on another post.)
Lime and Bird scooters have appeared in the downtown area of the city where I live, but I have not yet taken the opportunity to ride either to evaluate them, maybe because I already have my own scooter to ride. I have seen many people riding them, and they seem to be really enjoying themselves.
The problem for me with the new popularity of rental scooters is the problems arising from the users of the new rental scooters. People with zero riding experience can easily rent one and hop on, and suddenly they are learning how to ride in a very challenging environment. After they ride them they leave them…wherever. By now most people have heard the about the issues, and much contention has arisen.
For someone who depends on scooters for mobility, I am cautiously optimistic about the future of rental scooters and scooter use in public places. I think there should be designated drop-off areas so they don’t end up everywhere. I think people should take care when riding, and not just grab one on a lark and carry their shopping bags as they try to navigate people and the skills required to ride.
The argument against these scooters because hospital visits are going up is a canard. Use has shot up, injuries have shot up. Duh. I never understand the “THIS IS DANGEROUS!” argument people take up when then don’t want something for whatever reason. Everything we do includes an element of risk, but that’s life. How about my motorcycle, you want that? Plenty of danger there. Maybe my baseball which has caused me pain, or maybe the knives in my kitchen that I have cut myself with? What about the over 250 people that have died taking selfies?
People do stupid things, and one of the stupidest is being surprised when people do stupid things. Stupidity is not an argument against efficacy. So people do stupid things with scooters too, what’s new?
I hope that I do not incur additional prejudice from people because of the new popularity of rental scooters. I need my scooters to navigate life, they are not a lark for me. We will see what the eventual outcome is, and if people hassle me I am already used to it so whatever, but I am glad that people are starting to understand the value scooters can provide society. Just like anything else, we need to use our powers wisely.