they always want to sell me something rather huge and heavy
Can you give us an idea of what you believe is huge and heavy? I ask this because the models that many of us might suggest (i.e. Ninebot Max), could be seen as too big and heavy (40+ lbs), despite being a relatively small e-scooter.
For a distance that short, has she considered a bike (even a folding bike)? Most buses can carry them up front, and folding bikes can be taken aboard most public transportation. Bikes are also nearly half the weight of a smaller e-scooter.
Another question is do you have rentable e-scooters/e-bikes in your city/town? That might be something to consider as well.
For an e-scooter, you’d need to make sure they are permitted on the campus, as not all will allow them.
Can you give us an idea of what you believe is huge and heavy? I ask this because the models that many of us might suggest (i.e. Ninebot Max), could be seen as too big and heavy (40+ lbs), despite being a relatively small e-scooter.
Well my thought is she’s not huge. Like maybe 100 lbs-ish? A 40 lbs scooter that weighs nearly half as much as her is kind of a big ask? I could somehow not get that through to people I approached about this.
Perhaps the problem is I’ve never as yet managed to go into a store together with her, as she lives in a different city. But I wanted to pre-research this a bit before I find a dealer in said city.
For a distance that short, has she considered a bike (even a folding bike)? Most buses can carry them up front, and folding bikes can be taken aboard most public transportation. Bikes are also nearly half the weight of a smaller e-scooter.
She is presently dead-set against bikes (be it electric or traditional). I’m a big ebike guy so I don’t know what her problem is, but there you have it.
Another question is do you have rentable e-scooters/e-bikes in your city/town? That might be something to consider as well.
Alas, no.
For an e-scooter, you’d need to make sure they are permitted on the campus, as not all will allow them.
That’s actually a very good question! I will investigate.
Looks like the college allows scooters. There are guidelines regarding storage and not performing stunts (probably directed more towards the skateboarding crowd?) but they’re cool otherwise.
Keep in mind that even the lightest weight e-scooters on the list are 25lbs+
I personally wouldn’t go too light, since it compromises a lot in terms of stability, durability, range, etc.
If she plans to only use it around campus, then that might be fine, but nobody I know who rides an e-scooter stops at what their original intended purpose was :)
I think there would be a big difference between 25 and 40 lbs. I myself am a 6’2 dude with a dad bod so bigger would no doubt be better. But I can’t buy the idea that there is some kind of one-size-fits-all model everyone should ride?
One question. At 25 lbs it does not sound like it would be infeasible to ride even without the motor should the battery die? Should that be possible? Like do escooters work ok as push scooters in a pinch?
One question. At 25 lbs it does not sound like it would be infeasible to ride even without the motor should the battery die? Should that be possible? Like do escooters work ok as push scooters in a pinch?
In my experience, you can’t kick scoot a dead escooter, unfortunately. The motor creates resistance and won’t roll. You’d have to push it, but for the ranges she needs, I doubt this would come up.
Interesting. So they differ from ebikes in that respect. Otoh I’ve read escooters often do regenerative breaking, while that’s not common on ebikes.
There are a couple of others things I’m wondering about, like what charging times are like? If say your battery got mostly drained riding to a workplace, could you leave it on a charger there and reasonably expect it to be topped off by the time you leave?
The other thing is how do you lock up an escooter? Do you use a regular bike lock somehow? I know these are such noob questions! lol
On the security front, I think it likely that my daughter would be able to store the scooter at an indoor location which should be relatively secure, though she would not be able to keep an eye on it at all times?
Perhaps she could store it in a locker, which would again make smaller size an asset. I’ve been researching a number of models and what I’ve determined so far is that features like keyed ignition are not common? That’s a shame given what you said about how escooters are fairly unusable without the motor.
There are apparently some disc locks you can buy that are specifically oriented towards scooters and would serve essentially the same purpose, which is to say discouraging a bad actor from the temptation of simply hopping on and riding off. They may even make an alarm sound if the scooter is moved.
Something like a U-lock would be more protection, but assumes you have something to lock it to, which may or may not be the case indoors?
Another option might be to detach the battery and carry it around on your person, but I’m not sure how heavy/awkward those things are? My ebike battery’s actually not too bad. Were I a student, I could see myself shoving it into a backpack or whatever.
Perhaps she could store it in a locker, which would again make smaller size an asset.
A locker would be great, if it fits! Again, just make sure it’s permitted to store indoors - some places ban them because of fire risks.
I’ve been researching a number of models and what I’ve determined so far is that features like keyed ignition are not common? That’s a shame given what you said about how escooters are fairly unusable without the motor.
Yeah, not common at all, and some higher end models have NFC or some other form of unlocking the scooter.
One of mine has a keyed ignition and it works well.
There are apparently some disc locks you can buy that are specifically oriented towards scooters and would serve essentially the same purpose, which is to say discouraging a bad actor from the temptation of simply hopping on and riding off. They may even make an alarm sound if the scooter is moved.
Yup! I’ve got a few. LOL
As long as the lock fits the holes in your particular brake disc, that is another option. I also have an alarm on mine, since I don’t tend to use the disc lock very often (I worry about bending the disc).
Something like a U-lock would be more protection, but assumes you have something to lock it to, which may or may not be the case indoors?
Correct. If kept indoors, there needs to be a way to secure it if you aren’t close by 100% of the time.
Another option might be to detach the battery and carry it around on your person, but I’m not sure how heavy/awkward those things are? My ebike battery’s actually not too bad. Were I a student, I could see myself shoving it into a backpack or whatever.
If you get a model with a removable battery, then that’s a good option, too. Smaller e-scooters shouldn’t have very heavy batteries. Granted, a motivated thief may still try to kick scoot away… but they won’t get too far. LOL
She’s in a veterinary program so it’s not your usual lecture hall type situation where she could presumably carry it around and lean it on the seat next to her. Much more hands on lab work and stuff. Otoh I’ve been there a couple of times and it seems very close-knit with profs and students alike on a first name basis, so theft may not be a huge issue? Also, the vet school has its own building that’s far away from the rest of the campus, so no one else goes there. Including, alas, the bus, which is where the scooter comes in :)
I have one. I got the V2 52V Hydraulic and upgraded to V3.
Love it.
Speed is amazing (71kph), it can climb anything I've tried and does a decent job offroad. Range is around 60KM while in LUDO mode and the regen throttle is so good, I hardly use the mechanical brakes.
Awesome, thanks! Yeah I was mostly interested in range, speed, and reliability. Sounds like this ticks most of the boxes I'm interested in. Have you had any reliability issues? And if you've dealt with Apollo support, how was the experience?
Zero issues at all. I contacted support for an issue with a cracked bearing (which I did when I tried to hop a curb too fast) and they said bearings weren't covered so I paid out of pocket to fix it. Cheap and easy. Highly recommend the Phantom.
My friend has an Apollo Ghost, which is similar from what I understand, just one tier down. He literally got it delivered three days ago and is still in the process of evaluating it. So far though, he loves it. The suspension is great, and range and speed are good. Seems well built.
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