Any electric scooter advice?

[Farrar]

I'm basically giving up on a) trying to talk my kid into learning to drive, b) the H4 as a reliable bus route post-pandemic, and c) trying to talk my kid into biking.

So... with that in mind, anyone have extensive experience with the scooter market? His commute is only 2.5 miles. There is a hill. Down to the creek and then back up again. So it's uphill both ways (and downhill both ways). There is a bike lane for the steepest part of the hill section. It's neighborhood (city, super urban, but neighborhood) roads for the rest of the way on both ends. He seems to actually like taking a scooter home. It's cheaper than Lyft/Uber. But not by a ton. 

I was looking at a Go Trax Elite as a Christmas gift, which seems to get good marks as a good budget scooter. But... will it last? Will it pay for itself? Anyone have any thoughts about other products and options? 

My math thinking is that right now the Go Trax is $400. Kid goes back and forth every day. Obviously sometimes I do drive him. But beyond that, if a street scooter is about $5 to get home, that's 80 rides, 40 days of class, or generously if you add in the times we drive him, about 2-3 months of class before it pays for itself. So... I'm thinking yes. We should get it as a Christmas gift. But... I'm torn.

[Slache]

I've had electric and there were multiple times it couldn't make the hill. I replaced it with a gas and never had that problem again. I don't remember the brand, but it was $250.

[Farrar]

I think we're talking about different types of scooters. I don't think they make gas powered little stand scooters, do they?

[Farrar]

I'll add... the Lyft and Bird scooters clearly take the hill just fine. So it's totally possible for an electric scooter to do okay with it. It's just... will this one? Do I need a different one for that to be true?

[Miss Tick]

Have you looked at remote control skateboards, too? It looks like those can be a little cheaper (presumably quality/reliability goes down with cost), but might be easier to manage and store at either end.

The coolest kids ride those single wheel scooters wearing full helmets and road rash suits. Makes my mom-heart quake. Too fast! Not enough lighting at night!

I don't personally know anyone with one of these powered devices, although I would love to try them out!! My minivan automatically knocks me out of all those crowds. 😄

[Farrar]

Around here, the single wheeled things seem popular with 30 year old guys. 

Same with the skateboards, honestly.

I looked it up and I guess there are gas powered ones... but I think I'd much rather get him a regular electric one. I had no idea.

[gingersmom]

Snow? Bad weather?
 

Where will he leave it while in class?

[theelfqueen]

I cant tell you exactly  what you're asking - we have a pair of Swagger 5 scooters (remember when I broke my face?) ...I know what you're looking for is higher power than those because a big hill would be a challenge on ours so you could look at the stats and compare. 

For a couple of months - DS was riding his between flying lessons and the museum where we work - about a mile each way. They have a lock like a bike lock. He wasn't allowed to bring it onto the ramp to store it on the hangar but it was okay. He locked it to the fence and tossed his helmet in his instructor's office. 

Edited November 8, 2021 by theelfqueen

[Slache]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

I think we're talking about different types of scooters. I don't think they make gas powered little stand scooters, do they?

Yes. https://www.amazon.com/TOXOZERS-Scooter-Outdoor-Powered-Scooters/dp/B096M9LJ1V/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?crid=1BOXU7JFU8HUM&keywords=gas+scooter&qid=1636338178&sprefix=gas+scoo&sr=8-11

I like gas over electric for several reasons. They're easier to fix and have less problems. It's easy to see how much power you have and you KNOW you're right. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't get an electric, because I'm no expert, but this is my experience. I've had two electric, one gas, and finally a moped.

[Slache]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

I'll add... the Lyft and Bird scooters clearly take the hill just fine for now, but they won't in a year.

FTFY!

[Plagefille]

My DH has been using a Go Trax scooter for a few months now and LOVES it. We spent about $400, but I think it was a slightly different one than the one you said. He does go uphill to work and it does fine. He works about a mile away. I think there is a big difference in electric scooters out there. Commuter scooters and cheaper play scooters are very different. I will say that we live in the desert southwest, no snow and rarely rain, so weather is not really a factor here.

[Harriet Vane]

I cannot really comment much on the specs, but just wanted to applaud the gift itself. A moped was an incredible boon for a friend of mine back in college. I think scooters, mopeds, bikes, skateboards--all that jazz--are fantastic options for getting about. (Though my hands-down favorite option might be a tuktuk, but I digress.🤣)

Just be sure to insist on and purchase a really great helmet as well. 

[Farrar]

I’m not worried about snow or bad weather. I’d have to drive him or let him get a Lyft then regardless. It’s easy to lock it up - there are bike racks. It folds up, which is actually a benefit vs a bike - much easier for getting in the car or riding the bus one way.

[Farrar]

10 hours ago, Plagefille said:

My DH has been using a Go Trax scooter for a few months now and LOVES it. We spent about $400, but I think it was a slightly different one than the one you said. He does go uphill to work and it does fine. He works about a mile away. I think there is a big difference in electric scooters out there. Commuter scooters and cheaper play scooters are very different. I will say that we live in the desert southwest, no snow and rarely rain, so weather is not really a factor here.

Ooh. Great. This one says it’s a commuter specific one. The hill isn’t too steep. It’s just the whole neighborhood slopes down toward a creek then back up on the other side. 

[Miss Tick]

A high school kid passed me going down hill this morning. He was on one of those knee-bar scooters. Thinking of you I yelled, "hey, how does that thing do on hills."

Clearly side eyeing me, "It goes up"

Sooo, not super helpful, and he sped off before I could ask some follow up questions, like how long have you owned that, how long does the battery last on a charge, how heavy is it....

Perhaps every Monday I will be able to advance one more query down my list.

[Farrar]

Well, I'm scared enough about holiday pricing and supply chains that I went ahead and bit the bullet. This can be his big Christmas gift.

The problem is that - no joke - this is the second time in a row that I have something big for him and nothing for his twin. Hopefully the twin will be happy with being gifted a college education. In the meantime, I'll need to figure out something better than the pair of new cool shoes I ordered for him to be under the tree.

[Harriet Vane]

Can twin have a scooter too?

[Slache]

He needs a scooter!

[Miss Tick]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

The problem is that - no joke - this is the second time in a row that I have something big for him and nothing for his twin. Hopefully the twin will be happy with being gifted a college education.

Well, for about the same $400 you could buy him a pizza a week for a semester of college. Or you could give an assorted box of food-related gift cards of different types. 

[Farrar]

The problem is that we still have no idea where he's going to college. He applied to TEN schools. They're all over the country. I know he's going to need all kinds of nice things, but I feel like we have to wait to know!

I got BalletBoy a refurbed Apple Watch for his birthday - it's to help monitor a minor heart issue he has and also just to be a fun gadget he wanted. I got Mushroom a really nice gaming mouse. So I spent about 1/3 on him. The same may happen again at Christmas. But then presumably in the summer and fall, before he goes to college and just after, we'll end up buying all kinds of things. Maybe even a scooter. And hopefully it'll even out.

[Harriet Vane]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

The problem is that we still have no idea where he's going to college. He applied to TEN schools. They're all over the country. I know he's going to need all kinds of nice things, but I feel like we have to wait to know!

I got BalletBoy a refurbed Apple Watch for his birthday - it's to help monitor a minor heart issue he has and also just to be a fun gadget he wanted. I got Mushroom a really nice gaming mouse. So I spent about 1/3 on him. The same may happen again at Christmas. But then presumably in the summer and fall, before he goes to college and just after, we'll end up buying all kinds of things. Maybe even a scooter. And hopefully it'll even out.

Makes sense. And it's perfectly fine to explain that to him as well if you think he needs to hear it. 

[MEmama]

I went walking in the woods in my neighborhood this afternoon and saw a guy on an electric scooter easily navigating the rocky, rooty, hilly trail. I only noticed because of this thread and figured I’d ask about it. Dude said that it’s the best investment he’s ever made. It was a Ninebot—very sharp looking, fwiw. 
 

Idk if that’s helpful but if it can make it up mountain bike trails I’d imagine it can handle varied urban landscapes. It looks like there is a foldable version online. 
 

 

[Miss Tick]

11 minutes ago, MEmama said:

I went walking in the woods in my neighborhood this afternoon and saw a guy on an electric scooter easily navigating the rocky, rooty, hilly trail. I only noticed because of this thread and figured I’d ask about it. Dude said that it’s the best investment he’s ever made. It was a Ninebot—very sharp looking, fwiw. 
 

Idk if that’s helpful but if it can make it up mountain bike trails I’d imagine it can handle varied urban landscapes. It looks like there is a foldable version online. 
 

 

Why do you think he was riding it on a mountain bike trail??? Google says it costs $500+, I'm thinking I would be carrying IT if we were going off road!

 

[MEmama]

21 minutes ago, SusanC said:

Why do you think he was riding it on a mountain bike trail??? Google says it costs $500+, I'm thinking I would be carrying IT if we were going off road!

 

Why not? He was going somewhere? 

Many mountain bikes cost a whole lot more. Lol

[Plagefille]

7 hours ago, Farrar said:

Ooh. Great. This one says it’s a commuter specific one. The hill isn’t too steep. It’s just the whole neighborhood slopes down toward a creek then back up on the other side. 

I looked up the one we bought. It is the GoTrax G3 commuting electric scooter. We bought it on Walmart and it is on sale right now for $100 less than we paid. 

We bought the scooter for DH so my DD16 could use the car to go to dance on the other side of town. My DH likes the scooter so much that he even takes it on days when my DD doesn't need the car.

[Miss Tick]

2 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Why not? He was going somewhere? 

Many mountain bikes cost a whole lot more. Lol

So the trail connected two desirable places? It wasn't just a loop in the wilderness? I could see that. Where I live the mountain bike trails are their own destination, not a shortcut to somewhere else.

Ye-es, but mountain bikes are built for that purpose.

[MEmama]

4 minutes ago, SusanC said:

So the trail connected two desirable places? It wasn't just a loop in the wilderness? I could see that. Where I live the mountain bike trails are their own destination, not a shortcut to somewhere else.

Ye-es, but mountain bikes are built for that purpose.

Yeah, they connect various neighborhoods and a campus. In winter they are used for skiing and snowshoeing. 
 

[Miss Tick]

6 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Yeah, they connect various neighborhoods and a campus. In winter they are used for skiing and snowshoeing. 
 

Thanks, that settles my mind. I was picturing the equivalent of sea kayaking with an outboard, or a geared-up rock climber riding an elevator up a cliff face. Thanks to glacial action in the last ice age, the local mountain bike trails are mostly isolated. 😄

[Hilltopmom]

Oh my gosh- I think my non driving kid needs one of these too! She doesn’t want a bike but maybe a scooter would be more tempting!

[Alicia64]

22 hours ago, Farrar said:

Well, I'm scared enough about holiday pricing and supply chains that I went ahead and bit the bullet. This can be his big Christmas gift.

The problem is that - no joke - this is the second time in a row that I have something big for him and nothing for his twin. Hopefully the twin will be happy with being gifted a college education. In the meantime, I'll need to figure out something better than the pair of new cool shoes I ordered for him to be under the tree.

As a mother of twins, I can attest this is a real thing.

[Farrar]

He said he wanted to go to an EDM concert downtown in February, so now at least I know what to get the other kid. Tickets. I'll save the "stuff" for before he goes to college. And then I can feel guilty about not having much for BalletBoy instead!