( off topic ) what do you think about electric scooters ?

Are there any you would consider buying at all , and has any one tried any of them ?

I cant really find that much info on them anywhere hence why I wondered if any one had experince with them here.

thanks

matt

They seem to fall into two groups Tepol

The bulk are lead acid battery bikes, very heavy with poor range and the usual Chinese less than perfect build quality.

And then there's the desirable Vectrix.

I wouldn't even bother to try the first group, but would be happy with the second at a reasonable price, but £7000? I'd have to think very hard before paying that for a moped.

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The Vectrix is without doubt the dog's whatsits in electric scooters and I do believe they are £1000 off at the moment from Electric Bike Sales - Home

If the range was say 100 miles instead of 70 odd, I would definitely have one for commuting.

J:) hn

The Vectrix is without doubt the dog's whatsits in electric scooters and I do believe they are £1000 off at the moment from Electric Bike Sales - Home

If the range was say 100 miles instead of 70 odd, I would definitely have one for commuting.

 

J:) hn

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estimated battery life of 50000 miles based on 5000 per year so 10 year life.and recharge in just 2 hours is great ...is that guarennteed anywhere, i have not read the small print ?

if it was then price is good

I believe that there have been some teething troubles with the Vectrix, but it is a brave attempt to get something to market that could meet the needs of a lot of people.

The price is the real stumbling block, as it's competing head-to-head with cheap Chinese ICE powered scooters, that are awful lot cheaper.

As someone who's part way through the build of an electric moped, albeit based on a Yamaha RD50MX motorcycle style machine rather than a scooter, I can definitely see the attraction. I'm hoping that my converted moped will meet the majority of my local travel requirements, so eliminating probably 50% or more of my car use.

What bothers me is that potential customers seem to be hung up over range and speed, often having quite unrealistic views of what they really need. I've had several friends comment that my target range of around 25 to 30 miles, and top speed of around 40mph (don't tell DVLA/DfT etc!) is way too low. When challenged about their daily journeys, most have reluctantly admitted that they don't need more performance than this. I think this is one of the hurdles that electric vehicles still have to overcome, as the "milk float" image is still a very strong demotivator in the minds of a lot of people.

Jeremy

I very seriously considered the Vectrix, but like many others found the price for what it is prohibitive, hence I bought the Torq.

The Suzuki Crosscage is one I am watching very closely indeed. I would be willing to subsidise the future of this really exciting technology if it came on the market at around 10k.

Interesting Django, I'd like to know the detailed construction, capacity, storage pressure and safety measures of the hydrogen tank on that.

Probably closely guarded secrets in part though.

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Electric scooters

The Vectrix looks and goes impressively, having seen "one in the flesh"

Do bear in mind Tepol, that it very much depends on the journeys you have to do. My electric Bike can save a lot of road mileage by cutting across cycle routes, back alleys etc which you would not be able to take the Vectrix upon. It also brings you much more into competition with the car for road space and you may end up on the dangerous task of passing queues of cars on the outside rather than the inside. Consider with care!

They seem to fall into two groups Tepol

 

The bulk are lead acid battery bikes, very heavy with poor range and the usual Chinese less than perfect build quality.

 

And then there's the desirable Vectrix.

 

I wouldn't even bother to try the first group, but would be happy with the second at a reasonable price, but £7000? I'd have to think very hard before paying that for a moped.

.

Sigh - yes I dont have that sort of money right now for it.

Here are some of the ones I've been looking at but as you say probably too heavy .

Project-Sakura

Powascooter :: Powascooter 168

Baroni EV | Electric Scooters

Given the huge price difference, the Sakura would seem to be a more sensible buy than the Baroni if it's indicated 20 mile range in the 30 mph mode is sufficient. I don't think the low speed mode would be viable on our roads in town with impatient car drivers wanting to push past.

I think the Baroni's indicated up to 55 mile range is very optimistic though.

Not impressed with the Powerscoot with all it's gimmicky cheap chrome plate.

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Given the huge price difference, the Sakura would seem to be a more sensible buy than the Baroni if it's indicated 20 mile range in the 30 mph mode is sufficient. I don't think the low speed mode would be viable on our roads in town with impatient car drivers wanting to push past.

 

I think the Baroni's indicated up to 55 mile range is very optimistic though.

 

Not impressed with the Powerscoot with all it's gimmicky cheap chrome plate.

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My sentiments exactly - alsoe the s50 has regen braking .

8 hrs recharge isnt so great but for that you get possible 40 miles as opposed to quicker recharge for less

Interesting Django, I'd like to know the detailed construction, capacity, storage pressure and safety measures of the hydrogen tank on that.

 

Probably closely guarded secrets in part though.

.

Off topic a bit,

One of the news stations here was showing several stories of people around the states who have turned their car into an electric vehicle, quite successfully I might add, at least for typical urban driving.

It's further convinced me that major auto makers were just not interested in electric vehicles because it would be too hard to control the market. Now these hydrogen vehicles, no average person can manufacture it in their garage.

It sort of makes me mad though, if true.

A quick read of one of the more heavily used electric vehicle forums, such as the EV Discussion List, or the DIY Electric Car Forum (DIY Electric Car Forums - Electric Vehicle Build and Conversion Community) shows that there are increasing numbers of people building home-made electric vehicles.

It's still seems to be very much a minority interest, but has grown to the point where there are several specialist vendors who can supply all of the conversion parts needed. I found it very easy to buy the motor, sprockets, controller, contactor etc for my electric motorcycle project.

A Google on DIY EV throws up thousands of relevant hits, which is also a good indication that these things are getting more popular in the DIY area.

The real problem is that main stream manufacturers are, quite reasonably, unwilling to invest in producing a product with limited range and performance, particularly as they know full well that it will take years for the public to realise the acceptability of such vehicles for local journeys.

I don't believe in some of the conspiracy theories banded about, but can see that plain business sense would make car makers stick with technology that delivers what the consumer thinks they need.

Jeremy

Since the ridiculous hikes of the fuel prices I have taken a small interest in electric scooters but I can't see them being any good to us here in hilly North Cornwall. I would need a lot of convincing to buy an electric scooter.

That said I do like this one

RusTeK

Here's some more I found.

Ecomoped™ electric moped / scooter specifications

u r b a n m o v e r

Of course one could always upgrade the batteries

Lifepo4 Electric Scooter Bike Motorcycle Batteries Manufacturer exporting direct from China

By the way I think I read somewhere that e-max has gone to the wall.

Unfortunately, I think a petrol bike has the edge down here among the Cornish hills and this one seems a very good price

125cc Moped - Direct Bikes Mopeds

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A quick read of one of the more heavily used electric vehicle forums, such as the EV Discussion List, or the DIY Electric Car Forum (DIY Electric Car Forums - Electric Vehicle Build and Conversion Community) shows that there are increasing numbers of people building home-made electric vehicles.

Jeremy

I don't know if anyone saw this article, which was a great example of someone actually getting an electric conversion on the road. It's in Gaza - where doing this must be incredibly difficult, but necessity is clearly the mother of invention.

Gaza 'genius' helps besieged city survive a year of Israel's blockade - Middle East, World - The Independent