What is the best personal electric transportation?

Supermanmustdie said:
Electric Scooter https://smoovscooter.com, Electric Unicycle http://www.airwheel.net/home/product/x3, and Electric Longboard (homemade), which one would be the best for day-to-day commute?
Scooter will get you there faster/safer/more reliably. Longboard will be more fun. Which of those is most important?

In your jurisdiction, are scooters legal on the sidewalk? How about longboards?
 
That's a fair distance to be standing the whole time. I know it wasn't one of your choices, but I'd strongly recommend a bike. The other stuff will be cool for a while, but I think you'll get tired of cool and want comfort/safety sooner than you think.

For example, none of those things can stop as quickly as a bike.
 
dustNbone said:
That's a fair distance to be standing the whole time. I know it wasn't one of your choices, but I'd strongly recommend a bike. The other stuff will be cool for a while, but I think you'll get tired of cool and want comfort/safety sooner than you think.

For example, none of those things can stop as quickly as a bike.

Looking for something portable that i can carry into the office and hide under my desk
 
billvon said:
Supermanmustdie said:
Electric Scooter https://smoovscooter.com, Electric Unicycle http://www.airwheel.net/home/product/x3, and Electric Longboard (homemade), which one would be the best for day-to-day commute?
Scooter will get you there faster/safer/more reliably. Longboard will be more fun. Which of those is most important?

In your jurisdiction, are scooters legal on the sidewalk? How about longboards?

My friend has been riding the electric scooter (Smoov) for some time. He didn't have any issue with the police. Might be still a gray area
 
Supermanmustdie said:
My friend has been riding the electric scooter (Smoov) for some time. He didn't have any issue with the police.
That means less than nothing.

If you are going to rely on it to get to work, find out if it's legal in your area.
 
20 km is quite a commute. With 18 km/h max speed the airwheel is too slow. The scooter and the skateboard may have range issues and problems with moisture. How is the weather where you live? And what is the bike path and the sidewalk like? The scooter and skateboard require a good quality surface otherwise 20 km can be quite long. I would think that something slightly more beefy would be more adequate for that kind of distance.
 
Just an idea for you-

Something that might be fun to ride 20 km might be one of the Razor Ecosmart scooter bikes, they look like a fun ride, yank the heavy SLA batteries and put a decent 36v lithium ion battery in there, would lighten it up a whole lot and give good range with a battery with a decent amount of amp hours. Personally if I'm going to ride any distance on a scooter I'd prefer pneumatic tires of a decent size, they're safer, I always feel like on small wheeled scooters if I run over a cigarette butt I'm going to fly over the bars.

You can pick up Currie Flyers and scooters like that used on the cheap, mod them and those are pretty fun rides.
 
Spend a bit more, get a proper electric unicycle, they're without doubt in my mind the greatest last mile personal transport solution there is atm and superb fun. I've had one for about 6 months now. Have put more miles on it than the previous 2 years on my ebikes - mainly because I can ride this places I actually want to go and take it with me. I can't ride my ebike most places because as soon as I lock and leave it, there's a good chance it'll get nicked. This thing, firstly, its just a hoot (I have an inmotion V8) and was a challenge to learn, but its just plain more fun than my ebikes are.

Slow speed control is awesome, can ride in heavy food traffic and manoeuvre safely around people.
Can do things while you ride because both hands are free.
Can be as much effort as you want or easy to ride (just head offroad if you want a workout).
I'm totally converted. I only wish I could get my wife to learn to ride one too :)
They're genuinely a good usable transport option, fun, secure, actually pretty safe. Fast and manoeuvrable with a great range.
 
For that kind of distance and road, it might really be better to get a small wheel ebike.

if money is not a problem, there's the brompton electric. 16 inches wheels and the smallest fold with a lot of cool accessories to make your life easier. Not lightweight though, but it rolls when folded like a shopping cart.

theres several variations on folding electric bicycles with small folds that would fit underneath an office desk.

If a bike is too boring get the bigger scooter you can.

I would recommend my own project, but its in crowdfunding stage. http://www.thundrblade.com
My eskate has only 10km range although it has swappable batteries you will only receive yours next year probably considering the crowdfunding is going live in APril 2018.
But it´s probably the smallest solution there is, and for me its the most fun without a doubt.
 
I do the same distance commute each day, and I wouldn't consider any of the options listed as viable. Sidewalks are about the worst and least safe place to ride. A full suspension ebike or a full blow escooter will make for a very pleasant commute, especially if traffic is bad.

BTW, why must Superman die?
 
The best is whatever you're comfortable with. That's going to be hard to do in a pick it up and take it inside package. I got started with little Currie scooters I could take in my car to park 3 miles away and get where I'm going the same day. They were too slow even for that, but never offered much for a distance such as 20km. I knew a woman in her 30's who had no trouble covering a mile or two on an unpowered skateboard; you won't see much of THAT. Have you a real idea of what you'd be comfortable on for the distance?

(Oh, mentioning no trouble with police is a VERY GOOD observation, don't listen to the goof.)

Meanwhile, you would find it far easier to carry an ordinary 20" kids bike into work than something like the XGames bike. Someone has a thread here with an electric version of it. Not such a comfortable bike even with suspension. https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=82574&p=1364422#p1364422 A larger mountain bike might be easier to bring inside than a fatbike, but maybe not so comfortable at any speed suitable for the distance you want to cover.

I don't think you'll wind up with the 'Best' considering your parameters.

John in CR said:
BTW, why must Superman die?

Goodie, a great philosophical question.

So in 1992 Bill Clinton ran for president saying he was against a Republican Party that said our best years were behind us and that HE would bring back Superman. In 2016 it was Donald Trump saying he was against a Democratic Party that was saying our best years BELONGED behind us and that HE would bring back Superman. No sign of Superman just yet, but maybe the third time will be the charm, eh?

When the latest 'Star Wars' film was reviewed, some referred to Luke Skywalker's reclusiveness and abandonment of the Jedi way as his way of saying 'The Old Gods are Dead.' So was the girl trying to bring them back or defeat them? (One reason that film wasn't good was that was unclear.)

There is no reason Superman must die, it's just what the snowflakes of the left want. Marvel comics has turned many of their heroes evil, for christsakes. Normally the fictional dilemma of the worshipers of those Old Gods is portrayed sympathetically; It is an insight to the hard heartedness of the current left that they revel in what suffering they can create by, oh, KILLING SUPERMAN.

But if you've kept up with his adventures over the years, you already know that Superman never really dies. . . .

"Tell the king; the fair wrought house has fallen
No shelter has Apollo, nor sacred laurel leaves
The fountains are now silent; the voice is stilled. . . .

The last Oracle of Delphi to a representative of the Emperor Theodosius
 
i got an etwow scooter 3 years ago. still working great! except the batteries need to be replaced now.
if you want fast and safe, the scooter is the way to go. it can fold to be tucked under your desk easily.
if you want fun, an OneWheel is awesome! a Meepo electric skateboard is priced more reasonable and still fun. i woudnnt bother with an Airwheel.
 
Alan B said:
Xootr Swift folding bicycle. Add small hubmotor or mid-drive. Serious transportation, folds to smaller size. Avoid pseudo-transportation toys.

No kidding. The OP's set of options ignores the only proven solution for the application, a bicycle. Add a propeller hat if you just have to be quirky-- vehicles get to be quirky because they don't work well.

That includes folding bikes. Use a real bike if there's nothing to prohibit it.
 
I just took a look at the Xootr Swift folding bicycle and its quirky.
If I were to go the folding bike route, I'd purchase the Montague Paratrooper
because dont you know its "Military Grade" :wink: :lol:
 
I chose the Xootr Swift because it is stiff, light, sturdy and takes standard bicycle parts. It's the only folding bike I've studied that serious cyclists talk about riding and keeping up with road bikes. And it can be packed quite small. The Montague Paratrooper is a good bike, and it folds, it's just not very small.

Not to say the Swift is the only or best choice, it is just a good example of something that works.

But whatever you choose, a folding bike is a great tool for the job.

There are some bad ones, however. The worst ones break at the most damaging moments. They are often heavy and frequently built with nonstandard parts. The folding mechanisms may be less than stellar. Ebike service is hard service, you need something that will hold up.

So choose well.

I also find that a small electric car is excellent personal transportation, especially when purchased after someone else paid the lease for a few years. Some of the used electric cars are downright cheap, and still have a lot of service left. I like my ebikes, but on those dark wet icy nights the ecar still generates that good warm feeling that somehow doesn't happen on the e-motorized skateboard. Maybe it is the heated seats and steering wheel or the reverse cycle of the A/C heat pump efficiently heating the carbon filtered interior air, but whatever the source, it works. :)
 
The Swift Folder is one of the best folding bike designs. It has the substantial compromises it must have, but not unnecessary ones. I forgot that Xootr produced it under license.
 
For 20km you really want a bike.

In a shared space/sidewalk scenario your speeds are limited on small wheel devices (and laws if you care about such things). Realistically you're going to struggle to do that 20km in <1 hour on a smoov or similar. Most longboards will have greater speed potential, but 20km is pushing the range on almost all commercially offered boards and is actually quite exhausting over that sort of duration, twice a day.

Unless you have zero options for storing the bike, it's going to be a safer, swifter, saner method to getting to work every day. Something that ends up taking 70 minutes is likely to remain in the corner gathering dust.
 
Ohbse said:
Something that ends up taking 70 minutes is likely to remain in the corner gathering dust.

I hate to join the party pooper crowd, but feel this is the most valid point. I spent 6 months commuting exclusively by board in Dublin, and I am very glad I did, but there were certainly times I either didn't go, caught the bus, or ended up carrying the board. It was a 30-35 minute trip each way and sometimes you don't have the effort (or be bothered) to pay the attention you need to on a longboard. Sure, you learn the path and know where the trouble sections are, but a stick or rock on the road can easily spoil your day if you are not concentrating. Don't get me wrong, I was dedicated, skating in snow, hail and constant rain, but sometimes it wasn't worth it.

If you go a scooter I would say a minimum of 200mm inflatable tyres, and maybe one of those ones with a seat option...

20km on a bike is a pretty cruisy distance that allows your mind to wander when you are tired or cold, and well within battery range even with soft fat tyres.
 
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