thinking about buying a scooter need advice

ok so i have the chance to snag a razor ecosmart scooter new in the box from fingerhut for about 46$ a month. but having never owned a scooter before i have a few questions

#1 for the price do you think this is a good scooter
#2 if the max rated range for this scooter is around 7-10 miles how do i determine how far i can go on a full charge i.e. if my route is say 11 min (5.4 mi) each way how would i know or be able to figure out if it will make the trip on a single charge

if i wanna ride the scooter to a location how do i determine if i can get to the location and back home without the battery dying on me cant always charge the batteries when out and about

lastly what else should i know about this scooter are there any good upgrades for it

my misses is concerned that i might get hurt riding this thing so shes on the fence about my buying it

https://www.razor.com/products/electric-scooters/ecosmart-metro-electric-scooter/

Seems a little expensive for what it is. Not dollars-wise, as most of that cost is the battery. But value-wise it could be better. The motor hanging off the side looks a little low-rent, but it may well do the trick.

MY first experience riding w/assist was w/a "tiny" batt as 2x12V 24V 10Ah SLA batts. So got to be an "expert" on NOT "wasting juice"... Pedaled from stops... up hills... crouching down to be more aerodynamic... routes with smooth, flat pavements... back in those daze always carried a small, pocket-sized charger with me also... And of course could always pedal when "stuff went wrong"...

AND BTW... My scooter didn't have pedals really... It was a standup that I could kick:


EcoSmart Metro Electric Scooter?:
https://www.razor.com/products/electric-scooters/ecosmart-metro-electric-scooter/



First thing I'd do probably is ditch the seat and post. Partly just to save weight... and also by standing (worse aero) but better to see... and be seen.

ACK!... "36V (three 12V) sealed lead acid, rechargeable"??? ACK!! ACK!!! Cheap to buy but I was going through one pack a year. Saving up to recycle... found spent SLAs made great door stoppers... but ran out of doors.

Can suggest saving yer pennies (in Canada, now nickels...) and re batteries go for more expensive to buy but lower cost per mile (km)... as modern lithium formulations tend to last a lot longer... and can also be a little less sensitive to ambient air temps - used to ride the scoot through winters... park in the snow... excellent approaches to killing ranges per charge. [smile]

Cheers

PS.... Oh Lord. Is that a brushed DC motor??? How amusing.

I'd avoid that particular scooter for a number of reasons:

- Lead acid batteries are poor performers for this application
- Lead acid batteries are very heavy, three of them will be 20 lbs or more just for the battery, the whole scooter is probably 50 lbs.
- The bulky batteries under the foot deck raise the deck so much it will be impractical to assist it by kicking like a normal scooter.
- Brushed motors and chain drives make quite a racket.

If no one else will come out and say it, this thing is a piece of crap and will cause only headache and heartbreak.

If you want a scooter take a look at the Xaiomi M365 https://www.amazon.com/Xiaomi-Electric-Long-range-Fold-n-Carry-Ultra-Lightweight/dp/B076KKX4B which is a modern design with lithium batteries and a brushless hub motor. I haven't tried one yet, but these are currently the model the Scooter as a Service startups like Lime are littering the sidewalks of bay area cities with. People who have ridden them seem to like them and I would expect that the scooter startups looked for the best scooter. It would not be good business to strand a bunch of people with broken scooters.

That said, there are a fair number of negative Amazon reviews, so I'd expect some risk of getting a dud. They also seem to be a hot item as they are currently out of stock.

Hehe... I once got to try a REAL (kick) scooter. A local guy was thinking to import. The Zümaround:

http://www.zumaround.com/



Super-fun. Travels as entertainment. And again, it was easier to kick (for warmth and exercise) to extend ranges per charge and number of cycles before final battery recycling and replacement (shave off peak power outs at starts, up hills, etc.). Also, felt that standing up meant was more visible. To see and be seen. :wink:

Lead acid batteries in 2018 is really taking the piss. Stay the F*** away! No matter the price.

The Xiaomi m365 is great, I have one. But I would suggest hanging around the online communities to find about it's weaknesses.
Stay away from solid tyres, for example, they shake the battery apart.
For some odd reason everything is happening in Telegram groups these days.
https://t.me/joinchat/AAAAAEJDWcvObhZJcIau4A
https://t.me/xiaomi_m365_europe
The m365 looks great and works very decent. And these days it's basically fully reverse engineered. Great mods are available.
(12S4P battery mod with custom BMS, and the motor controller has been hacked for added power and customisation https://m365.botox.bz/)

Not very suitable for bad roads (no suspension) or steep hills. Unless you are a very light person.

Price is around 350 bucks


There are plenty other options out there of course. Many much more solid and with more power.
For example the Dualtron scooters.