Traditional ebike vs (legal) moped/scooter ebike

[FatBob]

Oh no. That first video has put the fear of god into me about bending bicycle wheels now. I'll have to stick to mopeds/scooters I think.

 

[FatBob]

Does anyone know:

1. How these moped/scooters (in particular) and pedelecs (in general) handle in winter on icy roads?
2. Do people tend to 'rest' their ebikes in colder months because effects of temperature on battery performance?
3. How does the build quality/lifetime of these moped/scooters compare to traditional-design ebikes of comparable costs?

 

[flecc]

Oh no. That first video has put the fear of god into me about bending bicycle wheels now. I'll have to stick to mopeds/scooters I think.

I'm sure that first video is a setup with slackened spokes. A properly built normal bike wheel will never collapse in that fashion with even the heaviest of people on board.
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[flecc]

Does anyone know:

1. How these moped/scooters (in particular) and pedelecs (in general) handle in winter on icy roads?
2. Do people tend to 'rest' their ebikes in colder months because effects of temperature on battery performance?
3. How does the build quality/lifetime of these moped/scooters compare to traditional-design ebikes of comparable costs?

1) I've no scooter experience in those conditions, but on bicycles the tyres are a big factor. Some have far worse grip than others, something youcan ask in here for any type being considered.

2) No, I've always used at any time, but range can be a little shorter in some circumstances. Lithium batteries not used or charged for periods over a couple of months can fail and become useless, so it's use and enjoy.

3) I've no idea personally, but the couple at least of moped scooter owners known in here haven't seemed to have experienced any particular problems. But e-bike problems are commonplace. The Chinese have always ridden the scooter style mopeds and have made them for many years, they never ride the e-bikes we ride, so they have huge experience of making the former. Therefore I'd suspect they are likely to be more reliable.
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[vfr400]

All I know is that scooters are very dodgy on slippery roads. I fell off a Vespa 90 in the same spot, where there was black ice on three consecutive nights. On the first night I knew it was slippery, so I was being careful, but the scooter went down before I could do anything. The next night, I was ready for it, so I was even more careful, and totally surprised when it went down again. On the third night, I put both legs out and was doing about 4 mph, but down it went again. I've ridden well over 1/2 million miles on motorbikes of every type and never experienced anything like that on any of them. I put the problem down to the small wheels (10"), which have much less gyroscopic effect that motorbike sized ones. Those were the only times I fell off that scooter in 10,000 miles in all weathers, so it was generally OK.

My present scooter has traction control, which I hope will never be needed. It has 14" and 15" wheels, so should be a lot better.

I've ridden several of those electric scooters. They're OK from a general handling and safety point of view, but without proper pedals, a heavy person is going to get stuck on any sort of hill, and I know that they often suffer blown controllers when heavy people go too slowly up hills.

At 23 stone, I don't think a legal electric scooter is going to work. I would get something like the Woosh Big Bear, which has a very robust motor and you can pedal it properly too. The stepthrough one is better than the crossbar one if it's strong enough

 

[FatBob]

Thanks for the honest write up vfr400.

As I predicted, I just knew there would be significant downside to these and I was wrong to get excited. Just wish the Big Bear came in black than gunmetal and had a more comfortable seat for big fatties.

 

[vfr400]

Thanks for the honest write up vfr400.

As I predicted, I just knew there would be significant downside to these and I was wrong to get excited. Just wish the Big Bear came in black than gunmetal and had a more comfortable seat for big fatties.

The stepthrough one is extremely comfortable, like sitting in an armchair while you watch the world go by.

 

[GLJoe]

I wondered if forums users could help bring me back to earth with objective pros and cons of the two types of designs of ebikes.

One will most likely improve your health, extend your life, enhance the quality of that life and make you feel and look better.

The other one won't.

 

[FatBob]

One will most likely improve your health, extend your life, enhance the quality of that life and make you feel and look better.

The other one won't.

Given my (by definition) lifelong genetic (chromasonal) and congenital endocrine disorders that lead to amongst other things atypical (cluster II-GmA) lipodystrophy which is invariant upon exercise (one of its defining criteria), it's nice to know at least you got a good laugh out of my condition. Cheers.

 

[vfr400]

We all have problems of some sort. Some of us just get on with life and do our best to work with and around them, and we don't burden others with them.

Have a look through the new member intros. Nearly every one starts off with explaining a medical condition, probably as an excuse for getting an electric bike - as if they need one.

There's a very good YouTube video about weight and weight loss by a chap called Thunderf00t, who is a physicist. Each time you breathe, you breathe out more mass than you breathe in. Exercise makes you breathe faster, so you lose weight as long as you don't replace that mass with intakes of food. Regardless of endocrine and genetics, that basic concept is very simple and proven by the tests and experiments he did. You can't break any of the fundamental laws of physics regarding mass and energy conservation.

What we're saying is that a no cycle will almost certainly help your condition, but sitting on a powered scooter won't.