Deciding between e-bike and e-scooter

Posted by Ifreakinglovetrucks@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 31 comments

I am a bike enthusiast at heart but am stuck between getting an e-bike or scooter and am looking for input from people who made the decision to go bike over scooter. also curious if you feel that it was the right decision.

the main thing that I am stuck on is that a scooter seems to be the easiest to just grab and go, and a bike is a little more unwieldy and complex. the most important thing to me is the ease of picking up my scooter and riding away, and then when get somewhere, jumping off and moving onto whatever I planned to do.

primary use case is a 6 mile round trip commute to work. then some shorter trips to the gym, grocery store, park, coffee shop, etc.

I wouldn’t plan to carry heavy or bulky loads, but I can see one clear benefit of a bike being cargo capacity and stability when carrying cargo.

one of my big concerns about a scooter is safety. i’ve heard that scooters are inherently more dangerous than bikes, and it’s a lot easier to wreck and bust your face open.

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Large_Excitement69@reddit

6 miles on an e-scooter seems rough to me. I'd way rather be on a bike with panniers to keep even a small load off my back.

How many minutes do you think you'd really save with scooter vs. bike? It takes me like 3 minutes max to unlock my bike and go. How big of a hurry are you in? (Serious question, I know everyone has different lives).

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MulberryNo4249@reddit

lol i do 30miles per night.

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Ifreakinglovetrucks@reddit (OP)

im not a morning person and am usually rushing. I guess i’m thinking about my road bike and how much time it takes to get it set up and thinking that an e bike might be similarly annoying.

for example, I usually have to pump my tires up every other ride. maybe that’s a road bike thing, or not normal for any bike.

it also takes me some time to charge and re-mount my lights since I ride on the road. If I had a scooter, I would still have lights, but would plan to ride it on the sidewalk and wouldn’t be as stressed about my lighting system.

the sidewalks around me are hardly ever used so I wouldn’t be “that jerk” wizzing by pedestrians. if I had an e-bike, I would still feel compelled to ride in the road since it’s a bit larger and would have panniers, which is maybe illogical lol.

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CraziFuzzy@reddit

- having to pump up tires for every ride isn't a road bike thing - it's a leaky tube thing.
- ebikes generally have lights built in, and run off the bike battery - so no need to remount anything.

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Inciteful_Analysis@reddit

That's incorrect. Road bike tires that run over 100 psi will naturally leak faster because of the enormous pressure. This is compounded by the small volume of the tire.

Typical ebikes running 30psi are much closer to atmospheric pressure (14psi) and will not lose air as quickly.

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CraziFuzzy@reddit

every ride?

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Inciteful_Analysis@reddit

Topping off road bike tire pressure before every ride is standard practice. You can get by riding the next day without airing up. But it will be noticeably low by the end of the week. Like 20+ psi too low.

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Bluesky83@reddit

Yeah, if you want to keep them at optimal pressure, like for example if you're a serious athlete. "Every ride" can also mean once or twice a week if you're not riding every day

FormalTheory@reddit

6 miles RT is doable on an e-bike. You could also get a scooter for quick runs.

Asvpxdilli@reddit

For 6 miles RT, an e-bike’s fine. Maybe get both: e-bike for work rides, scooter for quick errands.

Have you considered a hybrid looking? Not ebike but profile of it on scooter with seat?

Check this out: youtube.com/watch?v=FX1v5P3yPE0

jim914@reddit

My biggest concern was needing to stand up for long trips my commute to work is 8.5 miles and lots of intersections with traffic lights. It’s far more comfortable being on my bike and use curbs to just rest my foot instead of dismounting plus after being at a full stop my bike is easier to get restarted and back up to average rolling speed than the scooters I rented to test out which I’d prefer.

Lucidlie@reddit

I recommend an euc, more power for cost, larger wheel than a scooter and faster than most ebikes

Which_Perception_384@reddit

I started with a scooter, and would never ride one again after getting a bike.

Ok_Armadillo_1336@reddit

What a baller! Love it.

SlashNreap@reddit

It depends on your needs. You don't need an Ebike if your use case needs don't meet those of an Ebike, same for E-scooters

The reality of commuting with an E-scooter (I had done it on a scooter with 8 inch wheels, front wheel drive, Kugoo S1) is that, it's basically unusable in anything but summer. They catch rain extremely fast. You can ride it in autumn, winter, but that's just asking for a crash due to poor maneuverability, slippery conditions, etc. Whereas a bicycle is, by design, more planted with bigger tires. The amount of times I slid on wet leaves on my crappy scooter man, not worth the trouble..

Generally, if I had to go for a cheap vehicle, I would go for an Ebike rather than an Escooter. Now, if I had to go expensive.. I don't know. I'm a motorcyclist so my motorcycle does the job exceptionally well for commuting, but, you're on an Ebike sub, so obviously, you'll get people vouching for E-bikes. I'm willing to bet you posted here for confirmation rather than sitting on the fence about the matter.

sashatherussianbear@reddit

I have ridden a number of escooters and the thing that scares me the most about them is the small tires, I feel infinitely safer on a bike knowing that encountering a random hole, large stick, or debris won't make me go ass over elbows. This depends on your local area and your planned routes, so weigh that of course.

Also, depending on the traffic, either bike/scooter/ped/car on the same route its much easier for my to deviate on grass/sand/dirt to bypass slow traffic or take a shortcut without a second thought on a bike.

Any chance you can borrow/rent one to give it a try? As someone who gets decision fatigue I strongly recommend trying it yourself before listening to all of us, haha.

LastNightOsiris@reddit

For a 6 mile round trip, I think you'll be much happier on a bike than a scooter.

It's going to be more ergonomic, and if you do end up needing to carry anything, even a small backpack worth of stuff, you have options on the bike to not have it strapped to your body. In terms of safety, your riding style is probably more important than choice of vehicle, but for any given situation the bike is marginally safer given the larger wheels, better visibility, etc. You can also pedal the bike and choose how much assist you want, and in the event that the battery dies you still have a working vehicle.

Ebikes will generally use wider tires than a road bike, and operate at lower psi, so you shouldn't need to inflate the tires more than once every week or two under normal riding conditions. The lights will probably be integrated and draw power from the main battery, so you don't have to charge them separately.

The only really compelling reason I could see for the scooter is if you don't have anywhere secure to store/lock the bike, but you could bring the scooter inside given its smaller size. Anywhere that you need to lock up outside, you can like a bike more securely than a scooter in most cases.

unseenmover@reddit

Scooter wheels are to damn small. every sidewalk crack, street seam or manhole covers pose a threat to your health. I also hate the way they handle. You cant really ride on um standard or goofy foot ,only standing with your feet side by side making it unstable. So if you hit something your ability to react is low.. You cant really lean it over and crave a corner b/c the paths between the front and rear wheel are so far apart and there way to much oversteer bias to the front of the scooter..

mid drive ebike all the way..

lNuggyl@reddit

Bike for sure, it looks normal rather than scooting. And more leeway when it comes to riding on road

UrbanEconomist@reddit

I commute by ebike. My buddy commutes by escooter. Here’s what we’ve talked about when we’ve compared the two: 1.) Bike is larger, so can’t fold it up and carry it somewhere. Scooter is foldable, but not light, and you can’t lock it to things in public places as easily—you may be forced to carry it when you don’t want to. 2.) Bike is better for longer distances. Scooters are faster for short trips. Scooter is easier to throw in/on a bus/subway/trunk and easier for weaving through crowded areas. Bikes have better visibility for drivers. Bikes have better off-road or rough-terrain performance if you hit a construction zone or unexpected detour. 3.) Bike is generally safer than scooter. An emergency stop or a pothole will send the scooter-rider flying whereas the better brakes, larger wheels, and less top-heavy center of gravity on a bike will protect the rider more.

To me, six miles is a long way to be on a scooter. They’re not terribly comfortable. I’d advise bike.

chrispark70@reddit

To put it in perspective, I'm about as anti safety-sally as they come. I only rarely wear a helmet on my bike. But you would not catch me on a scooter without a full mountain bike helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, padded gloves and probably other kit I don't even know about.

The large wheels of bicycles make them unwieldy when not riding them, but make them a much more stable vehicle as does the 5 points of contact.

Humble_Key_4259@reddit

I’ve owned multiple e scooters and currently have two ebikes.

I will always prefer the ebike for better safety, stability, comfort, etc.

That being said, scooters are inherently more dangerous but I’ve ridden 100s of miles on escooters with no incidents of note. The portability is nice and the “grab and go” factor is also. Plus, you can buy a nicer escooter for less than you can an ebike. Yes there are cheap ebikes but they are dangerous and suck really badly.

Do you have Lime, Bird, etc scooters anywhere near you? If so you can rent one and try it out. Then try a few local ebikes if you have any dealers nearby.

A scooter is a bit more taxing to ride the same distance due to smaller tires, less stability, etc but they are fun too.

Ashamed_Painting_582@reddit

You could use a normal bike for six miles. Not everything needs a motor.

" i’ve heard that scooters are inherently more dangerous than bikes, and it’s a lot easier to wreck and bust your face open"

You are true. Not just your face, broken arms, wrists, knee and elbow injuries, road rash and head injury. While all of these and more are also possible on a bicycle, falls/crashes are much less likely.

Different categories. Bikes and scooters have nothing in common. Both having 2 wheels does not put them in the same category.

Locking up a bicycle is a lot easier and effective than locking most scooters. OTOH, a lot of scooters are small enough or small enough when folded where leaving them outside subject to theft is not a requirement.

While I don't look forward to pedaling my e-bike with no assistance whatsoever if the battery dies, it is still a bicycle and capable of being pedaled without assistance. But if your scooter goes dead, generally speaking, I hope you have your phone with you. Kicking or walking the scooter sucks.

when a scooter is needed i use it. when an ebike is needed i use that.

slacknsurf420@reddit

if you ride bikes get the bike

if you have space constraints and no familiarity with bikes a scooter is probably better but I'd really just recommend a fixie folding bike or learning how to shift