Electric scooters

ashtead

ashtead

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Apologies if this is not sufficiently boaty for this forum but does anyone have any recommendations as to a stand on electric scooter with fold down handle for keeping on board as an alternative to folding bikes. Have seen a number whizzing around here in Brittany and popular for crew in SoF ports but is this a useful alternative to say a folding bickerton or such like ?
 
Saw one in Cherbourg recently - a 3 wheeler with 2 led front lights and 2 led rear lights. Looked really smart and stable.

I dont want to clutter the boat with bikes, but a nippy scooter thats a different thing. When we go back for the scuttlebutt do I amd going to make some enquiries!
 
oldharry said:
Not legal for road use in UK, which is a pity for their convenience and ease of carrying.
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Agreed, does it mean that they can be used on paths?
I used a push powered one when cruising to Portugal last year, from that experience I reckon a powered one is a good idea, but the one that is a must have is pneumatic tyre as the cobble pavements and roads in Portugal were a killer.
Viron 1000 Watt and Renegade 1000W Powerboard 36V were two that caught my eye. If you want to go Li battery then you go up into the £500+ range.
 
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Thanks for comments. I am sure I saw one being ridden up a hill here in France with a bag strapped on handle bar so it would just be for Euro use although I could see it whizzing to say keyhaven from lyminington if tyres large enough to cope with rubble path
 
Be very wary about insurance, if you happen to clip someone's little finger or even if a yahoo prat in a pickup drives into you !

The French and Continental types tend to be very laissez faire about transport but that can change in an instant if a local has an accident of any kind with a foreigner...

Yes in an ideal world they'd be really handy on a yot, probably will be someday soon, but for now I'd be cagey.
 
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ashtead said:
Thanks for comments. I am sure I saw one being ridden up a hill here in France with a bag strapped on handle bar so it would just be for Euro use although I could see it whizzing to say keyhaven from lyminington if tyres large enough to cope with rubble path
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Saw one today with a child and a bag full of shopping hanging off the "handlebars". Going like the clappers, France BTW. They look good but I suspect that the stresses on all of those unbraced joints will be a maintenance problem.
 
Why not consider a folding electric bike? We have a couple that come with us on hols. Brilliant for getting around and v nippy. Have fitted thumb throttles to them, which over-ride the need to pedal, but this is very very illegal and terribly dangerous in the UK, but becomes very safe and accepted on the continent. I wouldn’t think of using the thumb throttles here, therefore, obviously. Never. Nope.
 
KAL said:
Why not consider a folding electric bike? We have a couple that come with us on hols. Brilliant for getting around and v nippy. Have fitted thumb throttles to them, which over-ride the need to pedal, but this is very very illegal and terribly dangerous in the UK, but becomes very safe and accepted on the continent. I wouldn’t think of using the thumb throttles here, therefore, obviously. Never. Nope.
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Yes a folding electric bike is an alternative but thought a scooter might be simpler and easier to store etc . What's the issue with thumb throttles though ?
 
KAL said:
Why not consider a folding electric bike?
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I've taken a fold up bike on previous trips but to be honest I found it difficult to stow and extract (I didn't want to stow it on deck). An electric bike would make a difficult job a heavy and difficult job.
A scooter fits through the fore cabin door without difficulty and is easier to lift through / over the guard rails.
 
ashtead said:
Apologies if this is not sufficiently boaty for this forum but does anyone have any recommendations as to a stand on electric scooter with fold down handle for keeping on board as an alternative to folding bikes. Have seen a number whizzing around here in Brittany and popular for crew in SoF ports but is this a useful alternative to say a folding bickerton or such like ?
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Why not get an electric bike?
 
When I was sailing in the med we used to hang up scooter in engine rooms used mainly around dock area which addressed charging issues but clearly you need a walk in engine room which is a luxury we don’t enjoy now. If you do work out a way of rigging and charging in the stern locker do say. I’m afraid don’t know a lot about current models but also thought scooter more compact .
 
AND NO RACING up and down the pontoons. If the geriatric racers in the village are anything to go by they are as bad as boy racers in their pimped up cars!
 
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