Electric scooters

ashtead said:
You should visit Gosport high street on a Saturday as you will be quite at home amongst all the mobility scooters
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I've heard that the young Gosport skankies like to push a pram for two reasons:
- their brat/s are constrained, sort of
- their knuckles don't drag along the pavement
Is this true?
 
Just an update, we went ahead and purchased 2 x Xiaomi m365 pro for the boat in Spain. After using them on our first 2 week holiday onboard all I can say is it's one of the best purchases we made for the boat! Absolutely superb, smooth to ride, stows very neatly and the fully charged range is way more than we will ever need. It was so nice being able to hop on the scooter in Burriana to get to Aldi and back in less than 30 minutes (it's about 5km each way). I highly recommend these as an alternative to folding bikes.
 
On my last visit to Ostend I saw that they have E scooters. there are hundreds of them wizzing about. Just find one using an app on the phone. Scan it , use it, dump it anywhere when finished, pay for time used . No need to take back to a base. they are extremely popular. As for road or pavement, there are so many cycle lanes it is not an issue. The sea front may be packed with crowds, as is the pedestrian high street, but as the pedestrians are used to kamikasi bikes, scooters are no problem.
 
Daydream believer said:
On my last visit to Ostend I saw that they have E scooters. there are hundreds of them wizzing about. Just find one using an app on the phone. Scan it , use it, dump it anywhere when finished, pay for time used . No need to take back to a base. they are extremely popular. As for road or pavement, there are so many cycle lanes it is not an issue. The sea front may be packed with crowds, as is the pedestrian high street, but as the pedestrians are used to kamikasi bikes, scooters are no problem.
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Yeah being used to bikes is going to be a problem in the UK. You might as well be driving a combine harvester given the looks you get riding a bike slowly on a pedestrianised street in the UK.
 
ryanroberts said:
Yeah being used to bikes is going to be a problem in the UK. You might as well be driving a combine harvester given the looks you get riding a bike slowly on a pedestrianised street in the UK.
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Haha I know exactly what you mean. I was once cycling down a very, very wide pavement (you could have driven a car along it) alongside an urban dual carriageway. An elderly gentleman did a strange sort of dance as I approached, to ensure that he obstructed me and forced me to stop. He then berated me loudly about how dangerous it was to cycle on the pavement. He was the only other person on it, and he had to shout to be heard over the passing HGVs.
Some people are incapable of assessing risks...
 
dune16 said:
Apologies on resurrecting an old thread but I'm interested in getting a couple of electric scooters for our med (Spain) based boat. Anyone else gone this route? I'm thinking something like the Xiaomi m365 pro once I've measured up a locker for stowing?
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Got a Xiaomi 365 on board. Much easier to manhandle than a bike and fine for shopping trips though the advertised range is ambitious - think 10 miles, not 15, and it slows to walking pace up 6% gradients. If I were buying again I'd get the Pro for the bigger battery. France, Spain, Portugal & Germany have essentially the same rules: use on 50kph roads and cycle paths. Rarely adhered too, IME.
An electric bike on a boat would be far too cumbersome, I found my 8kg carbon road bike a faff to get out and assemble, hence the scooter which can also be taken on a bus (in a sailbag to avoid unnecessary confrontation).
Mad perhaps, but I don't have insurance. There again, I don't insure my house??
 
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I bought a Xiaomi 365 in Spain over a year and a half ago now. Not touched my bicycle since. It's been absolutely fantastic. Especially in Spain where you'll see hundreds of them. As usual the UK way behind the curve when it comes to technology (remember the porn ban?), but this is what you get when the people in charge are pensionable age.

It is especially useful when shopping. Just hop on with a big backpack and off you go. I've also been using it the Caribbean in countries where the roads have been ok. Saved me a lot of walking in the high heat.

I customised the firmware on mine to give it more oomph when going up the hills.

There are better scooters. A german guy in the marina had a particularly nice one, but when I looked it up it was close to €1000. Might have been inclined to pay that though had I of known how much I would use mine.

The Xiaomi is probably the best price/performance compromise though. Especially at €280 when I bought mine.
 
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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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Roads both ends, so illegal on them.
 
I have a Ninebot Electric scooter on my boat , very useful exploring new towns and picking up greasy bread from the bakers in the mornings. The rule is as long as there are brakes, speed under 20 km/hr and it has lights on it , it is legal her in Denmark.
 
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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No, like you I would never consider using thumb throttle to negate the need to pedal. Please tell me where you bought them from so I can further consider not using them. Thank you. Alan
 
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