How many have chosen to have a folding e-scooter on board ?

[Refueler]

Being in China at present and travelling around .... bicycles have been replaced in thousands by e-bikes / scooters ... and they just appear out of nowhere with no apparent regard for rules .... BUT amazingly no accidents !

But seeing them ... has prompted my thinking about a simple folding version for on-board ... nothing fancy or big ...

My local Office Manager - we went for a meal and he'd driven his car. During the meal we had a couple of Tsingtao beers ... yes just a couple ... but that meant he could not drive the car. He called a Driver service who promptly arrived on a folding e-scooter ... folded placed in back of car and he drove us both to destinations.

I could definitely see the advantage for us boaters ... it folded down really compact ...

Anyone have this >>>> interested in use / advantage - not so much brands as that will be determined by what is available where you live.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I’ve chosen to have one but Mrs M has chosen that we don’t. Guess whether we have one or not…!

‘Are you a man or a mouse?’ I hear you say.

‘Where's the cheese.’ is my reply.

 

[Refueler]

I’ve chosen to have one but Mrs M has chosen that we don’t. Guess whether we have one or not…!

‘Are you a man or a mouse?’ I hear you say.

‘Where's the cheese.’ is my reply.

The Car service I use is about a 2km walk from my house ... having snapped my spine in past and with 68yrs age ... that is do-able but I do ache a bit after. Usually I get my handyman / gardener to run me to service to collect car etc. But this has me thinking to have the folder as well as use on boat.

Wife like yours is not so keen ..... she says I must walk !!

This week having private Guides for the various historical sites visited over here in China ... my phone has recorded 31kms walking in 3 days. Ready to go home !!

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’ve chosen to have one but Mrs M has chosen that we don’t. Guess whether we have one or not…!

‘Are you a man or a mouse?’ I hear you say.

‘Where's the cheese.’ is my reply.

My Mrs would have one, but not a dodgy import, and sadly I think she’s right. I think I’d want one more seriously if they didn’t have a rep. for catching fire. They are banned on Wightlink and Red Funnel ferries for that reason too.

 

[Neeves]

I see e-scooters being used, or maybe I should say abused. Why does anyone expect an e-scooter or bike to have good safety/longevity record considering the state of roads/pavements or simply being thrown on the ground. Used hail or shine, etc. I cannot think of a quicker way to cause early retirement.

Now - they could be built more robust - but imagine what would happen to the sales numbers.

Dodgy import? maybe include dodgy owners - and you have home grown competitive e-scooter manufacturers near you as an alternative that have a better safety record....?

E-scooters are built to a price.

Jonathan

 

[Neeves]

This week having private Guides for the various historical sites visited over here in China ... my phone has recorded 31kms walking in 3 days. Ready to go home !!

10km a day is hardly onerous? say its over 5 hours. A kid doing a DoE bronze hike needs to do that with a 25kg pack on, her, back.

Jonathan

 

[Alicatt]

Folding e-bikes are very popular here to take onboard the boat to use for exploring your destinations, we are considering it for our boat, we both have e-bikes but they are a bit big to manhandle on and off and store on the boat.
e-bikes and e-scooters are quite legal to use on the roads here and we have an extensive cycle path network. I can cycle the 11km from my house to the boat and only have to contend with less than 1km of shared use road all the rest is on purpose built cycleways.

 

[Refueler]

OK .. safety record ?

The incidents of them catching fire are as I understand it - now part of history ... that most cases were early designs allied most likely to users who failed to understand the tech. Incidents now are rare.

But with regard to 'accidents' - there have been deaths in Paris - causing Paris to ban them from certain parts .. restrict speed etc. etc.
I was driving out of Riga other day and there was a traffic hold-up on other side of the road ... Police and Ambulance .... an E-Scooter laying in the road and a car angled across ... (In Latvia - all traffic incidents require all vehicles to remain un-moved. Police will then give permission once measurements / observed all aspects of the scene taken ... for vehicles to move). Yes this can be a real pain .. but its based on the old days of non ABS cars and skid marks etc.
Of course we could not be certain - but given the angle of the car away from the E-scooter ... the ambulance etc. - it appears that E-Scooter may have tried to get across the road via the Zebra crossing (which there is Light controlled ... ). Most likely didn't make it.

Sadly too many times I have had them zoom across the road in front of me when driving ... especially at Zebra crossings .... In Latvia as with most other countries - wheeled 'vehicles' such as bicycles / E-Scooters etc are classed as vehicles and do not have priority for Pedestrian Crossings - but so many think they can just ride onto the crossing and expect everyone to come to a screeching halt ! Many E-scooter riders I see are just plain suicidal ...
Latvia has already declared that it is setting into laws - rules and registrations for E-bikes to try and prevent a 'Paris' situation ...

While back - BOLT invaded the country and now green BOLT rental E-Scooters litter the streets. You flash your Mobile phone over the unit - it registers and times your use till you finish and flash the phone over it again ... billing your phone account. If I could get away with it - I would set fire to the whole lot !!

That all may seem strange as I am considering buying one ... but I think I would be more sensible in use and not be a hazard / pain to pedestrians and road users ...

 

[Refueler]

10km a day is hardly onerous? say its over 5 hours. A kid doing a DoE bronze hike needs to do that with a 25kg pack on, her, back.

Jonathan

Fine ... but did they snap completely their 3rd vertebrae ... have it welded back together again ... spend 2 months on their back before then having to literally re-learn to walk ?
It took me 6 months to walk reasonably without support. 1 year to walk distances. At about 3km - I start to physically hurt and contrary to medical advice have to resort to a stick.
Those 10km stints were not split up into shorts over the day ... they were literally continuous each day.

 

[Refueler]

Folding e-bikes are very popular here to take onboard the boat to use for exploring your destinations, we are considering it for our boat, we both have e-bikes but they are a bit big to manhandle on and off and store on the boat.
e-bikes and e-scooters are quite legal to use on the roads here and we have an extensive cycle path network. I can cycle the 11km from my house to the boat and only have to contend with less than 1km of shared use road all the rest is on purpose built cycleways.

Our Town (Ventspils) has created many 'cycle paths' which IMHO are a good idea. Trouble is too many riders here think that cycles and E-bikes have same priority as pedestrians .... and its compounded by some drivers who do not understand as well .... rear end shunts are not common - but we have more now due to drivers unexpectedly stopping sharply to let bikes across ... Yes I know you should keep distance etc. - tell the BMW idiots who then use such gaps to play Schumacher !!

 

[Daydream believer]

In the UK people are not E scooter aware. That means that they walk around with a phone stuck in their ear oblivious to the world around them. Then along comes a disrespectful moron on a bike or scooter on the pavement & you can guess the rest.
In places like Ostend where one can just hire one- from wherever it may have been left laying in the street by the last user -not only are the people aware, but the users tend to stick to the abundance of bike lanes or use the roads with care. Even along the sea front they seem to pass through dense crowds with ease.
'
The other day, here in Burnham on Crouch, for the second time in a month I have come close to hitting a kid on an e scooter coming down the road on the wrong side of the road. He then started weaving from side to side .
If this is allowed to go unchecked, then e scooters will remain illegal in the Uk. For very good reason.
'
Apart from that problem, an unpowered scooter would be an excellent item, with a wide footplate, biased for a left or right footed pusher. Then on a trip home it could be used as a trolley to wheel heavy bags or fuel cans etc

 

[Alicatt]

Driving through Brussels last summer the number of abandoned e-scooters laying in heaps on the street corners and on the roads, really was surprising, also the signs that a lot of them having been on fire was quite shocking.

While we have a lot of cycle paths etc. the cyclo-terrorists or is that tourist, I'm not quite sure, they do not want to use the cycle paths as the corners are too sharp they cant go round them at full speed, that came from a cyclist I know in the next town, he is the same in whatever type of transport he is in/on the other road users should not be there and you have to give way to him.

The number of times I have had to take avoiding action to stop hitting a cyclist that decides to cross the road without looking are many, but I'm getting better at it - if they are wearing lycra then they have a death wish so stay well clear. Belgium has a lot of deaths of cyclists from them not looking or paying attention to their surroundings.

The car driver is a second class citizen and the rules are changing to make it even harder on vehicle drivers. Eight years ago the previous mayor had chicanes put in the main street of our village as well as a 30km/h speed limit, it has caused a good number of accidents and a lot more very close calls, especially from Dutch drivers who take no prisoners when driving, I've seen it many times coming up to the chicane and slowing off to stop because of an oncoming vehicle and the Dutch registered car behind you overtakes into the face of the oncoming bus or truck and then has to reverse back behind you again. Anyway the current mayor made an election promise to remove the chicanes and did not, he has had 2 terms now and done nothing. They are getting removed now, but that is because the army told him to as the main street in our town is a supply route and needs to be kept free.

Rant over

 

[Refueler]

walk around with a phone stuck in their ear oblivious to the world around them

You should be here in China ..... we think we are Phone mad in Europe etc. - but here everything is geared to the phone ...

 

[Refueler]

Driving through Brussels last summer the number of abandoned e-scooters laying in heaps on the street corners and on the roads, really was surprising, also the signs that a lot of them having been on fire was quite shocking.

I have only ever seen one after a fire ...

China Govt has pushed the people to E vehicles ... from E-scooters through the 3 wheeled carts - right up to large SUV's ...... majority of Taxis are full EV - not hybrid .... the % EV to traditional here is very high .... maybe over 50% in the cities.

 

[mrming]

I considered getting one as we often visit places where it’s a long walk to the nearest shop. I sail with my other half and our two young boys. In the end we went to Decathlon and bought 4 non powered folding scooters and some soft bags. We keep those on board - most of the places we visit are flat - and it means we can all go to the shop / pub etc together.

 

[vyv_cox]

We have two in our motorhome. Very useful sometimes, less so in others. We have two Brompton folding bikes on board the boat.

 

[fredrussell]

OK .. safety record ?

The incidents of them catching fire are as I understand it - now part of history ... that most cases were early designs allied most likely to users who failed to understand the tech. Incidents now are rare.

I’m not sure that’s true. There were at least a couple of incidents last year in the UK that made the news. I’m pretty sure in each case the chargers were blamed for the fires.
E-bike and e-scooter fires have injured at least 190 people in UK, data shows | Cycling | The Guardian
I recently ordered an e-scooter battery charger (£10!) as a spare for my electric outboard. That charger weighed a fraction of the German made original. I don’t know enough about electronics to know if that was necessarily a bad thing, but I couldn’t trust the new charger enough to plug it in to the outboard battery I had only recently re-celled.
That said, e-scooters look fun, but I’d be wary of leaving one charging on boat. Can you buy good quality 3rd party chargers?

 

[Daydream believer]

I have 2 Brompton E bikes. Expensive, but brilliant bits of kit. They replace a couple of earlier folding bikes & the difference is amazing. We felt that It made the extra cost worthwhile

 

[The Q]

Private e scooters are illegal on the roads and pavements / cycleways in the UK. Hire e scooters are available in some towns you must only use them on the road, and you are required to have a driving license and insurance.
Legal E bikes in the UK are " electrically assisted" that is you must keep pedalling to get the motor to drive.

With duff knees and back, a potholed and mud covered road outside, I'm highly unlikely to get either for using down to the boat.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I have 2 Brompton E bikes. Expensive, but brilliant bits of kit. They replace a couple of earlier folding bikes & the difference is amazing. We felt that It made the extra cost worthwhile

We have full size e bikes, we’d do Bromptons except for the cost. We bought a new Code 0 instead.