Electric Scooters - Personal / Commuting Use

• 

  mdsl32 on 13/08/2024 - 18:19

  According to the map Electric Scooter Shop in Takapuna is on the list and have a good selection and people who know what they are talking about.

  You can get ones over the legal limit but no cop seems to care so long you are being responsible.

  Its worth mentioning the newer Segways have Apple find my function which works surprisingly well with a very loud horn as a good theft deterrent but physical barriers are always better like a D-lock

• 

  coffeee on 13/08/2024 - 21:51

  I dont like leaving anything outside a shop,i would rather carry it around like a sling.

  • 

    Jizah on 14/08/2024 - 07:44

    +2

    We've all heard about that one guy who left his scooter outside the dairy…

• 

  Latex Fist on 14/08/2024 - 08:27

  In all honesty, 2km is okay for a ninebot.. However I'd personally still go for something like a secondhand VSETT 10+ due to the acceleration/top speed. It's night and day and makes a commute sooooooooooo much nicer.

  The zero 10x/sonic 2000/t10-ddm is a great value for money, however having one I'd absolutely pay the extra for (basically) the same scooter but with a horn and turn indicators.

  Expect that even in a busy area, that it's possible to have it stolen. I had mine stolen outside of the Auckland library. I got it back but they jacked it up (broken brakes/ignition, etc).

  Pay the extra for something more than 300w (2kw). Wear a full face helmet. Wear ppe.

• 

  NovaAlpha on 14/08/2024 - 14:05

  -1

  I live about 3KM from work, but there are a few uphill areas that my previous Ninebot ES4 and Vsett 8+ scooters just struggled with. The top speed on those 300W scooters is around 25~30 kph and that's assuming you have full battery and you're on a flat road. Those suck a lot and don't ride as comfortably. And it's really awkward to use those too, because they're not fast enough to be on the road and not all roads have a dedicated path for cyclists and scooter riders. And they're too fast to ride on footpaths and people tend to get upset about it.

  My recommendation is to get a scooter that can go at least 60 kph. If you can, get one that does 80 kph. When you go uphill, you're not going to go uphill at 60kph, you'll be around like 50kph or so and that's rather slow once you get used to it. Get something that is fast enough to give you a bit more room to go faster when going uphill. Options like the VSETT 10+ or the Kaabo Mantis King GT are great choices. I personally tried a Vsett 8+ and it was OK, it wasn't fast enough once I got used to riding it on the road. I later upgraded to a Kaabo Mantis.

  Get a proper full-sized helmet and you should be able to comfortably ride on the road alongside cars (or even overtake them) in no time. It's one of the greatest feelings ever (for me) to ride on the road at 60~70 kph, especially going downhill. Obviously, safety is important, so do whatever that makes you feel safe. For me, the Kaabo Mantis rides more comfortably compared to the Vsett, it just feels really solid and that's why I can ride so fast without worries. You also want a scooter that has dual motors with sine wave controllers. It gives you so much more torque and boost for going uphill and the sine wave controllers makes the acceleration and ride so much more natural and comfortable. It's really easy to control the speed at high speeds. Braking is important, because you don't want to brake poorly when you're going 50kph+ on the road and hit into the back of a car. Either way, Vsett and Kaabo Mantis are great.

  There are some 2nd hand ones on Facebook Marketplace or Trademe. They are significantly cheaper than buying new.

  As for "security", always use bike chains. Get 2 different types. There were cases where someone's eScooter got stolen in the scooter parking area at my office building. Luckily, he tracked it because it had a built-in GPS. Speaking of which, get a proper tracker like Apple AirTag or whatever and stick at least 2 different ones on there. Thieves may find the first one and think they got rid of all the tracking, but they may not find the 2nd one. Apple AirTag supports precision tracking and I believe so does the Samsung SmartTag v2. Problem with AirTag is that it has anti-stalking feature, so if the thieve also uses an iPhone, it'll warn him that an unknown AirTag is following him and he'll know that it's somewhere on the scooter.

  There are AirTag cases with double-sided tapes that you can get from Temu or Aliexpress. Just stick it somewhere (perhaps under the board of the scooter).

  As for NFC, don't trust it fully. Vsett 8 and Vsett 10+ has NFC that can be cloned pretty easily. Normally, you'd need the NFC tag/key that comes with the scooter, but you can clonse it and then unlock it. For Kaabo Mantis, I couldn't do this (unless I get a Flipper Zero or something), so I guess their NFC unlock is more secure. Anyway, don't trust those things. Always use bike locks. And even with bike locks, a thief who is really committed may still use an angle grinder to cut the locks. But at least you've tried your best in securing your scooter. I normally just leave my bike locks on the scooter/bike rack at my workplace and when I bring my scooter in, I just unlock them and use them. No need to carry them in your bag with you.

  If you're going to get a scooter, don't regret it by getting a slow and crappy one. Invest in a good one and invest in some of the other things I talked about. Don't go cheap on certain things.

  • 

    n908671 on 16/08/2024 - 22:41

    +1

    I wouldn't recommend people get such a powerful (and illegal) scooter unless you're confident they can handle that sort of speed and power. A lot can't handle that speed.

    Hitting the road at that speed isn't going to be nice even with protective gear on.

    25-30kmph is fine for most people. I was an early adopter of the e-scooter (2018) and done over 10,000km with an 8km daily commute and top speed of 30kmph. Have also repaired plenty, modded them, hacked the firmware, and stripped some down for parts. Sure - going faster would have been nice but I was in no rush to get to work 5 minutes earlier. Also the scooter didn't cost an arm and a leg and was small enough to fold up and put in the boot of someone's car if I wanted a ride home.

    Admittedly the 50-60kmph scooters are much more affordable now but again not everyone can ride them - do not underestimate how uncoordinated and clumsy people are.

    • 

      NovaAlpha on 16/08/2024 - 22:54

      -1

      How are they illegal? They are sold in many eScooter shops. If they were illegal, they wouldn't have been imported from overseas. And brands like Vsett and Kaabo Mantis (and others) wouldn't exist if they were illegal. They are known for making quality scooters that go fast, as well as for their reliability and safety features, to name a few. They don't focus on scooters below 30kph. They can't have this sort of reputation across the world if it's illegal to own these scooters.

      If anything, these scooters are more safe than the cheaper ones. The brakes are much better, the controllers also give much smoother and more comfortable acceleration. The board that you stand on is also much wider and easier to ride on, compared to the small boards. And some like the Vsett can fold down the handlebars and stow in the back of a car easily. They're around 28kg, whereas a typical 300W scooter like the Ninebot ES4 is like 14kg. They're not that much heavier.

      You also are forgetting that you can have speed control. You don't just always stay at 50~80kph all the time. If you want to limit yourself to 20kph or less, you can. You can adjust the acceleration, speed limiter, etc.

      They're expensive not just for the speed and torque. They've also got safety features and ride way more comfortably than a cheap 300W scooter. You get what you pay for.

      30kph on a cheap scooter is also not consistent and most of the time it's a joke. Don't advise people to get a 300W scooter if they have lots of uphill to climb, it's the worst and most uncomfortable experience ever. It's slow AF. You're going at basically 10kph, sometimes less. Depends on how steep the hill is, but not everywhere is flat roads mate. Makes me think you've never actually ridden a good proper scooter before.

      What you've described is more of an issue with people. That's like saying people shouldn't drive a car because some people couldn't handle going 150kph without crashing. Guess what, most cars can go to 150kph, or higher.

      Just because you have an expensive and powerful scooter or car, doesn't mean you need to be irresponsible and use them incorrectly. Obviously, the people who are irresponsible wouldn't care about either of our recommendations anyway. They'll just make their own decision regardless.

      • 

        n908671 on 17/08/2024 - 10:12

        +2

        It's not illegal to sell or to own an e-scooter but it's illegal to ride one on the road that has a maximum power output exceeding 300. Anything over needs to be registered as a moped or a motorcycle. A lot of sites like Blacksheep Trading have little disclaimers e.g. "Black Sheep eBikes are custom designed to meet New Zealand regulations of 300w. They are fully useable and legal on New Zealand roads, and meet NZTA regulations. Some of our products are over the legal limit and we sell them as off road use.". A bit like saying bongs are sold for novelty use only.

        https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/vehicle-types/low-powered-…

        https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/what-you-need-to-know/517651/the-…

        Dems da rulez. Personally I'd like the limit to be lifted to allow 35-40kmph when the regulations are reviewed in 2028.

        Don't go on about personal responsibility. We have gun laws, speed limits, and restrictions on how powerful a motorcycle you can ride depending on your class license. You may not agree with the rules and we do live in a democracy and laws do change but pure old greedy capitalism also pokes it's head in here - there's a reason why most insurance companies won't insure a 16 year old learner with a V8 commodore and it's got nothing to do with the law.

        Kudos to you for mentioning the safety gear though. Helmets and hi-vis should be essential if riding on the road.