Spin Magazine’s Top 4 Most Affordable Electric Scooters
Abstracted from Spin Magazine’s recent review on the most value-for-money electric scooters on the market today.
4 MOST AFFORDABLE ELECTRIC SCOOTERS
The rise of the electric 2 wheelers represents a significant addition to commuting. SPIN takes a look at four specially picked personal electric vehicles (PEV) that represent the best bang for buck under $1000.
The distance getting from your home to the bus or train station, or that to your destination is why many people look to urban commuting. A bicycle would work in many cases, but you’re always worried about it getting stolen or vandalized while it’s parked in public areas. And you still have to cover the final mile when you get off the train and go to work. So you’d need two bicycles, one at each end of your commute.
We think the solution to that has been found. Something that you can simply fold up and take with you on the bus/train, meets the strict rules of the Land Transport Authorities, and is a breeze to take with you.
In our previous Issue 48, we presented 5 e-scooters that we feel are the perfect tools for urban commuters. In this edition, we focus our attention on the wallet friendly commuters that does what it’s made to do, and a little more..
ZERO 2.0 – The lightest carbon fiber electric scooter
Like the i-Max Q3, the ZERO 2.0 made an appearance in our last feature. This is probably the lightest e-scooter in the market at the moment and that itself gives you instant bragging rights. Weighing at just 6.3kg, this exceptionally low weight is largely due to its carbon fiber body.
A key feature of the ZERO 2.0 is the portability and convenience of its clever design. Besides its weight, the folding mechanism works like a breeze folding up in a second through a single leg action that lifts the scooter.
Maintenance of the ZERO 2.0 represents a cool engineering marvel in the scootering sense, being one of the few, if not only ride out there that can be easily upgraded, repaired and customized by its user. IF you like to tinker around with the mechanical and electrical components, perform repairs and maintenance on your own and save the costs of being charged absurd prices, the ZERO 2.0 is designed to do just that.
The thumb-throttled controls feels good on the handlebar, which undergone a complete redesign from its 1.0 predecessor. A look down on the informative display and you’ll instantly realize the clean and sleek layout on the bars. A sharp looking display is integrated with the carbon stem providing you the vital numbers. No extra frills or spills.
The ZERO 2.0 appeals to the cool and on-the-go crowd that will nonchalantly pick up the scooter on their work commute or just for a fun spin around town.
Specifications
Distance: 15km/30km
Charge: 2 / 3 hours
Speed: 25km/hr
Power: 450 watts
Weight: 6.3kg
Powerocks S1 – The long range cheap electric scooter
We call this one the long ranger. If you are on the hunt for something that you can blissfully ride without the constant worry of a battery running out, the Powerocks S1 is for you. This marathon scooter gives you the full distance of an astounding 40 kilometers in a single charge! Without sacrificing any performance, it has a powerful 350 watt motor to take you up slopes with gradients of up to 15% without any fuss. Weight is kept to minimal 11.5kg kudos to the lightweight aircraft aluminum it is made out of.
Another cool feature that the S1 boasts is something they call ‘Kinetic Energy Recovery System’, it’s a clever system where the battery recharges itself each time the brakes are applied. Well, if you are thinking of braking while stationary to let the battery recharge, we have to break the unfortunate news that it doesn’t.
We’re guessing this intuitive system plays a contributing factor to its long life, and of course not forgetting that the makers of the scooter are indeed the same creators of the renowned Powerocks power bank. It’s little wonder they have produced a game changer in the electric scooting industry as well.
Specifications
Distance: 40km
Charge: 4 hours
Speed: 25km/hour
Power: 350 watts
Weight: 11.5kg
i-Max Q3 – The rugged and cheap electric scooter
The i-Max is designed in Korea and is touted as amongst the most robust and sturdiest scooters you can get. The Q3 is perfect for cruising around the streets, taking on bumps and even a little cheeky off road passage.
It’s relatively quiet and quick with a motor that runs silently and smoothly in the rear wheel, and doesn’t seem to burn through a charge too fast thanks to its genuine Samsung lithium batteries.
At 11.5kg, it is considerably light and definitely easy to lug around a few hundred feet. Though not as featherweight as the ZERO 2.0, the trade off is well worth the comfort and reassuring sturdiness you get when scooting along. Some of that comfort owes to the 8” front air tyre that dampens vibrations from the roads.
Folded up, it doesn’t take up more than a few square feet making it easy to grip, if a little heavy. The scooter will get going quickly, with 250 watts powering a top speed of 25km/hour. If you need something sleek and catches attention as much as it travels, you will do well to take a closer look at the i-Max Q3.
Specifications
Distance: 25km
Charge: 4 hours
Speed: 25km/hour
Power: 250 watts
Weight: 11.5kg
Ninebot Mini – The cheapest self-balancing electric scooter
The Ninebot Mini is often referred to as a Segway without the excessive handlebars or bulk, and we agree. Similar to Segways that look like they could run over anything and everything, the Ninebot’s big wheels are designed to run over rougher terrains.
Stepping on a device without any grips for your hands may seem daunting to beginners initially. But with some confidence, it is proven that this vehicle can be mastered within minutes! Featuring an in-built gyroscopic technology with precision sensors capturing and reacting to every little motion input from the rider, the Ninebot is able to adjust and compensate at the speed of 200 times per second to keep the user well balanced.
The ninebot steers using an innovative Leansteer foot-control steering lever that allows you to control your directions and degree of turns.
If you’re not busy chasing Pokemons on your mobile phone, you’ll discover that the Ninebot Mini can be steered using your smartphone as a remote control through a Ninebot app. Within that app are options to adjust the speed, and an intuitive 360 degree steering feature. We reckon this could be a great tool to deliver items nearby!
There is much potential with the Ninebot Mini as both as a commuter or just a fun to have device. The advance technologies make it the most stable among the 4-featured scooters. At just under 13kg, the Mini comes in around similar weight as the others and with a range of 22km and a 16km/hour top speed, we’ll be pretty tempted to take this thing off-road just for the thrill of it.
Specifications
Distance: 22km
Charge: 2-3 hours
Speed: 16km/hr
Weight: 12.8kg
Well and there you have it! The 4 scooters we think would keep your bank balance in check and get you from place to place in the quickest time, fuss free!