Choosing a Commuter Scooter to Commute to Work (Budget $200)

Lmuckingfuppet on 18/01/2021 - 09:36
Last edited 18/01/2021 - 10:16 by 1 other user

Hey Folks,

I'm 80% sure I've put this in the correct forum category. Apologies if I haven't. Long time lurker, first time forum poster.

So I live about a 30 minute walk away from work. It's reasonably flat, and I was thinking of getting a commuter scooter to save a bit of time. Now I've considered a bike, however, I'd much rather scoot on the sidewalk than bike in traffic on the main roads. I'm 175cm and reasonably fit.

Anyone here have any experience with the commuter scooter who could answer a couple of my questions:
How much time will it shave off my commute?
Will it take 1/3 off it, so it would be a 20min scoot approximately?
What brand would you recommend?
Should I wear a helmet when scooting?

I'd rather not spend more than $200 unless I'm severely misguided by how much they cost. The idea is to get rid of the 2nd car, and only keep the family car which I can use on rainy days (or just work from home…)

Thanks in advance!

edit: I've considered the BigW one, but have seen it having mixed reviews on OzB

Sports & Outdoors

Comments

  • Hybroid on 18/01/2021 - 09:42

    Have you checked the legality in your state as pretty sure they're illegal to ride in public in NSW. Even though they're so common in CBD and sold in shops.

    • muckingfuppet on 18/01/2021 - 09:43

      Sorry, I didn't include it in the post, but I was under the impression that, that was for electric scooters, and I'm thinking of a push scooter?

  • stirlo on 18/01/2021 - 09:45

    I'm assuming at your budget of under $200 you don't plan this to be an electric scooter? If you're after electric you should be looking at a bigger budget to get something that's not a toy.

    What state are you in? I don't think many states allow you to ride a scooter on the footpath unless you're a child. Also keep in mind that any time saving is coming from moving on the footpath faster which makes it less safe for other people on the footpath. I think lots of states have rules about the speed you can travel on the footpath too.

    Wear a helmet if you don't want to be fined.

  • macrocephalic on 18/01/2021 - 10:11
    +4

    There are a lot on ebay etc for about $100 which say they are rated to 100kg. As someone who's about 103kg I would contest that weight rating, or maybe I just misused mine. I managed to bend mine within the first half hour (doing something stupid that it probably wasn't designed for) but even after a few weeks of riding up and down the road with my son it was starting to feel less than secure. Don't bother with anything that has suspension, it won't do anything but will add more weight and points of failure.

    Personally I would recommend the Razor A5 series. There are a few different models: ones with PVC wheels, ones with inflatable wheels, ones that are made from carbon (but don't fold), etc. Inflatable wheels will give a more comfortable ride and be safer on wet ground but won't roll as well.

    How much time you save depends on how many road crossings you have. If it's a straight, flat path with little foot traffic and no road crossings then I would expect your commute time to halve of better. You should be able to scoot along pretty comfortably at over 10km/h whereas a purposeful walk is about 5km/h.

    Yes, you should wear a helmet. Speed isn't a big factor in head injuries; it's mostly the vertical fall to the ground. You can get a serious head injury just falling from a standing position and hitting your head; you don't normally have to worry about this as you don't fall over much walking around, and when you do you tend to put your arms out or otherwise stop your head hitting things. Once you introduce a wheeled vehicle into the equation you're much more likely to fall and much more likely to fall awkwardly where you don't get a chance to brace yourself.

    • muckingfuppet on 18/01/2021 - 10:36

      This is exactly the information I needed! Thank you very much.

      Do you think it's worth replacing the bearings with better ones? I've read people buying nicer skateboard bearings for a smoother ride.

      • macrocephalic on 18/01/2021 - 12:53

        You could but I don't think it's worth it initially. Even the bearings that come in cheap scooters feel smooth enough for a while, it's not like skate boarding in the 80's where cheap bearings felt like they were full of rocks.

        You might find that the cheap bearings will get dirt and water in them more easily which may effect their performance over time, but you might also find that you go through wheels faster than you go through bearings (because most scooters still use friction brakes on the wheel). I'd wait and only change the bearings as required. Four 608 bearings isn't going to cost you much money either way.

    • pleasehelpme on 08/04/2021 - 17:56

      Thank you. I was choosing between a suspension and a non-suspension one from Kmart. I will be using it heavily for leisure. Now deciding between inflatable ones vs non-inflatable ones.

  • Bargain80 on 18/01/2021 - 10:22

    I don't have experience but you should consider about wet weather.
    You don't want to come into office drenching.
    Also make sure the scooter is light and can easily folded in case you need to take taxi/uber home.

  • Catullus on 18/01/2021 - 11:44

    Do a search on "Big wheel scooters for adults". Some decent pump-ups with brakes.

  • DingoBilly on 18/01/2021 - 14:19
    +1

    I bought a fairly cheap scooter for similar purposes (50 minute walk to gym, wanted to shorten the distance). For me I found that the time saved was about half, roughly 25-30 minutes now on the scooter.

    I actually bought one of these fairly cheapo scooters for $90 at the time:
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hand-Disc-Brake-Folding-Scooter-…

    My experiences are that it was fairly chill, easy to ride and carry around. Given the low cost I was pretty happy to buy something like above as worst case scenario it wasn't a lot of money spent. I actually ended up buying a bike anyway as it's just a lot faster and better for me for longer distances, but I didn't have issues with it while I used it. It kinda sucks on footpath cracks and bumpy bits but it's not the end of the world, you do get used to it.

    I never rode with a helmet but pretty sure that was just illegal? But didn't want to so… didn't.

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