Electric or conventional scooter - what is better to choose

Nowadays, no one is surprised by a scooter. It is worth going out on the street, and for the first five minutes you can easily count 10 people who will move on them. However, most of them will be riding electric scooters. The opportunity to use them has changed the way of life of ordinary citizens.

The reverse side of the coin tells us that with the arrival of “battery-powered toys” ordinary scooters have not gone anywhere. One can immediately notice that, unlike the former, the latter are experiencing an unprecedented rise and development in sports. What’s important. Of course, there are precedents of participation of electric scooters in competitions, but it is too early to speak about high achievements. It’s more of a show. But let’s try to put aside the rambling, learn a little more about these two inventions and how professional athletes treat them.

Despite the similarity of the mechanics of movement, the device itself resembled modern bicycles in its appearance, and open sources say that it was the first bicycle.

The next chapter of scooter formation dates back to 1817, when the chief forester of the Duchy of Baden Karl von Dreze improved the design of a scooter. According to him, it was a “walking machine”, but later the invention was called a “dresin”.

Externally, the scooter design resembled an “interesting” bicycle without pedals. With the help of a handlebar it was possible to turn the front wheel and ride in a circle, and the basis was already an iron frame. But the evolution of engineering thought did not stop there either.

In 1839-1840, a blacksmith from Scotland, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, added pedals, a crank and a lever going to the rear wheel to the design of the Dresa.

Obsah

Varieties of scooters and their device

A seemingly simple design, but a scooter is not the same as a scooter. There are several different types, which adapted to different conditions and styles of riding.

Urban scooters – “ordinary”, the most universal and in demand in the city. This type is characterized by compactness, folding mechanism and large wheels.

Sport scooters were created for extreme riding and performing spectacular tricks. Their main features are lightness, reliable design and small wheels.

Professional kick scooter rider and Athletes Club athlete

A sport scooter should be small and lightweight to make it easier to control in the air. These are the main differences between a sport scooter and a recreational scooter. It should also be strong enough to withstand landings from a height of 2-3 meters or more. Sports scooters are mainly made of three metals: steel, aluminum and titanium. Titanium ones are the most expensive.

Off-road scooters – this type is designed for riding on rough terrain and light off-road. Large size, large wheels with inflatable tires and the presence of two brakes – that characterizes this type.

Electric scooters can be compared to a moped. They are driven by a motor, they also have a large weight, and most importantly – high speed (some models are able to drive at a speed of 100 km / h).

Children’s scooters are like adultscooters, but separately we can distinguish those that have a third wheel (for children up to four years old).

“Success” of electric scooters

It is not for nothing that the word success is in quotes. All because even with modern concepts of human development, efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and ideas of absolute mobility in the city, electric scooters have not acquired the best reputation.

Due to the ease of use and uncontrolled access to the devices, the number of emergencies involving electric scooters has increased dramatically. In 2021, the number of accidents in Russia increased 1.5 times. The Interior Ministry reports that between January and September, scooter riders injured 438 people and killed 10. The public is concerned that electric scooter driving is not particularly controlled in any way and responsibility for accidents is blurred. Now petitions and appeals of citizens have led to the fact that the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are working on a thorough regulation of the management of scooters with electric motors.

Will electronics be able to replace the classics for athletes?

Now it is impossible to answer the question with 100% certainty. Speaking from the position of achieving sports results, the dimensions and design of the structure are very far from the competition. It is more correct to say that these are “different leagues” and each scooter has its own purpose. Of course, we cannot ignore the fact that the first scooters were bigger and heavier than those used by professional athletes during competitions and show programs.

Dima Fazolov

professional kick scooter-rider and Athletes Club athlete

Electric scooters are not a bad way of transportation, you can race on them. But not to do stunts. I think that extreme scooters are a way to express yourself in some way. When you do tricks on a sports scooter, it’s something special. And even a child can press one button and ride an electric scooter.

Sasha: An electric scooter is a convenient transportation for getting around the city. I have one, I ride it, but I haven’t tried to do stunts. It is not designed for this, the construction is fragile, it can’t withstand such loads.

Will electric scooters come to the sports industry? I think everything is quite possible. For example, electric bicycles have already been introduced in the cycling discipline “Trials”, where a rider must go down the mountain on a track with obstacles. They can add 20%, 30%, 50% and even 100% pedal twist power. This was done to avoid wasting time climbing back up the mountain. The rider can safely go up with the electric bike and come back down and have fun. With this design, more descents can be made and less effort can be expended. The scooter is not that far behind bicycles. I think it can happen in our sport too.