Thailand: How to choose an electric scooter that suits you?
When choosing an e-scooter, people will naturally look at the speed and max range of the scooter. We want a scooter that is fast enough for us to enjoy, and also with enough battery to get you to your destination and back.
But besides the usual design, speed and distance considerations, here are some other important things to consider before making your decision:
- Weight and portability
Firstly, consider how you are going to use your scooter. Are you going to carry your e-scooter often? Do you need to carry it across the overhead bridge on your route? If you are, then you will want something lighter and smaller like E-TWOW or Inokim Light. A scooter lighter than 12kg would be suitable for you.
If you don’t carry it often, then you can consider something heavier and more powerful like the Zero 8 or even the Zero 10X.
- Suspension
Does the electric scooter have front and rear suspension? For riding in Thailand, it is important that your scooters have suspension as the roads here can be very bumpy. It is also important for safety. If you run into a bump that you didn’t see, a suspension will help soften it and you won’t easily fall from your scooter.
- Wheel size
Most people don’t think about this, but it is important as well. Larger wheels are safer and provide better ride comfort. In Thailand, we recommend a minimum of 8 inch wheels. But for best riding experience, 10 inch wheels are recommended.
- Battery quality
This is an important consideration as the battery is the most expensive part of the scooter. Most e-scooters use Chinese batteries which degrade faster compared to Japanese and Korean batteries. They are cheaper, but they are cheaper for a reason. Chinese batteries typically have half the lifespan of Japanese/Korean batteries.
LG or Samsung batteries can last more than 500 full charging cycles before dropping to about 70% of their original capacity. Chinese batteries will only last about 200-300 full charging cycles before dropping to 70% of their capacity. Inokim uses LG/Sanyo batteries, while E-TWOW uses Samsung batteries.
Panasonic batteries can last even longer than LG and Samsung. They are the gold standard in battery cells, that’s why they are used in Tesla cars. But they are also very expensive – about 3 times the price of Chinese batteries.
So keep this in mind, and ask about the brand of batteries in your electric scooter when making a decision.
- Warranty and after-sales service
Electric scooters are not cheap so you want to make sure that the shop you buy from offers a solid warranty and after sales service. It will give you a piece of mind should you have any problems with your scooter.
You can find very cheap e-scooters without warranties, but we would not recommend it. Why? In case you have a problem with your battery. Batteries are very expensive and typically cost about 1/3 the price of your scooter, so if you have a problem with your batteries, you will have to pay out a large sum of money to replace your current battery.
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