Hello Chuck, Justin, Trina, Paul, the rest of the great crew at ESG, and all fellow fans of this site. I’m Barry, in the northern suburbs of Detroit, Mi., and although I have never owned an electric scooter, I’ve recently racked up a decent number of hours on a small manual kick scooter (which I’ve now given to a neighbor’s 9 year old girl, it’s time to get a serious scooter). I’m retired, with a background in toolmaking/machining and sales, and degrees in philosophy and computer technology. I am extremely active, especially cycling, walking, resistance exercise, and above all else Pickleball (I’m currently writing a novel based on my experiences in the sport, titled My Pickleball Sumer- Competition, Friendship, and Obsession Between the Lines. As well as another novel with a plot and storyline involving the tragedy and consequences of climate change, with particular emphasis on the dark park being taken through dependency on fossil fuel usage and the internal combustion engine).
I’m a research addict, I habitually over-research everything, a by-product of my writing, I guess. And over the past several months electric scooters have been a fascinating subject. Articles, interviews, videos, reviews, forums, specs, technical literature, it seems I can’t get enough about these fascinating gadgets. I’m even beginning to wonder if I’m finding so much joy in the challenge of the hunt that the kill will prove to be anti-climactic. And I must say that of all the informational resources I’ve encountered through countless hours of research, the ESG site, broadcasts and videos have proved to be most complete, detailed, thorough and interesting.
I only use (and actually need) my car (a sporty compact) 2 or 3 months of the year, from around mid December to the end of February. The rest of the time it’s in my garage with storage insurance except if it’s needed for an emergency. The 4 digit annual savings on insurance, gas and maintenance over the past 2 years has been enough to pay for a high quality scooter. So for me the scooter will serve the entire range of purposes. Extremely important will be that of transportation, anything from short errands, to shopping trips, to trips to parks. Just as important will be recreation, mostly long on-road trips of 35 miles or more, but also some light off-road. It will also fill a novelty role, something to be fun to maintain or upgrade, look at and admire as a fancy toy, and draw attention on the street, or at the park, especially from other Pickleball players. My favorite bicycle that I ride, a high-end custom recumbent, may even find itself outdone in that area.
I know that it will end up a compromise of major elements such as range, power (I’m definitely no speed junkie), features, ride comfort, build quality, ease of maintenance, durability, upgradeability, safety, appearance, and price. And I also have come to very specific conclusions about what I require, what I will not accept, and what I am willing to compromise on. That actually leaves very few scooters to choose from. I have comprised a detailed workup comparing and rating them in every relevant aspect, both major and minor, which I will be happy to share on a thread in which it is proper to do so.
