Which Electric Scooter for Which Use?
This guide is not here to sell you a model. It answers a more useful question: what kind of electric scooter suits the way you will actually ride, and how to read a spec sheet without being caught out by the numbers.
Most bad purchases come from the same reflex: comparing power and range figures before defining the use. Doing it the other way round works better.
Start with how you ride, not with the spec sheet
Daily city commutes
Why it matters: in town, the real constraints are folding, weight and handling, not top speed. A very powerful but heavy scooter becomes a burden at the first flight of stairs.
What to check: the weight, the folded dimensions, how simple the folding mechanism is, and the wheel diameter (larger wheels absorb potholes and kerbs better).
Common mistake: buying the highest available power for 5 km trips on flat ground. You pay for weight and battery capacity you will never use.
Long distances
Why it matters: battery capacity drives this, not motor power. A high-output motor draws more current and reduces real-world range.
How to read it: capacity is given in volts (V) and amp-hours (Ah). Multiplying them gives watt-hours (Wh), which compare far better across models: 60 V x 30 Ah = 1,800 Wh. For a similar use, more Wh means more distance.
What to check: allow at least 30% headroom over your daily distance. A battery constantly run down to empty ages faster than one working at half capacity.
Multimodal travel: when you have to carry it
Why it matters: subway, stairs, a car boot, one floor up. This is the most underestimated criterion, and the one that causes the most regret.
A useful benchmark: beyond roughly twenty kilos, carrying a scooter more than a few dozen metres becomes genuinely awkward. Long-range dual-motor models often sit well above that, because the battery and frame are heavy.
What to check: the stated weight, and the folded dimensions if you have a specific boot in mind. Watch out: some manufacturers quote a gross weight including packaging, which is higher than the scooter itself. Ask which one is shown.
Rough roads and trails
Why it matters: on cobbles, gravel or broken tarmac, neither power nor speed makes the difference. Grip and braking do.
What to check: wide pneumatic tyres (10 to 11 inches) rather than solid ones, dual suspension, and hydraulic disc braking rather than mechanical - the gap shows up most on wet ground and downhill.
How to read the numbers on a spec sheet
Range: always a stated figure
Manufacturer range figures are measured in favourable conditions: light rider, flat ground, moderate speed, mild temperature, correctly inflated tyres. In real use, rider weight, gradient, wind, cold and hard acceleration all cut the distance covered.
What to check: ask the retailer under what conditions the figure was measured. Without those conditions, a range figure only lets you compare models roughly - it will not let you plan your journeys. On our product pages this figure is always presented as stated.
Power: nominal or peak?
Two numbers circulate and they do not describe the same thing. Nominal power is what the motor can sustain continuously. Peak power is a brief burst, reached when pulling away or climbing. The same motor can therefore be advertised at 1,350 W or at 1,900 W depending on which figure is chosen.
Common mistake: comparing one model's peak power with another's nominal power. That comparison means nothing.
What to check: insist on knowing which of the two figures is shown. When a listing does not say, treat any comparison with another model as unreliable.
Maximum load
Why it matters: it is not only about frame strength. Riding close to the maximum load reduces real range, lengthens braking distances and puts more strain on the suspension.
What to check: count your weight fully equipped, bag included, and keep some margin rather than aiming for the limit.
Charging time
Why it matters: it depends on battery capacity and on the amperage of the supplied charger. A large battery with a standard charger can take a full night.
What to check: the amperage of the included charger, and whether faster charging is possible. If you recharge at the office between trips, this can matter as much as range.
How often you ride
Daily use and weekend use call for different trade-offs. For daily riding, favour durability, comfort and ease of maintenance over peak performance: it is the tyres, brake pads and battery that wear out, and the availability of spare parts matters over time.
The legal framework, worth knowing before you choose
On public roads in France, personal light electric vehicles are limited to 25 km/h, with a minimum age of 14, compulsory third-party liability insurance and a ban on riding on pavements except where locally permitted. Models whose stated performance exceeds that framework are intended for private land, closed circuits or authorised areas. These rules differ from one country to another, including in the United Kingdom and the United States: check the ones that apply where you live before riding.
The question to ask before you order
An honest spec sheet should let you answer four questions: what the scooter actually weighs, whether the power shown is nominal or peak, under what conditions the range was measured, and exactly what is in the box. If any of those answers is missing, comparison with another model remains approximate.
We apply that principle to our own product pages: figures the manufacturer has not supplied are not displayed, and those that are appear as stated by the manufacturer, never as measurements we carried out ourselves. If a figure you need is missing, write to us and we will tell you whether we have it.
What next?
Browse our electric scooters with your three answers in mind: distance per trip, terrain, carrying. The most common questions are grouped in our FAQ, delivery times and destinations in the shipping policy, and return conditions in the return policy.