Elecscoot 4 Review

It’s been a while since my last post and that’s because I’ve had a new bike to test.

I am unsure whether I tested the “new” flavour of Elecscoot 4 or the “old” flavour.

Let me explain:

The “new” bike has battery management. The test bike had this. The “old” bike was hub drive not “belt drive”. The test bike was hub drive.

Anyway, lets not get bogged down in the detail. The first and most striking thing was that the E4 was how very very fast it goes. I had a brand new bike with only a few K’s on the clock. This means that even though I tested it for a few days, it still won’t be “run in”.

In theory after a week or so, once the battery is conditioned. It will accelerate faster and get a longer range and a higher top speed. I only had the bike 3 days so I didn’t have time to condition it.

The battery management was very protective of the new battery and wouldn’t let me have full acceleration. Despite this the E4 was faster off the mark than the majority of scooters in the 50 – 125cc range. The mid range torque meant it would out-grunt 250cc machines with ease. This is a good and bad thing, good because I got to work 10mins quicker than with any other electric scooter. Bad because it is extremely easy to reach speeds that are a) illegal, and b) dangerous. So novice riders beware, even though this is a 50cc equivalent bike. The performance is far greater. Make sure if you ride the E4 you have the correct training, or you will get distracted, look down and you are going over 50mph towards your demise.

Scary part over, in the hands of an experienced rider the E4 makes light work of commuting and has much better low speed control than some of the smaller electric scooters. Despite being a “maxi scooter” the bars are narrow enough to let you filter as if you were on a normal sized scooter.

I found while riding the E4 that I was riding with the “big” bikes and leaving the scooters behind. The real change was the mid-range pull of the 4000w motor. I found that I could easily keep up with riders on 500-1000cc bikes if they were not accelerating too hard. Try doing that on a 50cc petrol scooter.

As I said with the Elecscoot 3, the future is here. The E4 is a technological wonder and really shows up the petrol powered bikes. Going back to my petrol scooter after the E1 and E2 was like having a rocket powered cushion strapped to my behind. After the E4 it was rattly, vibrating, slow and agricultural in comparison.

The E4 was also the only bike where astounded riders would pull up next to me (having been overtaken) and ask “is that electric?”. I rubbed it in a bit more by telling them it was a 50cc and cost £69 a year in fuel.

As a reviewer I was a bit upset that while whizzing about on the E4 was fun, I didn’t get it for long enough to give it a range test or condition the battery. I did however take it to the A3 (a 3 lane road in south London famed for speed cameras). While I was there I managed a good 45-53mph (depending on hills etc) cruising speed, and I’m sure that a conditioned bike would do better. It also showed the E4′s potential to replace your car in a way no other 50cc commuter could. Cruising along at 50mph in the fast lane of what is a motorway without the name (the A3). I realised that this was as fast as my car, but would be even faster through the traffic once off the A3.

This is where the E4 comes into it’s own. In town it is king of the scooters, for commuting. So it is only fitting to say it is the emperor of suburbia. Around suburban London, the bike flies, zipping through traffic and overtaking (where extra lanes and speed limits allow) any cars.

It left me in no doubt that if I was to use it everyday, it could be my commute bike for the week and get me to my parents / mates places in Surrey on the weekend (much faster than a car).

If you are considering buying an E4, I would give it my personal recommendation. even If it turns out I tested an “old” one, it was excellent and in a different league from similar petrol machines. My only sadness was that I had to give it back. I will be requesting an E3 or E4 as a long term test bike from Elecscoot, they may be persuaded if it will answer potential buyers questions, so please comment if you support this idea.

If you feel I have missed anything from the reviews of the E1-E4, please comment and I will be happy to answer your questions. The future is here, dump the petrol-powered lawnmower with handlebars and get a real bike.

Elecscoot 3 Review – Range Test Results

I have just arrived in from the rainy outdoors having completed the range test of the Elecscoot 3 lithium battery powered electric scooter.

Ladies and gentlemen, get out your chequebooks the future is finally here!

Lets have a quick recap before I give away the figures:

• Elecscoot 1 – Claimed range 40 miles. Range achieved during commute test – 29 miles
• Elecscoot 2 – Claimed range 40 miles. Range achieved during commute test- 21 miles

The above bikes did well and don’t forget how little they cost and how they use regular battery technology (none of this fancy lithium stuff). So now, lets see how the lithium battery powered Elecscoot 3 fared.

• Claimed range – Upto 30 miles.
• Range achieved during commute test… A whopping 24 miles. Finally a bike which can meet its paper targets on the road.

For those of you who are still wondering, 24 miles in the worst traffic imaginable, out of a claimed 30 is fantastic. The lithium batteries are so fast to charge (2 hrs) and so light that I wouldn’t be surprised that if you were to take it gently on suburban roads, away from traffic you could achieve over 30 miles from an Elecscoot 3. Lets not forget that the test bike hasn’t even got the regenerative braking option, and is the smaller 20Ah version. With the 40AH bike and regenerative braking (on either bike) even more miles are possible.

Congratulations Elecscoot, this bike is easy to use, rides well and is the best green transport by far. Based on this test alone, If I was not a lowly trainee (with courses to pay for) I would be getting my own wallet out and buying myself the 40ah version with regenerative braking as an extra. Using the 40AH bike I think 90% of my riding and driving could be done with zero emissions. Think about it, when do you go over 50miles in daily life in one trip?

As for the rest of you, what are you waiting for. The Elecscoot 3 proves that there are zero emissions vehicles out there which are affordable and “do what they say on the tin”.

Elecscoot 3 Review – Day 1

Today I swung a leg over the Elecscoot 3 and took it for its first introduction to the rough, wet crowded streets of London.

The bike itself works very well indeed, I will quickly summarise what made me conclude this so early on:

• Speed – With a quoted top speed of 30mph I wasn’t expecting much. However, the speedometer on this bike is spot-on accurate (I know I’ve tested it) and it will actually reach speeds in excess of 30mph quite easily. I expect it to reach 35 or higher once run in, this brings it into Vespa 50cc territory. The acceleration gets you off the lights faster than the traffic, but not a viciously as a petrol 50cc would. Despite this the Elecscoot 3 did out accelerate all the Aprilla Havana 50cc bikes I came accross and overtook some unbranded Chinese petrol 50cc bikes on a long straight.
• Technology - The battery on this bike is removable (although that still didn’t persuade my work to let me charge it there) and charges in a lightning fast 2 hours. To put it in perspective, the Elecscoot 3 charges faster than my laptop, mobile or ipod. Today, as part of the conditioning process I gave it a top up while I shopped for snowboard bindings. It is a true, “have a coffee and it’s ready again”, charge time. This technology means that you don’t need a massive range, and the associated heavier batteries. You can get home from a long commute from work, have dinner and go another 20 – 30 (claimed) miles.

My conclusions from the first day are that this is a good clean way to get around the city. It makes my slightly faster petrol bike look old school and expensive to run. Also if you are looking at Electric Scooters buy lithium. You will save so much time charging your bike, and the batteries are much much lighter.

For now this is all I will say. the Elecscoot 3‘s batteries are almost conditioned now and I will be carrying out a range test tomorrow.

Elecscoot 3 arrives for review

This afternoon, the Elecscoot 3 has arrived for review. This is the bike that will hopefully bring the performance to match its environmental credentials. The scooter is extremely light compared to the E2 and has a host of high tech advantages.

Being a “generation 2″ scooter it has the lighter lithium batteries and a faster recharge time (around 2 hours). It also has a more powerful motor than the last test bike.

The bottom line as quoted by many a motoring reviewer (including UK and Australian Top Gear), is that once electric vehicles are faster than petrol vehicles, the general public will accept them as the future.

After the initial running in period, I will review the Elecscoot 3 for a week and then switching to the Elecscoot 4 next weekend. I am hoping that these will be the bikes to convert the petrol riders of London. Riding slower than most bikes and being occasionally bullied by angry folk on the gen 1 machines (notably the Ego as stated by commenters elsewhere on this blog) has put off petrol bike riders, and made electric scooters too big a step for train commuters looking to save money. I’m hoping that the high tech bikes will show petrol machines up as slow, outdated and dirty.

I reached this conclusion as I saw one of London’s growing fleet of electric trucks, a real life, full sized lorry, powered by electricity. This thing accelerated away from the lights faster than everything else despite it’s size. Following the truck were taxis and buses travelling slower and belching out diesel smoke.

Hopefully I have seen the future and will soon be riding it. Watch this space.

Elecscoot 2 testing complete – Elecscoot 3 review coming soon

This week I have finished testingthe Elecscoot 2 and returned to my petrol bike until the new E3 arrives. The first thing that strikes me is how much smaller and faster the petrol scoot is. The second is that despite all this, my journey times are similar, and the third is the dent in my wallet (around £500 a year) from fuel.

Now that the budget end of the range, the first generation or “gen 1″ bikes have been tested, it’s time to move on to the high tech stuff.  The gen 2 machines have lithium batteries, longer ranges, regenerative braking and a whole host of fancy electronics to help you stick it to the petrol bikes.

As soon as the E3 arrives I will be putting it through it’s paces. I will also be getting a chance to ride the E4. Some manufacturers have bikes similar to the “old” E4 for sale for around £4000 but the gen 2 E4 from Elecscoot looks to be a far better bike for the same price.

On a different note, I apologise for not getting a “buyers guide” together sooner. The consumer law around vehicles is more complex than I thought. I have had the opportunity to speak to some importers and the general view is that there are a few rogue machines (mostly gen1) that will need a bit of attention. So the advice is still to go to the manufacturer / supplier first. That way you can rule out any known issues. If your problem is a new one, an over reading speedo for instance. They will probably carry the parts to fix that too.

Range test results – Elecscoot 2

Hi there everybody. I have now completed the 2 “real world” milage tests for the Elecscoot 2. If you are not familiar with these tests I will quickly summarise them for you:

• Commute test - Central London traffic. Scooter loaded up with spare waterproofs, charger, charging lead and big lock. Headlamp on. Riding style, normal.
• Long distance test – Surrey A road loop (16miles). No traffic and open roads. Top speed all the way. Scooter loaded as above. Headlamp on. Normal riding style.

In the commute test I got to 21 miles in horrible traffic. Until the battery protection “cut out” activated. You can still ride a bit further and fight the battery protection, but it’s not advisable, fun or safe.

The long distance test gave me 24 miles of top speed (30 something mph) cruising. I think more would have been achievable if today didn’t have gusty winds and rain to contend with.

So, the verdict is at least a 12% improvement in mileage if you ride out of town. If you were to ride more conservatively and remove some weight / turn off the headlamp. You could achieve more.

You may have noticed this is not near the 40 miles range quoted by Elecscoot. This is because it is my aim to get below claimed mileage, and make it as hard for the bike as possible. As stated above, better riding technique / lower speed would improve things.

In my mind, this means I can think “oooh I’m going 20 miles today, rain / shine / hills / nighttime / whatever. I know my Electric Scooter will get me there with some miles to spare”.

Elecscoot 2 review – Range tests this weekend.

As some of you may have noticed, I have not tested the E2′s range (full to flat) yet. Today and this weekend I will be carrying out my (not) patented “Run it out as quick as possible” worst case scenario, commuting test. The super tough test is outlined on this post.

I will also find a huge long road and do a cruising test, taking the E2 up to top speed for as long as possible. this will give a fair representation of the range likely to be achieved by most users.

A little housekeeping

Hi there all, and firstly apologies to Steve for deleting his comment (originally on this page) about his disappointment with his Elecscoot 3.

Steve, you are not in any way barred from the discussion, but please bear in mind this is a review site. I have very little time to help people with consumer issues (many comments are not allowed due to them being about bikes I have not yet tested). Please approach Elecscoot directly with your issue, but by all means get back to me when you are done.

Andy, I believe your issues with the Elecscoot 2 you received (originally commented here), have been resolved. After mentioning your disappointment to Elecscoot, I have been told that your bike was the first E2 to go out and there was an initial spec error. Elecscoot offered the following explanation of the situation:

“We weren’t aware of the spec [change] until he rang us, as his was the first to go out. We immediately changed the website details. He wanted to keep the scooter so we offered him some money back for the inconvenience, and we also are replacing the “H” stand free of charge.”

The new Elecscoot 2 that is on it’s way, is also promised to be the 60v 3000w version you and Elecscoot ordered originally. I must say at this point that the 48v 1500w does a good job, and the new bike sounds great.

So guys and gals, please by all means comment on the reviews but please keep it relevant to the bike being tested and only vent your frustration if you have exhausted other avenues of redress. Manufacturers / suppliers / importers don’t want you to be unhappy. As you can see by how Elecscoot have handled Andy’s issues, this technology is new and if you need help they are willing to give it to you. It is in the interest of the supplier to make sure the scooters are as good as possible for the money and their customers are happy. Just look at www.newride.org.uk to see how competitive this market is becoming.

In response to the issues some are having, I will be setting up a buyers / owners guide this weekend for all those who have grievances or are worried by the problems of others.

Showing me the real green way to travel

During my commute to work, I was reminded of how much of a lazy pie eater I am. Riding a motorcycle, electric or otherwise is no substitute for the truest green commuting (over distance). The push bike. A good cyclist can reach cruising speeds of high 20′s (mph) and peak at just over 30mph for short periods.

I was so shocked by what I saw this morning, I have published the onboard footage incase you don’t believe me.

So there you have it, don’t rely on technology to get you to work. Haul your lardy frame from the bus seat and get on a bike.

Elecscoot 2 – findings so far

I’ve been riding the Elecscoot 2 for couple of days now and on the whole I am pretty impressed. It seems that for less than a petrol bike, you really can buy a green alternative.

I have had a few worries, but have been reassured by the Elecscoot boys that they are not a long term issue. Firstly I am finding the advertised top speed of 40mph elusive (which is academic in London traffic anyway) and secondly, the range I have been achieving has given me cause for concern. Nevertheless, I have been told that both these issues are part of a “conditioning” period for the E2‘s batteries. So no more can be said until I’ve put a few more charges in it.

I was a bit worried that I was going to suffer the same problems as Andy who commented on this post and is having a bit of a hard time loving his E2. Andy please get back in touch and let us know how you are getting on with your Elecscoot 2.

My worries stemmed from the fact that I have been finding my test E2 likes sitting at about 36 on the speedo. The problem with this is that I have a non-standard speedo fitted to the test bike (i.e not the speedo that comes on your new E2) and it is known to over-read a little. By my rough workings out, I’m seeing a real world 32ish, not quite the advertised 40mph.

Now the doom and gloom is over with lets focus on the sunny side of the E2.

The bike is very good looking and doesn’t feel slow to ride. Whatever “real world” speed I am getting, this is adequate for my commute and the range gets me from home to work and back (approx 18miles) with a tiny bit left over (This should improve  with time). The wide bars are not tiring to ride, and save you from the embarrassment of bad filtering where riders commit to a gap (using bad judgment) and find themselves sandwiched between vehicles.

Today I came across one of the bread and butter bikes of London, everyone’s favourite, the Vespa. The particular one I met was of the 50cc flavour and the 2 stroke “speedy” variety (see video below) The E2 didn’t out-pace this super nippy commuter, but costing over £300 less and putting out no nasty emissions. I can’t say I would choose the Vespa if it was my own money. I can also guarantee, the Vespa rider got to work just as fast as I did on the E2. As you will see below, the way to blur out numberplates is to upload to youtube, the quality does the rest:

To conclude today’s EV based ramble, I will be in search of the magical 40mph after a few charges, but otherwise all is well and the little E2 is proving itself to be a far better commuter than the 48v E1.

Elecsoot 2 arrives for review

Today, a shiny new Elecscoot 2 has arrived for testing.

Now this bike is very much a Marmite bike in terms of styling. Some I have spoken to love it and some hate it. I must say I fall in the former camp. I love the way this thing looks. The bike takes styling cues from one of my all time favourite scooters the Honda Joker (the Honda Shadow in Europe) a curious retro-inspired UK grey import.

Styling aside, I hopped on and took it for a spin. Acceleration is slow initially but once you are going it is comparable to a petrol bike. So, it goes like a petrol 50cc bike in traffic, what is it like on the open road? I headed to my local dual carriageway (40mph limit) to find out. As you are reading this, you will know I have not fallen under the wheels of a lorry. The E2 was very capable on what was a pretty quiet road with some fast cars about. Despite this, I had no more hassle from other drivers that I would have got on my petrol 50cc bike and lots less that I got on the (30mph limited) E1. I managed a good 35-36 (indicated) of the claimed 40mph top speed, which in my mind is a completely usable range of speed.

During this brief escapade, I also took it up the steepest hill I could find, and I mean steep. My speed decreased to just over 25mph, but nobody behind me could go any faster to overtake so I would say the hill climbing ability (a worry for some scooter owners) is good.

In conclusion, although the Elecscoot 2 review will start properly tomorrow when I head to work through London’s worst traffic. I can already say that this little bike looks promising. With its “hoglet” styling and usable performance, It is already shaping up as a very mean way to be green. In addition, It has room for 2 with a backrest, pegs and pillion handles. This means (if I can get a willing volunteer) a touch of the old romantic European “2up” scooting to a sunny park could be possible.

EV ticket – an error.

Phew, I have just received an email from Camden Council about my parking ticket. Parking Services are not going forward with my penalty. It seems that EV users can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that whatever issue gave rise to the ticket, it has been acted upon and remedied.

Thanks a lot to the guys at Camden, this is very good news for me and fellow EV users.

A meter maid in heaven for EV users?

A parking based "deep burn"

Oh the lengths I go to in the name of testing for you guys. It seems that there is no traffic warden guardian angel for people with electric vehicles.

On one of my recent trips to the charging point. I received a nice yellow notice on the front of my bike.

Firstly I would like to state that I had used this point without trouble all week and the vehicle was plugged in as normal. I also was well within the time limit.

The charge against me is one of:

“Parked at a recharging point without recharging”

This could be a serious issue for EV users as, when I left the vehicle it was plugged in and the green “charging” light was glowing on the point. This was also the case when I returned. Perhaps the vehicle had become fully charged and the light showed red? Unlikely as it was green when collected it. Even if this was the case are we supposed to supervise our vehicles and make sure they don’t become “full”?

Upon investigation with Westminster Council another important issue was raised. I was informed that I had strayed over the border to neighbouring Camden Council’s patch. Although my “Westminster” fob unlocked the “Camden” charging point, I have been told by Camden that I cannot charge there, as I am not a Camden resident. As my ticket was not for this, I take this advice on board and will try to find out what happened e.g. Why does my fob allow me to plug in at a point I’m not allowed to charge at? There are no signs dictating who’s charging point it is and who can use it.

For now it seems the real issue is the ticket. Will there be proof that I was not charging? Looking at the website for Camden Council and seeing no photographic evidence I cannot conclude either way. However my potential EV using friends, I will endeavour to find out why I got this ticket, surely I can’t be responsible for an infrastructure error?

Either way the folks at Westminster and Camden have been excellent in helping get to the bottom of this and investigations are ongoing. I don’t want to think I have uncovered a potential issue for EV users in London and hope there is a simple explanation.

For now, my testing of London’s “Juice Point” network is suspended.

Elecscoot 1 Review – Testing Continues

After a long deserved overnight charge. My Elecscoot 1 test bike is back to its usual bright and breezy self. My commute this morning was an effortless waft through the traffic, arriving at the same time as usual. The performance of the E1 felt lightening quick after yesterday’s mishap.

The Elecscoot 1 gets a much needed charge.

As I have previously stated the batteries need to be looked after and a quick 3 hour “top up” on my local Westminster Council juice point didn’t recover the E1‘s depleted stores as well as I’d hoped.

That said, the little E1 is performing admirably for something that is best suited to commutes that are shorter than my 18mile trip (which includes large suburban roads). In traffic it is light to drive, reasonably responsive (although slow if you are used to petrol power) and the silent ride allows you to hear the petrol bikes that would otherwise appear in your mirrors unannounced. I also discovered this morning that Elecscoot have fitted the Elecscoot 1 with a very loud horn!

Now you will have heard the urban myth that you can “sneak up” on people with an electric vehicle. To an extent you can, but the absence of engine noise doesn’t make any vehicle dragging rubber tyres on tarmac quiet. Chats with owners of the Toyota Prius confirm that you can creep up on folk at low speed. However if you ride in traffic on a motorcycle you will be well aware of being visible, as despite a large amount of racket from some bikes, pedestrians will ignore you and walk in the road.

Later this week I will be getting a test model of Elecscoot’s retro electric scooter the Elecscoot 2 (more about this another time). Regular readers of the blog will know I had a brief spin on an Elecscoot 2 but was not able to complete a full Elecscoot 2 review.

I won’t be too sad to see the E1 go, as the Elecscoot 2 offers something potentially magical, the chance to keep up with petrol bikes. That said, I am happy to get to work much faster than an overcrowded train without bringing any emissions into the already polluted capital.

News just in… Look after your batteries!

After last weeks extreme battery drain testing, I recharged the Elecscoot 1 for 3 hours with my local “Juice Point“.

The Elecscoot boys informed me that the Elecscoot 1 will reach 90% charge after 2 hours from as little as 1/8th left.

Well, as I ground to a sub 20mph crawl this evening after just 7 miles. I realised 3 hours were not enough to let the poor little E1 to recover to 90%. By my calculations it recovered only 20-30% from this brief charge. I can only put this down to my disregard for the batteries during my “full run down” test.

The E1 will be given a (well deserved) 8 hour charge tonight and I will be considerably more gentle with it for the rest of the week, keeping the batteries topped up as the manufacturer recommends.

Elecscoot Review – Elecscoot E1

Today was the day that I started giving the Elecscoot 1 electric scooter some proper tests. This involved my own stupidity leading me to have a half mile walk this morning that I wasn’t planning on, but more about that later.

I have been given excellent support and advice from the boys at Elecscoot the Electric scooter supplier and the best advice I have received to date is to top up your scooter’s battery between runs if you can. It is better for the battery if it is only drained significantly every few weeks and topping up is sound advice for any electric scooter or electric motorcycle.

With a quoted range of 40+ miles cruising at 30mph claimed by Elecscoot I decided to ignore their excellent advice and give the E1 some punishment in the name of a fair review. We all know that batteries can vary in performance according to load. My laptop can go between 2 and 5.5 hours away from a plug depending on how I treat it. So I decided to give the bike as much of a drain as possible and see how quickly I could get it to run out. The idea is that this will give a “real world” worst case scenario to work from. Working on being able to achieve a 25% drop on the manufacturers claimed mileage I resorted to the following dirty tricks:

• Commuting at the busiest time on a congested route. This leads to more stop-start riding. Accelerating an electric vehicle drains the battery significantly more than cruising. This is the same for petrol vehicles, hence lower MPG on the “urban cycle”.
• Turning on the main beam headlamp. This is done by some riders for safety and I use it here to put additional strain on the system. Normally I am happy with the E1′s small sidelight for daytime use.
• Loading up with all the gear I can. I took all the gear I could to work as well as the huge lock used to secure the bike at home. More weight added to supplement my 80kg self will decrease range.
• Riding as normally as possible. Some riding techniques are better for range. I rode as I normally would with no regard for battery life.
• Not topping the bike up at all. Running it on a single charge until it looses usable power.

Based on my calculations I would run out of battery on my trip home today, lock the bike up and return in my biodiesel fuelled Renault van to collect the stranded E1.

This was not to be the case and I got a heavy dose of my own medicine.

The E1 made it 29 miles before running out of usable power at Waterloo bridge within sight of my work. I pushed it over the busy bridge and slowly rode it down side streets to work peaking at just under 20mph.

In conclusion there is no doubt the E1 will go 40+ miles in normal conditions. My testing showed that in the worst possible case I could devise it will achieve 29 miles on a charge, lights blazing in awful traffic conditions.

If I have learned anything from this, and I have. It will be to top my scooter up every night and also to take the charger (which is small and light) with you as a matter of course. I am very impressed that the E1 took the worst I could throw at it and this furthers my findings that it is an excellent choice for city commutes. If your commute is under 20miles (round trip) the E1 should not let you down in even the worst situation. The E1 will be resurrected on Monday with a 3 hour charge from one of Westminster council’s “Juice Points“.

Elecscoot E1 road test

This morning I unplugged my charger and swung a leg over the Elecscoot 1 electric scooter I am testing.

So lets get the review underway, firstly this is a 30mph machine and if you want to go any faster you need to buy a battery upgrade (more about this later). Secondly it is a 50cc equivalent, so it is not a rocket ship by any standards. If you are looking for speed you will need to buy a bigger model. That said, it is a true case of horses for courses. A larger machine may well be more difficult in city traffic and the smaller Elecscoot 1 electric scooter will be limited on A roads but better in city traffic.

None of this speed lark matters for me however as I commute through London, and a brief chat with taxi drivers confirms 12mph is a good indication of the average overall speed recorded on their sat navs.

“So what about the bike” I hear you all ask… It has all the creature comforts, glove compartmant, top box, wind deflectors for your hands (I wore summer gloves today) and a comfy seat. Now, like I said already it is no rocket ship. Acceleration is slow at first but after about 10mph it briskly accelerates to 25 and then on slowly from there. This is not a problem as it is designed as a city bike and I rarely have a chance to do more than 20mph on my commute. Importantly it out accelerates buses and cyclists, so you stay clear of most dangers. Once it gets going it rides just like any other 50cc bike. I followed a Honda Lead 50 through the traffic fine this morning.

The best part of the ride for me is that unlike a 2 stroke bike, there is no engine braking. So you ride in much more of a “pulse and glide” style which, when coupled with the linear feel of the acceleration gives a sense of calm that a petrol bike with harsh acceleration and harsh engine braking can’t match. As a result you glide gently around the traffic and stress is kept to a minimum. This morning I couldn’t help but feel I was travelling much slower than normal but, when I arrived at work I found my journey time was the same as usual. So although some critics have said the E1 will be too slow, what it lacks in outright power is made up for in a smooth and relaxed riding feel which had no adverse effects to my journey time. This is because it allows you to travel in tune with the “flow” of the city, and not fighting with it like people on large petrol bike seem to.

Now we have covered speed and comfort what about range? Well to test this I am commuting, as I normally do with the headlight on (for safety) and along my normal 9 mile route to work. The route itself will cause the range to drop because of the nature of it. An electric motor works far harder accelerating from a standstill than it does cruising at 30mph. As my route is extremely stop-start I expect this to impact the range. My petrol bike gets a measly 60mpg from the same route and it will do over 80mpg out of town. Today’s commute is showing just over half the battery left after 18 tough London miles with the headlamp on. So the manufacturers claim of 40miles looks easily achievable. If you want more range and a 37mph top speed which will make your E1 at home on larger / more out of town roads, a Lithium Ion battery is available as an upgrade. If you only do short distances a 60v silicon battery is available to replace the standard 48v setup. This gives you more top speed but less range. I must admit I think both of these represent a sound investment, I will investigate this further.

For all of you who think I am writing this without venturing out of the house see the on-board footage I shot of some famous sights below: (apologies for the youtube quality)

Make sure to subscribe (click the RSS button on the top right) to catch the next installment of the test…

Elecscoot 1 ready for testing.

After the great news from Westminster Council about their “Juice Points” (see here…) I know a good few of you Londoners are raring for a review.

Well… this Sunday the ever-helpful Elecscoot sent me a shiny new Elecscoot 1 to unwrap, which I have done. This bike is so shiny and so new, it doesn’t even have a number plate yet. As a testament to the speed of development in this sector even a bike this new is not immune to change. Elecscoot now offer a number of additional battery options for increased speed / range, but more about that later.

First impressions… The bike itself is a good size (a criticism of the E-go electric scooter is it’s small dimensions, making it hard to ride.) and seems to weigh not much more than my petrol bike (a light machine due to its simplicity / age). The styling is modern and looks considerably better than my old Suzuki, it is also a refreshing change from the sea of Vespas on London roads. I will add more comments when I take it for its first spin, which should be mid-week.

More “Juicy” testing news.

News just in…

Westminster Council are on board, and are kindly letting me use their “Juice Point” Electric vehicle recharging network during my electric scooter tests.

Westminster Council's Electric Vehicle Charging Network

With the Juice Point network. Owners of EVs (electric vehicles) can park and charge at any of 12 points around the city.

Visit the Westminster Council Electric vehicle charging page for more information.

Essentially, you are given a key and high visibility charging lead to use with your EV. Then you simply plug in for “Juice” while you work or shop.

With Westminster Council you can also charge your EV in some of Westminster’s car parks for an all inclusive annual fee.

I will have more on this service as I use it with the electric bikes. It promises to make electric vehicle use very easy. Imagine never re-filling your car. The tank just filling itself whenever you park. If you require more info see the Electric vehicle charging FAQs page on Westminster Council’s website.

Testing to resume

I start the evening today as a happy man.

Hopefully I will resume testing the electric vehicles within a week or so. Northern electric scooter providers Elecscoot will be sending over the Elecscoot 1 electric commuter scooter shortly. This is not the least powerful in the range, but the cheapest and with the lowest top speed (30mph limited). Hopefully this will mean a torquey commuter. As you all well know, London is no place for top speeds above 10mph, let alone 30mph.

Also today, while trying to even out the field a bit I had an excellent chat with one of the guys from Gnewt an electric vehicle distributor. There is not a lot these guys don’t know about the current range of electric vehicles in the UK. In the interests of fairness I will be sampling a few of the eco machines they distribute. The E-Max, a German built electric commuter scooter. The Vectrix eco friendly electric maxi-scooter and hopefully a couple of others.

It was good to talk to experts in this interesting field, and although the older crop of electric scooters has suffered bad press due to poor acceleration and overstated range claims. There are plenty of bikes emerging that not only match their petrol equivalents, but given half a chance could wipe the floor with them. Bikes like the, soon to be released Zero S electric supermoto motorcycle and the brand new version of the Elecscoot 4, boast the technology and horsepower to easily overcome their petrol counterparts.

Hopefully these machines will back up all their claims when on trial and more importantly, do it without making any noxious emissions or burning any hydrocarbons.

To get the very latest news on the trials, please subscribe to the Ecolivingblog RSS feed by clicking on the orange RSS icon in the top right.

Testing Postponed.

As promised, this Saturday the boys at Elecscoot the electric scooter shop delivered me an Elecscoot 2.

However, due to a technical issue testing could not go ahead. The guys have been excellent and the problem is currently being rectified. I will keep you all posted about testing when it resumes.

My first impressions of the scooter were good. It looked very cool in it’s retro styling and had a couple of excellent safety features. Due to the quietness of the ride, a beeper was able to be fitted to beep in time with the indicators. As most motorcyclists know, the indicators can be left on easily on a motorcycle as they don’t self cancel. This can cause other road users to mis-interpret your signal, with dangerous consequences. The addition of this feature meant that when the Elecscoot 2 is ridden, you can hear your indicator flashing just like in a car. It also incorporated a “kill” switch in the luggage compartment. This makes it easy to disconnect the battery safely for parking and eliminates any discharging effect.

As mentioned, this weekend I have not had a chance to put it through it’s paces fully. You will have to watch this space and I will keep you all updated. In the meantime I will be riding “the flying grandma” my commuter / polluter.

Ready to roll (quietly)

Today signifies my departure from my petrol perch. I have had good and bad times aboard my petrol scoot. The bad times have been a result of the extremely steep learning curve I have been a passenger on. Learning London motorcycling. London riders (the sane ones) are some of the smoothest and safest I have come across. The reason for this is, after the 100th pedestrian walks out in front of you looking the other way and the 100th bendy bus makes its way up the road, back end in one lane, front end in another like a giant drunken fish flopping it’s way around London. You realise where the dangers are and ride accordingly.

So it is with great excitement I await the delivery of the first of my test vehicles today. The Elecscoot 2 eletric commuter scooter. Yet it is with a bit of sadness that I leave the comfy seat (pictured) of my “flying grandma” or “祖母” to be precise (it’s Japanese you see).

Suzuki AE50 petrol scooter

As I wait for the new wave of technology to break at my door, I wonder about the experiences I am soon to have.

Will a quiet machine make me kill more pedestrians? Or, will it mean I can hear when that next Bendy Bus will go past me upside down in the wrong lane?

Will using batteries change the riding dynamics of the scooter? My petrol bike is so front-end light that if you don’t sit a fat person on the handlebars, it will go everywhere on the back tyre only. This is for one simple reason, all the weight of me, the engine, fuel and any luggage is over the back. So will the weight balance change with electric power?

All these questions and more will be answered soon. Oh, is that the doorbell?

Petrol Vs Electric, Let Battle Commence.

Here I am, and without leaving the house I’ve started a fight. The fight, of course is the fight for best way to commute / carry out a bit of leisure travel in London.

In the blue corner is my trusty, congestion charge avoidance device. A Suzuki petrol scooter. In the red corner is a shining example of high tech solving an eco problem. The Elecscoot range of electric scooters.

Over the next few weeks as we go Volts Vs Horsepower and Revs Vs Torque. We Will see who prevails. In my mind it is a foregone conclusion that Electric will trample all over Petrol’s parade. But, we still see most commuters on petrol bikes. Is this a matter of style perhaps? I constantly overtake well heeled Vespa riders for instance, who’s beautiful, expensive machines are no match for the old Japanese junk heap I currently ride. Is it a matter of early adopters being wary? I personally would never jump on the bandwagon at version 1.0. Just look at the disappointment on the faces of users of the original iphone.

Whatever the cause, we shall see. With the Police riding electric leading the way and many people left cash strapped by the current economic climate. It could be time for the rise of the (electric powered, simple and efficient) machines.