Bicycles versus Electric Scooters

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by owlpacino via Flickr.

Small personal vehicles, like the motorcycle, help us navigate the streets efficiently faster without necessarily limiting ourselves to space given by ordinary paved roads. However, for environment-conscious individuals, motorbikes are no more different than a four-wheeled gas guzzler, so a better alternative choice for personal travel would be the ever trusty bicycle.

But despite the overwhelming economic and environmental advantages provided by bicycles, electric scooters may have a few points that could also make it more appealing for practical everyday use. No, we’re going to declare that any one of them is going to be the better alternative, but we can at least try to justify our choice of choosing one over the other using several factual (albeit mundane) points.

Why Bicycles are Better than Electric Scooters

Many of the positive points that bicycles have are already very well known, in fact we can even consider it “ubiquitous” in the minds of many people. Why would we think a 19th century invention would even have its present incarnation using industrial materials manufactured in our modern time? The sheer simplicity and ease-of-use of bicycles allows it to transcend through time even as we discover new and more effective methods of transportation. Here are some of the obvious advantages that make them better than (electric) scooters.

• Bicycles technically have a limitless range. It all just depends on the physical capability and stamina of the rider. Some of the most fit individuals competing for very long bicycle races can even reach distances of up to 400 miles in a single day, without resting (or with very minimal rest). How would you compare that to a modern EV that regularly requires to charge after just driving for 100 miles?
• Bicycles are a bit more flexible on the road than engine-powered two-wheeled vehicles. This is mostly due to their slim profiles; you can easily slip past through heavy traffic without having to worry too much about getting to close. Also, much like any electric vehicle, they are also quite silent; no humming engine sounds would resonate as you drive through the road. This renders you “invisible” to larger vehicles though, so this advantage could also be a double-edged sword.
• If you are concerned about maintaining or losing weight, then bicycles may be your best transportation buddy. Walking or jogging to a destination can be equally beneficial to your body, but you’ll need that extra speed to get there while saving time. The combination of enhanced speed and physical exercise can be an integral part of your plan to stay fit despite having a busy schedule. This is obviously something that a powered vehicle (electric or not) would never be able to provide.

Why Electric Scooters CAN be Better than Bicycles

Practicality-wise, the value of electric scooters on the road do not really deviate that much from a regular gas-powered bike. So they also naturally have almost the same advantages over the use of bicycles. However, being the cleaner and greener option, these advantages would have to be “refined” a little bit into these points:

• Electric scooters provide faster speed and longer range for virtually no effort and no directly consumed fuel.  This looks too obvious, but this is actually the most basic and fundamental reason why scooters and motorbikes are there in the first place. For an electric scooter this advantage is extended to the fact that electric vehicles do not directly consume fuel (and can even be recharged via solar or wind energy). If you need to cover a large urban distance quickly, then perhaps electric scooters are the better choice.
• No sweat, meaning you don’t have to wear a drenched suit to work. If you use personal vehicles to get you to destinations where dressing up properly is required, then bicycles are out of the question, especially if you are going to travel distances that would get your body to “warm up”. With an electric scooter, you can save your office uniform from being drenched before going to work, and still not produce a molecule of polluted air along the way.

So, if you want average but all-rounder performer, bicycles are better for you. If you want something that can boost driving quality, then the newer, better and more advanced electric scooters are for you. But then again, depending on the available specifications and budget, you might want to just use an electric bicycle instead to get to the exact middle point of their advantages…

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Christian Crisostomo (251 Posts)

Christian Crisostomo is just your average tech geek that loves to see man's newest and most recent technological exploits. He holds great interest in the potentials of green technology, and is enthusiastic about the continuous development of environment-friendly alternative energy.

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