A bike is safer? Definitely need some citations for that. Versatility is debatable. I can fold my scooter and put it under my table at a restaurant or toss it into the trunk of a car. Scooters are also extremely low maintenance: no flat tires, no need to carry a pump or patch kit.
The bigger wheels give it much better stability. Hitting a hole or rock on a bike and a scooter is a very different experience. lots of the scooter steering setups make it very easy for the front wheel to suddenly turn 90 degrees and send you flying
My experience is with bikes you can easily take one hand off the bike to signal a turn - what your traffic intention is. But with the scooters, it's not really possible to take your hands off the handlebars (you lose control!), and there is currently no blinker control to indicate your traffic intention. I wanted to take a left-turn on a scooter recently and this was an issue. I got honked-at.
I think they should add blinker light controls to the handlebars.
Re:Lime and Bird are growing rapidly
by rocketpastsix on Monday December 03, 2018 @08:49PM
(#18595168)
>no flat tires
Ive had plenty of flat tires on scooters. In fact I had two in one day resulting in me finishing my commute to work in the rain. It was great.
There are folding bikes.
Re:Lime and Bird are growing rapidly
by vinceguidry on Monday December 03, 2018 @06:23PM
(#18594216)
I feel far less safe on a bicycle than I ever do on a Bird/Lime-style scooter. Main reason is I can go a lot slower, bicycles have to maintain a certain amount of inertia and that seriously affects riding habits. If I'm coming up on an intersection I can slow down a lot but if I'm riding a bike, I'm incentivized to blow through. With a scooter, I can go at a safe speed around pedestrians on sidewalks and stop abruptly if necessary with my feet. The inertia requirement makes it difficult to go sufficiently slow around pedestrians on a bike and I always feel like I'm an asshole no matter where I am if not a dedicated bike lane.
I think only familiarity leads people to think that bikes are safer than scooters. Given a choice between an electric bicycle and an electric scooter, now that I've ridden both, give me the scooter any day.
Re:Lime and Bird are growing rapidly
by skksjsnaahs on Monday December 03, 2018 @07:01PM
(#18594480)
I understand it sucks to stop at a stop light on an analog bike, but why on an ebike? You get help starting up again, like an escooter.
Some EU countries have already announced that scooters will soon be treated similarly to e-bikes, i.e. max 250W and 25km/h for the ones that don't need registration and plates.
While more expensive and less portable, a bike is a lot safer and more versatile.