VSETT - 9 APEX

Once you get to the city, check out alien rides, they do test rides and have around 10 scooters to choose from. I live in the area and bought my first scooter from them, a Vsett 9+ which I have since sold to another redditor. They offer in house warranty repairs on scooters they sell, so if you have a problem with your scooter they will fix it right there at the shop, most other companies require you to mail the scooter back for repairs. Rydology is another great shop in another state, I bought my second scooter from them, and they now contract for warranty repairs with alien rides, to offer the same warranty repairs. The minimum for sf hills would be a dual motor 48v scooter like the inmotion climber or vsett 9+, but you won't get up the hills fast, but you'll make it, those scooters have about 10-15 miles of range. But that is just basic transportation, not really a car replacement. The public transport in the bay area is fantastic and with a better scooter, you can get places faster than you would in a car, especially if you take the scooter in the train. I would definitely recommend spending more on a 60v or 72v scooter, those can hit speeds above 50mph and have 50 miles or more of range. I have a 60v scooter and a 70+mph electric unicycle, and I live next to a bart station, they have completely replaced my car. I ride right past all the traffic, passing cars in the bike lane, splitting lanes, cutting to the front at lights, its so much fun. The police dont seem to care what I do, and I dont have a plate to collect tickets from the new speed cameras all over SF. I hate getting in my car and sitting in traffic. Sometimes I'll "race" my friends driving cars to a second location, and I frequently beat them there. I ride with a group of about 100 people in SF on friday nights, its so much fun. Some of the crazier electric unicycle guys will ride them over the SF bay bridge to oakland. I just take my scooter on the train to get home,I'm not that crazy yet. If you have any other questions or want to go for a ride around the city sometime, dont hesitate to hit me up! I have spent most of my life in the SF bay area, Ive been riding PEVs since 2009, and I used to work at a scooter company in Oakland as well.

You wont get great range for that budget, maybe 20 miles at 20mph. Take any range number and cut it in half if you want it to be accurate. My $2400 scooter gets 45 at best. Ausom makes great scooters for people on a budget, the l1 is nearly as good as my vsett 9+, but its nearly half the price.

Inmotion climber is the one, ninebot scooters are weak, and dont even consider appollo. If you can afford it, you should really consider a 60 or 72v scooter like the teverun GT2, they are like actual vehicles for adults to use to commute, not fancy toys like the cheaper scooters. Not everyone wants to ride st 50 mph, but a big fast scooter is so much safer and more capable even at 15mph. I owned a vsett 9+, and it felt much more dangerous at its top speed of 32 than my teverun feels at 50+mph But the inmotion climber is fine if youre on a budget, I actually just did a 23 mile round trip ride with another redditor who owns a climber and he made it back with 15% left. He lives in San Francisco, so it must be fine on the hills

Solid picks but at 280 you might want something with dual motors for better torque. The Vsett 9+ or Apollo Ghost would handle your weight way better than those single motor options

It uses the exact same stem and folding mechanism from my pretty old Vsett 9+.. they work well but kinda clunky with that internal hook. Also has welds unlike the more modern stems.

Check out the Apollo Ghost or Vsett 9+. Both can hit that 40+ mile range if you're not going full throttle the whole time and the Ghost especially can haul ass when you want it to. Might find a used one in your budget if you're patient

I don’t think that scooter exists. The biggest sticking point is you want something a little bit faster but you want to stick to drum brakes. I definitely understand that since the drum brakes are usually much easier to adjust and don’t require much maintenance because they are sealed up. The only scooter that’s even close to that that I can think of is something like the Vsett 8 or Vsett apex. However, those go about 25 mph. It’s decently lightweight around 55 pounds. The biggest issue is that the vast majority of scooters have transferred over to disc brakes. If you’re getting a decent scooter that has NUTT or similar hydraulic brakes they’re honestly not as bad as you would think. They are much easier to adjust being hydraulic. And more reliable. Your past experiences have likely been with wire pulled mechanical disc brakes, which are honestly some of the cheapest and worst available and are a huge pain to adjust. I would look into something like Teverun fighter mini pro. Could occasionally handle two people on it and it has enough speed to where you could go 25 to 30 mph with decent range. It’s probably a little bit heavier than you expected, but you could most likely find something from them. That’s definitely lighter than some of the big 40 mph beasts that you might not want. Typically I’d say something between 50 to 65 pounds is a good sweet spot in terms of power to weight ratio. You can typically get a decent size battery and decent speed without it getting unwieldy or annoying to move around. Hopefully, that helps you down.

I have a connective tissue disorder that causes me to have problems with my back and all my joints. My knees in particular are quite bad. I don't find pushing scooters from the handlebars to be very difficult, as long as said scooter is under 80lbs or so. My old vsett was very heavy and took more force to move, and it was definitely a problem walking it through buildings at times. That said, as someone with joint issues, I would strongly recommend getting a bike instead. With a scooter your nerve issues are more likely to be an issue. Gripping the handlebars with both hands is required, you can't safely go one-handed like with a bike. Being able to rest one side would surely be useful for you. It's also more physically involved than you may expect. You'll need to use your body for balance and control of the scooter. Your upper body and core will be doing a lot of the work, but you're also controlling your centre of gravity with your legs. I'm actually planning to switch to an ebike myself because of my physical issues. Riding a scooter for more than an hour or two causes me a lot of pain. I'm going to try installing a seat in the near future, but bikes are far more stable, and therefore safer, vs a scooter with a seat added

Sounds like a heavy user. In that case of course a dual motor scooter would be better, but that’s not everyone’s case. The Vsett in my flair peaks at about 1560w, which is pretty slow for my 220-230lbs frame, going about 8mph on the steepest hill around me. Meanwhile my girl who is about 100lbs less, that same hill isn’t an issue. Also not everyone wants to deal with the extra weight that comes with having two motors.

Well put it this way, besides the probably big weight and size difference, you can always power down the RS, can’t power up the phantom. I use my big ass Burn E as my everyday scooter. I tried using the Vsett I bought for my gf, but yeah the power isn’t there, plus she has the acceleration turned down a bit. Like 3/5. So I don’t feel comfortable getting a good lead in front of traffic. Of course when it’s gets up to speed it’s not issue. No customizable modes so I’d have to go in the p setting every time to change it. Sure, it’s easier to whip around… but that’s about it. I will lug my scooter everywhere because I can switch from granny mode to balls to the wall in two button presses, with my regular riding mode dead smack in the middle. 52v vs 72v is no joke. I’d go with the RS and call it a day. With all of that said, unless you’re dealing with stairs, the widest part on scooters is the handlebars, you can always put it on the lowest mode if you need to walk with it. Also: being able to adjust the ride height on the RS makes a huge difference. With the stem *and* the deck. Also also: had no idea the 52v phantom is just as heavy as my 72v burn e (102lbs), just about the same top speed as well. So weight is out the window

I’m rocking a size 14, but I also have humongous scooters. The Vsett is *just* enough at about 27 inches, most of it usable. So I’d say you’d want something with at least 27 inches of length. I’m also tall af so I definitely need leg room to have a good stance. But I guess it all depends on how long you’ll be on the scooter.

If you go for the low price scooters then that is what you will get. And it’s usually the battery that suffers on these scooters. Whatever you do buy from a reputable dealer like RevRides as they use good quality battery’s even the cheapest option will last you years. Don’t be the one a year from now stuck with replacing an expensive battery for your not so old scooter. I have purchased 5 new scooters all Vsetts and one Zero which is before they changed the name to Vsett all with the less expensive batteries and all working almost as new some as old as 4 years.

Nami, Niu and Inmotion yes. The others? Kind of a crapshoot as to whether or not you get a good one. Segway is expensive for what it is by a decent bit imo, with tons of QC issues, vsett has seen a lot of QC issues as well and Dualtron is just behind most other brands on the tech and specs at what is, again, a really overpriced scooter for what you get. This is all my opinion however so take it with a grain of salt.

For a two mile commute you have complete freedom to pick whatever scooter you want. Most people needing range generally have to go with something heavier for the battery and higher speeds to make the trip not as long. I have a Vsett and G2 Max but I would really love a NIU KQi Air for something ultra light that I would attach a sling to and carry over the shoulder into shops.