We previously wrote an article on the Razor A5 Lux Scooter, so make sure to check it out. Electric scooters, depending on what they’re purposed for, can reach speeds of up to 20mph in the case of kid scooters or 55mph if they are made for adults. Let’s find more about their speed.
General things to know
There are some deciding factors that have a great impact on the speed of a scooter. Of these, the power of the battery tends to be the most important, but we shouldn’t forget about the engine wattage. Nevertheless, the weight of the rider, the tires, and the terrain have an impact as well.
Depending on all of these factors, electric scooters will generally reach a top speed of 20mph, and that’s for the decent models. This might be the cause because it’s the speed allowed on bike lanes. However, with improved batteries, you can find scooters capable of getting you to speeds of up to 30mph.
That’s the maximum that a stand-up scooter (the ones with no chair) can get you. For more than that, you need an electric scooter that looks like a gas-powered one. Scooters that have a seat, a frame where you can rest your feet and a step-through frame are faster, but they might come under a different category of vehicles, depending on the state.
Capable of getting you to speeds of 40mph, these scooters are good choices for commuters. Although they can’t be compared to classic gas-powered scooters that reach speeds of 100mph, they are still fast enough for quick commutes and riding around town.
You are not likely to travel a long way using your electric scooter, taking into account the range, but if you’re using powerful electric scooters you still need a driver’s license.
As we said, speed depends mainly on the battery and the power of the engine. You can find batteries that give 24, 36, or 48 volts, while motors can range from 200 to 1000 watts. The higher the number, the higher the speed, in both cases.
But getting the best battery and the best engine can be hard for a manufacturer, as the 2 parts need to be a good fit. Feeding too much electrical power to an engine that isn’t capable of using it will eventually burn the engine. Trying to modify things by yourself can be dangerous, and it will also mean that you lose the warranty from the manufacturer.
Although 20mph may seem slow, for the purpose of an electric scooter, it isn’t. Scooters are made for urban settings, where you only use them to move a bit from one part of the city to the other. As such, you don’t need the speed that you require on long-distance travels.
Kid vs adult scooters
Because children can be at higher risk of suffering accidents, the e-scooters made for them are generally limited in terms of speed. Most times this is done on purpose so that they are put to a minimum risk of harm. Kid scooters can reach speeds of 18mph, which is still fast enough to keep things exciting for them, but slow enough to let the parents rest assured.
Furthermore, a scooter that doesn’t require a driving license is a vehicle that can reach speeds of maximum 20mph, as is the law in most states. That’s why making an electric scooter faster than that for kids is unlawful.
Electric scooters for adults will go faster, but they will also be put in another class of vehicles. Depending on the actual power of the engine, these scooters can be even considered mopeds or motorcycles. Electric mopeds reach speeds of 55mph, and as such, they aren’t designed as toys.
This kind of vehicle is great for commuting purposes in highly-populated urban areas, and that is the main way people use it. You can also use such a scooter for running errands. But no matter the purpose you use your scooter for, you should always make sure you’re safe and wear the required protective gear.
There is another type of electric scooter, the one used by disabled or elderly people. The speed of such a scooter is reduced, as these people need to be as safe and stable as possible. As a result, electric scooters for people with locomotion problems don’t go faster than 20mph.
Things that affect the speed
Although an electric scooter coming out of the factory can reach a certain speed, it doesn’t always do that, and depending on a number of factors its speed can be affected. Weight is one of these factors. The heavier the rider and the load of the scooter, the slower it will go.
The battery is also important, but not just the overall power of it. The charge percentage of the battery matters too because when the battery power drains, the scooter will go slower and slower. Many scooters do poorly when the battery level drops below half.
One surprising thing affecting the speed of your e-scooter is the pressure in your tires. Although a soft tire will give you a better grip and maybe more pulling power, it will cause the scooter’s speed to drop. The tire pressure needs to be as recommended by the manufacturers, for the scooter to run best. Having your tires inflated to the pressure they should be also means that your battery will work better as it won’t get drained that fast.
One of the main disadvantages of vehicles that aren’t powerful, including cheap scooters, is that they aren’t capable of going up hills fast. The same can be said when trying to get your scooter through rough terrain. When the top speed of an electric scooter is listed, it takes into consideration the ideal circumstances, like flat asphalt, and not steep hills.
Making a scooter go faster
Let’s say you’re a good engineer, you have the mechanical knowledge and you want your scooter to go as fast as possible. How do you do that? You can modify it, or change some of its parts. The first thing to look at is the battery. Most affordable scooters run on batteries of 24 volts.
You can change them for more powerful batteries, but it’s not as easy at it seems. There is a mechanism called a controller, and its purpose is to connect the battery to the engine and feed the engine the right amount of power. So if you just buy a more powerful battery and change nothing else, the controller and the engine will suffer and you won’t get a more powerful scooter but a broken one.
You can overcome this issue by reprogramming the controller. This should allow it to accept more power and it will give the scooter higher speeds. You can also bypass the controller and connect the battery to the engine directly. In fact, some scooters do that. But changing things to get these results is very difficult and should only be done by experts.
Pro tips for a fast scooter
So besides changing the engine and the battery, what else can you do to make sure your scooter goes the fastest it can? One relatively easy thing to do, requiring little mechanical knowledge, is to change the scooter’s sprockets. This won’t alter the actual power of the scooter, but when you put larger sprockets the transmission will work faster.
Another option, reserved for those who really know what they’re doing, is to rewind the engine. Done incorrectly, this can severely damage your scooter. What this procedure basically means is to rewind the coils of the engine to reduce the number of windings for each of them. This will increase the rotations per minute provided by the engine.
One last thing that you can do is change the wheels with better ones. Especially for cheap models, where the wheels are some basic ones, changing them can drastically increase the scooter’s speed.
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