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If you live in a big city, chances are you know the craze for electric scooters. Earlier this year, the streets were littered (and literally). Motorized scooters, on paper, are a good idea. They promise to reduce the congestion created by cars and carpool services while providing a fun way to crush your daily commutes.
There were problems, however. The aforementioned "rubbish" scooters are not a joke and are frustrating for everyone (runners, companies behind them and city administrators). Although their rental is affordable (five minutes cost about $ 1.90, compared to about $ 8 in a Lyft, depending on the history of my journey), the cost adds up quickly if you use them daily (and two times). As a result, personal scooters are becoming more and more common, and the last to arrive is the aforementioned Unagi.
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The company behind it thinks that Unagi solves the rental problems and hopes that its sleek appearance and its power options (250W single engine, 450W dual engine) will convert anyone who thinks that scooters do not are not particularly cool (I am of this type). Prices range from $ 975 to $ 1,175 (or less if you arrive before the end of the Kickstarter), it's not cheap, but the question is this: a "high-end" scooter present-t there an advantage? Or is it just the inevitable top of a pbading trend?
Over the scooters, the Unagi is a beautiful machine. The paint job looks more like something you might find on a luxury car, and the two-engine option (the one that caused the shock that I mentioned) promises to make you climb hills larger than those of the competition (15 degrees, 6 for the 250W model). The overall design is also much more elegant than its competitors.
The real problem (for me) with motorized scooters is that, at least in Oakland, where I live, you have to drive them on the road (not on the sidewalk). Being on the road is wearing a helmet (please) and trusting the other to not let you down, which I do not have. This may seem overly cautious, but after all, I am a man over 20 years old and live in California, and therefore statistically at risk.
The Unagi does not have additional security features in itself, but its power (in the edition of less than 450W) means that it can come off faster than the files and birds that I have. I tried it. I found that it usually gave you enough length in advance to get a few meters in front of the vehicles on fire, so at least I felt more visible.
For me, owning your scooter poses a different problem: transport it (especially on public transport). With a rental, you abandon it once you arrive at your destination. If you have it, you must drive it with you. At 22-24 pounds (depending on the model), the Unagi is not too heavy and folds perfectly, but in a crowded train, it's always a burden. Either hinder your feet, or you have to keep it up all the time. So you exchange a convenience (guaranteed access to a good scooter) against another (this scooter comes with you everywhere).
This same problem is obviously less of a problem if you do not have scooters on hire at home. In this case, a personal ride like the Unagi makes sense. Since lime, Bird and co. are usually located in major cities, much of America could be on the market for the solution proposed by Unagi.
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Even if you have rentals at home, there are still many reasons why you might want to own one. For starters, you'll never have to hope that there is one nearby. I tend to use lime most often for the last leg of my ride from the subway station, less in the morning though. This is partly by choice: I like to start my day with a walk to clear spider webs. This is also part of the convenience: scooters are the easiest to find near transit centers. My apartment in the morning? Not really.
Having one that belongs to you eliminates this anxiety. In addition, you will never wonder if it is in good working order or not. There is also general convenience. The other day, working from home, I realized that I had nothing for lunch. I ordered takeaway online, and then jumped on the Unagi to retrieve it. I went home and my lunch was still good and hot – small tasks like these suddenly become fun (and more practical).
If you do not have a lot of experience on motorized scooters, Unagi has three speed modes to make it easy for you: beginner, intermediate and advanced (with respective maximum speeds of up to 20%). about 9, 12 and 15 mph). The Unagi has a declared range of 15.5 miles, which is enough for most people. But you can earn a bit more by giving up speed in beginner / eco mode. Loading takes about five hours, which means you have to let it overnight or reload it at the office.
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The real question is whether a sleeker design and a little more power (on the two-engine model at least) are enough to rule out more affordable options. Lime and Bird use scooters made by Segway and Xioami (among others). The Xioami Mi Scooter costs $ 599, has a top speed (18 km / h) and also folds. The Segway's ES4 costs a little more expensive at $ 777, but has the same top speed and an impressive range of 28 miles. Admittedly, both look a little silly, but you can still look so cool on a scooter.
For me, what Unagi represents is more than a high-end scooter. It is a means of personal transportation that grows. Scooters have had a bad reputation by cluttering our streets, being unreliable and abused. Alternatives like electric skateboards are not suitable for everyone and do not always resist potholes. When I started testing Unagi, I wanted to know how it compared to its competitors, but I realized that it was more about making scooters an attractive consumer product.
If we start to think of scooters as valuables, the rental problems we've seen may be alleviated. This does not mean we should all buy instead of rent, but maybe we'll start focusing on their positives (reducing traffic and improving travel) more. The fact that they are just fun to drive does not hurt either.
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