Safety instructions …
The responsible handling of the e-scooters is of course the be-all and end-all, in order to make the use of the e-scooters in the cities as unproblematic as possible. There have already been numerous accidents, there are always problems with incorrectly parked electric pedal scooters and, of course, with numerous violations of road traffic regulations. That’s why these are the most important points when using an E-scooter: If possible (or necessary) wear a helmet, ride only with one person per E-scooter, don’t ride on sidewalks (Germany), don’t drive heavily intoxicated and drive absolutely considerate. Most E-scooter providers currently allow a maximum weight of 100 kg and the minimum age at the time of testing is 18 years. All data are naturally without guarantee.
The rules for e-scooter use vary from country to country and city to city, and laws may change. Therefore, it is essential to check the respective regulations for driving the e-scooters regularly!
Rental scooter Practical testing …
On your mark, get set, go! As already mentioned in the E-Scooter App Test, you can find a lot of mobile E-Scooters from the big providers at different locations in the major cities. Here you can see for example the numerous e-scooters in Hamburg around the Binnenalster from the provider Circ.
But also the other providers have numerous E-scooters in the capitals, as you can see here at Lime, where even in the overview the battery level is already displayed.
In the app you can now choose the next E-Scooter location, scan the QR code and start driving immediately. Because all further data and payment modalities were already clarified during the App installation.
Some providers even allow the e-scooters to ring so that you know that they are really the right e-scooters. However, this is quite loud and can be done from any position at the moment. We can hardly imagine that this ringing function will continue for a long time, because at the latest when several kidders do mischief with it, the providers should at least reduce the volume significantly.
If you are wondering whether you can simply borrow an E-scooter without registering, you will experience its surprise, because the E-scooters “grumble” with a pretty loud signal tone as soon as you move the E-scooter without unlocking.
Before you unlock the respective E-scooter with the app via the QR code, you should first take a close look at the E-scooter of your desire. Because on the one hand the operation is different with the providers Circ, Lime, Tier and Voi and on the other hand one should convince oneself of a perfect technical condition before the journey!
E-Scooter equipment and E-Scooter operation …
Circ
Circ uses two handbrakes and even has a smartphone holder …
… and Circ also offers a utensil and beverage holder. In the middle is a button for light and on the right the button to activate the electrical support.
Lime
Lime, on the other hand, uses a foot brake and a handbrake on the left hand. As motorcycle riders we had to get used to using our left hand to brake.
In addition, the large and otherwise informative display is unfortunately very difficult to read even without the sun.
Tier
The Ninebot E-Scooter from Tier has a relatively large handlebar stem.
It also has two handbrakes for the front and rear wheel.
If you are searching for the display, …
… finds a small, but very well readable display at Tier after the start.
Only the QR code could occasionally not be read in by camera for Tier, but the short number combination can also be entered manually without any problems.
Voi
Like Circ, Voi only has a handbrake on the left hand, so you have to apply the rear brake with your foot. They look very similar to the Circ in terms of colour, but differ optically in the more bulky handlebar stem.
Drive an electric scooter …
Driving the E-Scooter is, except for the different brakes, quite similar and quick to learn at all providers:
Simply give a little momentum with one foot, then press the button for the electric support with your right thumb and you drive … the E-Scooter battery is empty by the way only after approx. 25km to 40km range.
From the riding feeling “the Tier” pleased us the best, whereby all E-Scooter on the road and on well developed bicycle ways are pleasant to ride, however one should Cobble stone pavement definitely avoid, since here each E-Scooter was terrible. We can also imagine that the current 20 km/h is a challenge for many riders, because it sounds slower than it does in reality on such a small vehicle on the bike path. A fast emergency braking is also difficult with the small rental scooters. Some practice and attention are therefore useful for all E-Scooter models. Nevertheless, we mainly had the feeling with some bicyclists that they didn’t like the new companions on “their” bike paths very much. Let’s hope that the interaction between all road users will improve in the long run.
The riding itself was definitely a lot of fun with all E-Scooters!
After the ride, Lime’s search for a suitable e-scooter parking space turned out to be more complicated than expected and led to unnecessary costs due to the inaccurate recording of the real coordinates, which the tenant then has to pay for the minute-by-minute billing. It remains to be hoped that the app will be somewhat optimized in this respect.
So werden die Leihscooter geladen …
By the way, the rental scooters are collected, checked and recharged overnight by the providers. During certain periods of the night, they are therefore not available. The providers recruit students and mini-jobbers. Lime calls them Juicers, Tier calls them Rangers, Circ calls them Fleet Supporter and Voi calls them Hunter 😀 If you are interested in earning a little money with the nightly charging activity, you can register for it with the app of the respective provider.
That costs the E-Scooter ride …
Now we come back again to the costs, because after the journey comes the billing and the immediate debit. Here we could measure quite exact comparison data of lime and Tier, because we had covered with both exactly the same distance in the same period. As already mentioned on the homepage, only time counts. So a round around the Binnenalster in Hamburg with a break – about 1.8 km with a break in about 27 minutes cost about 6.50 Euro for Tier and about 6.79 Euro for Lime. Since we could receive with Tier a credit of 2,50 euro and a free starting fee, 2,66 euro were accounted for. With Lime we had still a starting fee free, so that still a remainder of 5.60 euro was billed.
Of course, one gets further than 1,8 km in 30 minutes, but 6,5 Euro are a lot of money even for a distance of 10 km that would be possible in a maximum of half an hour. One must also mention that most providers are still in the pricing phase. Some of the prices are still rising.
Here is the E-Scooter video”>E-Scooter video for test from our OCinside YouTube Channel.
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E-Scooter Result and general impression …