01 May 2017

2017 ultimate balance scooter buying and riding guide

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What is electric balance scooter ?

Electric balance scooter is a battery power driven and self balancing means of transport, the operation principle is mainly based on the the basic principles of “dynamic stabilization”, use internal gyroscope and acceleration sensors to detect changes in scooter body posture and use the servo control system to precisely drive the motor to adjust accordingly to maintain system balance. Riders only need to change their own body angle forward or backward, the balance scooters can running forward or backward according to the tilted direction.

Electric balance scooter classification

Currently electric balance scooter can be divided into three types including one wheel balance scooter, two wheels balance scooter, four wheels balance scooter. But different balance scooter manufacturers designed balance scooter in various styles.One wheel balance scooters including surfboard type, skateboard type, pedal type,skateboard type one wheel balance scooter is generally more difficult to drive than the pedal type; the two wheels balance scooters including balance scooters with handle and balance scooters without handle bar, for balance scooters with handle bar, user need to use the handle to regulate the direction , for balance scooter without handle bar,user need to adjust their body posture to control the scooter running direction; four wheels balance scooter usually comes in skateboard type,generally need to use with a remote control. The difference between the three types electric balance scooters in addition to the different outer appearance design, battery capacity and driving mileage is also obvious different. As a consumable, most electric balance scooter can have the battery replaced or the second battery installed, but generally battery price is relatively high.

balance scooters classifications

As for the kind of balance scooter with seat, we don’t recommend user to buy, there will be problems in the induction, and has a great risk in riding safety. Which is their most confusing area, the balance scooter is only suitable for travel, which is short distance ride,the concept of design and install a seat for balance scooter really necessary ? Riding a balanced scooter on the road, has always been a high concentration of attention, need to always pay attention to people and car around, you are riding a balance scooter just to relax? Moreover, sit riding has a lot of sensitivity difference from stand riding, rider can not respond to the surrounding situation in a timely manner.

Why do you buy electric balance scooter?

Do you want to buy a balance scooter ? Why do you want to buy? just for fun or want to use it so usual travel? It is estimated that some people will have the following ideas or brainwashing by some business’s good publicity:
A. Due to the rapid development of today’s society, as well as the popularity of private cars, traffic congestion cities has become a common phenomenon in big and small city, driving became more and more difficult. A stylish, convenient electric one wheel balance scooter, allowing you to enjoy the fast,relax and happy movements by shuttle in the downtown streets during go and off work.

riding one wheel balance scooter

B. Electric balance scooter as an new environmentally friendly means of transport, from a height view, is personally involved in green trip, low-carbon green lifestyle, is a fashion trends, view from the actual life needs point, for short distance travel is very convenient, eliminating the trouble of drive,take a crowded bus or subway, it will also achieve the purpose of saving money.

riding one wheel electric skateboard

C.Relative to the electric bike or bicycle, one wheel balance scooter more compact, easy to carry, you can directly put it into the trunk of the car or directly take into the bus,subway,train and carry into the room (such as office or home). As a new generation of energy saving, environmental protection, portable means of transport, general charge takes 1-2 hours, you can travel 15-30 km per full charge.

riding one wheel electric skateboard one wheel electric skateboard side review

It is undeniable that the above content is also recognized in the earliest time when balance scooter occurred, but later we found that some scooters because of the size or weight,they are no portable anyway, followed by the complex city traffic flow and complex road,safety driving in the city is a problem, brake performance and scooter body stability (anti-bumpy) is particularly important, we can clearly tell you that is the two wheels balance scooter ( hoverboard ) has very critical demanding for the road conditions, a little bit of small bumps can let you drift during normal driving, or even get you off. What’s more,congestion on the road will not be able to highlight the advantages of balancing scooter, because you need to stop and go, pay attention to the riding crowd, in most cases you need hand carry or implementation. There is also an important matter is the unavoidable battery capacity, driving mileage and replacement costs, the battery replacement is an important part of the current electric balance scooter,currently good quality battery prices are generally high, so it will cause the user some burden.Also some cities may even ban a class of balance scooters, consumer would need to treat differently.

So, currently electric balance scooter is still a concept than an useful product,you are enthusiasts or real users ,you should have clear positioning, as a rich buyer,you can buy anyone as you wish, buy the best quality ones or most expensive ones to play around is understandable. The current price of the balance scooter compared with the earliest time has got a big drop,the price is cheap, but can the battery be replaced and how much is the replacement cost, tire material and wear, the brake parts wear and tear are the places needed daily attention. things worth hundreds dollars that throw with just a decision is not realistic, after all, some people still need to compare and then choose,balance scooter price at hundred dollars,for some people,the price is not as good as buying an electric motorcycle or electric bicycle , which can riding for a few years and maintenance costs are lower.

But in terms of personal feelings, the electric balance scooter has not been popular as a few years ago, firstly because the product has become saturated, the price has become clear, the business profit margins are not big; secondly some cities or regions has been banned the balance scooter;thirdly is because of safety problem during riding,these safety problem partially because of balance scooter design defectives,the other may because of user themselves; fourthly is because balance scooter generally suitable for young people riding, children or the elderly do not suitable for riding, which limit the user group; fifthly is to the emergence of electric bicycles are more closer to the user’s short riding needs.

Reviews of all kinds of electric balance scooter

The following review are based on our own riding experience, we simply give some comments on common balance scooter types in the market:

Two wheels balance scooter with handle bar ( segway scooter )

difficulty ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ dangerous ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
There is no difficulty for beginners, even people with poor balance sense can feel a little easy to ride on the scooter. Pedal flat and comfortable, with a bike handlebar feel. If you can ride this kind of balance scooter, other types of balance scooter you should also give up. There is no requirement for the flatness of the road.

riding segway electric balance scooter with handle bar

Four wheels balance scooter ( electric skateboard )

difficulty ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ dangerous ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
The most common type of four wheels balance scooter is electric skateboard,user not only need to control the front or back movement with the remote control, but also need to rely on gravity to adjust the direction, direction regulation and speed control must pay attention to the intensity; Compared to the two-wheeled balance scooter with handle bar ( Segway scooter ), this four wheels balance scooter actually more difficult in control, because there is an additional remote control,and only one handed operation, user need to use both hands and feet.

cheap 350w electric skateboard with single motor

One wheel balance scooter

difficulty ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ dangerous ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
The one wheel balance scooter needs to take some time to experience, unlike the two wheels segway balance scooter, it is no so easy to set foot steady on the scooter pedal, require users to have a higher balance sense, and the pedal prone to sliding problems after long time usage. For the beginners we does not recommend to use the auxiliary wheels, because it is not so useful,you can start looking for a balance sense from single foot. There is a certain demand to drive on the road , although you can deal with the bumps or stone road, potholes, but you may easily slide out of the pedal, and cause falling situation.

one wheel electric balance scooter

Two wheels balance scooter without handle bar ( hoverboard )

difficulty★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ dangerous ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
It is almost the same with one wheel balance scooter in riding difficulty,left and right have separate detection and control unit, were controlled through the left and right feet ,with the requirements for better coordination, but also because this design requires the scooter to have high requirements on road flatness, prone to drift situation extremely in fast driving situation, if there are bumps or uneven sections appear during normal driving, there will be flick, drift and so on risks. I have had the experience of almost falling down when fast pass through a potholed road.

Factors to consider when purchase a hoverboard

One wheel skateboard

difficulty ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ dangerous ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This difficulty is the highest among all balance scooters and most dangerous. Such a skateboard has the highest requirements for balance sense, because how to stand up is a problem, and how to move on is another problem.

If you want to step on the way to get off work or travel,two wheels balance scooter without handle bar ( hoverboard ) is a good choice, as the product of Ninebot 9 balance scooter or Ninebot mini pro segway scooter not recommended here, because of the middle joystick among your legs seems really ugly. If you want to attract eyes, then go to play one wheel balance scooter.

one wheel electric skateboard balance scooter

Purchase notes

No matter what kind of electric balance scooter, if you decide to buy, it is recommended to experience in a physical store first, try your own acceptable level. On personal awareness, better not to consider balance scooter below 200$, riding safety is most important, and the battery life will be a big problem. During the purchase of electric balance scooter,please pay attention to below factors:

1. Shell and pedal material (especially for one wheel balance scooter )

One wheel balance scooter in the actual riding,you can’t avoid of falling off problem, so the shell material is very important for wear resistance and scratch resistance. Common scooter body material is the ABS material, some of the manufacturers will add rubber pad on both sides, on one hand to enhance the impact resistance ability, reducing the damage to the scooter body; on the other hand is to reduce the inside calf oppression, reducing calf pain after long time riding.

one wheel balance scooter shell

Mentioned about long time riding, another important part you need to focus on is the pedal. Need to pay attention about the size of the pedal and the surface material, a large area pedal will be better as it can support the whole soles, it will help to ensure riding more stable, more effort and you can also better control the direction. Besides, surface material must with anti skid treatment,friction the greater the better , even it can be a sandpaper. Common materials are generally rubber, with a patchwork of texture to achieve the effect of anti slip.

one wheel balance scooter pedal

2. Tire material and size

This is related to the smoothness of riding, whether it is ordinary road or bumpy road. Tire material is not recommended like ABS material, try to choose the traditional rubber material tires. In general, bigger and wider tire will be more stable and achieve better off-road performance. Some high-end products will use solid rubber tires.

Cheap 8.5 inch Hummer SUV hoverboard black color suit for sand beach usage

3. Speed up ​​and braking performance

The two performance mainly related to the master chip and control unit, intuitive is the algorithm. The requirements for the speed up is to be smooth, no “push back” feeling, this “push back” shouldn’t exist, because it related to the riding safety. If you have the opportunity to experience in a physical store ,better experience for a while,besides you can refer to some riding video for judgement.

4. motor

Motor as an important driving unit, motor power size directly related to the riding experience, such as speed up performance. Brand name balance scooter manufacturers generally use brushless motor, and good quality batteries. Generally maximum power, maximum speed, climbing angle and other import technical parameters will be written in the user manual. Please note that maximum balance scooter speed is generally limited to 18km/h or below by factory, user can through some software or the official APP to adjust speed.However, the highest speed and motor power have a direct relationship, and not related to climbing angle.
Common balance scooter on the market motor power between 500-1000W, climbing angle of 10-20 degrees, of course, there are 2000W motor power balance scooters too.Balanced scooter motor power the greater the better, but for the speed is not the higher the better, after all, riding a balance scooter is different from riding bicycles and other electric scooters, sudden unexpected situation or emergency braking led to lost control of the direction is prone to fluttering street situation. Balance scooter speed of 18km/h user ears can feel the wind, it is really exciting but there is a certain risk, when the system detects the speed reaches the preset limit, it will automatic deceleration, after all, riding safety first. In the actual riding, one wheel balance scooter with motor power of 500W, climbing angle of 18 degrees, stable speed in 15km/h riding is able to meet the needs of riding in cities.

5. battery pack

Batteries as energy supply core, capacity and stability are equally important. At present, the mainstream manufacturers are using the 18650 lithium battery pack. 18650 lithium battery cell brand commonly used is Samsung, Sony, Panasonic,LG; Samsung batteries because the price relatively cheap and well accepted by public, so many balance scooters using Samsung 8650 lithium battery pack. These four brand batteries are more assured in quality, can effectively provide continuous power output. But some low-priced products, they may use low-quality lithium batteries with poor stability, likely to cause the scooter power shortage and lead to power outages. So how to determine the battery pack brand used in the balance scooter ?Generally branded balance scooter technical parameters are clearly listed in the purchase page or brochure,battery brand information will listed too.If you did not see the introduction of batteries in the purchase page, try to choose an independent page of spare battery and have a look, generally you can also view the details. For low prices and no specific batteries information balance scooter, you can directly ignore them, buying these kind of low price balance scooter may bring risks to yourself.

real 36V 4.3AH samsung lithium battery pack for hoverboard

Besides,you also need to pay attention to other security design, such as speed limit function, automatic deceleration function, climbing and downhill balance performance available or not.

Riding notes

For the beginner, it is recommended to talk with some experienced players or sellers, but the focus is still their own practice, figure out,master. Although every balance scooter seller will tell you to wear protective device,but as an experience rider, i don’t recommend you to wear these kind of protective gears, because it will make you feel dependent on a kind, but not concentrate.Below are some attention or needs i want to share:
1. Beginners can choose to buy protective gears, to avoid injury during practice;
2. Whether it is practice or normal driving, during sudden situation you must protect yourself first rather than keep the balance scooter safe;
3. Make sure that the battery is inflated properly before using it;
4. One wheel balance scooter self-balancing range is limited, do not urgent
acceleration and deceleration, so as to avoid bumps caused by scooter’s fault justice;
5. Do not try a quick speed before you have a good grasp of control
the balance scooter;
6. During practice you can rely on the wall, railings or people to familiar with the balance sense, i do not recommend the installation of auxiliary wheel or other auxiliary fixture;
7. Online tutorial is actually not so useful, please rely on your own to figure out;

Everyone’s balance ability is different, some people may need to master driving of balance scooter in a day or two, but some people may only need a few minutes, it is true. So do not rush to quickly ride the balance scooter on the road, master and then riding on the road. The so-called master, that is, you are riding a total of more than 50 km, can easily through the bumpy road (gravel road, dirt road etc) and will not get off, no need to get off during emergency stop, free shuttle narrow road Piles and so on then you can consider to driving on the road, because on the road you may encounter a variety of unexpected situations, whether people or cars.

practice of one wheel electric balance scooter

Have said so much, in fact, also a word, electric balance scooter really fun, but before you buy carefully think about your own riding frequency, whether you can skillfully control the balance scooter.Good luck,guys,hope you can enjoy riding balance scooter and encounter goodliness during riding.

 

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