About two weeks ago, I made the pilgrimage to New York City’s Electric Mecca:
NYCEWheels. They’ve been around a long time.
Look at all the eBikes:
And all the other goodies:
But I came to see one thing: eScooters!
They carry only two (the others above are all-kick):
And this is the one I wanted to see:
It’s the second-generation Booster Plus from E-TWOW/Uscooters.
I didn’t do a test ride. I didn’t want to whine.
What I did do was heft it. And that was a heartbreak. At 24lbs, it was just too much for my back. Really, my back was still feeling the weight up to a half hour after I left the place.
While it can be trolleyed (pulled behind you while folded), even that was too cumbersome for my liking or comfort. It was like a metal whale to me. There was nothing really portable about it for me. And the idea of having to drag that thing if the battery died or malfunctioned was too much.
I also pinched the tires (to confirm they’re solid; duh!), looked at the new color display, and watched it being folded so I could lift it. I also felt the very grippy deck and the new curved handles. Everything looked solidly built. The design is more functional than stylish, that’s for sure.
I didn’t take a bunch of photos because my entire trip was about its weight. Everything else I’d seen in videos and already knew about.
Or thought I knew.
It turns out that the first-gen model had an electrical-related issue that I find a bit scary. Plugging in the charger while the charger wasn’t plugged into an AC outlet would tend to produce a spark! That’s just unacceptable. I’m surprised NYCEWheels wasn’t inundated with customer returns.
That problem has been fixed with the second-gen model and NYCEWheels, in their video below, also talks about E-TWOW addressing other issues they had. See? This is why eScooters are best bought from dealers. eScooter makers will listen to a dealer. They don’t want their sales channel to shrink and for potential buyers to wonder why their brand is no longer being carried. But listen to customers? Not really. They could see you as just a lone nut — while everyone else who has remained silent has the same problem(s).
My lifting of the E-TWOW/Uscooters only reconfirmed my thinking that most eScooters are just too damn heavy. Designers must think of the MacBook Air. These things must be surprisingly light to carry and to trolley. Until they are, the market is going to be limited.
UScooter Update – Booster Plus Model available now at NYCeWheels
I wish NYCEWheels would investigate the NextDrive 2.0. I know they detest carbon fiber electric scooters because of their past test experience with them. But that 2.0 from NextDrive is nothing like those.
Previously here:
Mike Cane's Atomic Supermen 
I purchased the 8.7ah version of this uScooter and was very happy with it in the beginning. The only thing I did not like was a nasty suspension sound coming from the back shock area when I would hit a small bump at high speed, like going over railroad tracks. Other than that, it worked well for my everyday commute to and from the train. However after just 170 miles and 9 months the batteries failed. The company took over 2 months just to tell me the batteries are only warranted for 6 months and it would cost me $200 for a replacement. The batteries are cheap Chinese cells that are prone to failure and this company does not warranty them for long for that very reason. I can not recommend doing business with these guys as their customer support is horrible and I am now out of my primary mode of commuting for 3 months getting this thing fixed. I was able to find a replacement battery off of eBay guaranteed for 2 years for $120 with a new BMS and charger (upgrading to a 10ah battery)
Thanks for warning everyone.