How to Ride an Electric Scooter for the First Time?

An electric scooter is gaining popularity because of its ability to cut down travel time while keeping costs down. Watching other people riding this seems easy – and in reality, it is! But beginners may have a tricky time while riding the one. Now you need not worry about this at all as our beginner-friendly guide will walk through everything you need to know about “how to ride an electric scooter for the first time?” But if it’s not quite your first ride, surely you’ll still find a few useful tips here.

Riding an electric bike is like that of a kick scooter but with a few differences. Below are a few tips and tricks for beginners to explore their ride and how to make their first ride with joy and proper caution.

Pre-Riding Tips

Preparing your scooter is as crucial as taking all steps to make the ride itself. It’s not complicated at all. It includes a few tips that you must consider to avoid any inconvenience during commuting.

Wear Appropriate Protective Gear

First, you must prepare yourself for the ride; for this purpose, wear proper protective gear to ensure your safety in case of an accident. The safety gear for e-scooters may consist of the following:

• A Helmet
• Safety Gloves
• Knee Pads
• Elbow Pads
• Reflective Vest

Safety gloves and pads are optional that you can quit after getting your hand at scootering, but wearing a helmet is always recommended. If you’re riding at night, try to attach lights to your helmet or wear a reflective vest to ensure more visibility to pedestrians and other vehicles to prevent any mishap.

Be Familiar With Your Scooter Parts and Controls

Always make sure to be familiar with your scooter parts and controls. Specifically, learn the functionality of each button or throttle. Have a knowledge of how the controls on the deck work and complete folding mechanism. Make sure to know about every bit of your scooter and how exactly it works.

Check the condition of your e-scooter

Whenever you’re making up your mind about commuting, always make certain to inspect the condition of your e-scooters components. Here is a checklist that can assist you in this matter:

• Make sure the battery is fully charged.
• The scooter has strong braking power and a stable folding mechanism.
• Make sure that the tire pressure is good and there’s no tire damage.
• There must be no obvious damage and weird noise
• Acceleration must be steady

If your scooter fulfills all these conditions, you’re good to go.

How to Ride an Electric Scooter for the First Time | 8 Steps

Riding an e-scooter is easy and intuitive. Taking the first few steps are crucial to deciding your whole journey. Getting the first steps right ensures your safety and builds your confidence. We’re going to cover 8 key points to assist you in making safe riding with no difficulty. So, let’s get right into it!

Unfold and Unlock the Scooter

Most of the e-scooter in the market have a specific folding mechanism. If your scooter has one, then unfold it and bring it to a normal upright position. After that, turn the scooter on by pressing the power switch or an accompanying app, in case you’re using a shared scooter. Now you’re ready to start commuting.

Choose the Perfect Spot- A Flat Surface

Practicing your first ride on a paved surface with no obstacles is recommended. So place your unfolded scooter on a flat surface; it’ll assist you in getting a feel of riding without having the worry of accidents. Also, look for the time of the day or place where there’s enough room for riding, with fewer vehicles and pedestrians around.

Raise the Kickstand and Launch Your Scooter

Launching your scooter is as simple as placing one foot on the deck, kicking it off, and pushing the accelerator down. To get the scooter motor to engage, you usually have to get it up to 3 mph, although zero-start scooters don’t require it. Before launching, make sure to raise the kickstand beside or under the scooter using either of your feet. There’s a chance for the scooter to lean after it, so make sure to support and hold onto it.

Use a Kick-Scooter Stance

Place your weak leg on the deck while your strong on the flat surface with your feet facing forward. Lean forward and hold the handlebars with your hands. That’s your starting position.

Place Your Strong Leg onto the Scooter Deck

In case it’s your first time on the scooter, you may wish to adopt a conventional stance, having one foot, typically non-dominant, in front of the other. If you place your dominant foot in front, you use a goofy stance. However, placing your strong leg on the deck behind the weak one while moving will better assist you in being comfortable and maintaining balance. This position is also good for minimizing your size. It’s how to ride an electric scooter for the first time.

Accelerate Slowly

Most electric scooters have twist throttles that assist in accelerating forward. However, be careful not to push it too hard to avoid speeding off and causing accidents. Being a beginner, it’s good to take a slow and steady start. While practicing, always choose the lowest speed mode from all available riding modes. If you want to turn the scooter, rotate the handlebars slowly to maintain a smooth commute.

Learn to Balance and Stabilize Yourself

Being a beginner, as you ride slowly, learn to balance on a scooter and have a feel of how to ride an electric scooter for the first time. If you’re riding at normal speed (around 8km/h), practice turning your handlebars and shifting your weight to carry on a balance and stabilize yourself. While riding, always keep both of your hands on the handlebars, as their purpose is to provide support and turn away in case of sudden collision.

Learn How To Brake Properly

Get familiarized yourself with how to brake on a scooter before riding far and going to populated areas. This way, you’ll be able to execute a safe brake when needed. Knowing the proper braking mechanism can prevent you from falling off and hard jerking in case of a sudden stop. Simply pull the brake lever slowly to slow down and stop the scooter. If you want a gradual and smooth brake, then the back brake option is more favorable.

What to Do After Riding Electric Scooter

When you’ve reached safely to your destination, follow the bellow after riding tips:

• Store the scooter in a secure place so that you can easily find it when you get back to it.
• While placing your scooter in a public place, always remember to lock it. High-quality U-locks are recommended as these are expensive and heavy, about 4.5 lbs but really worth it. Low-quality locks won’t ensure protection. we have written a blog on how to lock a scooter go check this for details.
• If your scooter has gotten wet while riding, then make sure to clean it with a clean towel before storing it. After that, store it in a clean dry place where there’s a strong chance of completely drying off before the next ride.

 Advanced Riding Techniques

While learning how to ride an electric scooter for the first time on public roads, you need to keep the below-mentioned advanced riding techniques in your pocket to be safe and avoid any inconvenience.

Look Ahead When Riding

Once you learn to ride your electric scooter, it’s time to learn to look ahead to observe your surroundings while riding. Some first-time riders keep their eyes on the deck, the feet, or on handlebars instead of the road, which is a dangerous practice.

While riding, always keep an eye on the pedestrians and give them a way to pass. Be mindful of other riders and vehicles while riding near the street. It’s crucial to pay attention to road surfaces, so you can prepare yourself in case the road is slippery or uneven.

Roll over Obstacles, Perpendicularly

If there’s any obstacle on the way, then to roll over it, practice shifting your weight slightly to the rear fender and jump the front wheel over the obstacle while slightly pulling the handlebars. Here the goal is to unweight the front wheel and make it as easy as possible for it to cross the hurdle.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Never push the throttle too hard, as it’ll result in a sudden jump and could make the rider lose control and fall off.
• Never pull the brake lever too hard, as it can result in stopping the scooter suddenly and causing the rider to fall from it.
• Never turn the handlebars too far as turning handlebars too far may hinder the way to shift your weight, and keep the scooter upright while turning, thus causing the scooter to fall.
• Avoid leaning on the scooter while riding, as it can disturb the center of balance, causing the rider to fall.
• Never commit the mistake of not wearing a helmet; as per the CDC report, 45% of head injuries by e-scooter accidents could be avoided by wearing a helmet.

FAQs

How hard is it to ride an electric scooter?

Ridding an electric scooter is similar to that of a manual scooter. You can get used to it with a little practice.

How old do you have to be to ride an electric scooter?

Age requirements to ride an electric scooter vary from state to state or country. If we talk about America, then according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) minimum age must be above 16.

Can you ride an electric scooter in the rain?

Yes, you can, but with some specific models. It depends on the scooter specifications, but it’s recommended not to drive in the rain for your safety, even if the scooter model is rated as waterproof.

The Verdict- How to ride an electric Scooter

Now you’ve all the basic knowledge about “ how to ride an electric scooter for the first time?” It isn’t as difficult, so take your time practicing the riding tactics. Remember to resist the temptation to fly until you become pro and confident. Follow for more Empire scooters.

Apply the safety tips for secure and worry-free commuting!