# Tell me about folding electric scooters for adults **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-folding-electric-scooters-for-adults/835461 "2019-06-13T02:56:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-folding-electric-scooters-for-adults/835461/1 "2019-06-13T02:56:51Z")
So I just started a new job, and my current commute involves a mile to the train downtown (there is a bus, but it’s erratic enough that I usually walk), about 25 minutes on the train, and then 3/4 of a mile on foot downtown. (Again, there is a bus, but it’s so slow at rush hour that it’s probably faster to walk, especially given that I have to walk a couple of blocks to get to the bus.) Total time door to door is a bit over an hour, depending on connections, and close to 2/3 of that is usually on foot. I have a bike share membership, but availability near my new office is erratic, and it’s hard to bike in a skirt. I am wondering if it might make sense to acquire a folding electric scooter that I could take on the train. (I have a gimpy ankle, so I don’t walk so fast, plus the cumulative amount gets to me sometimes in terms of pain level.) I have tried bringing my own bike for the initial mile to the train, but find it difficult to carry it down 2 stories’ worth of stairs to the bike lockup because my ankle doesn’t bend, so I have balance issues with a handrail in one hand and the bike in the other. I thought a scooter might have similar weight, but be less awkward to balance, plus then I could also use it on the other end. Does anyone here have a scooter that they commute with? Any tips on what features to look for? What do you wish you had known when you bought yours? Am I crazy even to think of it? What will I do in the winter when it’s icy? What am I not thinking to ask about? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-folding-electric-scooters-for-adults/835461/2 "2019-06-13T15:37:55Z")
I put my thoughts into this recent thread: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=877000](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=877000) ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-folding-electric-scooters-for-adults/835461/3 "2019-06-14T15:03:54Z")
You might also want to look into a folding bicycle. They weigh less than a scooter – about 25 pounds. They’re still a little awkward to carry around but they do fold up very quickly; less then a minute once you get the hang of it – lots of Youtube how-to videos around. I have a Dahon and see quite a few of the them commuting around trains and buses in New York City. Unless you are traveling on hills you could probably do with a single speed rather that messing with gears. Because of the small wheels (typically 20 inches) they accelerate very quickly and are quite zippy and maneuverable in traffic. [https://usa.dahon.com/bikes-category/bikes/](https://usa.dahon.com/bikes-category/bikes/) ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-folding-electric-scooters-for-adults/835461/4 "2019-06-14T17:56:50Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > You might also want to look into a folding bicycle. They weigh less than a scooter – about 25 pounds. They’re still a little awkward to carry around but they do fold up very quickly; less then a minute once you get the hang of it – lots of Youtube how-to videos around. > > I have a Dahon and see quite a few of the them commuting around trains and buses in New York City. Unless you are traveling on hills you could probably do with a single speed rather that messing with gears. > > Because of the small wheels (typically 20 inches) they accelerate very quickly and are quite zippy and maneuverable in traffic. > > [https://usa.dahon.com/bikes-category/bikes/](https://usa.dahon.com/bikes-category/bikes/) I actually did think of that, but it’s awkward to bike in a skirt.