Do Electric Scooters have Gears? Posted in: Motor Scooters – Tags: do electric scooters have gears

The E-Scooter or electric scooter had gained popularity throughout the years since it was made. Many of its features were heightened to make it more efficient. However, driving a foldable electric scooter feels much more different than driving a vehicle with gear-based automatic transmission.

One of the differences is electric scooters don’t have gears but use a single-speed transmission. Utilizing single-speed transmission means that the electric motors are efficient enough to make the scooter accelerate compared to diesel or petrol engines. It’s motherboard and motor are capable of handling high torque at extremely low RPMs relative to a petrol engine of 110 cc.

 

How Electric Scooters Work and Why They Don’t Need Gears?

Electric scooter serves as an alternative mode of transportation for expanding cities in which commuting becomes a problem. It is lightweight, compact, easy to learn, environmentally friendly, and can help you reach areas with narrow roads.

Aside from that, it is more budget-friendly than buying or maintaining a car that uses gasoline as its fuel. It has a rechargeable battery that works enough for you to travel within 10 to 40 miles.

The motherboard inside the scooter is the brain of the whole system, which makes the scooter move. It makes the decisions, and it commands the other parts of what it needs to do. The motor is usually located in the area of the frame, which gives force to its movement.  It also has a throttle that offers a signal on the motherboard once the driver presses it.

Depending on how the driver presses the throttle, it can go slow or completely fast while the battery contains the power or the energy of the scooter. The motherboard will open the battery for the electricity to travel down to the motor. 

With this system, the electricity from the battery is transmitted to the motor through the wires, which will make the wheels move forward. Due to this straightforward method, an electric scooter does not rely on gears to transfer torque between mechanical devices of the motor.

Moreover, the motor of an electric scooter can be a chain-driven motor mounted outside of the wheel or a hub motor attached in the inside rim of the electronic scooter. The chain drive is much more dependable because it doesn’t need to be changed once it wears out.

However, it needs to be continuously lubricated so it will not rust. Hub motors, on the other hand, is much better in terms of sound levels, response time, torque, and power. You might have some problems when you ride it off-road or on rocky terrain. 

 

Features of Electric Scooters

The Battery

The electric scooter has battery packs inside, which are made up of individual cells that are attached. The battery is the energy source of the electric bike. It stores all the energy which is being used by the motor and its other parts and accessories. 

Usually, the battery used for electric motors is lithium-ion, but some low-priced types may have lead-acid batteries. Its usual capacity is around 250 watts – hour while the high end or monsters’ scooters have up to 3000 watts-hour. 

 

Brakes 

Brakes help to control and make any vehicles stop, which is essential, especially for your own and others’ safety. There are 2 kinds of braking systems that can be used in an electric scooter. The first one is mechanical, and the other one is electronic.

The mechanical brake systems are disc, drum, and foot brakes. Using those brakes, it can physically slow down the scooter until it stops while the electronic braking system depends on the motor itself for braking. The mechanical braking system gives more reliable braking than the latter, but the electric does not require any regular maintenance.

For safety purposes, it’s better to have at least two braking systems in your scooter in case of any malfunction on the one. 

 

 Controller/throttle

The speed controller is the one sending a signal to the motor and battery every time it accelerates or decelerates. It depends on what you have, but a controller usually looks like a rectangular metal can with a lot of wires attached to it. 

It gets inputs from the accelerator and brake (if it’s electronic) and translates it and sends it after to the motor. Controllers are rated based on the current they can regulate inside them and the voltage they require.

The controllers of an electric scooter might not look like it, but it can be a source of a big problem. You may get a poorly designed scooter which is known to have a faulty controller. It may endanger your life or someone you know. That is why it’s essential to check if you have or the scooter that you’re going to buy has a suitable controller in it. 

 

Motor

Most electric scooters have one motor on it while some have two. If it employs a hub motor, then you may see it on one or both wheels of the scooter. Engines in an electric scooter are evaluated depending on their power consumption.

If you have a powerful motor, then it means it will have more wattage. The usual electric scooter will have a 250-watt engine while the better ones like Wolf Warrior may have a dual 1200-watt motor. 

 

Wheels

The kind of wheels in your scooter will affect the performance of your scooter. There are two types of tires or wheels that you may choose to use. The first one is pneumatic(air-filled), and the other one is airless. The first one, which is pneumatic tires, will give you better quality than the other one.  It is also preferable in adverse road conditions.

 

Deck

The deck is the part where you stand in a scooter, and it usually looks like a skateboard. Some electric scooters have their battery inside the deck.  Its surface has a specific kind of texture finish on it to have a better grip between the driver’s shoes and the deck’s surface. The size they have in the deck is 14″ by 5″ inches and has few inches of ground clearance.  

 

Stem

The stem is a metal tube that connects the handlebars to the front wheel. Some stems can be folded, which allows easy carrying and storage, but it can cause some instability. Make sure to choose the best scooter based on your needs. 

 

Handlebars

The handlebars have all the controls, including the accelerator, brakes, speed/setting display, and power buttons. It is connected in the stem, and some may have folding handlebars to reduce its width for storage.

 

Conclusion

Electric scooter does not rely on gears to transfer power and torque to other mechanical parts of the motor to facilitate movements. However, there is a motherboard that coordinates and controls the transfer of energy from the battery to the engine to make the wheels move. 

Due to the ingenuity of this product, electric scooters have been gaining popularity for students and commuters who have relatively shorter distances to travel. However, before buying a scooter check your location to see if their are any legal restrictions or prohibitions on them.