Can You Pedal An Electric Scooter: Answer is electric moped

I can imagine it would be fantastic if our electric scooters had pedals. It could extend the electric scooter’s practical range and be a great clean and eco-friendly option to exercise. Additionally, Pedals can be a good backup option during a long ride if your battery runs out! But, we see those electric kick scooters don’t have pedals, and that is primarily because of the design and purpose. In this article, we’ll try to figure out if it is possible to pedal an electric scooter. To answer your question in short:

An electric scooter is an entirely motorized device powered by electricity. Here you don’t get an option for pedaling. However, if you consider electric mopeds, they can provide you with hybrid functionalities of an electric scooter and an electric bike. In that way, it is possible to get the pedal experience.

Depending on the functionality and designs, you have different vehicles in the market. But if you understand how they work, you will already get your answer that although pedaling is possible with an electric scooter, we don’t get pedals because of the utility of different vehicles. Technically, adding pedaling functionalities to your electric scooter is absolutely possible if you can engineer your design.

Now, we’ll try to understand why we don’t get pedaling functionalities with electric scooters available in the market.

Why can’t we pedal an electric scooter?

1. Electric kick-scooter:

Here, first, we must understand the purpose of an electric kick scooter. Usually, these short-distance electric vehicles help get your job done quickly if you have to commute within a short-range.

The manufacturers must ensure these scooters have specific features for the abovementioned purposes. The features are discussed below.

• These scooters are lightweight.
• They are portable.
• Designs are simple yet effective enough for a quick and short ride.
• Cost-effective and efficient enough with minimal features.
• The design is similar to the normal kick-scooters to attract traditional kick-scooter lovers.

For these reasons, we don’t see electric scooters’ pedaling features. If you imagine the design, these electric kick-scooters don’t have a seat, and the standing base is too close to the ground. So it makes it obvious that pedaling may not be a convenient feature to add with the same design.

2. Electric scooter with traditional design:

It is possible to add pedaling features to the electric scooters with traditional designs. But again, we have to understand the utility of these electric scooters first.

Mainly these electric scooters are replacing the traditional electric scooters powered by fossil fuels. As we can see, the aim is to have a greener approach here; obviously, the users will expect these scooters to have the same functionalities as the traditional ones.

These scooters have high speed and a bulky yet safe design to match the traditional functionalities. Now pedaling would be an unnecessary addition to these scooters, which is why we don’t see manufacturers considering adding pedaling with electric scooters.

Pedal functionality with an electric scooter: Electric Moped

Electric mopeds are the hybrid version of an e-bike and electric scooters. The word ‘moped’ comes from motorized pedals. Usually, because of the extra features, these vehicles are heavier than the e-bikes and electric kick scooters. But often, mopeds are more practical to carry large bags. If you want to deliver food, mopeds can be an excellent option to consider. Although among all these models, electric scooters with traditional designs are the most durable and can be perfect for food delivery or similar purposes.

In a moped, you get three ultimate hybrid features:

A. A moped can be as fast as an electric scooter and faster than an electric bike.

B. A moped can be durable enough if you want to commute carrying something heavy.

C. Moped has a pedaling feature so that you can use it for your bicycling exercise.

Before you consider buying or developing a moped, please ensure it is legal in your area. In most cases, you have to use a driving license for it.

Why can pedaling be a useful feature to have with an electric scooter?

Electric scooters are solely dependent on the battery. And around the world, charging stations for electric scooters are still not that popular. Even in the US, you will mostly get those stations near the city areas.

Now, if your battery runs out while you are in the mid-way, you’ll not have a backup option to reach your destination. But if you had pedals, you could complete the journey by pedaling. That is why mopeds are popular choices as you get a complete package there.

When is pedaling not a useful feature to have with an electric scooter?

If your electric scooter has a good speed range, you’ll often find pedaling useless to keep up with that high speed. That is why pedaling is only helpful as a backup option only.

Difference between an electric moped and an electric scooter

1. Electric Moped vs. Electric kick scooter

• Electric mopeds have a longer range than electric kick scooters.
• Electric mopeds have pedals, but electric scooters don’t have pedals.
• Electric mopeds may carry your stuff, but electric kick scooters are simple in design, so they don’t have a carrier.
• Electric kick scooters are incredibly portable and lightweight. But, electric mopeds are bulky, and because of many features, they have a huge structure compared to an electric kick scooter.
• Usually, electric mopeds have a higher speed than electric kick scooters.
• Electric kick scooters are better for short-range commutes, whereas mopeds are versatile. Although, none of these devices are great for a long drive. It depends a lot on the charging station infrastructure in your area.

2. Electric scooters (with traditional scooter design) vs. Electric Mopeds

• Electric scooter manufacturers target the users who are using/ want to get the utility of LPG and CNG scooters. Naturally, you will see these electric scooters having designs very similar to the traditional ones. Mopeds look very similar to electric scooters, but mopeds have pedals.
• These electric scooters have a durable structure, and you can use them for food delivery. Mopeds are not bad when it comes to durability, but scooters are relatively well designed to give that user comfort.
• Electric scooters are costlier than mopeds.
• These electric scooters have huge batteries to travel for long distances, and Mopeds have a relatively smaller battery size.

One thing is worth mentioning many manufacturers sell electric scooters in the name of e-mopeds. So don’t get confused. Always check out the utility to distinguish different vehicles. By definition, mopeds without pedals are not mopeds. They are scooters with low motor power.

Which one to choose? Electric scooter vs. electric moped vs. electric bike

If I try to assume from your reading intent, maybe you are looking for a pedaling option with an electric scooter to get the opportunity to exercise with the flexibility of high speed and range while riding in battery mode.

In that scenario, an electric moped can be an excellent option for you.

Popularity: Electric scooter vs. electric moped vs. electric bike

Honestly, all kinds of electric vehicles are gaining popularity as we are getting more aware of climate change. In the last few years, we have seen exponential growth in the use of electric vehicles. You can check out this data by Statista.

Find more statistics at Statista

According to google trends, all those different types of two-wheelers have similar trends. However, electric mopeds are not very popular mainly because electric bike and scooter have their unique utility, while electric mopeds are a hybrid version of both.

Now, it all depends on the user and the vehicle’s utility. You can decide which one can be a perfect match for you. 

conclusion

Cycling is a great exercise, and when you get that feature with an electric scooter, it might fulfill your expectations. But unfortunately, electric scooters don’t come with pedals. So maybe an electric moped must be waiting for you. But if cycling is your only aim, then you can go for an electric bike or a regular bicycle.