When looking for a new way to traverse the busy city streets, many people look toward smaller electric vehicles like e-bikes for their transportation needs. However, electric bikes are old news. Many people are more interested in e-scooters and e-unicycles for their needs these days.
While they share some similarities, they are quite different from each other. In this post, we’ll go over the key differences between e-scooters and e-unicycles so that you can pick the one that’s the best fit for you.
How They Look
Let’s start with the obvious difference: these vehicles have completely different designs. E-scooters have two wheels attached to a long platform with a long handle sticking up from it for steering and balance. Electric unicycles are basically just a giant wheel with two small platforms on each side for your feet.
General Usability
These design differences also change how usable each vehicle is. E-scooters are pretty easy to use. Most people have ridden a scooter before, and the concept is pretty much the same for electric models. You turn with the handlebars and balance to stay up. The only difference is you don’t have to pedal; you just hit the accelerator to move.
On the other hand, e-unicycles are much more difficult to pick up. Even if you’ve ridden a unicycle before, you will likely struggle to learn how to ride one of these. There’s no handle or seat that’ll help with support or turning. Everything you do on the e-unicycle is controlled purely through leg strength and a strong sense of balance. Once a person takes the time to teach themselves how to ride one of these vehicles, it’ll become like second nature. However, the initial learning curve is much higher than that of an electric scooter.
Travel Distance
Generally, both machines can travel about the same distance, but occasionally, e-scooters will edge out the victory. This has to do with the fact that scooters tend to have larger batteries. E-unicycles don’t have much room to fit larger batteries, so they aren’t able to travel as far before needing a recharge.
Portability
One thing that both vehicles have over e-bikes is their portability. However, it’s much easier to carry and store an e-unicycle than an e-scooter. This is because electric unicycles are much smaller. Plus, there are backpacks made specifically for carrying these small vehicles. You can fold up an electric scooter to make it easier to carry around, but there isn’t a backpack big enough to comfortably carry one.
Overall Cost
Finally, the last difference between e-scooters and e-unicycles is the cost of purchasing one. This is another category in which both options are very similar, but if you want a higher-end model, you’ll end up paying more for an electric scooter. E-unicycles rarely go for more than $4,000 to $5,000, while e-scooters can easily surpass $6,000. While this difference isn’t too large, it is worth noting.