Best Electric Scooter and E-Bike Rental for First-Time Riders
If you told America’s first congress that you hopped on a Lime and rolled-up to sign the constitution, there’s a good chance they would’ve responded “What’s a Lime?” You see, limes didn’t become a real commercial commodity in America until the late 1800s, way after the constitution was signed in 1787.
Despite the fruit gaining prominence in the US in the late 1800s, riding a lime stayed impossible until January 2017. Now, just 5 years later, you can ride a Lime, Spin, or Bird in most major American cities.
Recently, we’ve gotten very into electric scooters and e-bikes. We were finally convinced to try them when we had to walk a few miles in downtown Indianapolis, and riding a few miles sounded way more enjoyable. This is a position we’re sure many of you have been in, or will be in in the future when you travel.
We can now confidently say that we have tried the electric scooters and e-bikes from Lime, Spin, and Bird on a variety of terrains and conditions. We aren’t hardcore scooterers or bikers, we’re just hardcore commuters looking to make our little trips and little dates downtown a bit more enjoyable. Thus, we’re here to answer the million-dollar question:
Which electric scooter or e-bike rental is best for a novice?
Let’s start with a little clarity. We don’t think Lime, Spin, or Bird are bad. We would’ve recommended a different company if we did. We also want to explain how we’re defining best. We’re focused on people like us. Renting an eclectic scooter or e-bike to do things like run around for a bachelorette party in Nashville or commute around downtown Chicago for a weekend trip, things like that. We’re really focusing on a mix of ride experience, app experience, ease of access, etc.
Good: Spin
Spin is actually owned by Ford… and it shows. If you love the “industrial” energy of Ford, you’ll probably love the Spin scooters and e-bikes. The electric scooters feel fast and responsive and remind us of a muscle car. Unfortunately, some of the missing features also remind us of a muscle car. Spin just doesn't feel quite as premium, and instead feels more powerful than the other options on this list.
Better: Bird
We REALLY liked the smoothness of Bird electric scooters and Bird e-bikes. If you are purely just looking for the most comfortable ride, Bird is a pretty clear winner. We specifically rode these scooters through the Indianapolis Canal Walk, which isn’t known for being a smooth path. We had no complaints about the ride quality and our teeth were barely even chattering.
Our biggest complaints come in from the app. We had an issue where we were standing directly in front of a few e-bikes, but only one of them showed up on my app. On my partner's phone? All five. Speaking of… why are we even using two phones for this? Bird only offers group rides (one phone, multiple scooters) in a select few cities. That means every person that rents one needs the app. A huge bummer when you are trying to save phone battery or avoid five separate credit card charges.
Best: Lime
Lime feels great to ride and they are clearly on-top of maintenance and battery charging. One annoyance with other companies is walking up to the electric scooters or e-bikes and being disappointed with what you see. It was common to see peeled paint, worn tires, or such low batteries that you can’t take the ride you want. but none of this was present with Lime. It’s so nice to know your ride will just work and look the way you want it to.
Lime also has scooters and e-bikes in the largest number of cities on this list, including an extremely strong international presence. This is a huge pro, as you only have to deal with one app, one account, one payment method, etc. If you were only going to try one of these, Lime is our clear winner.
What is the best electric scooter or electric bike to rent?
Lime electric scooters and e-bikes are the best for novice riders. They have a smooth ride, great battery life, and easy to use app. We especially loved the Lime e-bikes and how easy they made it to avoid having to take an Uber or Lyft rideshare. While Uber and Lime definitely have their place still, it's hard to express how convenient it is to just pickup a scooter right next to you and cruise across the town. The only real limiter here is boundaries that you will find in your app of choice. Depending on city rules and business needs, sometimes these boundaries or low speed zones can be quite limiting.
What is the best way to find an electric scooter or e-bike near me?
Google Maps actually has you covered! Let’s say you’ve gone with our recommendation and are loving Lime, you’ve ridden Lime scooters in tons of cities all over. But, oh no! You’ve just arrived in a new downtown and your Lime app isn’t showing any nearby scooters. Maybe they just aren’t there, or maybe they’re all in use. Hop over to Google Maps where they show Bird, Spin, and Lime scooters right on their app.