Electric Mobility Scooter or an Electric Trike? Why Seniors are Choosing ETrikes for Transportation

Why are seniors choosing electric trikes instead of electric mobility scooters? Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry. Today we're gonna answer the question, why are more seniors choosing electric trikes now than electric mobility scooters? All right mobility scooters electric mobility scooters for seniors or any person that may have a physical impairment that doesn't allow them to walk either at all or long distances have been around for quite a while now and a lot of stores offer them, Target, Walmart, they offer scooters in their store, but now electric trikes have been introduced to the market recently in the last five to seven years, and they're becoming a very popular choice for those same riders that used to be choosing these electric mobility scooters, and I'm gonna explain to you why. Now, with a lot of the electric mobility scooters that exist out there, there are a couple of things.

Number one, they don't have pedals on them. Number two, their speed is very limited, and number three, their range is very limited as well. Number four, the battery is not as easily changeable as now on e-trikes. So let's touch on all those. Number one, being limited by speed. Most of these electric mobility scooters that exist are limited to a very slow speed, typically under five miles an hour, if not under three miles an hour. Now, there is a certain person for whom that type of mobility scooter will work well. If it's going to be mostly for indoor riding, short distances where you don't have to go very far, and you just want to be riding indoors, that's a great option. But for many riders, they still want to get out, enjoy the sunlight, be out doing things, and driving places, and maybe they can't drive a car anymore. So electric trikes have filled a void where you can now go much faster, in the case of these two e-trikes, up to 16 miles an hour, which is going to allow you to go farther distances much quicker.

If you wanted to drive around your community or maybe go to a local store, and maybe it was a one to two-mile trip, taking a mobility scooter that's going three miles an hour isn't going to be a practical way of getting there. So many seniors are finding that having an electric trike is a great way for them to go out shopping, meet friends, and take on longer distances that they couldn't on their mobility scooter, and many are opting to have both. Maybe you have a mobility device scooter that you use around your house, or you take with you on trips for indoor purposes, and maybe you have your electric trike for those longer-range outdoor longer range trips as well. Now, in the case of both of these e-trikes, they are called the Simple Glide. Right here is the 500-watt. Right here is the 750-watt with the fat tire. In the case of both of these, you can also bring them indoors. Both of them have a reverse option. They can be steered and navigated the same way as an electric mobility scooter.

The benefit is, as you can see with these tires, especially these fat tires, they're more equipped to take on outdoor terrain. Curbs, bumps, hard pack trails, you name it. With these tires, you can go over those no problem. With some of those mobility scooters that exist out there, even going over curbs is going to be a little more cumbersome, and especially taking on trails is going to be a lot more cumbersome. All right. Now let's move on to the next element, which is the pedals. So, of course, a scooter in the sense of the name doesn't have pedals on it typically, right? So when you get a mobility scooter, you're resigning to the idea that you're not going to use your lower body at all to get exercise. The benefit of an electric tricycle is that if you are someone who still has mobility in your legs or you're rehabbing from something, you can utilize the electric trike to pedal as you see fit and or want to.  If you don't want to at all, you don't have to. You can twist the throttle, and the trike can do all the work for you. But the benefit is that when you get something like this e-trike, you're not just saying you're giving up.

Now, For those of you out there who can't use your legs, and that's not an option, then maybe a mobility scooter is the right choice for you. But if you're somebody who still can use your legs and you still want to get exercise, this is a great way to double-dip in the sense that you've got your mobility device, but you also can get exercise. And I know in particular chair exercises are a big thing for many seniors, or for those who don't have the full usage of their legs like they once did. So you can sit down, and you can see this looks just like a chair. You're pedaling out in front of your body. You're getting exercise as you want to when you're out and about. So that is a cool option to keep your body active while still getting you around town. All right. Now let's talk about the battery and the range. With these e-trikes, you are going to get up to a 50-mile range. With a mobility scooter, you are not going to get nearly that type of range. You can also bring an extra battery with you very easily, and changing it out is simple and no problem at all. The batteries are located right here in the back, and you simply twist the key and the battery will come right out, and this is something you can change very simply, very easily.

So if you even wanted to go farther on your rides, that is an option as well. You could double your range by carrying an extra battery up to 100 miles. So again, this is a reason why many seniors are choosing e-trikes now, either in addition to a mobility scooter or in place of it, because you can do so much more with an electric trike than you can with a mobility scooter. And you get everything you can do in a mobility scooter with an electric tricycle. So it's almost a no-brainer if you're gonna spend a few thousand dollars to have something that can do more for you than not. Now again, some stores may not permit something this big and bulky indoors. However, there is the Americans with Disabilities Act that, if this is your transportation device, they technically have to allow it. Now you'd have to check with Disneyland, Disney World, places like that, they have policies. And I've heard in those cases that they haven't always let people in with their mobility device if it's not provided by Disney, and sometimes other corporations as well. So, ultimately, people are opting for electric tricycles because they can still exercise their bodies. You can go further.

You can do everything that a mobility scooter would allow you to do for the same price. So if you're a senior or someone out there who just wants to be physically active, maybe you can't drive anymore, but you could operate a mobility scooter or an electric trike, and you want to still get out and be mobile, this is a great way to do it. It's a lot of fun, easy to operate, and it'll keep you active out there with friends and enjoying the outdoor weather. Now, if you have any other questions at all about either of these trikes or electric trikes in general, both of these are linked in the description below. You can also reach out to us at theteam@sixthreezero.com or call us, 310-982-2877. We also offer a 30-day test ride of your e-trike policy, so if you don't love your e-trike in the first 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. In addition to that, we're gonna warranty everything for one year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we take care of it, parts and labor. And lastly, join our community. We've got thousands of members in our Facebook group called Sixthreezero Pedalers. Join the group before you purchase to talk to existing riders to help you make sure you're making the right choice. Then, when you have yours, post in the group, make friends, and finally download our app to track your rides and compete on the leaderboard. So thanks for sticking around, and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.