So you’re considering riding your electric scooter year-round?
Riding in the winter is very different from summer riding, it presents a few new obstacles you have to adapt to, and making sure your electric scooter is winterized is the first of them.
But let’s not let a little ice and snow stop us, in fact I’ve already been riding electric scooters here in Scandinavia year round for a long time. Sure some days it just isn’t a scooter riding day, but as long as the snow plows are doing their job, my scooter will ride just fine.
However, it is a learning curve, but lucky you who got me here to teach you about the various things you need to know to make sure both you and your electric scooter are set up for success in cold weather and on icy roads. I’ll have you drifting with powder flying all around in no time!
Is It Safe To Ride My Electric Scooter In The Winter?
In my book there are no thing such as safe. But as long as you’ve prepped your electric scooter appropriately, know what to look out for and how to adjust your riding, and are a somewhat responsible person you will have no issues riding in the snow.
Challenges With Scooter Riding In The Winter
There are many challenges when it comes to winter riding. But nothing you can’t overcome with some common sense and knowledge. Here is a list of obstacles we need to fight off by being prepared and making sure our scooter is equipped to handle harsh weather and low temperatures.
- Riding Style – You need to get to know how your scooter handles under a new set of conditions.
- Temperature – It’s not only you who will get cold, your scooter’s battery doesn’t like too much cold either.
- Icy/Snowy Roads – You need to adapt to riding on slippery surfaces, and make sure your scooter is equipped to do so.
- Water – As you know snow is frozen water, that means we need to make sure our scooter is protected against it.
- Visibility Issues – Winter means shorter days and longer nights. Plus, when it gets a little windy and the snow starts falling, visibility will be greatly reduced.
- Maintenance & Care – Winter presents new risks to our scooter and we need to properly take care of it in order to avoid the risk of corrosion from salt, and potential water damage.
- Wind Chill Factor – Cold winds are normally not a pleasant thing, but going 20 mph headwind will chill you through the bones without proper gear.
- Parking – With both the risk of water damage and freezing you need to think twice about where you park.
Winterizing Your Electric Scooter
Before we head out into any blizzards or snowstorms the first thing we want to do is weatherproof our electric scooter for the task. If you don’t own a scooter already we recommend that you check out our list of weather proof electric scooters, these models have all been tested by us at ARJ and have some out-of-the-box great winter rides.
If you have a scooter, then we want to make sure that it’s watertight, has proper grip on slippery roads, and make sure you know how to properly care for it so that it can maintain its performance. Here are a few things to consider to make sure your scooter is ready to tackle the cold.
IP & Waterproofing
Your scooter should have an IP rating of IPX4 or higher to be used in wet or snowy conditions. But even if it does you ought to make sure those seals and enclosures are still intact. Any work that’s been done to your scooter may have damaged its waterproofing.
If your trusty everyday-ride lacks a top grade IP-rating out of the box there are a few things you can do. However, it does involve some hands-on work :
Using silicone or rubber gaskets you can seal the battery compartment and other “weak spots” where electronics are present to reduce the risk of water penetration.
Insulation Of Vital Components
By using Styrofoam, we can insulate the battery compartment to better withstand the cold. This step is mainly for those of us riding in really harsh climates where the battery’s own heat production may not be enough to keep it warm even while the scooter is in use.
Tires For Icy And Snowy Roads
While solid tires won’t do you any good in the winter, large pneumatic tires work great on snowy roads, as long as you adapt your riding style to the circumstances. However, if you expect to be riding on a lot of icy roads, then I would suggest that you consider getting a set of studded tires.
Pro Tip: A lowered air pressure, will increase the road contact area and increase grip at a slight cost of range. You can find more great tips for tire optimization and best praxis’s in our e-scooter tire guide.
Light Setup
Winters are not only cold and harsh, there is also an absence of daylight. Hence we want to make sure that your scooter is equipped with a bright headlight and a strong rear light, so that the roads are well lit up, and you too for that matter.
Brake Function
Make sure your brakes are working as intended, you want a smooth lever action and not a sudden jerky brake. Drum brakes excel in wet conditions due to its built-in design. Disc brakes will have reduced braking power under wet conditions due to the friction area getting wet and/or icy. But since you are recommended to plan your riding more carefully in the winter, a less effective brake also means it is less prone to accidental tire slips.
If you have a scooter with front wheel drive and regenerative braking, I recommend that you (if possible) tune down its effectiveness so that you do not risk the front wheel slipping.
Mud Guards
Make sure your mud guards are large enough to ensure there are no slush being thrown up on places where we don’t want it to be. Some of the newer performance models have very small mud guards, if that’s the case with your scooter you may want to consider upgrading to avoid water penetrating vital parts, or you getting soaked.
Winter Riding Technique Tips
When it comes to winter riding there are two things we want to avoid completely, number one are tire slips and number two are having to brake hard due to an emergency. But don’t worry, I got a list for you with areas where we want to adjust our riding style in order to eliminate these risks:
Plan Your Ride – When the weather is bad the best thing you can do is plan ahead. Plan your route carefully, start slowing down early, and keep your distance to others so you avoid any situations where you need to veer quickly or emergency brake.
Slow Your Phase – The second best way to avoid accidents is to just slow down your riding. Make sure you have the time on your side before you set off so that you can take it at a phase that matches the riding condition.
- Smooth Acceleration – Be easy on the gas to avoid the tire spinning out under you.
- Brake Distance – Snow and ice will greatly increase your scooter’s braking distance. Just like with acceleration we want smooth stops, if you start braking early you can easily avoid any misfortunes.
- Snow depth handling – Do your best to avoid deep snow, both for your sake and the risk for build-up on your scooters motor and battery compartment.
- Dressed For The Occasion – Make sure you’re not freezing your butt and hands off. When you get cold your reflexes and movements become slower.
Essential Winter Gear For Riding In The Cold
Now that we’ve fully winterized your ride, we need to get you winterized too. Riding in the cold is no problem if you’ve got the right gear on you. If not, those winds are going to chill you to the bone and once you get cold your body will get stiff and your reflexes suffer, leading to a higher risk for mistakes. So let’s make sure we keep you warm and cozy on your ride, how much you wanna shroud yourself depends on how the winters are at your place. For me, that means I go full Micheline man.
Here’s what I put on before you head out on your winter ride:
- Winter hat – Make sure it fits well with your helmet of choice on top.
- Gloves – Warm with good grip, avoid large fumbly ones.
- Winter pants – Sure a pair of jeans works for short rides. The benefit is, if I do fall these bad boys do dampen the fall pretty well.
- Jacket – Aim for a good wind resistant jacket with insulation that makes a big difference.
- Extra visibility – Use a reflective vest, some reflective on your helmet, or at least a colorful jacket for added visibility. Because even if you follow my guidance to the dot, there are others out there that can ruin your otherwise pleasant winter ride.
Real Winter Weather Limits
Temperature Thresholds
Electric scooter batteries perform their best when the temperatures are between 50°F and 77°F (10°C to 25°C). This doesn’t mean you cannot ride in the winter, it just means that if you live in a place with extreme cold 14°F (-10°C) you need to take some precautions. You can insulate the battery to make it hold its heat better or at the very least do not let your scooter stand unused outside for too long so that the heat generated while in use disperse completely. When a lithium battery gets cold the resistance inside increases, making the electrodes move more slowly hence lowering its performance capacity.
Battery temperature guidelines (actual battery temperature, not outdoor temperatures:
32°F (0°C): Below this limit you can expect a 10-40% drop in battery performance (range).
20°F (-6°C): Around this range you will be risking your scooter battery’s life-span and overall battery health.
20°F (-10°C): We get these temps all the time in the winter where I live and I have yet to see any abnormal deterioration of my scooters. As a general rule I don’t leave it outside for long, this way the natural heat generated while running keeps the battery warm enough until I return to continue the ride.
For winter riding you will definitely want to combine these with some of our tips on extending the range of your scooter, that way you can still get the maximum out of your ride.
Snow Conditions
When it comes to various snow conditions I say slush is the worst for your scooter. It splashes a lot and is far more likely to penetrate your scooter’s vital parts than powder. Do your best to find good solid roads, but sometimes you are faster than the plow truck and then you just gotta be cautious about snow build-up on disc brakes and motor.
For safety I usually avoid riding in fresh snow deeper than a couple of inches. You just don’t see those icy patches or old refrozen slush tracks. Quick-freeze with icy tire tracks all over the road is a surefire way to get yourself into problems.
Wind Factors
Snow is usually the least of my concerns when riding in the winter, the harsh winds are far worse. A strong headwind can drain your battery fast, add onto that a bit of snow whipping into your face and you have some very unpleasant riding conditions.
Wind chill is also something to consider when it comes to the battery temperatures we talked about above. If your battery isn’t positioned in a protected area icy winds can drastically lower its operating temperature.
Like a pro golfer, go out there and put a finger in the air, check where it is blowing and plan your route accordingly, if possible.
When to call it a day
Sometimes the weather just isn’t on your side, but it can be hard to actually know when to call it a day. Well, I’ve had many moments where I should have chosen not to ride, but didn’t. But I guess for the purpose of helping you that was a good thing. Here is when you should avoid riding your electric scooter in the winter:
- Freezing cold temperatures around 20°F (-10°C) or lower.
- If visibility drops below 50 ft (15 meter).
- Wind blowing around 25 mph (40 km/h).
- Temperature hovering around 32°F (0°C) with a high risk of black ice.
- If there’s been a lot of slush that’s quickly frozen leaving ice tire tracks.
Final Words On Safely Using Your Scooter In the Winter
As you can tell I’ve done my fair share of winter journeys on my electric scooters. I use it year round to go for smaller shopping errands and wind, cold, snow, ice, hasn’t stopped me yet. To be honest I haven’t even had one accident so far, that doesn’t mean I haven’t experienced a few oh-uh moments where it could have likely gone the other way.
The best thing you can do if you are going to ride in the winter is to plan ahead, gear up, and take it slow. You need to get to know your scooter and how it handles under completely different conditions, that takes a bit of time.
With the help of this winter riding guide I wish you the best of luck. Now you get out there on those icy roads and ride carefully, stay safe and hopefully warm too!
