Electric scooter suspension – All you need to know

Choosing between an electric scooter with suspension and one without can make a huge impact on the comfort of your ride. That’s why we will explore this topic so that you can choose the right electric scooter.

Do electric scooters have suspension?

Some electric scooters have shock absorbers/suspension that can drastically improve riding on difficult terrain. But not all electric scooters have suspension.

Choosing between an electric scooter that has suspension and one without is one of the most important criteria after the battery. If you have a lot of bumps and rough terrains in your daily ride, you should consider getting an electric scooter with suspension.

Never choose an electric scooter with airless tires but without suspension. The experience won’t be pleasant.

Please pay attention to the following headings about suspension vs no suspension and suspension vs tires.

What are the parts of the suspension mechanism?

The suspension of an electric scooter is not hard to dissect. The mechanism is much simpler than other vehicles, such as cars, snowmobiles, and heavier motorcycles.

The main components are:

• Preload – This term may sound complicated, but it’s actually simple. The preload raises the suspension and keeps it near the top of its travel.
• Coil/Spring – The coil/spring travels up and down so that you will feel fewer shocks when riding. The role of the coil/spring is to set your ride height, hold your weight, and reduce the impact of the electric scooter when coming out of a bump.
• Shock – This element controls the movement of the spring and keeps your wheels on the ground.
• Limiter straps – These limit the impact of the shocks.

Before every use

You should check some parts in order to ensure a pleasant ride:

• All screws (read and front) of the wheels are tight
• The folding axis is in the correct position
• The height adjustment button is fixed
• The handlebar blocking button is fixed
• Brakes and lights (front LEDs, rear position lights, and brake lights) work

Suspension vs no suspension

Choosing between an electric scooter without suspension and one with depends on what you are planning to do with your scooter. If you are going to work or school with it or if you have a nice bike track to your destination, you can get one without suspension.

The main difference between a suspension scooter and one without is the price. Electric scooters that have suspension are usually more costly.

The suspension helps with little bumps on the road and improves the quality of your ride.

Suspension vs Tires

If you have looked into electric scooters, you may have noticed that some of them have airless tires. Mine does, but it also has suspension, so I don’t worry about little bumps on the road.

If you have airless tires but don’t have suspension, you will be in trouble because your ride will lack quality.

I don’t suggest getting an electric scooter without suspension and with airless tires unless you are using it only for fun or on perfect terrains.

To give an example, I rode a Myria Mi M365 and compared it with my UScooters Booster on a tiled road. Myria Mi M365 doesn’t have suspension, but it has air tires, so it performed better on bumps than my electric scooter with suspension but no air tires.

On a road with bigger bumps, I’m sure that it won’t perform as well as a scooter with suspension.

How to adjust your suspension

Adjusting the screws

The suspension may get loose over time due to its constant movement. Adjusting the suspension can be done fairly easily

You can see if this is mentioned in your user manual. However, this kind of technical specification is often not mentioned. Mine, for example, only gives tips about lubricating the scooter and checking the screws once a month.

You can adjust your electric vehicle suspension by playing with the screws. You should make sure that you are not setting them too loose. Otherwise, certain parts can crack and damage your electric scooter. I suggest applying some small adjustments, going out for a ride, and seeing if it’s better. If not, repeat the process.

If you tighten the screws too much, you will get a stiff suspension and feel every bump on the road. However, if you set them too loose, you can lose your balance on bumps or turns.

You will need to figure out what kind of screws your electric scooter has and get a universal kit or screwdriver that will fit that one. You can easily find these on Amazon.

Spring

If your ride is still too bumpy or stiff, you can change the spring of the shock absorber. This involves some mechanical skills. Unfortunately, this can’t be done as easily as adjusting a couple screws.

You will need to remove the screws, remove the old spring, and insert the new one in the same position. You should make sure that the new spring has the same dimensions as the old one. The space there is very small, so a slightly bigger or smaller one may not fit as well.

Suspension Maintenance

Screws

If you feel the suspension is too loose, too stiff, or if you hear strange noises coming from it, the first thing you should do is check the screws.

Electric scooters use screws in order to adapt and fix the suspension. You need to check these at least every month to ensure that they don’t get loose. Don’t tighten the screws too much or else you will get a stiff suspension and feel every bump in the road.

Lubricating

The shock absorber moves up and down many times during a ride. Because it’s a constantly moving part, the manufacturers grease to it in order to lubricate it properly.

If you don’t lubricate your suspension, you may hear strange noises when you go over a bump. But the noise isn’t the main problem. Without grease, the moving parts “scratch” each other and damages the suspension and the spring.

How to do it?

To apply the grease or lubricant, you need to fold the electric scooter. This way, you can see and access the shock absorber without problems.

Next, apply the grease or lubricant. They usually come in a spray can, so you can apply it easily.

Apply a fair amount of grease, but don’t go overboard or else  it will leak.

When?

Most manufacturers recommend adding a small amount of grease or lubricant to the shock absorber and other moving parts or joints every six months.

I also recommend you to grease after winter storage. Not using your scooter for a few months may decrease the quality of the grease.

Moreover, if you hear strange noises coming from the suspension, the first thing you should do is apply a lubricant and see if this fixes the problem. If the lubricant doesn’t resolve the problem, some parts may be broken.

Front Suspension vs Rear Suspension or Both

Some electric scooters only have a rear or front suspension. You will need to check the specifications in order to see this. Keep this in mind because s some electric scooters are advertised to have suspensions, but they actually only have a rear or front suspension.

Having a full suspension is very important, especially if you will ride on bumpy terrains.

Conclusion

What type of terrain do you plan to ride on? Is it a perfect track or one that is unpaved, rough, and bumpy? Depending on this, you will be able to choose between an electric scooter with or without suspension.

In addition, you should pay attention to the tires. They may not seem important, but they certainly are. It is bad to have airless tires without suspension.