When you come to Barcelona, you will be mesmerized by the bustling city and its sounds from the streets. These sounds consist of bike bells, car horns, music, and tourists chatting as they explore its worldly wonders. Once your feet begin to blister, a second form of transportation is essential. Both scooters and bikes are frequently used in Barcelona, but several differences may be imperative to know.
This statement might be a shock to you for bike lovers, but e-scooters are the new best things. Do you want to know why? Let’s dive in! I have owned a manual bike and known someone with an e-scooter and can tell you from experience that e-scooters will take over the streets in the next few years.
E-Scooters VS. Bikes
Cost Differences
A bike will cost someone between 300 and 1300 euros in Spain plus all the repairs that might arise. According to Statista, “Electric bicycles were the most expensive type of bicycle Spanish cyclists could purchase, at an average price of almost 2.2 thousand euros in 2019.” These prices continue to climb as the years go on and manufacturer companies demand more for their products. On the other hand, e-scooters range from 300 to 1200 euros and repairs are cheaper. If you think about it, why would you spend more on parts that are just as expensive? Think about that.
Fewer Tune-Ups
Everyone who has grown up riding bikes has unfortunately faced the pain of fixing something like the chain falling off the rain or a tire pop. Maybe the seat needs to be adjusted, the brakes rusted or the gears become locked up. Bikes are complex and require yearly, even monthly tune-ups due to the many moving parts. Scooters are relatively simple and easy to use; thus tend to desire fewer trips to the shop. I have also noticed that e-scooters are much more sturdy and therefore do not break or damage as quickly as bikes.
More Portable and Lightweight
While some bike companies build smaller framed cycles, they still do not have the functional benefit of folding in half and being carried around as e-scooters do. Here at LYNX, our scooters can fold and be brought into any establishment, besides the metro, without any questions asked. It is common in Barcelona to carry scooters everywhere, but this is not possible when you have a bike. Also, with bike and scooter theft being a massive problem in Barcelona, being able to carry around a scooter decreases someone’s chance of theft. Not to mention, scooters are easier to store and take up less space than a bike would in any hotel, apartment, or house.
Easy to Use
E-scooter handlebars are easier to use compared to bikes. The acceleration, brake, and speed modes are clearly found. While with bicycles, the gears can be hard to change and even harder to determine which one is the better choice to use while operating. The scooters are so manageable that even some children can figure it out without help. Having fewer parts also creates this easy-to-use luxury.
More Practical
With a smaller handlebar, e-scooters maneuver faster and more quickly than bikes. This is helpful in the bustling city as traffic is rough at times and bike lanes, where scooters are supposed to be ridden, are tight. Additionally, most tourists have a hard time navigating the streets, so scooters offer faster redirection time.
Less Work
A bike requires riders to use their legs to power the mode of transportation. Yet, e-scooters run on a battery, allowing riders to stand on the platform without any effort besides kicking off to start the acceleration. Since Barcelona is such a big city and the streets differ in elevation, scooters allow riders to relax and travel farther. The acceleration on a scooter is also much quicker than a bike, allowing riders to get to their destinations in less time than a bike would take.
All of these advantages e-scooters provide riders make it clear that they are the better choice in Barcelona. Renting scooters from LYNX explicitly offers more styles and accommodates people of all ages. I know there will be readers out there that still favor bikes over scooters, but all I ask is that you give the e-scooters a chance and see for yourself how impressive they are.
By: Elizabeth Salathe
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