4 ms·

Mopeds are so cheap and fuel efficient already that it is difficult for me to buy into electric rentals really taking off in this area. A brand new Wolf 49cc i

Mopeds are so cheap and fuel efficient already that it is difficult for me to buy into electric rentals really taking off in this area. A brand new Wolf 49cc is under $1000 and gets 100mpg.

BonesJustice 8y ago
Are you in an area where storage is no problem for most people? Because most people living in NYC likely don’t have a place they could store their own moped. Parking is scarce and expensive, and they’re not as easy to stow indoors as bikes.
- mzs 8y ago
  Razor style electric scooters you can easily carry are $200-300.
- mcjiggerlog 8y ago
  Part of the reason scooters are so popular in countries like Spain is that you can park them on any pavement. Technically the pavement has to be wider than 3m, but as long as it's not in the way it's fine. Mine has been parked, along with many others, on the corner of my street for 3 years in a central area of Madrid without issue.
- bigtunacan 8y ago
  Personal storage for something like a moped isn't a problem for most people in my area, but public parking is a problem and mopeds definitely help with that here. There is some designated motorcycle/moped parking in the area, when that's not available you will see mopeds triple, or even quadruple parked in a normal car space.
astrodust 8y ago
How noisy is it? Some of these two-strokes are deafening.
- bigtunacan 8y ago
  I have the Wolf RX50 and I don't think it's too loud. Nowhere near as loud as a motorcycle. As far as mopeds/motorcycles are concerned though, having a near silent one (like you get with an electric) can put you at more risk. You are already less visible to cars, so a bit of noise helps other drivers to realize you are there.
  - astrodust 8y ago
    There's a "bit of noise" and then there's the relentless, unbelievably permeating buzzing you get in some cities full of these mopeds. It doesn't matter if you're on a gigantic Honda Goldwing, you're invisible if you're on a two wheeled vehicle. Drivers are idiots.
josefresco 8y ago
Not under $1000, just over ... from the Wolf website: "Starting at just $1,099!" And that's without tax.
- bigtunacan 8y ago
  That's MSRP; they regularly run sales on the Wolf RX50 for $995. After tax it ends up being just over a $1000. I think I paid less than $1100 all in on my 2018 RX50 including tax, title, and registration. But the Wolf isn't the cheapest 50cc on the market anyway. You can find a TaoTao under $1000 any day of the week, but realistically you should be able to pick it up on sale around $800 before tax/title/registrations.
Rapzid 8y ago
Do you mean geographical your geographical area? I'm not sure either way if they will take off, but a huge use case near me seems to be people who are in an area far away from where they live that would be conducive to a scooter/moped/etc. For example, people coming into down from the 'burbs, tourists, etc.

Mopeds are so cheap and fuel efficient already that it is difficult for me to buy into electric rentals really taking off in this area. A brand new Wolf 49cc is under $1000 and gets 100mpg.

BonesJustice 8y ago

Are you in an area where storage is no problem for most people? Because most people living in NYC likely don’t have a place they could store their own moped. Parking is scarce and expensive, and they’re not as easy to stow indoors as bikes.

mzs 8y ago
Razor style electric scooters you can easily carry are $200-300.
mcjiggerlog 8y ago
Part of the reason scooters are so popular in countries like Spain is that you can park them on any pavement. Technically the pavement has to be wider than 3m, but as long as it's not in the way it's fine. Mine has been parked, along with many others, on the corner of my street for 3 years in a central area of Madrid without issue.
bigtunacan 8y ago
Personal storage for something like a moped isn't a problem for most people in my area, but public parking is a problem and mopeds definitely help with that here. There is some designated motorcycle/moped parking in the area, when that's not available you will see mopeds triple, or even quadruple parked in a normal car space.

astrodust 8y ago

How noisy is it? Some of these two-strokes are deafening.

bigtunacan 8y ago
I have the Wolf RX50 and I don't think it's too loud. Nowhere near as loud as a motorcycle. As far as mopeds/motorcycles are concerned though, having a near silent one (like you get with an electric) can put you at more risk. You are already less visible to cars, so a bit of noise helps other drivers to realize you are there.
- astrodust 8y ago
  There's a "bit of noise" and then there's the relentless, unbelievably permeating buzzing you get in some cities full of these mopeds. It doesn't matter if you're on a gigantic Honda Goldwing, you're invisible if you're on a two wheeled vehicle. Drivers are idiots.

josefresco 8y ago

Not under $1000, just over ... from the Wolf website: "Starting at just $1,099!" And that's without tax.

bigtunacan 8y ago
That's MSRP; they regularly run sales on the Wolf RX50 for $995. After tax it ends up being just over a $1000. I think I paid less than $1100 all in on my 2018 RX50 including tax, title, and registration. But the Wolf isn't the cheapest 50cc on the market anyway. You can find a TaoTao under $1000 any day of the week, but realistically you should be able to pick it up on sale around $800 before tax/title/registrations.

Rapzid 8y ago

Do you mean geographical your geographical area? I'm not sure either way if they will take off, but a huge use case near me seems to be people who are in an area far away from where they live that would be conducive to a scooter/moped/etc. For example, people coming into down from the 'burbs, tourists, etc.