Zero ai: Bo does not use Ai to write, because we believe you’ve come here to speak to humans not Nvidia GPUs. That will mean that some of our language has errors, and we feel that’s a price worth paying.
Many think of electric scooters as the preserve of the millennial generation: 'The perfect ride to your nearest smashed-avocado indie cafe'.
While we do use our Bo for that quite regularly, in reality we’ve seen our highest interest and demand for Bo from the older 'half' of riders, (a group which we roughly bracket as 45-90 years old).
So in honour of that cohort we have listed out a few considerations which any older riders contemplating an electric scooter might want to be aware of.
This was specifically brought-home to me recently, when we put my father-in-law (83 years old) onto a Bo M2 for a test ride. This was at an electric vehicle event near London. He is a recent Tesla owner, interested in all things electric - also a regular cyclist - and yet this was his first ever experience riding an electric scooter.
The perfect 3 vehicle garage-lounge
Firstly, for riders of all ages your first challenge is clearing the hurdle of public perception - scooters have a bit of bad reputation left over from the early days of 'on-street' rentals being scattered everywhere.
However the world of premium owned scooters is very different, and as a mode of transport it makes a huge amount of sense for older riders to consider. It offers a new form of freedom, ease of mobility, and unlocks access to the 10 miles around your home with a minimum of fuss, a minimum of cost, and without concerns such as parking or navigating complex street layouts.
There are moments now (when driving) that it seems the new road networks are specifically designed to create errors and therefore fines for cars.
For sure, some Bo rides are purely recreational
The first question we tend to see from older riders is whether this is just a toy - or whether they will have actual practical use cases for their Bo.
As above - we suggest thinking about every journey you like to carry out within a 10 mile radius of your home. Specifically, think of those which are most affected by awkward parking, tricky or badly though out road networks. Nipping to a community centre, a local cafe, or even to the mail shop.
Additionally, think on those trips you like to carry out locally with grandchildren / younger people on bicycles. We've all experienced cycling alongside a child - the speed is perfectly awkward, too fast to walk / jog but too slow to cycle comfortably. These sorts of moments are where the scooter is in a league of its own.
Often when trying a new vehicle people are tempted to start with the cheap and cheerful end of the market. In this instance I’m thinking about electric bikes as an example. However with electric scooters we strongly urge older riders to consider making use of the extended Bo returns period and to not experiment with cheap low quality rides.
High quality product comes with peace of mind as standard
Let’s discuss a few of the reasons for this.
A question we regularly receive from older riders is around riding safety and how easy it is to learn the vehicle. I am pleased to say this this is where Bo excels - and is the number one purpose of the rider assistance and frame engineering that we have carried out over the last five years.
The problem with electric scooters has always been the small wheels, which makes them inherently less stable, and more susceptable to bumps. As an older rider that is always going to be a source of concern.
This was the reasoning behind the design of both the solid Bo chassis, the patented Safesteer™ system, and the specific frame geometry that we have developed for the vehicle.
These three elements combine to create inherent stability and security. When riding it is normal for even a brand new rider to pick up good riding technique within a few hundred metres. There is none of the embarassing learning curve we all remember from learning to ride a bike - with Bo you grab and go, it's entirely intuitive.
However, none of these features are present on the cheap end of the market. What that means is that the dynamics can be quite unpredictable, quite unnerving, and take quite a long time to get familiar with.
For us, this was the motivation for extending the return period on Bo. We understand that for people who have never written a scooter before the high purchase price is a potential barrier. At the same time, we do not think it is a good idea for people to work their way up to Bo without the safety technologies and innovations that make it such an easy ride. We actually worry that riding low cost scooters may put people off for life.
From our point of view, the mission of Bo has always been to make electric scooters and the extraordinary freedom that they offer accessible and enjoyable to as many people as possible. The great thing about our return policy is you can ride - enjoy - and if it does not fit into life as you hoped then we take it back with no questions asked.
We're not entirely surprised many people find these off-putting
One of the areas where I think Bo is particularly optimised to the older rider is that we have done away with the flimsy and fragile frames and hinges that plague literally every other scooter on the market
For young professionals living in cramped city centre apartments this can be a problem with Bo, as literally finding space for a vehicle that doesn't fold is tricky. Therefore they are forced to sacrifice the solidity, reliability and predictable ride dynamics that a solid chassis offers in favour of portability and compact storage
However, our older riders are often based in more open suburbs, with more space and generally longer rides. Additionally local community centres, cafes and locations like the mail shop tend to have locking facilities - meaning that the full benefit of the single piece aluminium chassis can be enjoyed without the hassle of having to try and carry Bo upstairs into an elevator or similar.
Bo at its best
Another question that older riders may have is around the servicing and ongoing maintenance requirements of something like an electric scooter. For most people there comes a point where you want to eliminate such hassle from life and maximise uptime. This is where the benefit of the electric power train become most obvious.
With minimal moving parts, no oil changes, no filter changes - and very few components in need of ongoing adjustment - Bo is as close to a zero maintenance vehicle as you will ever own. In fact the number one benefit that we hear from our customers and riders is that they love the simplicity, the fact that they can just grab it and go without having to worry about the vehicles condition .
For those few items that do benefit from occassional calibration (the front brake, the tyre pressures) Bo was consciously designed with ease of maintenance at the heart of every component. That is not an exaggeration - the vehicle comes with a set of 4 allen (hex) keys, one 17mm spanner - and that is everything necessary to complete any Bo service requirement. The Bo mechanics can actually carry out a full strip-down rebuild of the vehicle, using just those tools, in 40-45 minutes.
Finally, it’s normal to wonder about the running costs of a new vehicle like an electric scooter.
This is probably the ace in the pack for anyone Who enjoys efficiency in their transport, costs a full charge for the Bo M scooter, consumes, approximately 0.5 kWh of power at the prevailing US rate that means you can secure up to 40 miles of transport for less than $.10 of electricity. Put another way, the same energy you use to run a hot bath will transport you 4-500 miles on your Bo. It feels like a real-life cheat code every time you ride.
With a two-year vehicle warranty and a seven-year chassis warranty ongoing costs related to the vehicle are not a concern.
Ease of maintenance comes as standard
We understand it is always exciting to acquire a new vehicle, especially one that comes with new riding techniques. We describe Bo as a form of anti-aging technology, the ride enjoyment and the freedom it offers is unparalleled.
We are on hand to answer any specific questions relating to your set up, just contact us at hello@bo.world
Our aims at Bo is to make this futuristic vehicle as accessible and easy to ride as possible - we see the upside offers a riders, and we want to encourage as many people as we can to take up this brilliant new mode of transport.
OJM.
If you're interested in reading more - Link to Articles
If you'd like to look at Bo M more closely - Link to Model M
If you'd like to read about The Turbo Land-speed scooter - Link to Turbo
