Can You Ride an Electric Scooter in the Winter? Absolutely!

Published on December 17, 2021

The snow has fallen and the cold has arrived. Now, you may be thinking this means an end to the e-scooter season, but oh boy do we have some fantastic news for you… Äike is built to endure riding in up to -17 degree weather. Making it a convenient electric scooter for winter.

Yep, just like Santa’s sleigh or ice skates, we can officially consider Äike to belong to the category of winter transportation.

That said, much like we all need to take a little extra care of ourselves during the colder months, the same can be said about your e-scooter. Although, Äike is not afraid of a little rain and ice, your e-scooter will really appreciate you giving it extra care during winter. Here are some tips to have a wonderful season with Äike e-scooter in the winter.

Äike Electric Scooter Winter Maintenance Guide

Safe commuting

Much like when running around or driving, we recommend you to take it slower than you usually would during winter. Also, avoid making abrupt turns, especially on slippery surfaces, and pay extra attention to fellow factors in the traffic. Most importantly, don’t forget to wear your helmet and reflector.

When the temperature is below +4°C, Äike will automatically limit its speed to 20 km/h and power to 70%, to ensure the safety of the rider. To gain an even greater sense of safety, turn on the ECO mode which limits the power to 50%.

As always, try to stay on bike paths and get off the scooter to push it by your side when crossing the road or pushing through large heaps of fresh snow.

Pro tip: Don’t forget a warm pair of ski gloves!

Salt problem

You know what is a real pain during winter? Yes, you guessed it. Salt! After a muddy winter ride on Äike, we recommend you clean it. No need to invest in any fancy equipment, an old brush, a bucket of warm water and soap will do the trick! While Äike is built with as many aluminum and rust-resistant parts as possible, some parts are still sensitive to salt on the muddy streets. If you ride every day, give it a weekly wipe-down. Keep in mind not to take the wet scooter outside into minus degrees as it may ice out some of the moving parts.

Battery charging

Here’s the thing: batteries are total babies when it comes to cold conditions. The colder it is, the moodier they get. Here’s what you need to know…

Äike batteries can only be charged when their temperature is between +4°C and +45°C. The battery will start charging once it has warmed up.

We recommend keeping the batteries in the room warm before riding, to ensure a better riding experience, safety and also increase battery lifespan.

Winter Hibernation & Storage

Are you planning to give your Äike a little break over the winter? Then we suggest turning the e-scooter fully off, so no secret damage can be done from the nippy temperatures.

Here’s how to do it …

Make sure to wash off any dirt and salt with water and soap.
Before storaging, check if the your Äike’s firmware is up to date.
We recommend to store your Äike at a temperature of +5 C to +25 C. Make sure to fully charge the batteries before you send it to storage and take the batteries out to increase its battery lifespan.
Keep in mind that Äike IoT updates its server information every 12 hours and lasts for about 3 weeks on its own (without batteries). After the GPS-protection and communication with the server disappears.
To protect your Äike against theft, we recommend placing the batteries in it for a few hours every 2 weeks, so the IoT battery can be fully charged and the GPS data on your phone stays up to date.
If the scooter is fully charged and the batteries are left in, the theft protection is active for at least 1 month.
Leave the battery door of the scooter open (otherwise you may not be able to open the door again without mechanical interference later on)

Äike Electric Scooter & Winter Sports

We’ve recently seen a lot of people online saying that drifting or riding e-scooters such as Äike is bad for the motor. We’re here to confirm that you have nothing to worry about!

The scooter is built to protect itself. Meaning even in the most fast-and-furious type situations, your batteries and motor will be well taken care of.

The cold will definitely make your battery life last a bit less. But that has minimal effect on the batteries overall health. In warmer conditions, hitting normal range will be no problem at all.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get out your gloves, hat and scarf and enjoy a beautiful snowy ride!