What is your scooter really doing?
Electric scooter displays are famously optimistic. Five to fifteen percent over is common, and on cheaper models it can be worse. This measures your ground speed by satellite, marks the legal limit on the scale and beeps once when you cross it.
The alert starts at 25 km/h, the limit in most of Europe. Tap 20 for the UK, Sweden and a lot of rental fleets, or 45 if you're on a registered moped-class machine.
Why does the display read high?
A scooter has no speed sensor the way a car does. It counts electrical revolutions of the hub motor and multiplies by a wheel circumference stored in firmware. That number was set for the tyre the factory fitted, at the pressure the factory assumed, with nobody on board.
Every one of those drifts. A soft tyre has a smaller rolling radius than a hard one. A worn tyre is smaller than a new one. Your weight squashes it further. All of that makes the wheel turn more times per metre, and the display counts every turn as distance you covered.
Speed limits by country
Rules change often and vary by city as well as country. Treat this as a starting point and check your local ones, because this page has no idea where you are and doesn't try to find out.
| Where | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 15.5 mph / 25 km/h | Private e-scooters are still illegal on public roads. Rentals are capped |
| Germany | 20 km/h | Insurance plate required |
| France | 25 km/h | Banned from pavements |
| Spain | 25 km/h | Helmet rules vary by city |
| Italy | 20 km/h | 6 km/h in pedestrian areas |
| United States | 15 to 20 mph | Set by state and city |
What kills your range?
Advertised range comes from a light rider on flat ground at a steady modest speed. Real riding is none of those.
- Speed, mostly. Air resistance rises with the square of speed, so riding flat out instead of at 20 km/h can halve your range.
- Hills. The Climb figure shows how much you went up. Every metre came out of the battery.
- Cold. Lithium cells give noticeably less below about 5°C. It comes back when the battery warms up.
- Stop-start riding. Getting going from rest is the most expensive thing a scooter does. Twenty junctions cost far more than an open run of the same length.
- Weight and tyre pressure, both of which change rolling resistance directly.
How to measure it properly
- Ride somewhere open. A park path or a quiet road, not between tall buildings.
- Wait until accuracy settles under ±10 m before comparing anything.
- Hold full throttle on the flat for at least fifteen seconds. Scooters take a while to reach the limiter.
- Compare with your display, then ride back the other way to cancel out any wind or slope.
Ride sensibly
Small wheels and a high centre of gravity make a scooter much less forgiving than a bike at the same speed. Potholes, tram rails and wet paint that a bike rolls over will put a scooter down. Wear a helmet, and treat the limit as the point where the machine stops being predictable rather than as a target.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my scooter display show more than GPS?
It counts motor revolutions and multiplies by an assumed wheel circumference. Tyre pressure, wear and your weight all make the real circumference smaller than the assumption, so the display reads high. Five to fifteen percent is common.
What is the legal e-scooter speed limit?
Most commonly 20 or 25 km/h, but it varies by country and often by city, and some places restrict e-scooters entirely. Check your local rules. This page marks a limit you choose and can't know which one applies to you.
Can I check whether my scooter is derestricted?
It will tell you your true speed, which is the honest answer to that question. Riding a derestricted scooter on public roads is illegal almost everywhere and usually voids your insurance.
Why is my range so much worse than advertised?
Advertised range assumes a light rider, flat ground and a steady modest speed. Hills, cold weather, stop-start riding and going fast each cost a chunk, and they add up.
Does the alert work with the screen off?
Not reliably. Phones suspend background tabs, which stops the measuring. Keep the page in front with "Keep screen on" enabled.