Electric scooters consist of rather complex machinery and components compared to your average e scooter, from the rotaries responsible for running the motors to the technology behind the battery.
Furthermore, many components need to be taken into account which go into the production of this type of scooter, most of which need to be taken care of and maintained to ensure the peak performance of an adult electric scooter.
One of the main components which need to be properly maintained to ensure the optimum function is the scooter tires. Their condition can greatly influence your eletric scooter’s performance, which is why their maintenance is essential. To ensure a smooth ride, tire pressure is something you always need to take into account.
Let us discuss this in greater detail, understanding the importance of maintaining the right tire pressure at all times and covering the possibility of over or under-inflating your off-road tires and what happens if that is the case.
Furthermore, we will also explore how tire pressure can affect the quality of your ride and how you can prevent flat tires from occurring on your e scooter.
Why Does Tire Pressure Matter?
Before going out for a ride, it is important to always check on certain aspects of your scooter, including the tire pressure, regardless of the distance you plan to cover.
It is because many aspects related to your scooter’s overall function and performance depend on the tire pressure.
This not only includes eletric scooter handling but also the top speed of your eletric scooter, and tire pressure is capable of affecting the comfort level of your long range electric scooter as well.
When dealing with tire pressure, it is important to ensure that it is optimal so as not to be under or over-inflated, which can lead to ride-altering consequences.
For a majority of the e scooters, you would need to check their manual to determine what the optimum tire pressure is. For example, the Varla Eagle has a maximum tire pressure of 50 psi, but the recommended amount should be within the 40-50 psi range.
What Happens if You Over-Inflate and Under-Inflate Your Tires?
Depending on your tire pressure, it can greatly alter the speed at which you would be riding.
How it works is that if the tire has been inflated over the optimum capacity, this is known as being over-inflated.
When your electric scooter for adults tires are over-inflated, they would be more susceptible to a blowout, meaning that they would be more susceptible to exploding when colliding with the curb or a similar structure.
On the other side of the situation, if you are going on a ride on your commuter electric scooter, but you have under-inflated the tire, meaning that the tire pressure is not up to the mark with the tire not properly inflated. You will start to notice your e scooter feels sluggish during your ride.
Furthermore, you would find it comparatively more difficult to make certain turns which also affect your ride quality.
Not only the speed but the handling and stopping capabilities are also widely affected due to over and underinflation as well.
If the tires have been over-inflated and have higher pressure than normal, your adult scooter would start to become much stiffer than normal, resulting in an increased braking power capable of catching you off guard, causing you to fall off.
Additionally, high-pressure tires which have been over-inflated tend to increase the rolling resistance of the motor scooter, causing them to become much slower than normal. Moreover, it will also become more difficult to make sharp turns while riding on an e-scooter with over-inflated tires.
If your tires are under-inflated and the pressure is below the optimal amount, the likelihood of your eletric scooter suffering from a puncture would drastically increase.
This is because when the tire has not been inflated properly, the inner tube can be pinched even without contacting any external pressure.
How to Prevent Flat Tires on an Electric Scooter?
1. Regularly Check Tire Pressure
Even if you own a fat tire eletric scooter that has been reinforced or a Varla Eagle one with off road tires that can take a beating, it is still a good idea to regularly monitor the tire pressure because you never know when pressure can leave your motor scooter tires.
Due to this, just like how prevention is better than cure, the best and easiest way to prevent flat tires is to ensure that both of them always have proper pressure. Keeping tire pressure in check is important under-inflated tires are prone to punctures, which can result in a flat tire.
This is why one of the most effective measures to prevent flats is to always keep a pump at hand so that you can regularly check the pressure without facing any inconvenience.
2. Tire Sealant
Before discussing how this is an essential tool, you should always keep in case of flats, let us discuss the function of a tire sealant.
Also known as tire slime, this equipment consists of a viscous green liquid. Not only is liquid inserted into your tires to prevent any flats from occurring, but this can also be injected into the tire to seal any puncture, making this the perfect tool for the commuter scooter.
The reason why sealant is considered to be such an effective measure to prevent flats is because the formula consists of glue and fibers, and a small amount of that liquid is added to your tire using a valve.
If the sealant is being used to coat a tire that is not suffering from any flats, the sealant will coat the insides of the tires, providing added reinforcement to prevent flats in the future.
3. Tire Liners
Unlike sealant, tire liners are not liquid but consist of considerably heavy plastic material inserted between the inner tube and the tire. Due to how they work, this solution to flats is restricted to only working with tires with inner tubes.
However, this is not that much of a setback because most motor scooters, like the Varla Eagle One, contain tires that contain inner tubes.
Summary
The purpose of this comprehensive guide was to inform you why tire pressure is such an integral part of motor scooter maintenance.
Furthermore, it is also important to note that improper and uneven tire pressure in the form of under or over-inflation can lead to several difficulties that can affect your ride quality.
Due to this, it is important to regularly check your tire pressure, especially if you are going out on a ride, to prevent any potential flats.
Not only checking the tire pressure, but you can also prevent flats by taking other precautions, such as using tire sealant or using tire liners.
