Electric self transport

[TheTacoSniper]

hey guys, what would be the most practical electric vehicle to get me to and from school? My mom has decided that there is not enough time in her extremely busy schedule of playing candy crush and scrabble for 9 hours a day to drive me to school. My school is about 2.5 miles from my house and the roads are mostly flat. I'd like to spend around $300USD. It would be extremely helpful if I could fit it in my locker which is around 12" x 36" x 16". I could walk it, but that's no fun, and there are also no direct buslines from where I live that would take me there without the same amount of walking to just walk there directly. My main objective is to get to school without being a sweaty mess. The products I have considered are:

 

 The Generic Handsfree segway thing that people call a hoverboard for no reason at all: 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WGXO41U?keywords=handfree%20segway&qid=1444193551&ref_=sr_1_sc_2&sr=8-2-spell

Features:

-$300

-12mph top speed

-8 mile range

-looks really cool

-will fit into my locker

Cons:

- very likely to get stolen

- some cases of premature breaking

 

Building my own electric skateboard:   

Features:

- Anywhere from 10-20 mile range

- I can control almost anything about it

- If it breaks I can probably fix it

-Less likely to get stolen

-Will most likely fit in my locker

- More fun to build

Cons:

- Unknown cost

- A lot of things can go wrong

- I have no idea how to do it

 

Getting an electric bike conversion kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Generic-Motorize-Electric-Bicycle-Conversion/dp/8805001546/ref=sr_1_1?srs=2529470011&ie=UTF8&qid=1444194113&sr=8-1&keywords=electric+bike

Features:

-$300ish

-30MPH top speed

-40+ mile range

-If it dies, I can use it as a normal bike

Cons:

-I would most likely have to get a new bike, because mine is crap and breaks everytime i turn right...

-I would need to find a place to put it in my school that isn't my locker

-Batteries not included

-From the same seller as generic viagra

 

Walking:

Features:

-Its free

Cons:

-It makes me sweaty and gross

-Its slow and I would have to get up earlier

-Would require that I drink a lot of water and we don't have a lot of there here in California(heh)

 

Sorry if this post was a little rambly ( or a lot ) and thanks for getting this far! I am open to suggestions and am probably not willing to do anything too physical. Thanks! 

[ThatOneRussian]

To buy something of high quality it will be much more expensive. Dont buy the two wheeler it will break and its cheap make your own skateboard if you know how and can

[iamdarkyoshi]

build a homemade electric bike. I had one with 10 mile range and it cost me less than 50 bucks. I took an old bike, added a treadmill motor to the front wheel, made a battery pack consisting of 48 laptop battery cells, two generic 12v drill battery chargers from the discount section at a hardware store, and a motor controller from ebay. Damn thing hit 35MPH easily.

[Necrodead]

The Generic Handsfree segway thing that people call a hoverboard for no reason at all

 

Because gliding down the street while looking like you don't give no s**ts is the coolest thing ever. I'd buy one if I didn't live in the land of snow and ice.

[Necrodead]

build a homemade electric bike. I had one with 10 mile range and it cost me less than 50 bucks. I took an old bike, added a treadmill motor to the front wheel, made a battery pack consisting of 48 laptop battery cells, two generic 12v drill battery chargers from the discount section at a hardware store, and a motor controller from ebay. Damn thing hit 35MPH easily.

I wish I was as cool as you, Yoshi.

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

Electric bike would probably be your best bet since they aren't super complicated and as you said you can use it as a generic bike if the battery runs down.

[iamdarkyoshi]

I wish I was as cool as you, Yoshi.

lol, thanks

[TheTacoSniper]

To buy something of high quality it will be much more expensive. Dont buy the two wheeler it will break and its cheap make your own skateboard if you know how and can

Would you recommend buying the board and attaching a motor and batteries to it, or going completely from scratch?

[TheTacoSniper]

build a homemade electric bike. I had one with 10 mile range and it cost me less than 50 bucks. I took an old bike, added a treadmill motor to the front wheel, made a battery pack consisting of 48 laptop battery cells, two generic 12v drill battery chargers from the discount section at a hardware store, and a motor controller from ebay. Damn thing hit 35MPH easily.

hot damn, that sounds awesome! My main concern with a bike is where to put it, I haven't seen any bikes on campus before.

[The Official Czex]

Electric bike conversion kit. Hub motors on mine make it go about 45+ on flat ground.

[TheTacoSniper]

Because gliding down the street while looking like you don't give no s**ts is the coolest thing ever. I'd buy one if I didn't live in the land of snow and ice.

it is definitely the coolest looking option!

[iamdarkyoshi]

hot damn, that sounds awesome! My main concern with a bike is where to put it, I haven't seen any bikes on campus before.

Usually there should be a bike rack somewhere, if not, just ask a school administrative unit if chaining it to a fence or something would be okay.

[TheTacoSniper]

Electric bike would probably be your best bet since they aren't super complicated and as you said you can use it as a generic bike if the battery runs down.

I just wouldn't know where to put it, I probably wouldn't be comfortable leaving it out locked to a pole. The kids at my school are pretty much all douchebags

[IMPERIUS]

What about a normal longboard? Its cheap, a very good setup costs 200-300eur and no extra expenses and no fear it will break. I love mine for transportation

[W-L]

I just wouldn't know where to put it, I probably wouldn't be comfortable leaving it out locked to a pole. The kids at my school are pretty much all douchebags

 

Well mainly it would need to have a battery and motor controller back in a lockbox and a good chain to lockup the bike, If it's really bad you could get one of those harden steel chains/locks. Hoping they don't just smash shit to little bits. 

 

Another option is getting a motorized skateboard but they aren't exact what i would call cheap:

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Skateboard-Cruiser-Yuneec-Travel/dp/B00SHXY3M8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_468_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0F3GNEEXK9WRDSC8RXF6&dpID=51j3AurZClL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

http://boostedboards.com/

[MuffinTopMike]

I have thought about building an electric skateboard, there are kits available if you have no idea what to do. But probably the easiest and cheapest option would be the electric bike conversion.

[GoldSrc]

I would go for the bike conversion kit.

 

build a homemade electric bike. I had one with 10 mile range and it cost me less than 50 bucks. I took an old bike, added a treadmill motor to the front wheel, made a battery pack consisting of 48 laptop battery cells, two generic 12v drill battery chargers from the discount section at a hardware store, and a motor controller from ebay. Damn thing hit 35MPH easily.

Damn, that's pretty cool, do you have pictures of it?

[iamdarkyoshi]

I would go for the bike conversion kit.

 

Damn, that's pretty cool, do you have pictures of it?

Unnfortunately I do not. It was an abandoned project once I got my restricted so I could drive a car... i might bring it back later. we will see.

[GoldSrc]

Unnfortunately I do not. It was an abandoned project once I got my restricted so I could drive a car... i might bring it back later. we will see.

Oh well, if you bring it back to life let me know, I like all that kind of stuff.

[Thunderpup]

I'd suggest just a plain old bike and riding that.

 

you can get a used one for pretty cheap on craigslist and then upgrade it later with an electric motor if the mood strikes you.

 

I'd suggest next time you are on campus to look for bike racks.  They probably are everywhere and you just never noticed.  Specifically look outside the buildings with classes, and other places students tend to congregate.

[tommi_6o]

Get something like this.

[as96]

How old are you? If you have a license I'd say save more money and buy an used 50/125cc bike you should be able to find them at a cheap price.