When someone asks me what e-scooter to buy, the first thing I ask back is: what's the worst surface between your front door and where you're going? Not the average surface. The worst. Because that's what decides whether suspension matters, and suspension is the decision that most people get wrong by looking at the wrong number on the page.

Wheel size is not range. It's comfort.

Most spec sheets lead with range. Range is useful to know, but it's also the number manufacturers inflate most aggressively. They test scooters at 15 km/h on flat ground with an 85 kg test weight. None of those conditions describe most commuters in Essen at 7:30 in the morning.

The number that tells you more is wheel diameter. Eight-inch solid tyres will get you somewhere faster and more reliably in terms of punctures — there's no air to go flat. But they transmit every crack in the pavement straight up through your legs. If your commute involves older streets, cobblestone sections, or the area around Essen's main Bahnhof at rush hour, an 8-inch solid tyre scooter is going to feel like work.

Ten-inch pneumatic (air-filled) wheels absorb significantly more. They can puncture. That tradeoff is worth making for most commutes over 3 km.

Weight, which nobody talks about honestly

Every scooter review mentions the weight. Almost none of them tell you when it matters. It matters the first time you carry the scooter up a flight of stairs, or onto an S-Bahn, or into a building that has a single step at the entrance. Twelve kilos sounds fine until you're lifting it daily.

Our general rule: if your commute involves carrying the scooter more than 50 metres or up more than one flight of stairs, think very carefully about anything above 11 kg. The difference between 10.4 kg and 13.5 kg is hard to feel in your hand in a shop. It's very obvious by Thursday.

Kleinstfahrzeuge (small electric vehicles, the category e-scooters fall into under the eKFV regulation) are allowed on cycle paths and roads in Germany. They're not allowed on pavements. That sounds simple until you try to navigate the actual signage in Essen.

What you need: third-party liability insurance, displayed as a Versicherungskennzeichen on the scooter. Your driving licence type doesn't matter for scooters up to 20 km/h — but you need to be at least 14. Helmets are recommended but not legally required for adults. Every scooter we carry comes with documentation on getting the insurance sticker, which takes about ten minutes online and costs around €35–80 per year depending on the provider.

One thing that doesn't appear on spec sheets: whether the scooter's lights and reflectors meet StVZO requirements out of the box. Some budget models sold across Europe are not legal for German roads as-delivered. All the models in our catalogue are.

What to actually ask before you buy

Rather than comparing power ratings or top speeds (which are capped by law anyway), these are the questions worth answering for yourself:

  • What is the roughest surface I cross regularly? (Decides suspension need.)
  • Do I carry this up stairs? (Decides weight tolerance.)
  • Is my route longer than 6 km one-way? (Consider pneumatic tyres and suspension.)
  • Do I need to carry other things while riding? (Handlebar bag or backpack decision.)
  • Am I likely to ride in rain? (IP rating matters.)

If you're stuck between two options after working through those, write to us. We've seen enough routes in Essen to have a specific opinion about most of them.