Electric scooter suspension: Everything you need to know

Good suspension can make all the difference to your electric scooter ride, and can be the difference between an okay electric scooter, and a great one.

So what is suspension in the context of electric scooters? 

This guide will explain everything there is to know about electric scooter suspension including:

• What is suspension?

• Why is suspension important for electric scooters?

• What types of electric scooter suspension are there?

• Which electric scooter has the best suspension?

What is suspension?

You’ve probably heard this word used a lot, especially in the context of cars. Suspension is the system within a vehicle that finds the right balance between road handling and ride quality. Getting it right can be difficult which is why engineers spend a lot of time working on vehicle suspension. 

In simple terms, the goal of suspension is for the vehicle to take the impact of the friction between the road surface and the wheel, offering a smoother ride so that the rider is comfortable and won’t lose control of the vehicle. 

Why do you need suspension?

If all roads were perfectly flat, we wouldn’t need suspension. However, that’s not the case with even new roads having slight bumps and dips. These imperfections in the road are what apply force to the wheel of a vehicle. 

Newton’s laws of motion state that all forces have both magnitude and direction. When a wheel hits a bump in the road, it causes the wheel to move up and down perpendicular to the road. How high the wheel moves depends on the size of the bump in the road. What the wheel experiences over a bump is known as vertical acceleration. 

Have you ever gone over a bump in the road and felt the full impact? That’s a sign of poor suspension. Having a suspension system where the energy is absorbed means the frame and body of the vehicle will continue undisturbed while the wheels follow bumps in the road. 

Why is suspension important for electric scooters?

Electric scooter suspension is important for two reasons:

• A smoother ride

• Ability to safely accelerate, brake, and tackle corners

It’s important to note that not all electric scooters have suspension, and of those that do, some suspension systems aren’t as effective as others. 

If you rode an electric scooter without suspension and then rode one with it, you’d definitely be able to notice the difference - that’s how important suspension is. One ride would be considerably smoother than the other, and you can probably guess which one would be more enjoyable. 

While being thrown around and trying to hold on for dear life might have been a fun game when you were a child in the backseat of the car, you probably don’t want to get to your destination feeling battered and bruised if you’ve simply commuted on a flat road. So why wouldn’t you invest in good suspension for your electric scooter?

Different electric scooter terrain

Small bumps and potholes can be a nightmare with bad suspension, even on fairly flat roads. Selecting an electric scooter with good suspension can make all the difference. If you plan on taking your e-scooter off-road to add some excitement, then you’ll definitely need one with good shock absorbers or suspension to take the brunt of the impact. 

What types of electric scooter suspension are there? 

There are three main types of suspension as outlined below:

Spring suspension

Electric scooters with spring suspension means you will feel fewer shocks when riding due to the coil travelling up and down as you ride. The goal of the spring or coil is to reduce the impact after you go over a bump. 

Hydraulic suspension

Hydraulic suspension follows the same principle as a person jumping off the ground. A hydraulic actuator is used that can be quickly filled with liquid. When a wheel goes over a bump in the road, the actuator expands as the liquid fills it with great force. This causes the actuator to push against the components around it causing them to spring away. It’s the same as when you jump in the air - you use your legs to exert force against the ground which makes you move upward. 

Rubber suspension

Rubber suspension is effective as rubber is naturally supportive, malleable and soft, which is ideal for impact-absorbing. It also reduces road noise and vibrations in an electric scooter. Another advantage of rubber is it can store more energy per unit mass than other springy materials, so it can reduce the weight of an electric scooter quite considerably. 

Electric scooters can have a combination of different suspension. For example, one model might have spring suspension at the front of it and hydraulic suspension at the rear. 

Which electric scooter has the best suspension?

This depends on what kind of suspension you prefer and what type of lifestyle you lead. It’s important to not be fooled if someone tells you that the e-scooter tyres make up for the model not having suspension. Good rubber tyres and good suspension work in tandem, and are both required if you want to have the smoothest ride possible. 

One electric scooter, which has nailed this relationship is the Raine One. In addition to pneumatic (air-filled) rubber tyres, the Raine One electric scooter also has excellent front and rear poly-shock suspension which makes riding your scooter a smooth and more enjoyable experience. This e-scooter has a spring-damper system, which means as you ride over bumps and imperfections in the road, the wheel maintains its grip on the road giving you a safer and smoother ride. The Raine One was also built with safety in mind, so as well as having a great suspension, it’s equipped with ABS braking, in-built locking mechanism, and LED lighting to help you see and be seen at night. 

You can learn more about the Raine One here.