reid electric scooters

Started in Australia by a guy who was fed up of getting ripped off by push bike retailers, Reid is now one of the land down under’s most well known cycling brands and has a following in many other countries too. Their aim is to provide a premium biking experience without those big brand prices, and after getting going in the bike and e-bike market they have recently turned their attention to electric scooters. Reid is best known for building scooters that are the total package, as good as higher end electric scooters, but at prices you might find in the middle or entry level segments. So did they succeed? Let’s take a look. 

More about Reid 
One of the biggest pet peeves that set Reid’s founder off on his business journey was the huge cost of premium features on big brand bikes, with reasonably priced basic models being left in the dust by the cost of even modest upgrades. They don’t believe you should have to pay way more money just to get a bit more power or some fancier lights, so all that stuff comes as standard on their scooters. This means that while you might pay a few quid more for a Reid scooter than you would for a rival’s model, you often find that it comes bundled with features that you only find on the rival’s higher end scooters. 

The best thing about buying a Reid scooter, then, is that you don’t usually have to compromise on anything. Sure, the more expensive the scooter you choose in their range the bigger the motor or better the range, but none of their scooters have any big blind spots that you have to learn to live with because of the price. They’re all designed to be pretty light weight, they all feature a companion app as standard, they all have front and back LEDs, they all have digital displays, they all have disc brakes for that extra peace of mind. While many brands have some of these features across the range, not many can say they have them all. So which models should you look out for? 

Reid E4 
Their first and flagship scooter, the Reid E4 certainly does a good job of looking like a premium scooter, opting for the smooth and seamless style over the BMX style that some brands choose. Ultimately you can’t tell much just by looking at it because the E4 shares a lot in common with models from rivals Xiaomi and Pure Electric, but you’ll soon notice a few nice features that mark it out from the crowd. Firstly, the lights: The E4 has a strong forward facing LED that is surrounded by a second always-on LED that adds to brightness and acts like a car’s side lights if you go under tree cover or into a tunnel, plus the rear brake light is also a powered LED rather than a reflector. 

Under the bonnet there are more nice surprises: You get a proper disc brake at the rear rather than a pressure brake, while the 350W motor can get you to 25kmh with a range of 28km, which is more than enough for a normal commute. It’s also pretty light at 13kg, making it nice and easy to fold and carry on public transport. With features that wouldn’t be out of place on a higher end model, and an affordable price, what’s not to like? 

Reid E4 Plus 
If you’ve got a bit more money to spend and you’re after that little bit extra, another option from Reid is the E4 Plus, which is exactly what it sounds like: An upgraded version of the E4. Remember that the E4 was billed as a premium scooter at a mid range price, so what have they added to the Plus to make it even more premium? Well for one thing they’ve added awesome swag lights on the deck to give your scooter that real Japanese street racer vibe, which for our money is worth every single penny extra you’ll spend. But on top of that you also get an extra foot brake at the back to go along with the disc brake, as well as a slightly upgraded app. The app lets you change the colour of your swag lights, and adds cruise control alongside the E4’s locking mechanism and dashboard. 

Fitting in with Reid’s aim of giving its mid market models premium performance, the E4 Plus doesn’t actually better the E4’s specifications in terms of range or top speed, but what it does do is deliver these same numbers whilst being slightly heavier, which makes for better balance and a smoother ride. It also comes with an upgraded battery, so you can charge your E4 Plus an hour faster than the original.