Bluetran Lightning Review: A Heavyweight-Class Electric Scooter

I had to charge the Bluetran Lightning once in the month I was testing it. Once. It took about 40 miles of trips at various speeds. The electric kick scooter's suspension feels like a magic carpet ride, and it never fails going up steep hills. It is a whole new world.

Well, sort of. The MiniMotors dualtron Victor is the only other escooter that can match this performance. MiniMotors is the company that makes Bluetran, so they are effectively made by the same company. Both start at $2,699, and they feel the same. I tried the most expensive version, which has a larger capacity battery.

The lightning speed is fast.

I have to qualify my enthusiasm for an electric scooter because of two factors: weight and the law.

The escooter is 15 pounds heavier than the Victor. I almost threw out my back getting it out of the box. Take out the Styrofoam and put the box on its side. Give your delivery driver some cookies.

Everything is affected by this weight. I'm moving to a new apartment with a flight of stairs, and there's no way I'm going to take this vehicle up and down narrow steps. If you ever find yourself in rain or have a dead battery, don't bother hopping on public transportation, unless it sounds like nothing to you. The stem can be folded and locked to the deck for carrying.

There are local speed laws. It can hit speeds of up to 47 miles per hour. I do not recommend it. It is illegal in most cities and states. You are basically a wizard on a broomstick, but at least they have weird spells to mend or regrowth bones. If you follow local speed laws, you will get even more range than I did. I mostly rode deep in Brooklyn to test my skills.

The lightning was too fast on its default settings. The 5,040 watt dual-hub motor kicks off so hard that it will cause your body to lurch backward. You can change the performance of the scooter via the display on the handlebars. The output was cut by 50 percent and it was much more manageable. The settings are listed in the manual. The legal limit in New York City is 15 miles per hour, and after tweaking the settings on the scooter, gear 1 now goes around 15 miles per hour.