Scooters are a fun way for kids to get from point A to point B and can also help promote skills such as balancing, spatial awareness and risk management. They are also an exciting way for little ones to get their recommended daily exercise.
Like other wheeled toys though, they can be dangerous without the property safety precautions. When riding a scooter, children should always wear an approved helmet and additionally should consider wearing elbow and knee pads as well as wrist guards or mouth guards. Goggles can help to keep debris out of youngsters' eyes at higher speeds, especially on electric-powered scooters. So a 2 wheel scooter electric balance will be a better choice.
It's advisable to ride scooters on smooth, paved surfaces away from the danger of motor vehicles. Whenever possible, avoid gravel and sandy surfaces, as well as sharp bumps, drainage grates, and riding in wet weather.
Wear clothes that will ensure you are easily seen and avoid riding at night. Parents should help their children until they become operating the scooter on their own. Replace broken or worn parts at the first sign of damage.
Always be sure to check your state and city's local bylaws for permitted use of scooters and obey all applicable traffic and scooter riding laws.
Ever since the Segway came out, it has been the subject of many geeky lunchtime conversations. They were always just too cool.
Now I'm actually considering buying one. I would mostly use it to get back and forth to work. I live only 1.5 miles away, but it takes too long to walk and it seems silly to drive. Today I tried biking to work. It took only a little longer to bike (10 minutes) vs driving (7 minutes) so time is not a consideration.
What I don't like about the bike is that it's just slightly too large of a vehicle. You need to store it somewhere at either end. You're not supposed to ride on the sidewalk, but it's way too scary to ride in the lanes crossing the "intersection of death" at 101, 237 & Mathlilda. I'm also not looking forward to the day when I get a flat tire. With a Segway, I'd be able to legally and justifibly ride on the sidewalk.
The new Segways just came out and they have some cool new stuff. For one, you turn by leaning, just like you accelerated and decelerated before by leaning. I found the twisting of the grip unintuitive when I rode one a few years ago. It has a new wireless key device and a security alarm.
It certainly wouldn't save me money vs. driving. A Segway scooter price is over $5,000. If I drive 3 miles a day and pay $3.00/gallon, I'll save approximately $100 in gas plus whatever 675 miles is in terms of maintenance over a year. It's better for the environment I suppose, but then again, I'm not sure 3 miles is going to make a difference over people driving in each day from San Francisco.
Neither a bike nor Segway would be great in the rain. The Segway would probably be better in cold and hot weather. I'd be going slower in cold weather, so there's be less of a wind chill, and in hot weather I wouldn't work up a sweat.
South Bay Segway in Campbell offers 2.5 hour tours of the Los Gatos Creek trail for $75. I'm thinking about taking one of those to see if I like it. Anne thinks it might be enough time to "get it out of my system". Perhaps.
It might just be too geeky, even in Silicon Valley. I'm not sure I want to be known as "the Segway Guy" at work or deal with people who want rides all the time. Still, I think the technology is damn cool, and I lust for cool technology. That coolness always wears off after a while though and you're left with the practicalities of if and how it improves your life.
Would a Segway improve my life by $5,000 worth? Would something else that costs $5,000 make me happier? I don't know. Do you?
With the continuously rising cost of fuel, more people are taking a keen interest in commuting by scooter. While this practice is very effective at cutting back on expenses the idea of coming to work drenched in sweat is not appealing. For those people it may be a good idea to consider choosing an e balance scooter for the trek. Still, the e-balance scooter is not for everyone so before you make the choice to switch to this type of transportation here are some things you might want to think about.
Why Choose e balance scooter?
There is a certain type of person that would choose to use an e balance scooter. If you're the kind of person who would rather not drive around several thousand pounds of metal just to go to the neighborhood market then you might want to consider this type of scooter. Or if you're someone who is struggling to keep your gas tank above the E every time you walk out of your door it may be a good option. However, if you're someone who is already driving around town the old-fashioned way you'll probably be bored with an electric scooter. These scooters are meant for those people who would prefer to be behind the wheel of a car and know very little about scooters.
Battery Options.
Batteries are an important factor in your scooter choice. You not only need to consider the amount of energy they will produce but also the amount of weight they will add to your ride. Lead batteries tend to be very heavy but cost less whereas lithium ion batteries are about a third of the weight but can be quite expensive. Outside of the initial purchase of your electric scooter the battery will be the single most expensive part of choosing an electric scooter. You need to factor in the cost of the purchase and recharging over the life the battery and how much you plan to use it.
The Motor.
E balance scooter come with several different types of motors. Some of these can reach speeds up to 20 miles per hour. Wattages can range anywhere from a low 250 all the way up to an 4000 watt scooter. Don't assume that the higher wattage means more power; it is advisable that you test drive your scooter to see how well it will perform. Whatever you decide in choosing an electric scooter, your best bet is to get a "brushless, gearless" motor since these are more likely to require less maintenance.
While e-balance scooter have turned out to be the ideal solution for many in these tight economic times, they are not suited for everyone. Those who have extremely long commutes or those who have families and such will not see the benefits of such a purchase. But, if you're one of those who can see the true value of choosing an electric scooter you will soon see the benefits of cutting fuel costs and keeping the environment clean at the same time.
In an earlier video, we talked about how to narrow down a list of potential suppliers to a select group of highly qualified candidates.
Now go ahead and contact this short list. This starts the RFQ (request for quotation) phase. The feedback from this initial contact should allow you to further narrow down the list to the top 2 or 3 based on pricing and non-price attributes.
The next step is to validate if the suppliers are legit. In my opinion there are two essential types of verification.
Type One is the Factory Audit. This is to verify that the supplier has a quality control system in place and they have the production experience to supply you with the goods they say they can make for you.
Type Two is an Operational Audit or Due Diligence. This is to confirm that the supplier has a good reputation and is financially strong enough to stay in business long enough to complete your order. In other words, they are not likely to disappear with your initial payment.
There are professional service providers available who conduct these types of verification at very reasonable prices. I highly recommend you engage professional support if you don't have the skill set in-house to audit factories in China on your own. Contact me and I would be happy to recommend the 3rd parties I use for verification. But for your reference, here are some other tools you can use on your own or in conjunction with those 3rd parties.
It doesn't cost you anything to ask for references. If a supplier can't give you a few happy clients to visit with…this is a big red flag.
Confirm that you have the right to visit the production line and check on your order. If they come up with a bunch of excuses why you can't visit, it either means they don't have the ability to produce your product and are scared that you won't like what you see if you visit or it could be as simple as that they are a trading company and worried you will cut them out of the supply chain once you realize they provide little value. Speaking of trading companies, sometimes, especially if your order is small, it makes sense to use them, but I hate trading companies that say they are the factory when really they are just brokers.
Ask to see the suppliers Quality Control Manual. If they don't have an ISO compliant, written quality management system…run away. If you want to see what a Product Quality Manual looks like, you can check out china company verification at the link below:http://www.cnbizsearch.com/search/cc/
Having verified that your suppliers are legit, the next step, and our next video, deals with negotiating the price and then moving into production.On that note, as always, I sign off-wishing you successful sourcing in China! And if you found the information in this video useful, consider returning the favor: subscribe to my YouTube channel, hit the "like it" button and post some comments. Or check out my blogs and monthly newsletter. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out via Linkedin, find me at the China Sourcing Academy or visit my company's website.
Credit risk in China means the country will find it very hard to grow. Global credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has warned that the extent of china credit could make it very difficult for the country to grow its way out of excesses as it has in the past. The comments suggest tougher times ahead, which could impact on businesses.
Over the last decade China has grown at an impressive rate making it an attractive prospect for firms worldwide. However, the report from Fitch Ratings found that the ratio of credit to GDP now stands at 200 per cent, leading to the agency predicting muted growth.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Charlene Chu, Fitch Rating's senior director in Beijing, said, "The credit-driven growth model is clearly falling apart. This could feed into a massive over-capacity problem, and potentially into a Japanese-style deflation.
"There is no transparency in the shadow banking system, and systemic risk is rising. We have no idea who the borrowers are, who the lenders are, and what the quality of assets is, and this undermines signalling."
China's credit bubble could affect British businesses operating in the region. Ensuring that suppliers and customers are regularly checked for stability and creditworthiness is key for maintaining a strong supply chain.
Graydon's International Credit Risk Assessment Monitoring services enables businesses to keep up to date with trading partners'current situations. The latest credit information is automatically added to a client’s database allowing them to monitor critical events and rating changes. Additionally, email alerts are sent the second new occurs so businesses can rest assured they will be well informed should risk emerge.
Many UK businesses have offset European losses due to increasing demand in China and other fast-growth nations but it is vital for them to remain cautious and alert for changing market conditions.
"Corporate Social Responsibility" Reports in China: Progress or Greenwashing?
Over the past decade, an increasing number of Chinese companies have begun to produce corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. Whether that's led to more sustainable business practices is an open question.
In 2006, State Grid was the only company in China to file a CSR report. In 2012, 1,722 Chinese companies filed CSR reports, according to a study by Syntao, a sustainability consultant. Indeed, almost a quarter of large state-owned enterprises in China filed CSR reports last year.
In theory, the purpose of CSR reports is to share information about a business's social and environmental impact with the public. Ideally, the publication of such china credit report leads to enhanced awareness, better monitoring practices, and action to curb detrimental occurrences.
Yet while some Chinese companies have received international recognition for enhanced CSR reporting, it's not clear the trend has translated broadly into more socially and environmentally sound policies. As Chris Marquis, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, and Yang Chen, an associate professor at Shanghai Maritime University, wrote on Dec. 5 in the online magazine Chinadialogue, "some of the same companies that were lauded for their reporting work were not necessarily following through with more responsible actions in the rest of their enterprises."
Marquis and Yang pointed to several examples, including Baogang Group, a steel company in Inner Mongolia. The company "claims to have invested tens of millions of dollars a year in environmental protection and waste processing, and has also been recognised for its CSR and sustainability activities," the researchers write. However, earlier this year pollution from Baogang's facilities near the village of Dalahai was linked to "unusually high rates of cancer, along with high rates of osteoporosis and skin and respiratory diseases, and the radiation levels are ten times higher than in the surrounding countryside." Obviously, not a sign of its commitment to principle.
At the very least, some Chinese authorities appear to have embraced the concept of corporate responsibility. In November, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released a blue book, or official report, on the state of CSR in China, which recommended improved reporting guidelines. Currently, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange offers training on data collection and corporate reporting methods. That makes smart business sense, as unsustainable practices may prove a future liability to growth. Even smog-choked China is looking for ways to clean up.
