Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
At a time when demand for e-mobility continues to surge and US e-bike sales have increased nearly 250% according to NPD, Bird’s expanded personal micro-EV portfolio offers something for everyone. That includes the Bird Bike, a vehicle expertly designed to make everyday cycling a joy, as well as our two newest scooters perfect for riders of all ages. These are just the bigger issues we faced with the Bird One - each is enough to deduct a few stars from our score, but together they’re a recipe for disaster. Even if you can look past one or two problems, there are enough more that it doesn't matter. Riding the Bird One was a stressful experience, one we were nervous to embark on every time we took the thing for a journey. What’s more impressive is that usually, electric scooter makers quote the distance you’ll get on the less-power-intensive slower modes. In this way, while the figures are technically true, they often don’t reflect the real experience of riding a scooter. The Bird One doesn’t have different modes though - we got our distance when traveling at the scooter’s top speed, so the range feels doubly correct. The Bird One’s 300W brushless front hub motor is capable of reaching a top speed of 18mph / 29km/h, which is plenty fast enough, and actually faster than is legally allowed in the UK.
The app was originallydeveloped to help rentalriderslocate Bird One e-scooters in their local area,but Bird’s companion app now alsooffers you complete controlover your e-scooter.Here, we'd usually talk about speed settings, but the Bird One only has a single setting. Honestly, we don't think this is too much of an issue, as we generally only use the most powerful setting on other e-scooters anyway. Reducing the number of settings certainly makes the Bird One simple and straightforward to use. Here's where the Bird One gets really interesting – its app – because Bird isn't just an e-scooter company, it's a software and service company. This information is available in the app, but we think it's useful to have it right in front of you as well. Central between the handlebars, at the top of the scooter’s stem, is a large plastic box - on most scooters, this would house a display to tell you your speed, remaining battery, and which riding mode you were in - the Bird One just has two LEDs that tell you if the scooter is charging or not. That means when you’re riding it’s impossible to know how fast you’re going, or how much charge you have left.
The Bird app has connectivity issues, and given you use the app to turn on the scooter, deactivate the tamper alarm, see your scooter’s battery and toggle the lights, that’s a huge problem. We frequently found the app seemed convinced it was connected to the scooter when it wasn’t. Firstly, initially connecting the scooter is a pain. The option to do so is well hidden, and we spent a lot of time Googling and searching before we figured out the solution - there’s no unique way to register a personal vehicle, you just scan your own scooter as though it’s a rental one. This could be a lot clearer. The Bird One electric scooter is the same model you’ll find if you use Bird’s scooter rental app available in many cities - this is just a retail version of that same vehicle.The Bird One electric scooter takes six hours of charging to get from full to empty - that’s fairly average for this kind of vehicle, as four to eight hours tends to be what we see in most. You charge the vehicle by plugging a cable from mains into the base of the scooter, and a charging light on the handlebars lets you know something’s happening. Riding This assembly issue won’t plague people who are using Bird’s rental scooters, instead of their private ones. So construction and handlebar problems aside, how does the Bird One ride? Well, it’s okay, but nothing to write home about. The rubber handlebars are slightly tapered to make them easier to hold, and while they aren’t the comfiest in the world, we’ve used worse too. Plus, they seem more durable than most.
Sleek-looking, built like a tank, with super impressive connectivity features – as well as battery life galore – the Bird One is about as versatile and as future-proof as e-scooters get. It's not the most compact or portable option available, especially as it doesn't fold, but if you’re looking for the smartest e-scooter around – this is it. Adding to its stylish credentials is the sleek and streamlined design, with fully integrated brake wires and a built-in headlight unit. It looks aerodynamic, like an Airstream caravan. All models feature a large contrasting Bird logo on the front and Bird branding on the upright beam. Like most electric scooters, when you first buy the Bird One you have to attach the handlebar stem to the board yourself with an allen key provided. Despite this process usually being easy, we found it incredibly difficult with the Bird One, as no matter how much we tightened the bolts, the handlebars still rattled worryingly in use. In the interest of fairness, we should say the Bird One has one or two redeeming qualities. Its range is one of the best of any electric scooter we’ve tested, so it’ll suit people with longer commutes, and its acceleration speed was perfect for comfortable starts.Out of the box, not much needs doing to the Bird One; there are just four simple bolts which need securing with an Allen key. The absence of riding modes, as most scooters have, and the fact you can’t see your speed, gives you much less control over your riding habits than you should have. While on other scooters you can drop into a lower speed mode to cruise through residential areas, or ride in an ‘eco’ mode to preserve battery, the Bird One doesn’t present those important options. It can be harder to guesstimate your speed than you may think. The handlebars also house a bell and the brake on the left side, a light in the central box, and the accelerator and QR code on the right. The latter is used for initially scanning the scooter, after which its purpose is to make your scooter look more like a rental one than a personal one. The presence of a front-facing light is mirrored by a red rear one, which flashes when in use.
In fact, the Bird One is built accordance with 31 separate safety and quality certifications,so that you can rely upon your e-scooter day-in, day-out.According to Bird, the One electric scooter has a range of about 25 miles or 40km. This is a fairly good range for such a vehicle, and to the credit of the scooter, it felt fairly accurate in our testing. We drove 5 miles and finished with 75% charge left. Of course, the inability to fold down might instantly make some people stop reading. We usually review electric scooters by using them as a 'last mile' solution between a car park and our office, but as this doesn't fold, it wouldn't fit inside our car. If you live in a city and plan on using the Bird One as your sole mode of transportation, then this is less of an issue. You can also receive regular over-the-air firmware updates, as well as remote-diagnose and update firmware issues.
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