Bike vs. electric scooter on the Las Vegas Strip

Monorail. Taxi. Your own two feet. There are lots of ways to traverse the Las Vegas Strip.

A friend and I decided to test a couple of other methods — bicycles and electric scooters — to zip around the Strip. Here’s how both stacked up:

• SAFETY.

We went into our experiment thinking bicycles would be ideal for the flat Strip, only to find out the hard way why bike rental shops are located closer to Red Rock Canyon and its network of mountain bike trails.

Unless traffic is light, biking along Sin City’s main thoroughfare can be hellish. Bike-commuting bellmen suggested we ride the parallel roads of Frank Sinatra Drive or Koval instead, but those streets were peppered with potholes and the sidewalks were poorly maintained. We seemed to be invisible to cars and buses. Most of the time, I felt like I was pedaling for my life.

Our sense of security was much greater on EcoReco e-Scooters (http://ecorecoscooter.com). We could stop quickly on a scooter, and being only 6 inches off the ground made it easy to hop off, if necessary.

• EXERCISE.

Cycling can be a great workout, but not when your primary focus is dodging cars and potholes on the street. That — not our pedaling — is what got our hearts pumping.

Riding an electric scooter doesn’t qualify as cardio, either. But at least it requires good balance and posture, so it isn’t entirely lazy.

Bottom line: e-Scooters win on the Strip, and your best bet for biking is 17 miles west in Red Rock Canyon.