Ninebot, by Segway, is an electric scooter brand. I will be reviewing the Segway E2 Plus II Electric Scooter, referred to as the Ninebot E Plus (or sometimes Ninebot E2 Plus) in the mobile application. There are a few discrepancies, such as the box claiming about 12.3 miles of range while the website states 16 miles, but everything else matches up. The scooter can reach up to 15.5 mph on a flat surface, handles a 12% incline, and offers 12–16 miles of real-world battery life. What does this all mean? Is it a good scooter, or would you be better off saving your money for a more expensive one? (retails at at around 350 dollars)
For the speed concern: yes, it does go 15 mph. I drove past a speed trap sign, and it clocked me at 15 miles per hour. Google Maps also tracked me at that speed, so I can confirm it reaches that in regular mode. There are four modes, but to activate any speed over 10 mph, you MUST use the application and pair your scooter via Bluetooth. It will then show you a safety video, and after that, you won’t need the app again (though you can use it if you want). Through the app, you can “lock” the scooter by disabling the motor until you unlock it, adjust the pickup starting speed, and enable “cruise control,” which lets you maintain a constant speed without holding the throttle. The application’s design could be improved, as the layout of the training material feels cluttered. However, it does feature an odometer and pairs quickly over Bluetooth, which is a definite advantage.
The fastest pickup speed is 3 mph, which feels pretty good to me, and it reaches 15 mph in a reasonable amount of time. However, it has major problems operating in start-stop traffic. For instance, if I’m going 7 mph and slow down to 3 mph, then press the throttle to accelerate again, it often won’t start. I have to slowly come to a full stop, give it a kick-start, and try again. This happens far too often—the scooter just “stalls out” at times, which is incredibly frustrating.
Learning to start the scooter is challenging as well. You must push and kick it until you hit about 2 mph (it shows on the LCD display), then hit the throttle and jump on. On the right side of the handlebar is the throttle, and on the left is the brake lever. The build construction is decent. Though after a few weeks of ownership, I’ve noticed some brake slippage, and it isn’t stopping as quickly as I’d like. It has a rubber deck that grips well enough, and the tires handle pavement fine. Gravel requires a bit of caution since traction isn’t perfect, but it’s doable. It can also manage flat dirt and turns (albeit more slowly). The suspension is good for the rider—driving off a curb doesn’t transfer as much impact to you, and it handles speed bumps well (though I like to pop a small wheelie to reduce the load). However, this doesn’t apply as well to any accessories you might attach to the scooter.
If you want an accessory for your scooter, check out the ScootTag by TheTechBoy Media. These are customizable scooter licence plates for scooters. Find it at @thetechboy_media or emailing contact@thetechboy.org. Now back to the review.
The range is okay in my opinion. It can last a whole day if you stay in one place, like a campus or church, but you might end up down to 1.5 bars (with 0.5 of a bar blinking to show it’s almost done). I believe it’s about 12 miles of range if you hit the highest speeds consistently, but I wouldn’t trust it for longer trips. (I took a 7-mile round trip—3.5 miles each way—and it was down to 3 or 2.5 bars. It drains noticeably faster at higher speeds.) Second, it’s an overnight charger—it does NOT charge quickly at all. So charging for 30 minutes and expecting a full day of use (like with a OnePlus phone) is not going to work. Lastly, on the dash there is a button: pushing the power button on the right changes the modes, while the one on the left turns on the flashlight.
