Which e-scooter is right for you?
RACQ testing reveals some of the best and safest e-scooters you can buy.
![E-scooter testing at RACQ Mobility Centre.](/-/media/project/racqgroup/racq/articles/evs/2022/7/e-scooter-testing-at-mobility-centre.jpg?h=699&iar=0&w=1000&rev=46076fb6f28844ae8995f089f5c83b41&hash=21FA1A745BF74087FA53F21D1AA095CB)
RACQ has conducted in-depth practical testing of 14 e-scooters, with a focus on safe braking and handling characteristics of the different models.
The testing was undertaken to help members who are considering the purchase of an e-scooter and came up with recommendations based on requirements and level of experience.
The test was conducted at RACQs Mobility Centre at Mt Cotton under a controlled environment.
The scooters tested covered a range of price categories, different wheel sizes, tyre types, braking and suspension systems.
The scooters were tested for handling, acceleration, braking, ergonomics, and comfort.
All were equipped with lights, warning devices and speed limiters as per the rules for personal mobility devices in Queensland.
How the e-scooters were tested
The scooters were put through three different riding scenarios, a higher speed slalom, a tight turns course to simulate inner city street corners and a general riding area.
Some of the handling findings were that:
- The smaller cheaper scooters were less stable due to shorter and narrower deck sizes.
- Scooters with smaller wheels/tyres were more susceptible to instability from bumps/potholes.
- The Mercane Wide Wheel was hard to turn due to the wide tyre which was also solid rubber rather than pneumatic, making every tiny bump in the road obvious to the rider.
- Narrower handlebars resulted in twitchy steering and were generally harder to steer smoothly.
- Some of the suspensions were very soft which was good for soaking up bumps but caused the steering column to move forward and aft, especially when braking or accelerating.
- Some of the scooters had a very sensitive throttles which made them hard to ride smoothly, particularly at lower speeds.
Braking
Braking varied a lot between the models. Some scooters had front and rear brakes, others had only a single front or single rear brake.
The test involved getting the scooters up to the maximum 25km/h speed limit and then measuring the distance to come to a complete stop.
This test was quite scary on scooters with only a front brake as the back wheel wanted to lift off the ground.
The best braking systems were the dual disc brake models.
The average braking distance achieved was 3.85m to stop from 25km/h.
The best performing e-scooter was the Benelle GT800 at 2.6m and the worst was the Mercane Jubel at 6.8m.
Acceleration
The acceleration speed of the scooters was mostly dependant on the size of the battery and electric motor.
Acceleration time measured was the time taken from a standstill to reach the maximum 25km/h speed limit.
The dual motor scooters were frighteningly fast and not recommended them for inexperienced riders.
The scooters with only a front wheel drive tended to spin the wheel when accelerating quickly which could lead to loss of control and a possible crash. The average time to reach the 25km/h speed limit was 6.2 seconds.
Ergonomics and usability
The ergonomics were generally good across the range but the screen resolution on some models made the display difficult to read, especially in direct sunlight.
Three of the e-scooters had the throttle lever positioned in a way that hindered access to the brake lever.
Handlebar height varied, with only one model we tested, the Bexley Blackhawk Pro, having height adjustment, and when shopping for a new e-scooter we suggest checking for this – it would pay to get a model to suit the rider’s height.
Another factor to look at is the ease of folding as this varied a lot between the models, with some models quite hard to fold.
Another notable find is to not rely on the speedometer accuracy as some models were displaying a much lower speed than the actual travel speed.
Most, however, had only a minor error and it was on the ‘safe’ side i.e., speedometer reading higher than the true speed.
Summary
In conclusion, if you’re looking at buying an e-scooter and you don’t have much riding experience, we would recommend getting a less powerful model.
Look for models with larger diameter wheels/tyres, models with dual disc brakes, wide handlebars, and a good-sized wider deck.
Before purchasing an extensive test ride should be performed to make sure the scooter is comfortable for you, handles well at all speeds, is easy to use and fold, has a clear and legible screen, plus the ability to stop quickly and safely in the event of an emergency.
Best overall in each category type
Beginner
For this category we looked for an e-scooter that rode smoothly, was stable at lower speeds, was economically priced and braked well.
We chose the Kugoo M2 Master at $999. It has a good-sized deck providing stability, front and rear brakes for good brake performance (4.1m), rear suspension and pneumatic tyres providing a comfortable ride.
First/last mile daily commuter
In this category we looked for an e-scooter that was easy to fold, compact and lightweight for easy transportation.
Our pick was the Benelle GT800 at $1499, making it still relatively affordable too.
At 21kg it was one of the lightest scooters tested but still had a good range (60km), possibly enough to get you through the week’s commute.
It was easy to fold and carry with the handlebars clipping into the rear guard when folded.
Dual disc brakes provided excellent stopping power and 10-inch pneumatic tyres combined with rear suspension gave a comfortable ride.
However, the small deck size was one of the negatives of this model.
Performance
Some of the top-end dual motor models had blisteringly fast acceleration and sophisticated suspension systems.
For ride quality, the Bexley 10X was a standout with its adjustable coil suspension combined with a massive 2000W of power and good braking performance.
One negative from this model was that the throttle lever partially blocked access to one of the brake levers, but an even bigger negative was that we could not pick a winner for this category because all of the models were over the maximum legal length.
Results
The tables below contain the results of the testing and the specifications of all the e-scooters tested by RACQ.
The RACQ would like to acknowledge the generosity of iScoot Fortitude Valley in Brisbane for providing the scooters and safety equipment.
E-scooter |
Price |
Range |
Weight |
Top speed |
Max. rider weight |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
$2,199 |
55-65km |
29kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 70km/h |
140kg |
Bexly 10X |
$2,069.10 |
40Km |
36kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 65km/h |
120kg |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
$2,299 |
85Km |
35kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 75km/h |
150kg |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
$2,969 |
65km |
35kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 80km/h |
140kg |
Benelle S350 |
$899 |
20km |
14.9kg |
25km/h |
120kg |
Benelle S500 |
$1,099 |
40km |
16.6kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 35km/h |
120kg |
Benelle GT800 |
$1,499 |
60Km |
21.5kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 40km/h |
120kg |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
$899 |
40Km |
17.5kg |
25km/h |
100kg |
Mearth RS Pro |
$1,499 |
100Km |
23kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 40km/h |
100kg |
Mearth RS |
$1,299 |
65Km |
23kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 40km/h |
100kg |
Kugoo M2 Master |
$999 |
30Km |
23kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 35km/h |
120Kg |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
$1,699 |
70Km |
24.5kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 40km/h |
100kg |
Mercane Jubel |
$1,699 |
60Km |
22kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 43km/h |
100kg |
InMotion S1 |
$1,399 |
95km |
24kg |
Limited to 25km/h private 30km/h |
140kg |
E-scooter |
Motor power |
Battery size |
Brakes |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
Dual 1000W/1600W peak |
52V 18.2Ah |
Dual disc and electric re-gen |
Bexly 10X |
Dual 1000W |
52V 18.2Ah |
Dual disc |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
Dual 1200W/4000W peak |
60V 21Ah |
Zoom dual hydraulic |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
Dual 1400W |
60V 21Ah |
Dual hydraulic disc and electric regeneration |
Benelle S350 |
350W |
36V 6Ah |
Mechanical disc on rear |
Benelle S500 |
500W |
48V 9Ah |
Mechanical disc on rear |
Benelle GT800 |
800W |
48V 15Ah |
Dual Disc |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
350W |
36V 10.2Ah |
Regenerative |
Mearth RS Pro |
500W/850W peak |
48V 15.6Ah |
Front and rear disc brakes, and anti-lock electric brake |
Mearth RS |
500W/850W peak |
36V 15.6Ah |
Front and rear disc brakes, and anti-lock electric brake |
Kugoo M2 Master |
Dual 350W |
7.5Ah |
Electric front, rear mechanical disc |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
Dual 500W |
48V 15Ah |
Dual disc |
Mercane Jubel |
800W |
48V 15Ah |
Front drum, rear disc |
InMotion S1 |
500W |
54V 12.5Ah |
Front drum, rear electric |
E-scooter |
Lights |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
2 x LED front and rear in the deck |
Bexly 10X |
2 x LED front and rear in the deck |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
Dual white LEDs at the front, dual red LEDs at the back with deck Lighting |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
3 LED Front (2 in deck) rear LED and indicators/hazard lights |
Benelle S350 |
LED head, handlebar and tail |
Benelle S500 |
LED head, handlebar and tail |
Benelle GT800 |
Front and rear LED |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
Front and rear LED |
Mearth RS Pro |
Front and rear LED |
Mearth RS |
Front and rear LED |
Kugoo M2 Master |
Front and rear LED |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
Twin LED headlight and tail/brake light |
Mercane Jubel |
Twin LED headlight and tail/brake light |
InMotion S1 |
Double 1.25W readlight, customisable deck RGB LED strip with turn signal functionality, rear wheel LED brake light |
E-scooter |
Suspension |
Water resistance |
Tyre size and type |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
Front and rear coil spring C type |
|
10" pneumatic |
Bexly 10X |
Adjustable coil spring front and rear |
IPX4 splash resistant |
10" pneumatic |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
Front and rear coil spring C type |
IP54 light rain |
10" pneumatic |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
Twin front and rear spring |
|
10" pneumatic |
Benelle S350 |
Rear spring |
|
8.5" pneumatic |
Benelle S500 |
Rear spring |
|
8.5" pneumatic |
Benelle GT800 |
Rear |
|
10" pneumatic |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
None |
IPX5 sustained low-pressure spray |
10" pneumatic |
Mearth RS Pro |
None |
IPX4 splash resistant |
Explosion proof |
Mearth RS |
None |
IPX4 splash resistant |
Explosion proof |
Kugoo M2 Master |
Rear Spring |
|
8.5" pneumatic |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
Front and rear rubber cart |
|
7.5" solid |
Mercane Jubel |
None |
IP54 light rain |
12" pneumatic |
InMotion S1 |
Twin Front Shocks, Rear Spring |
|
10" pneumatic (tubeless) |
E-scooter |
Handlebar width |
Size unfolded |
Size folded |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
610mm |
1270mm (L) x 610mm (W) x 1330mm (H) |
1270mm (L) x 610mm (W) x 550mm (H) |
Bexly 10X |
640mm |
1270mm (L) x 640mm (W) x 1300mm (H) |
1270mm (L) x 640mm (W) x 550mm (H) |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
610mm |
1350mm (L) x 610mm (W) x 1160-1340mm (H)(Adjustable) |
1350mm (L) x 290 mm (W) x 550mm (H) |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
700mm |
1260mm (L) x 700mm (W) x 1310mm (H) |
1260mm (L) x 700mm (W) x 550mm (H) |
Benelle S350 |
520mm |
1080mm (L) x 520mm (W) x 1110mm (H) |
1310mm (L) x 520mm (W) x 330mm (H) |
Benelle S500 |
520mm |
1080mm (L) x 520mm (W) x 1110mm (H) |
1310mm (L) x 520mm (W) x 330mm (H) |
Benelle GT800 |
635mm |
1130mm (L) x 635mm (W) x 1190 mm (H) |
1130mm (L) x 635mm (W) x 530mm (H) |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
472mm |
1109mm (L) x 472mm (W) x 1146mm (H) |
1109mm (L) x 472mm (W) x 534mm (H) |
Mearth RS Pro |
500mm |
1110mm (L) x 500mm (W) x 1230mm (H) |
1110mm (L) x 500mm (W) x 540mm (H) |
Mearth RS |
500mm |
1110mm (L) x 500mm (W) x 1230mm (H) |
1110mm (L) x 500mm (W) x 540mm (H) |
Kugoo M2 Master |
515mm |
1205mm (L) x 515mm (W) x 1145mm (H) |
1205mm (L) x 515mm (W) x 550mm (H) |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
570mm |
1070mm (L) x 570mm (W) x 1160mm (H) |
1070mm (L) x 570mm (W) x 480mm (H) |
Mercane Jubel |
555mm |
1265mm (L) x 555mm (W) x 1166mm (H) |
1265mm (L) x 240mm (W) x 518mm (H) |
InMotion S1 |
520mm |
1250mm (L) x 520mm (W) x 1275mm (H) |
1250mm (L) x 520mm (W) x 560mm (H) |
E-scooter |
Charge Time |
Display |
App |
Bell |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
8-10 hrs |
Battery, mileage, speed, headlight, voltage, mode |
No |
Yes |
Bexly 10X |
8-10 hrs |
Battery, mileage, speed, headlight, voltage, mode |
No |
Yes |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
12 hrs, 6 hrs fast |
Battery, mileage, speed, headlight, voltage, mode |
No |
Yes |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
12 hrs, 6 hrs fast |
Battery, speed, headlight, mode, trip |
Yes |
Yes |
Benelle S350 |
3-4 hrs |
Battery, mileage, speed, headlight |
No |
Yes |
Benelle S500 |
3-4 hrs |
Battery, mileage, speed, headlight |
No |
Yes |
Benelle GT800 |
5-6 hrs |
Battery, mileage, speed, headlight |
No |
Yes |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
6 hrs |
Battery, speed, headlight, mode |
Yes |
Yes rotary |
Mearth RS Pro |
8 -9 hrs |
Battery, speed, mode |
No |
Yes |
Mearth RS |
8 - 9 hrs |
Battery, speed, mode |
No |
Yes |
Kugoo M2 Master |
6 - 7 hrs |
Battery, speed, headlight, mode |
No |
Yes |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
8 hrs |
Battery, mileage, speed, headlight, voltage, mode |
No |
Yes |
Mercane Jubel |
6-8 hrs |
Speed, mode, cruise, battery, faults |
No |
Yes |
InMotion S1 |
7.2 hrs 3.6 hrs fast |
Speed, mode, battery, Bluetooth, turn signal |
No |
Yes |
E-scooter |
Ergonomics |
Build Quality |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
Steering column coupling difficult to use |
Very good |
Bexly 10X |
Steering column coupling difficult to use |
Very good |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
Steering column coupling difficult to use |
Very good |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
Adjustable height of handlebars good |
Very good |
Benelle S350 |
Narrow and short deck. Good display. Hard to fold steering column. |
Good |
Benelle S500 |
Narrow and short deck. Good display. Hard to fold steering column. |
Good |
Benelle GT800 |
Narrow and short deck. Good display. |
Good |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
Narrow deck. Flimsy guards. |
Fair |
Mearth RS Pro |
Nice display and bar grips. |
Good |
Mearth RS |
Nice display and bar grips. |
Good |
Kugoo M2 Master |
Reasonable display. |
Good |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
Display hard to read. |
Good |
Mercane Jubel |
Display hard to read. |
Good |
InMotion S1 |
Tall handlebars suit a taller rider. |
Very good |
E-scooter |
Acceleration |
Braking |
Handling |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
4.3s |
3.1m |
Suspension and wide deck aide stability but soft suspension hinder braking and acceleration. |
Bexly 10X |
4.3s |
4.3m |
Suspension and wide deck aide stability. Bigger coil springs handle better. |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
5s |
5m |
Suspension and wide deck aide stability but soft suspension hinder braking and acceleration. |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
3.6s |
3.5m |
Suspension and wide deck aide stability. |
Benelle S350 |
10.5s |
4.2m |
Front wheel drive provides little grip. Small deck makes it hard to balance at low speed. |
Benelle S500 |
10.4s |
4.2m |
Front wheel drive provides little grip. Small deck makes it hard to balance at low speed. |
Benelle GT800 |
5s |
2.6m |
Larger wheels and rear drive improve ride. Small deck makes it hard to balance at low speed. |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
8s |
3.5m |
Unsteady at low speed due to narrow deck. |
Mearth RS Pro |
5.5s |
3m |
Narrow handlebars make the steering twitchy. |
Mearth RS |
5.5s |
2.7m |
Narrow handlebars make the steering twitchy. |
Kugoo M2 Master |
6.3s |
4.1m |
Stable at low speeds |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
4.6s |
4m |
Steering hard due to wide wheel. Movement in steering column as suspension bounces. |
Mercane Jubel |
7.6s |
6.8m |
Wide deck and large wheels make in very stable |
InMotion S1 |
6.2s |
3m |
Nice large deck, good stability. |
E-scooter |
Comfort |
Speedo Accuracy |
Carbon Oxy 10 |
Throttle controller blocks brake lever. Smooth ride. |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Bexly 10X |
Throttle controller blocks brake lever. Smooth ride. |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Bolzzen Gladiator |
Throttle controller blocks brake lever. Smooth ride. |
25km/h at 20km/h displayed |
Bexly Blackhawk Pro |
Touchy throttle makes it hard to ride |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Benelle S350 |
Reasonable ride quality. |
23km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Benelle S500 |
Reasonable ride quality. |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Benelle GT800 |
Reasonable ride quality. |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Segway Ninebot Max G30L |
Front brake only very un-nerving. |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Mearth RS Pro |
Speed limiter surges making a constant speed uncomfortable. |
23km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Mearth RS |
Speed limiter surges making a constant speed uncomfortable. |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Kugoo M2 Master |
Reasonable ride quality. |
20km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Mercane Wide Wheel Pro Dual 15Ah |
Not comfortable to ride. Solid tyres feel every bump. |
27km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Mercane Jubel |
Terrible brakes let it down. |
24km/h at 25km/h displayed |
InMotion S1 |
Good ride quality. |
23km/h at 25km/h displayed |
Related topics
Things to note
The information in this article has been prepared for general information purposes only and is not intended as legal advice or specific advice to any particular person. Any advice contained in the document is general advice, not intended as legal advice or professional advice and does not take into account any person’s particular circumstances. Before acting on anything based on this advice you should consider its appropriateness to you, having regard to your objectives and needs.