GoTrax Gmax Ultra vs. Segway Ninebot Max: Which is the Best Electric Scooter?
TABLE OF CONTENT
Whether you’re looking for a Segway electric scooter or one of the GoTrax products, you’re in for a world of excitement.
Both of these electric scooters offer a great ride and plenty of features, but which product is better? Which has a more affordable price and is the difference in price worth it?
GoTrax and Segway are two of the best scooter companies that offer a couple of choices for commuters looking for an electric scooter with huge range and tons of features.
We’re putting the top-of-the line models, the GoTrax Gmax Ultra and the Segway Ninebot scooter head-to-head to see which is the better ride for you.
Gotrax Gmax Ultra vs. Segway Ninebot Max: A Head to Head Comparison
The GoTrax G Max Ultra scooter has a bold design and is clearly built to be lightweight and ready for the fast-paced world of commuting. The Ninebot scooter has a sturdier design that can accommodate two riders while still allowing the average daily commuter to travel long distances.
Both scooters have locking features, LED headlight and 10′ pneumatic tires. When it comes to the stats, they are usually within a few points of each other. With so much similarity, are there any features that really stand out?
GoTrax Gmax Ultra vs. Segway Ninebot Max: Major Differences
Both the GoTrax Gmax Ultra and the Segway Ninebot Max have similar features, but there are a few standouts that should be noted.
The Segway is the only one of the two that has an integrated app which is only going to get more and more useful as smart technology advances. It also features a different suite of battery safety features as well as drum brakes.
The GoTrax G Max Ultra has a higher top speed and huge range. It also uses more modern braking technology (disc brake). The GoTrax scooter does lack an app and can only comfortably fit a single rider.
In-Depth Comparison: GoTrax Gmax Ultra vs. Segway Ninebot Max
Now let’s really get into these scooters and what makes them tick.
The GoTrax Gmax Ultra was performance built to give commuters the most possible advantage. It has a lightweight design that will have you reaching speeds of 20 miles per hour while still getting a huge range of 45 miles. When you’re heading to and from work or school every day, those stats are highly prized.
Segway’s Ninebot Max is an all around powerhouse. It weighs more and is larger than the GoTrax Gmax Ultra which means it has better handling, and it can take bumps on the road with more grace. It’s top speed and range are also within a stone’s throw of the GoTrax Gmax Ultra.
Let’s go point by point and see which of these scooters wins our head to head comparison.
Hill Climbing Abilities
Let’s climb some hills!
If there’s one thing electric scooter fans have dreaded for the longest time, it’s been hills. Any incline greater than a few percent was more than early electric scooters could handle. Thankfully, today’s scooters are more ready to tackle these inclines. While you won’t be scaling a shear wall with either of these scooters, you can tackle most everyday commuter hills.
The Segway Ninebot has the superior hill climbing potential out of these scooters. It has the ability to power through inclines up to 20% in steepness. This can easily handle prolonged rides up casually raising slopes. What about our other contender?
The GoTrax scooter has a lower performance when it comes to inclines. This scooter tackles steep 15deg hills. This might not sound like a lot, but you’ll notice it when you’re out riding. That 5% difference is the difference between hauling your scooter up roads and being able to just coast along. That’s something you’re going to feel if your commute has lots of hills, slopes, and inclines.
The Segway Ninebot electric scooter is the clear winner here. Some of our categories don’t have such clear winners, but that 5% boost will make a huge difference over time. We’d go as far as to say that if your daily commute has lots of hills, this Segway feature might be enough to edge it out altogether.
Once you reach the top of your hill, which of these scooters is safer to lock up and leave alone?
Security / Locking
There are two security features to talk about when it comes to electric scooters: battery safety and locking.
Let’s start with battery safety. Lithium ion batteries can be dangerous if they are improperly installed, but both of these scooters have great safety standards.
This is what the Segway Ninebot has for battery safety features:
- Smart Battery Management System
- Short circuit protection
- Two-way charging and discharging protection
- Overcurrent protection
- Temperature protection
The GoTrax Gmax electric scooter takes a similar approach with these battery security features:
- Overcharge protection
- Overdischarge protection
- Temperature controls
- Short and open circuit protection
- Overcurrent protection
This isn’t the only security feature you need on your electric scooter. Locking mechanisms are just as important for eclectic scooters as they are for bikes. Whether you’re riding to school or to get lunch with friends, you might not be able to take your scooter with you everywhere you go. Here’s how these two stack up when it’s time to lock up.
The Segway Ninebot features an digital lock. This lock will protect your scooter from anyone using it until you unlock it. The lock can also be controlled with the Segway app.
The GoTrax has a different approach to locking and safety. While it also has an digital lock, you lock the scooter from the LED display instead of within an app (GoTrax doesn’t have an app)The GoTrax also has an integrated tiller cable lock. This means you don’t have to haul around another scooter lock when you’re out on the town.
This is another close race between two similar scooters, but we have to give it to the GoTrax Gmax Ultra. The integrated tiller cable lock is a convenient and time saving feature that makes sure you never leave home without a lock.
Another key safety and security feature on your scooter are the brakes.
Brake Performance: Drum Brake vs. Disc Brake
This might be the single most interesting category for these scooters. This is where they take their biggest departures from each other. While many of their other features are within a few steps of each other, these companies took two completely different routes to handling braking.
Being able to safely brake is one of the most important parts of a long-distance commuter scooter. If you can’t comfortably brake or be able to rely on your brakes in an emergency, you might as well get a different scooter. Lucky for us, both of these scooters have excellent braking technology. Let’s take a look.
The Segway Ninebot electric scooter has the more complex braking system out of the two. This electric scooter combines a front wheel mechanical drum brake, a rear wheel brake that is electric and regenerative, and simultaneous dual braking system for maximum performance. These are some impressive features, but what do they mean for your daily experience?
Regenerative braking is a great feature. It lets you get some charge back into your batteries each time you brake. While it won’t top off your batteries, it will add up over time. The dual braking gives you more control over stopping situations and provides a greater layer of safety while riding. Now let’s focus on those drum brakes.
This is where the braking on the Segway Ninebot Max takes a step backwards from the GoTrax Gmax Ultra. Drum brakes are an old-fashioned braking technology that is just not as reliable as a disc brake. While these scooters have modest speeds and both braking technologies are safe for this application, why settle for a lower safety standard?
Here’s where the GoTrax Gmax Ultra takes over. It’s dual braking system employs a disc brake instead of a drum brake. This is a more modern braking technology. So, what makes disc brake better?
Disc brakes not only wear down slower, they also have more stopping power. This means that if you have to suddenly brake to avoid a collision, the disc brake will stop you faster and help you stay in control of your e scooter.
The loss of regenerative braking in the GoTrax is a mild tradeoff when it comes to this safety and performance boost.
In this category, the GoTrax Gmax Ultra is the hands down winner.
With great braking comes the ability to control great speeds. Which of these scooters is faster?
Acceleration & Maximum Speed
Part of owning an electric scooter is being able to reach a good cruising speed. While top speed is high on the list of everyone’s electric scooter wish list, there are other factors to consider when it comes to just how fast your scooter can go.
Let’s talk about the speed and acceleration differences between these two scooters.
The Segway Ninebot Max electric scooter has the lower top speed out of the two. This scooter will have you reaching speeds of 18.6 miles per hour. This speed is reached through the scooter’s 350-watt high torque motor.
The GoTrax Gmax Ultra electric scooter has a similar high torque motor which also has 350 watts of power. However, the GoTrax Gmax Ultra scooter pushes out an extra 1.4 mph for a top speed of 20 miles per hour.
That’s not the end of this story. The Segway has a few speed-related tricks up its sleeve.
The Ninebot Max scooter features a three speed selection mode that can totally change your riding experience.
Riders will have their choice between Eco, Standard, and Sports modes. Eco does exactly what you think it will. This mode lowers the overall power of the scooter, but saves battery life. The Sports mode pulls out all the stops and diverts more power to the engine for high performance. Standard mode is the middle ground between these two settings.
If we’re picking the best scooter just for maximum top speed, it has to go the GoTrax scooter, but the Segway Ninebot electric scooter does have its perks in this category. While it’s not the fastest of the two, the Segway’s additional features make it stand out.
At the end of the day, this head to head is about raw speed so the GoTrax scooter is the clear winner here.
Speed is great, but these are commuter scooters. Which one of these two is more convenient to carry around?
Convenience and Portability
Electric scooters are great for riding around, but eventually you are going to have to pick it up and carry it. Whether the batteries have run out or you’ve reached your destination, an electric scooter needs to handle being carried just as well as it handles on the road.
Let’s start with the GoTrax scooter. With a modest 36-pound weight, this scooter is pretty easy to carry once the ride is over. This makes a huge difference especially if you’ve got other gear like a backpack. After all, you don’t want to be sweaty and exhausted from hauling your electric scooter around!
The GoTrax also has one-touch folding technology which makes the breakdown much easier than it used to be. The folded dimensions are 15” x 45” x 6” inches. This is a pretty small footprint. Easy to stow in the trunk or in the office. That’s also modest enough to be able to discreetly take on public transit or even store in a work locker.
The Segway is a larger scooter and weighs over 41 pounds. That’s a solid five pounds heavier than the GoTrax. If you travel light, you might never notice an extra five pounds here or there, but if you’re hauling gear on your commute, that five pounds might be noticed.
The Segway Ninebot has folded dimensions of 45.9” x 18.6” x 21.0” inches. This is noticeably larger than the GoTrax. This scooter might be a little harder to lug around tight spaces like crowded public transit or the office. There might not even be room for those extra inches if you have to store your scooter at work.
When it comes to convenience and portability, the lightweight build and smaller footprint of the GoTrax makes it the clear winner.
Now let’s see how long you can ride before it’s time to fold it up.
Range Testing: Best Long Range Electric Scooter: GoTrax Gmax or Segway Ninebot Max?
One of the highlight features of any electric scooter is the range. You want to be able to take your electric scooter out without worrying about those batteries giving out halfway through your ride. Whether you’re heading out for date night, on your way to the office, or just cruising the city streets for fun, you need to know your batteries can handle the trip.
Let’s look at the numbers and then get into why they might not be what they seem.
The Segway Ninebot has a max range of 40.4 miles when fully charged while the GoTrax Gmax Ultra electric scooter has a clean 45 miles. When it comes to raw range, the G Max Ultra sneaks out a victory by a few miles.
Given the similar high torque motors and general capability of these scooters, this difference likely comes down to the GoTrax Gmax Ultra having a lighter build.
Less weight to drive around means you can travel long distances. Obviously, your overall range is based on ideal conditions, so things like a rough road, heavy backpacks or groceries could lower those numbers.
Howevever, 40 miles or more is still huge range for an electric scooter. That number should be more than enough for most everyone’s commute ride. If you can top off your batteries at your destination, you can expand your range considerably.
The lighter construction of the GoTrax Gmax Ultra not only means a greater top speed, but also a longer range. That makes it the winner of this head to head round.
Now let’s take a look at the build quality of each model.
Build Quality & QA
Buying a long-distance commuter scooter is a lot like buying a nice road bike. You want to make sure it has all the features you need, but you also need to know that the build quality, overall stability and design are worth the price.
These scooters take two different approaches to style. Since each of us has different tastes and style goals, we’ll be leaving the looks out of our final judgement here. The Segway Ninebot Max has a matte black body with subtle orange accents and that’s it. This scooter is minimalist and has a very professional style.
The GoTrax Gmax Ultra mixes the matte black look with metallic blue accents and a very pronounced GoTrax logo on the body. This is still a subtle style, but it is much more pronounced than the Segway Max. The difference here depends on a combination of which color you like more and how flashy you want your ride to be.
When it comes to quality in an electric scooter, the big thing to look for is the IP rating. These mysterious numbers you see next to words like “waterproof” or “water resistant” are Ingress Protection Ratings.
Each code corresponds to a different level of security. Generally speaking, the higher the numbers on the code are, the more protection you’re getting.
The Segway Ninebot Max sports an IPx5 rating while the GoTrax Gmax Ultra scooter comes with an IP54. What does this mean?
The Segway Ninebot Max’s IPx5 means that it has no tested dust resistance, but it can withstand direct hits from modest water jets.
The GoTrax Gmax Ultra electric scooter sports a more tested IP54 rating. This means that dust and objects will not enter in a way that impairs functionalityx and it is fully protected from water splashes from any angle.
What’s the tldr here?
Both scooters can resist your average water exposure from puddles, rain, and errant sprinklers. Only the GoTrax Gmax Ultra is tested for dust resistance and it should be able to handle whatever your commute throws at it.
Who’s the winner in the quality assurance department? While both scooters are tough and ready for long rides, the GoTrax Gmax Ultra electric scooter squeezes out the win here thanks to its more fully vetted IP rating.
Now let’s talk about the bottom line for both of these scooters: price.
Pricing
All of these features are useful as well as fun, but what good is a scooter if you can’t afford it?
Both of these scooters command a high price tag for electric scooters, but they also represent the high-end rides for commuters.
The Segway Ninebot Max is the more expensive of the two, but not by much. The Ninebot Max also offers a payment plan option that lets you split up the cost of the scooter over a few months.
The GoTrax Gmax Ultra scooter is less expensive, but it has to be paid all upfront.
Picking the winner here is another split between a lower upfront cost and a more manageable overall cost. While the payment plan option from Segway does make the cost more manageable, those plans aren’t for everyone. We’re going to have to give this category to the GoTrax Gmax Ultra scooter for it’s lower upfront cost.
Nowadays, everyone has a smartphone and that means we expect every high-tech product we buy to come with corresponding smartphone apps.
OTHER SCOOTERS TO CONSIDER
SPECIFICATION, COMPARISON AND REVIEWS
| MODELS | TOP SPEED | RANGE | WEIGHT |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoTrax GMax Ultra | 25 mph | 45 mi | 36 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot Max G30P | 18.6 mph | 40.4 mi | 41.2 lbs |
| GoTrax GXL V2 | 15.5 mph | 9-12 mi | 26.4 lbs |
| GoTrax G4 | 20 mph | 25 mi | 36 lbs |
| Hiboy S2 Pro | 19 mph | 25 mi | 33 lbs |
| The Kugoo M2 Pro | 20 mph | 18.6 mi | 34 lbs |
| Razor Electric Scooter T25 | 15.5 mph | 18 mi | 27 lbs |
Segway Bluetooth App
We live in a high-tech age. It seems like everything from coffee makers to thermostats now have an accompanying app. It’s no wonder that electric scooters are stepping up and expanding the services they offer with new bluetooth apps for their rides.
We’ll get this out of the way right upfront. The GoTrax Gmax Ultra scooter doesn’t have an app which means that the Segway Ninebot Max wins by default. With that said, what does the Segway app get us?
The goal of any good app is to provide utility and convenience for the user. To that end, the Segway Ninebot’s app is well-designed and easy to understand. Here are a few of the features it comes packed with:
- Remote digital lock and unlock
- Riding stats
- Cruise control
- Manage firmware updates for the scooter
That’s a solid suite of features that gives the rider more control over their scooter. The remote digital lock and unlock feature is the standout here. Being able to check that your scooter is locked even after you’ve stepped away is a great feature. The riding stats feature is also a huge plus for riders who want to get even more out of their scooters. You’ll be able to track your commutes and see just how many miles you’re putting on your scooter.
To recap: The GoTrax Gmax Ultra doesn’t have an app while the Segway app comes packed with useful features. The win here clearly goes to Segway.
So, which scooter should you make your daily ride?
Final Words
Segway Ninebot Max or GoTrax Gmax Ultra? Which electric scooter is the best? Let’s sum up what we discovered.
The GoTrax Gmax Ultra electric scooter is lighter and features better braking and security features. It also has a higher top speed and maximum distance. GoTrax scooters feature better overall commuter-friendliness and pricing, but they lack an app.
The Segway Ninebot max scooter has lower stats on paper, but when it comes down to the day to day performance, it’s the weight and portability that hold it back the most. In its favor, the Ninebot scooter can be comfortably ridden with two people on board, it has a highly useful app, and better hill climbing abilities.
Answering which scooter is the best is a close call here and it might come down to which of these features is the one you value the most.
After putting the Segway Ninebot Max and the GoTrax Gmax Ultra electric scooter head to head, there is one that came out on top in most of our analysis.
The GoTrax Gmax Ultra is the clear choice if you are looking for the all-around better ride.
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