Segway ES1 Review – Digging deep into Ninebot’s electric scooter
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Segway ES1 also known as Ninebot Segway no 9 is the first electric scooter to come out since Ninebot bought up Segway and rebranded into “Ninebot By Segway” around 2015.
It is a successor to the Xiaomi Mijia M365 which Ninebot helped Xiaomi create.
So, let’s dig deep and see what the ES1 has to offer.
Review
The ES1 is equipped with quite a lot of great features and the specifications of the scooter are solid. By the first touch you can feel that quality wise, it’s a Segway product.
It has a built-in so-called hub motor of 250W which can reach a top speed of up to 12 mph. It has a speed limit mode so you can limit the speed by holding the on/off button to set it in economy mode, normal or sports mode, or if you want you can set an exact max speed-limit within the mobile application.
The lithium-ion battery powering the scooter promises a distance of up to 15.5 miles before having to recharge it for around 3.5 hours. It’s features and looks are almost the same as its bigger brother the ES2 which has a 15.5 mph maximum speed and some other minor things like led lights for low light conditions, brake light, and a rear suspension.
If you feel that 15.5 miles (25 km) aren’t enough, then you can also purchase an additional battery that can be mounted on the scooter frame. By mounting the add-on second battery pack, upgrading it to an ES3, you can reach distances of up to 28 miles on both the ES1 and the ES2. On the ES1 you also get an additional 3.1 mph in speed performance giving you the same maximum speed as the standard ES2 (about 15.5 mph)
To think about; If you want the extended range and are considering buying the extra battery pack, the only difference between the ES1 and ES2 is the rear-shock, a brake light, some led-lights, and top speed/torque. If you want to compare all Segway electric scooters side by side, check out this comparison table .
Reminder: As with all electric rides the max distance and top speed measured by the manufacturer is under perfect conditions. Something you rarely come across in real life.
Riding experience
The riding experience of the Segway ES1 is similar to both the Mijia M365 and the ES2 although a tad slower. As I told you above the distance in real life differs very much depending on the rider weight, surface, and incline. I would say the medium distance you are going to get will be around 7-11.5 miles on a single charge. If you decide to get the external battery I could see it going an additional 5-8 miles (19.5 miles).
The heavy coil suspension inside the rear shock absorber can handle minor bumps and the large wheels can take on the occasional small stone and pothole without major concerns while still providing a smoother ride than some cheaper competitor models. I do however feel that the front shock isn’t helping too much. It might reduce some of the shaking ridings on uneven surfaces but I can barely feel the difference with or without.
It has a moderate speed and the acceleration in sports mode are decent. The Segway ninebot es1 electric scooter feels sturdy and quality wise I have nothing to complain about except the foam grips which I can see getting destroyed over a couple of months of usage. The second issue I had was that the color of the anti-slip foot pad was light grey. Dirt is very visible on it and can ruin its appearance a bit. Other than that it comes with a ground clearance around 73 mm which is higher than most electric scooters, but you should still be a bit careful when jumping off the curbs.
The folding mechanism has been designed to eliminate pressure in the front of the scooter while you carry it at the handlebar. It clips onto the mudguard/back-break covering to ease pressure and avoid any damage to the folding mechanism itself caused by carrying it. You as an end consumer might not see this as groundbreaking but for an enthusiast, as myself, I know firsthand that the folding mechanism can get loose over time which in return makes the handlebar feel shaky and unstable.
Also read our review of the Glion dolly , another electric scooter that is great for both adults and teenagers.
Features of the ES1
- The main feature, in my opinion, is the ability to customize and keep track of your riding with the mobile application
- A led-display showing you which speed your riding in, how much battery is left, and which of the 3-speed limit modes you are using at the moment
- Speaking of speed, if you’re travelling a longer distance, we like the cruise control option. Just hold the throttle for 5 seconds and it’s engaged.
- An LED light on the front (a headlight) that will aid you and increase not only your vision in low light conditions but makes you much more visible to other pedestrians
- Two separate braking systems, a mechanical brake and a second electronic brake
- Hard 8″ and 7.5″ rubber tires
- A lot of built-in protection features such as overcurrent, over-charging, and while braking or pushing the motors too much it’ll slow itself down in order too cool off
- It has a folding mechanism so it can be easily folded together and carried around in one hand with its 25 lb or just to stove it in a closet
- Front shock absorber which really is just a heavy coil suspension which makes uneven surfaces or the occasional small pothole smoother during the ride
- Instead of using grip tape they’ve gone with an anti-slip rubber foot pad which can easily be cleaned off and doesn’t have to be changed every other month
Our review test data
Runtime: 1 hour and 12 min
Distance reached: 8 miles (the manufacturers specs say 25 km or 15.5 miles total – we didn’t ride it until it was dead but suspect the remaining battery life would have given us another 3 or so miles)
Top speed: 13 mph
Avg speed: 6.2 mph
Battery consumption: 100% to 23%
Mode used: 35% Standard & 65% sports mode (using cruise control in both)
Surface: Uneven roads with minor elevation
Last words of recommendation
I would recommend the Segway ninebot ES1 for adults and teenagers around 14+ years old who want to add some fun to their commute. It is sturdy and well built leaving you as a parent with no concerns about safety. There are two brakes in case one would mess up you always have the other. Would work perfectly as a commuter scooter and with the extra battery pack available you can even extend its range from shorter- to longer commutes. Plus for as a commuter scooter, we like the cruise control and the fact that it only takes 5 seconds to engage when riding.
There are some neat features to this electric scooter but nothing groundbreaking other than the folding mechanism. And if you think about it, that’s kind of sad. However, it is a reliable and trustworthy scooter that will take you from point A to point B without any problems. We would like to see it have a higher max speed and longer range. However, as we mentioned, you can get longer battery life and range if you strap on the external second external segway battery
Other Items to Consider
There are over a hundred different electric scooters on the market. Your choices begin to narrow depending on what you’re trying to do with your scooter.
Then, you’ve got different “generations” of rides. Like this segway es1 generation 2. Make sure you aren’t buying a gen 1 machine when gen 2 is out there. That is, unless, you’re in the market for a cheap electric scooter at which point you can probably get quite a deal.
If you’re into the segway scooter brand and aren’t too keen on the segway kickscooter es1, then you should check out some of the other Segway scooter models.
One of the less traditional models is the Segway Minipro. It’s similar to the original segway transporter but more compact and more advanced with a max speed of about 10 mph.
If you want a very similar scooter that’s got better brakes, goes about the same mileage on a single charge (without having to purchase the optional second battery to extend the maximum range), gives the rider a smooth, comfortable ride and has a cruise control option then you should look at the GoTrax GXL V2. In our opinion it’s a better scooter for the money. It doesnt have an electrical brake / mechanical brake either — it’s got a disc brake which, in our opinion shortens the safe braking distance substantially.
If you’re buying a segway kickscooter for a kid, you should check out the Ninebot Zing e10 which is similar to the segway es1 generation 2.
OTHER ELECTRIC SCOOTERS TO CONSIDER
SPECIFICATIONS AND COMPARISONS
| MODELS | TOP SPEED | RANGE | WEIGHT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segway Ninebot ES1L | 12.4 mph | 12.4 mi | 24.9 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot ES1 | 15.5 mph | 15.5 mi | 24.9 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot ES2 | 15.5 mph | 15.5 | 27 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot E22 | 12.4 mph | 13.7 mi | 29.8 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot ES4 | 18.6 mph | 28 mi | 30 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot E45 | 18.6 mph | 28 mi | 36.2 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot F25 | 15.5 mph | 12.4 mi | 32 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot F40 | 18.6 mph | 24.9 mi | 35 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot F30 | 15.5 mph | 18.6 mi | 33 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot Max G30P | 18.6 mph | 40.4 mi | 41.2 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot Zing E10 | 10 mph | 6.3 mi | 18.7 lbs |
| Segway Ninebot E8 | 8.7 mph | 6.2 mi | 17.6 lbs |
