For clarification, I'm reviewing what Amazon calls the "10 inch" scooter, but in reality, it's called the XR Elite Max. A silly name, but this is a Chinese type brand, albeit probably the most trustworthy one on the market.

I had owned two Segway scooters, and can attest that, while they are premium, they also do not last long. 6 months was the longest, and 2 months was the shortest. And Segway's customer service just isn't that great. Read the reviews for that. Buy Segway for a good time, not for a long time. I lost 250 bucks because they did not fix an issue I had.

The Gotrax was the best seller on Amazon, I found a model that had features I wanted. The XR Elite Max advertised impressive battery life and speed, so I chose it. I am NOT disappointed! I've been riding it for 100 miles, and can say this thing has tremendous power to get to its max speed of 15 very quickly. I love the trip meter, but something a lot of people don't know is, there IS an odometer! I noticed that every time I power it on, for a few seconds, it will display the total mileage since ownership. Can't think of another scooter that does that, and it's not even in the manual.

Speaking of the manual, it's not that great. The bad take on English, while not the worst I've seen, makes me feel less secure in the quality of the product. There's some contradictory information, such as the manual telling you to fill the tires to 50psi, but the tires themselves say 36. Typically, small tires DO requires a high psi, so I'm not sure who to listen to. I meet it somewhere in the middle. The manual says it takes 8 seconds to activate cruise control, the sticker on the scooter itself says 10 seconds, and me counting it myself, it's more like 7. Yeesh!

The scooter has no suspension, but rest assured, the air filled tires have you covered. My only fear is popping, something my Segways couldn't do, thanks to their solid tires. I put that bike Slime in the Gotrax tubes, let's hope that won't leave me stranded miles from home.

More nitpicks, the disc brake can be very squeaky sometimes, and when cruise control is active, you really have to grab the brake hard to deactivate it, which will jut you forward. I recommend deactivating it by pressing the throttle once, instead. But at least it turns off in an emergency brake (which WILL make you skid a little). Because it takes a big pull to deactivate cruise control, I can actually "ride the brake", and lower my speed temporarily with it before reaching the brake threshold, then climb back up to speed letting go.

My final complaint is that "P1," aka, the first speed setting, is a little too slow. It's 9mph vs the top speed of 15. 11 would've been a better compromise, in my opinion. I also don't like that the scooter always starts in P1, when my Segway would pick up where you left off.

So that's my review. I hope me taking the time to write this reaches someone and helps them make a decision. I sure hope this scooter lasts longer than Segway, but I AM a power user. I definitely put 2000+ miles on it before it died (still shorter than the advertised 5000). Will Gotrax take me there?

There are many pros I see in this scooter:

Overall, it is a good scooter with solid build quality and a powerful 350W motor. The 10 inch pneumatic tires make it a smooth ride and can easily go over small objects at high speeds that you may find on the road like twigs, leaves, and other small nuisances. In comparison to solid tires that some scooters come with, it doesn't have a problem with that.

Assembly is very easy, with all that needs to be done is unfold the scooter and put a few screws in; then it's ready to go. Folding and unfolding is a bit difficult at first, but easy after that.

It does not have an app, but that isn't a big thing. The screen is clean and simple, displaying speed (in MPH or KPH), battery, total mileage, and the mode you are currently in. There are 2 modes, P1 and P2, which go up to 9 mph and 15 mph respectively. In the P2 mode, you can definitely feel the torque and it gets up to speed quite quickly. In the P1 mode, it picks up speed slower. Cruise control works properly, but you have to hold down the throttle for 10-15 seconds to activate it.

I have had no problem riding it at night because there are powerful headlights and taillights. The taillight flashes when you are breaking, and when battery is very low.

The deck is quite large, but that can be a good or bad thing depending on the person.

Cons:

The odometer does not seem very useful, since it resets every time you put the scooter in charge. The highest number it would ever display is around 20. So, you cannot see your total mileage.

The battery is the biggest con I see. The range advertised is 20 miles, but seems far less than that. I am relatively light, at around 130-140 pounds and it lost about half of the battery in 3 miles. I was going up and down hills for a bit of it, but the advertised range still seems significantly more than what it actually is.

Overall, a solid choice for a scooter with the exception of range. But if that isn't a huge factor for buying an electric scooter, I would recommend this.

This scooter is awesome. It gets me from point A t B which I do daily round trip of 4 miles. My only complaint is that the battery does not hold it charge anymore. The scooter was delivered July 8, everything worked great. Starting August 23, I started noticing the battery isn't holding its full 100% capacity. Now I am getting 2-3 miles on a single full charge. That's just about 2 months and the battery is failing. I followed the instructions on charging it for 4 hours or until the charge brick turns green. The issue here could either be a bad battery, or the battery charge brick. The reason I say it could be the charger brick is because it gets extremely hot when I plug it in when charging the scooter. I contacted Gotrax August 24, 2023 and until now no reply. The scooter is still under warranty so I hope they do reply back.

Update: Gotrax reached out to me and wanted to resolve my battery issue. They were willing to ship me a new scooter but I had returned it already through Amazon. I did have to pay for the restocking fee with Amazon but Gotrax wanted to refund me the restocking fees which they did. It may be difficult to contact them, but once you do get a hold of them their customer support will go out of their way to fix the issues.

I haven't spent much time riding this scooter yet but I am enjoying every minute of it so far. I've ridden Bird/Lime rental scooters before so I have something to compare from as far as performance goes. Overall, the main advantages with the rental scooters are slightly better power and range, but at the cost of being heavier, not to mention that you never really know what condition the scooter will be in before riding; the battery level, brakes, other adjustments may be less than ideal since these things are getting a lot of use and bearing the elements outside. I can see why people like these because it is a low commitment option compared to having your own scooter (although over time it's obviously cheaper to have you own). Personally, I much prefer having my own, where I can maintain it myself and always know it's ready to go when I am. That being said, just like any machine (even bicycles) there is some self maintenance that is unavoidable.

Performance: ( I am a 160 pound rider)
On my last ride I went about 5 miles through a hilly college campus with lots of elevation change, starting from a full charge. The scooter performed well with good acceleration and only struggled on the steeper hills (not sure what angle the hill was, but it's difficult to walk up these hills for a long period of time). The brakes worked great as well and I always felt like I was in control (see suggestions below). When I returned I still had 3 out of 4 bars, even though I suspect that it may be approaching 2 bars (see cons below). The handling was nimble enough to move around other pedestrians with ease, and yet still sturdy at higher speeds. I did not get a reliable top speed measurement since I wasn't able to find a stretch of flat road that was long enough, but even so, I reaching about 16 mph easily without full throttle. (rider weight, hill angle, and battery level will be the main deciding factors for top speed)

Pros:
-Great performance/quality for the price
-Sturdy construction, without being too heavy
-Simple/ergonomic design

Cons:
-Battery gauge could have more bars to help show battery level more accurately. *It will also dip down temporarily while going up steep hills and then back up once you get to level ground. This is normal! Every battery powered device will do this when there is a high demand for electricity. You are fighting gravity going up hills which takes a lot of power depending on your weight.
-Throttle is very sensitive, which makes it hard to engage the cruise control. To enable cruise control, hold a steady (very steady) speed for a few seconds and then you will be able to remove your hand from the throttle while it maintains that speed. To disengage, bump the throttle and it will immediately turn off. (I did not know about this feature before I got this scooter but it is very nice to have)

Suggestions:
-This scooter comes with a "safety pin" which screws into the scooter (near the red latch which folds up the scooter). I would definitely use this pin, especially if you are going on a long and/or bumpy ride. It's not technically necessary, but it gives me piece of mind knowing there's an extra solid piece of steel keeping the scooter from folding up when I don't want it to. The only problem is that it's annoying to have to do frequently. The next design should have a quick-release safety pin.
-The first thing I did when I realized that the magnetic brake and disk brake were controlled by the same brake handle was add another brake handle on the other side next to the throttle (see picture) so that I could control them separately (like the version 1). I just used a standard bicycle brake handle and it worked like a charm. They probably went with a simpler design like this to make it more ergonomic/easier for the rider, but I like having the option to use either brake independently or together. As a side note, the magnetic brake works great overall and provides good stopping power, but works less and less as you slow down. This is why I typically only use the disk brake at lower speeds and when I need to come to a complete stop.
***Only do this if you are comfortable/competent with making such modifications and know that your safety is your own responsibility (not mine).

Clarifications: (almost lost one star for this)
-One thing that annoyed me was the implication that there was a gearing system included with this scooter and that "gear" 1 would climb hills better while "gear" 2 would be better for top speed. I COULD BE WRONG, but I'm preeettty sure(99.99%) that this is B.S. and the 1 and 2 refer to an electronic power limiter. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great feature to be able to bump it down to 1 for someone who is learning and/or a young rider, but let's call it what it is and not be misleading. I do not plan on opening it up to confirm this, but I have tried going into "gear" 1 to go up hills better and have noticed that "gear" 2 is better for both hill climbing and top speed.

*Update 4/1/19: There is a weird resonance vibration that happens at one very specific speed/throttle. It doesn't really bother me, but it is strange to go from almost completely silent to a louder vibrating sound. I think this might just be a thing that happens with variable electric motors, since this also happens with my electric bicycle. I will update again if anything else develops.

*Update 4/23/19: I'm still commuting daily on this scooter and enjoying every ride. My tire pressure was getting low so I had to pump them both up. The back one is easy, but the front one is quite difficult to get just right. The tire valve adapter that comes with the scooter works fine, but it is hard to remove it fast enough to not let air out of the tire. I had to practice several times to try and do it as fast as I could and eventually got it.

What I would recommend: pump it up above 50 psi ( I did around 60) and then remove the adapter as quickly as you can. It will let some air out and hopefully stop around 50 psi. I gave the back tire a squeeze with my hands after setting it to 50 psi and then compared it to the front to make sure it was close enough.

This scooter definitely rides different depending on tire pressure. I can go faster with normal pressure, but also feel more bumps. Lower pressure will give you a smoother ride, but limit your speed (and range). I would check this at least every two weeks, but just know that if you release air for more than a second then you will likely already be too low and need to pump it back up. I can fill up the whole tire in about 5 or so pumps.

I've bought two Gotrax electronic scooters in the past year, I would strongly suggest - evaluate your specific needs before your purchase, because the price / function / weight varies so much, that the scooter could turn out to be a great city commute tool or not at all (that's why I bought the second one, because the first one was way too heavy for me).

I'm here to compare Gotrax GXL V2 Electric Scooter and Gpro Three Wheel Electric Scooter:

**Gotrax GXL V2 Electric Scooter**

The GXL V2, with its sleek and foldable design, is tailored to those who prioritize portability and convenience. It's a lightweight option, perfect for quick folding and carrying, especially for city commuting. The 8.5" pneumatic tires provide a decent balance between comfort and maneuverability, although I've noticed a bit more bumpiness on uneven roads compared to the Gpro. With a max range of 12 miles, it's better suited for shorter commutes, but its compactness and foldability make up for the slightly limited range.

**Pros:**
- **Portability:** The foldable design and lightweight build make it easy to carry and store in tight spaces.
- **Maneuverability:** The 8.5" pneumatic tires offer good maneuverability, ideal for weaving through city traffic.
- **Compact:** Its compact size is perfect for tight urban spaces, both while riding and storing.

**Cons:**
- **Limited Range:** The 12-mile max range might not be suitable for longer commutes without frequent charging.
- **Less Suspension:** The EABS and rear disk brake are effective, but the ride might be less smooth on uneven roads compared to the Gpro.

**Gotrax Gpro Electric Scooter:**

This three-wheeled wonder took me by surprise with its unique design and dual rear suspension. The extra stability provided by the third wheel is fantastic, especially when zipping through crowded streets. The dual rear suspension cushions the ride over bumps and uneven surfaces, making my daily commute smoother and more enjoyable. With a max range of 24 miles, the LG battery and 350W motor offer impressive power, ensuring I won't be left stranded before reaching my destination. The double anti-theft lock provides peace of mind, a vital feature for city dwellers like me.

**Pros:**
- **Stability:** The three-wheel design provides exceptional stability, perfect for navigating tricky city terrains.
- **Suspension:** The dual rear suspension ensures a comfortable ride even on rough roads.
- **Range:** With a 24-mile max range, it's a great option for longer commutes without worrying about battery life.

**Cons:**
- **Bulkier:** The three-wheel design makes it slightly bulkier and less compact compared to other scooters.
- **Heavier:** The additional features contribute to a slightly heavier scooter, which might be less convenient when needing to carry it.

In conclusion, both the Gotrax Gpro and Gotrax GXL V2 have their own strengths tailored to different types of city commuters. If you're seeking stability, extended range, and are willing to handle a slightly bulkier scooter, the Gpro is an excellent choice. On the other hand, if portability and compactness are your priorities for navigating through a bustling city, the GXL V2 is a great fit. As a slim woman standing at 5'6'', my preference leans towards the GXL V2 due to its convenience (mostly because the weight), but your choice will depend on what aspects of your commute matter most to you.