The Apollo Air Pro is a champion killer, elevating itself to the first place podium of entry-level scooters with the best stability and handling of any that we’ve ridden.

The Air Pro has an excellent ride and striking good looks just like the base Apollo Air, which are not what most mid-range commuter scooters are known for.

Competing against models like the Segway Ninebot Max — a scooter that has been popular in both the personal and shared markets — you expect stiff and boring but safe with a solid performance.

Compared to the Air Pro, the Ninebot Max has a firm, less forgiving, far less fun ride. Don’t get us wrong, the Max is a great scooter and beats the Air Pro on paper, which has a reasonable 18.8 mph top speed and gets a good 17.7 mi range.

However, the ride quality of the Air Pro is far superior, and is an excellent trade-off for slightly lower top speed, range and overall performance. It rides very smoothly, maintains excellent stability and makes you want to carve down the roads for miles and miles.

Most importantly for first-time riders, it’s flat out fun, and doesn’t miss important safety features that beginners need. With a front drum brake and rear regen, the Pro has a very user-friendly and low-maintenance dual braking configuration that’s effective and ideal for first-time riders.

The Pro is an exceptional entry-level model offering superior ride quality and performance-level good looks at an affordable, mid-range commuter price.

Big Dawgs are larger riders that are over 200 lbs and 6 feet or taller, often favoring oversized decks, tall handlebars, pneumatic tires, and suspension.v

Not enough oomph for Big Dawgs

Even though Ramier prefers the Air Pro to the base Air, neither is really meant for larger riders. Both models can accommodate riders up to 220 lb, but aren’t quite suited to Ramier’s 6′ 4″ tall, big dawg frame. 

The Pro is a little better with the dual suspension on the front, and both models have dope style, but they’re just not big enough to be big dawg approved. 

The Air Pro has an immediate throttle response, which is a nice surprise in a kick-to-start electric scooter. The Pro reaches 15 mph in 6.0 s, which isn’t super fast but feels faster than it is and super smooth. 

The Air Pro has good top speed, but how it feels is really the important point. 

In our performance test, the Pro has a 18.8 mph top speed that feels faster than it is while also feeling uber stable. Other, cheaper scooters like the Gotrax G4 may go faster for a little less money, but won’t ride quite as smoothly as the Pro. 

The base Air isn’t built for hill climbing, and the Air Pro isn’t either, unless the hills are between 4 and 6% grade inclines. 

In our 10% grade, 200 ft hill climb, the Apollo Air Pro took 21.8 s to reach the top at an average speed of 6.2 mph. It doesn’t feel powerful up hills, but most entry-level scooters don’t either. 

In its highest performance mode and a 165 lb rider, the Pro has an RG certified 17.7 mi range.

You’re able to maintain speed on flat ground even up to the very last mile. Some scooters cannot keep riding at their top speed at the end of the battery, and start to slow down.

With enough range for a 15 mi round-trip and pleasant handling, the Air Pro makes a great casual commuter. The Air performed better than what Apollo specified, attaining 13.9 mi of RG range. This is comfortable for a 10 mi round-trip commute with some to spare.

Emergency braking performance is very good, with a tested braking distance of 11.4 ft. 

We consider anything under 15 ft to be good, and under 10 ft great. The Pro has a better braking configuration than the base Air, with a front drum brake and rear regen.

However, the regenerative brake is too strong for cruising around town; we’d tune down the strength if we could, but some riders may like how it helps slow you down. 

How do the models compare? Check out the Apollo Air vs. Apollo Air Pro head-to-head comparison for more details.

The Apollo Air Pro has really stable ride quality, and exceptional handling.

With 10.0 in air-filled tires and front suspension, the Pro rides fun and feels faster than it is. 

The front fork resembles that of a mountain bike, and does a surprisingly good job of keeping the front wheel in firm contact with the road considering it doesn’t have hydraulic damping. Instead, the fork is a dual spring front suspension that works well and is great at this price point, but can clack slightly when topping out. 

Our favorite feature are the progressive profile tires, which provide a stable ride feel with a blunt tread. The contact patch or area of the tire that makes contact with the road is wider on the tires of the Air than on other entry-level scooters, like the Xiaomi Mi M365 — resulting in a steady, balanced ride. 

The cockpit is very beginner friendly and simple. The thumb throttle is easy to handle, and braking is good at the limit. However, we feel the regen brake is a bit too abrupt, especially when you’re riding in Sport mode. 

Although the kickstand keeps the Air upright, it’s a little difficult to target the kickstand with your toe. The supporting end tucks underneath the scooter, and can’t be seen when you’re on the Pro. We found it easiest to hop off the deck, lean the scooter a bit, and pull it down with the side of our foot/boot.

All in all, the Pro delivers an incredibly smooth and quiet ride without stem wobble and odd squeaks.

The Air Pro is not particularly portable, but weighs 35 lb and measures 47 in long by 22 in wide by 21 in tall — making it compact enough to fit into a car trunk and lightweight for most to handle.

Folding hook and ring

The pulled back handlebars do not fold, but the stem does; it folds quickly and easily, and includes a hook that slips through a flip-up ring on the deck. It’s a sleek design, as the hook fits into a magnetized cavity in the stem and the ring flattens out of the way when riding.

Folding mechanism

Along with the new scooter design, the folding mechanism is unique to the Air and Air Pro and not one we’re familiar with.

There’s a single clamp that securely fastens the stem upright, and you can adjust the screws for tighter/looser hold.

To fold the scooter, you simply open the clamp, lift the clamp until the stem hinges downward, then swing the stem to hook to the deck.

This design more closely resembles the clamp-style folding mechanisms we usually see on performance-level scooters than the claw-style folding mechanisms on entry-level scooters. It does a great job of keeping stem wobble at bay while being simple to operate.

The shape and style of the handlebars and display are striking and original, and we like the handgrips and simplicity of the controls. There’s a bell on the left handlebar with the brake lever, a centered display, and a thumb throttle on the right.

Unfortunately, the display is truly difficult to read in just about any light, even when cupping your hand around the display and putting your face as close as possible.

Display controls

A series of clicks on the sole button controls power, ride mode, the lights, and cruise control, with on-screen indicators for each along with a power meter and speedometer.

The Air Pro has a high-mounted headlight with a reflector underneath that’s hinged, so you can adjust the beam’s height. It also has a brake-responding taillight mounted on the fender, with orange reflectors on either side of the rear wheel.

For nighttime riding, check out our guide for electric scooter lights.

With dual 10.0 in inner tube tires on solid rims, the Air Pro has awesome tires. With a progressive profile, they let you carve around corners and take straightaways smoothly and stably.

The Air’s tires provide exceptional stability because they put 30% more rubber on the road than the narrower tires of a scooter like the Xiaomi Mi M365. 

Although they’re not quite as easy to maintain as pneumatic tires on split rims or tubeless tires, they ride really well. 

The deck’s unique shape is slightly wider at the front and tapers in at the rear, giving you 19.5 in long by 19.5 in wide of ample standing room. It’s angular shape adds character to the sporty, all-black design.     

The ring on the deck doesn’t get in the way when you’re standing on the deck, even if it does happen to flip up.

The Air Pro has a cohesive, finished look to it, and everything feels very solid, with a striking design that turns heads for the right reasons (not for the noisy, annoying ones). You can feel a detectable amount of stem wobble when parked, but none while riding it.

It’s built with features that lend themselves well to safety, convenience, and comfort in mind, which are all paramount for riders just getting started riding electric scooters. The front spring suspension cushions the ride along with the nicely shaped tires, which keep you connected to the road.

The scooter’s lightweight and has a small enough footprint for most to carry up a couple flights of stairs or wheel inconspicuously through a supermarket. Even with a slight build, the deck feels spacious enough for you to change positions as frequently as needed. It looks, rides, and is built to be sporty, even though it’s not the fastest out there.

Along with looking good, it is more waterproof than others. The Pro has an water resistance rating of IPX4, meaning it can sustain a drizzle but shouldn’t be driven through a downpour.

The full-coverage rear fender does an exceptional job of keeping the deck dry, but can easily get caught on curbs when coming off a sidewalk. The weather-proofing extends to the interior, as we snuck a peek inside the Air’s deck.

Inside the deck, all of the electrical connectors are encased in heat shrink wrap. Additionally, the motor controller is mounted up high and there’s an interior cover inside the deck, providing extra fortification.

With the Air Pro, Apollo has made a strong competitor in one of the most hotly contested spaces in the electric scooter game: the entry-level market. 

Going strictly by performance specs, the Air Pro isn’t doing anything new or spectacular. but when you factor in how well the Air handles, and how smooth and stable the ride feels, you realize that specs aren’t everything. The Air Pro is right where it needs to be, providing sporty, superior ride quality in a fun, intuitive and beginner-friendly package.  

Note: This may differ from our tested specifications.