Mercane WideWheel (Dual) - $1099
Picture of Paul Somerville Rider Guide's Editor and Chief
Paul Somerville
November 18, 2019

Rider Guide’s Editor-in-Chief is a seasoned expert in the electric scooter industry. With a wide-ranging background that includes managing scooter warehouses, selling thousands of motorcycles, and restoring high value (+1M) European sports cars, his expertise is unmatched. Having personally tested more than 100 electric scooters, he offers invaluable insights and recommendations to our readers. We are fortunate to have him as part of our team, as his diverse skill set and extensive experience ensure top-notch reviews.

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Mercane Widewheel stem folding
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Mercane WideWheel Summary

We reviewed the updated 2019, dual-motor version of the Mercane WideWheel electric scooter from Fluid FreeRide — a unique, surprisingly fast, and super fun scooter manufactured by Mercane.
pros icon of thumbs up
PROS
Thrilling acceleration and hill-climbing
Low price compared to performance
cons icon of thumbs down
CONS
Stiff low-quality spring suspension
Less nimble due to wide low-profile tires

Technical Specifications

top speed icon of speedometer
Tested Top Speed:
25.0 mph**
water resistance icon of raining cloud
Water Resistance:
IPX4**
Tested Weight icon of a scale
Max Rider Weight:
220 lb**
weight icon of kettlebell
Weight:
-**
tested range icon of a path between to points
Tested Range:
18.8 mi**
acceleration icon of stop watch
Acceleration:
2.9 s**
**Based on our independent performance tests which may differ from manufacturer’s claims.
The Mercane WideWheel (Dual) is available in United States from Fluid Freeride.
Our content is independent, but using our links supports our hard work!

Mercane Widewheel Alternatives & Competitors

Our Take: Superhero-worthy Design and Surprising Speed

The Mercane WideWheel is characterized by a unique cast aluminum frame with a sleek manta ray-like design that sits atop two low profile, ultra-wide 8.0 inch solid tires.

It is one of the most distinctive electric scooters we've reviewed and tested. When looking at it, we can't help but think of Batman's Batmobile or Batpod.

Packing a whopping 634 watt hour battery and fitted with dual 800-watt (peak) electric motors, the Wide Wheel has the power to back up its unique looks. It is a supremely fun scooter that should thrill — but not scare — a sane person when opening up the throttle.

The dual suspension is stiff but decently effective at eating bumps that would generally punish a scooter with solid tires. If you've never ridden a scooter with super-wide tires, then you will notice the floating sensation and need to lean when cornering sharply.

One drawback that is worth considering is that the WideWheel is definitely not an off-roading scooter. Its frame and components don't have the heft to take the abuse. Extreme use has resulted in failing mechanical parts that could cause injury/death! For this scooter, it's important to keep an eye on its cast aluminum parts which can develop cracks, then suddenly fail.

The Mercane WideWheel is for someone who is looking for a fast, fun scooter that will sail up hills and is great for commuting to work and cruising around on the weekends. It doesn't have the intimidating looks or overwhelming power of scooters like the Zero 10X.

The Widewheel offers an enjoyable ride for commuting around a city, crushing the steepest hills, and it can definitely burn rubber with the best of them. Even better, its specs are competitive with other scooters more than twice its price!

Mercane WideWheel Review

Acceleration

Mercane Widewheel front wheel closeup
We tested the dual-motor version of the WideWheel that sports 500 watt sustained, 800-watt peak front and rear electric motors.

First of all, the WideWheel has surprising acceleration — considering it is not marketed as a high-performance scooter. In Eco mode, the scooter uses just a single motor and feels like a zippier version of the crowd-favorite M365.

In Turbo mode, the WideWheel downright burns rubber. In our acceleration tests, the scooter went from 0 to 15 mph in Error: Invalid unit "seconds". — very fast — compared to the average scooter that will take 8 seconds.

Overall, the acceleration of the WideWheel reminded us of its $2000+ competitors. Take a look at our electric scooter acceleration comparisons if you find this hard to believe.

For the new 2019 version, the thumb throttle has received an upgrade that should make throttle control feel more linear and manageable and lower speeds.

Hill Climb

The WideWheel has great hill climbing performance and will sail up the steepest hill in your city.

We rode the scooter many miles around San Francisco — climbing some of the steepest city roads anywhere — and did not find the WideWheel lacking.

The WideWheel completed our standardized hill climb test in 11.1 seconds with an average speed of 12.2 mph. We test every scooter on the same hill (200 feet, 10% grade, 165 lb rider).

See our performance data to compare with other scooters.

This is faster than the EMOVE Cruiser and a just a second and a half slower than the beastly Zero 8X.

Top Speed

The top speed is by default capped to 20 mph, but you can unlock the scooter for speeds closer to 30 mph.

We performed a top speed test and reached 25.0 mph with the Mercane unlocked.

For commuting around a city or campus, 20 mph is as much as you'll need. Keeping the speed down will also help to extend your range.

Range

We tested the WideWheel to have a real-world range of 18.8 mi on our standardized urban test loop. We test all scooters on the same loop, which has frequent stops, hills, and rough terrain. The scooter is ridden by the same 165 lb rider, as quickly as is safe, in the fastest mode (least energy conserving).

Braking

Mercane Widewheel backwheel disk brake
The Mercane WideWheel features a single cable-controlled mechanical disc brake in the rear; the disc brake was dialed in out-of-the-box and required no adjustment on our part. Even when dialed in, you may notice some faint disc noises due to light rubbing of the brake pad. When activated, braking feels strong, and the brake makes a pleasant, soft, buzzing noise.

We performed braking tests from 15 mph, and the WideWheel stopped at a distance of 21.9 feet. This is about average when compared to other scooters with a single disc brake, but not as good as higher-performance scooters that stop in <15 feet.

Given the speeds the WideWheel is capable of, we would have liked to have seen an additional brake to serve as backup that could help keep the reins on this scooter.

In 2019, Fluid FreeRide led a recall of some WideWheel scooters, which suffered a brake problem to incorrect assembly of the caliper. This issue has been resolved but is an example of why we always emphasize scooters with redundant braking systems. The new WideWheel Pro has dual disc brakes.

Ride Quality

The Mercane WideWheel ride quality is dictated by three factors:
  • Stiff spring suspension
  • Ultra-wide airless tires
  • Low center of gravity
Riding on the WideWheel at speed on a smooth road feels to be a combination of surfing, skateboarding, and downhill skiing. Thanks to the wide tires, you sort of float over the pavement — smaller obstacles and imperfections in the road are entirely rolled over by the scooter. You feel supremely stable.

To turn sharply on the WideWheel, you have to lean and carve into the turn. Due to the width of the wheels and low profile tires, you can’t turn super sharply. Instead, they have to lean harder and rely on the low center of gravity and momentum of the scooter to take over.

The WideWheel has a decent ride on rough roads — think of ones with lots of pitting and erosion everywhere. The polyurethane-filled tires and spring suspension smooth the ride just enough to prevent it from utterly punishing your body. However, on roads with large potholes, ride quality is poor.

This scooter is definitely not designed for off-roading. We’ve seen some reports on the catastrophic failure of diecast aluminum parts after excessive loading and abuse.

The full suspension certainly helps around city streets in the Bay (where we tested it) that are in poor repair. The suspension, combined with the wide tires, eats up or entirely rolls over potholes and road trash that would cause problems for a lesser scooter.

Mercane WideWheel Features

Portability

Mercane Widewheel folding feature
Overall, the Mercane WideWheel is low-to-moderately portable.

It has both a folding stem and folding handlebars that reduce the scooter to a 43 inches by 9 inches by 16 inches package — more compact than many 27 lb budget scooters.

On the other hand, the - weight of the WideWheel is hefty. Going up multiple flights of stairs is strenuous. Though the rounded stem is comfortable for one-handed carrying, it's about the maximum scooter weight that an average adult can carry comfortably.

That said, loading the WideWheel into the trunk of a car is no problem -- its compact size allows for convenient storage nearly anywhere the Mercane takes you.

Stem folding mechanism

Mercane Widewheel stem folded
The WideWheel has a slower-than-average yet supremely sturdy stem folding mechanism. This mechanism is unique to the WideWheel and rock-solid when locked into place. The folding mechanism is secured by a rotating knob that is used to tighten or loosen the hinge.

Though slower than quick-folding mechanisms — that have collapsed during test-rides or failed with extended use — this screw folding mechanism has been very reliable. When tightened correctly, the handlebars feel 100% rock solid with no wobble or slop. We do note that after riding continuously for many miles, this mechanism has a tendency to get a little loose and may need to be tightened up periodically.

The latest 2019 Mercane Wide Wheel has an improved screwing mechanism that won't come apart if you unscrew it too far.

Handlebar folding mechanism

Mercane Widewheel handlebars folded
Though slower than quick-folding mechanisms — that have collapsed during test-rides or failed with extended use — this screw folding mechanism has been very reliable. When tightened correctly, the handlebars feel 100% rock solid with no wobble or slop.

However, unscrewing each thread and folding is slower than other scooters and less convenient when bringing it onto a subway or train.

Cockpit

The handlebar/cockpit design is simple and austere. Four LEDs tell you the battery level. One button controls power, lights, mode, and cruise control.

A brake lever mounted on the left side of the handlebars controls the rear disc brake. The brake lever is smooth, but the overall construction is nothing special -- perhaps even a little cheap feeling. And there's a simple thumb throttle.
Mercane Widewheel igntion key
The 2019 edition of the WideWheel adds a keyed battery cutoff switch and LED battery voltage level readout next to the thumb-controlled accelerator.

The voltmeter is more helpful for getting a precise assessment of the remaining battery life — and indeed, an improvement over the four LED battery level lights. However, we had hoped for a more modern LCD display with speedometer and battery percentage level.

The keystart ignition is a useful feature for briefly parking the scooter in front of or just inside a store. The key only controls power so someone can still roll off with the scooter; it adds some peace of mind for those brief trips.

Lights

The headlights have an opaque diffuser that really kills their brightness. The lights are not very bright. Non-existent optics mean they do not project very far.

The scooter also has a taillight that blinks when brake is pressed.

Overall, the lights on the WideWheel are insufficient for anything but emergency or minimal use in the dark.

Read some of our tips for improving your visibility at night.

Tires

Mercane Widewheel featuring tires
As the name suggests, the WideWheel has oversized 4 inch wide wheels that are a defining characteristic of both the look and feel of this scooter.

The ultra-wide tires are very supple -- you can actually deform them pretty easily by just pushing with your finger. They are about as good as airless tires can get. However, they don't have as good of traction as pneumatic (air-filled) tires. In particular, they are much more slippery when wet. If you end up riding this in the rain, use caution.

Deck

Mercane Widewheel wide deck
The deck has - by - of standing space. This is a decent length, but a little narrow because the rounded edges of the scooter are too slick to stand on.

The deck has - of ground clearance. The deck-to-handlebar height is -.

Build Quality

Build quality on the WideWheel scooter is a bit of a mixed bag.

On the one hand, the stem and folding parts, which use a screw mechanism, are solid. You'll never experience any stem wobble or handlebars that spontaneously fold themselves while riding. Due to the folding and locking mechanism, the stem feels more solid than the high-end Dualtrons, which have some play in the steering bearings.

The motors, wheels, and solid tires shouldn't cause any problems either. The Mercane was a great scooter out of the box and required no pre-ride tune-up. Finally, the Mercane WideWheel has an IP rating of IPx4 (water-resistance), meaning that it can tolerate splashing but not submersion in water. Practically speaking, this means getting caught in light rain won't cause any problems.

The Mercane WideWheel has a max rider weight of 220 lb, which is low for a 45 lb scooter.

However, we have seen reports of the diecast aluminum parts on the Mercane fracturing — most notably, the swingarms and stem. This has typically been associated with off-roading, jumping, or otherwise subjecting the scooter to intense intermittent stress. However, it is possible to experience these types of failures with normal use.

If you end up buying this scooter, make sure to keep an eye on those components and replace them if they become chipped or crack. Also, please let us know if you are an owner and have had a problem with part failure on this scooter.

Fluid FreeRide WideWheel: Review Conclusions

Mercane Widewheel portrait on a bridge
The ultra-wide wheels and dual suspension make this a super easy scooter to ride to work or cruise down to the local coffee shop on. The WideWheel is for riders who are looking for a thrilling ride that's fun, fast, but not scary fast.

If you need something easy to bring on public transportation or carry upstairs, then see or other recommendations.

If the 2019 WideWheel doesn’t appeal to you check out our suggested alternative scooters. You can also check out our Editor’s pick of best electric scooters.
Technical Specs Comparison
model icon of electric scooter
Model
Mercane WideWheel (Dual)
Zero 8
Kaabo Skywalker 10S
Unagi Model One (E500)
Top Speed**
25.0 mph
23.1 mph
32.0 mph
20.0 mph
Range**
18.8 mi
22.3 mi
25.1 mi
8.5 mi
Weight**
-
39.4 lb
-
28.6 lb
Price
$1099
$1099
$1150
$59/mo
**Based on our independent performance tests which may differ from manufacturer’s claims.

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