Segway Ninebot E2 Review

For a scooter market at just $300, the E2 really raises the bar on value to cost ratio. The E2 and E2 Plus electric scooters exceed expectations with their remarkable Segway build quality, surprisingly comfortable ride, a good range for the scooter’s weight, and a feature set commonly seen in mid-range scooters.

The ultra-affordable E2 has one of the best center displays in the sub $500 class of scooters. It is large, colored, and readable, which you don’t see too much of in the affordable class. The complete lighting package is another stunner, as is the IP rating, which is a luxury even for some expensive scooters.

The scooter has a real mechanical brake–which may not have the shortest braking distance, but the scooter doesn’t ride very fast either. And like all other scooters with small motors, the E2 does not particularly excel in hill climbing. Therefore, we recommend it for casual city riders or people that live in areas with flat and well-maintained roads.

The E2 is very low-maintenance, thanks to the hollowed solid tires and the drum and electric brake. The grippy rubber mat is easy to clean. And with good care, Segway is renowned for its build quality, so the scooter should serve you for a long time.

That said, let’s dive into what makes this one of the best budget scooters in the market today.

No. Unfortunately, most scooters at this price point are terrible matches for the big dawgs.

The maximum rider weight of this scooter is listed at 200 pounds. Our reviewer, Mitchel, at around 215 pounds, exceeded this limit, and while the frame of the E2 is plenty strong to handle weights above the listed limit, his higher weight would have had an abnormally large effect on the performance data of this scooter. So, for all the speed, acceleration, and hill-climbing tests, we used a lighter-weight 165-pound rider.

The Segway E2 is not a speed demon, and as such, you shouldn’t expect it to blaze to mind-numbing high speeds off the line. That said, the 250 W front hub motor is not abrupt but rather delivers linear acceleration, getting you to speed at a comfortable pace that’s especially nice for younger riders and newbie adult scooterists.

The E2 is the true definition of a casual commuter. It has a leisurely top speed of 12.5 mph, that’s actually higher than the manufacturer-advertised 12.4 mph. For riders looking for a little more on the top speed end, the E2 Plus has an advertised top speed of 15.5 mph. And while we haven’t tested it, based on our time with the E2, we’re confident that it comes fairly close.

The top speed is confidence-inspiring for new riders and parents, with younger riders getting acquainted with scooting. It’s also appropriate for riders navigating through places with high human traffic or speed restrictions, like campus grounds.

If you need control over your speed, you can customize the scooter’s speed by choosing between the three riding modes: Walk mode, which caps the speed at 3.1 mph; Standard, which goes to 9.3 mph; and a Sport mode, which allows the scooter to ride to top speed.​​

The biggest downside of small motor-budget scooters is their inability to climb hills. We’ve seen it with all the extremely budget single-motor scooters we’ve tested, so it did not come as a surprise that the E2 barely made it up our 200 ft, 10% hill.

From a standstill, the E2 climbed our hill test in 31 seconds at an average speed of 4.5 mph. However, despite being the most affordable new entrant on our database, it did better than these other sub $500 scooters: Fluid Freeride Cityrider at 34.3 seconds, Gotrax XR at 34.4 seconds, Ninebot ES2 at 36.9 seconds, and the seated Gotrax Flex with larger wheels that lags completely behind at 37.4 seconds.

If you need something capable on hills, then you might need to jump up a price bracket and look at scooters with a bit more power or with a second motor.

Segway says that the tested range on flat ground is 12.4 miles, and in our hilly range test, riding at top speed, the 21.6 volts, 220 Watt-hour battery gave us 10.3 miles of range. Now, we consider this quite the feat given the price and weight of this scooter.

For those riding to school or around campus, you shouldn’t have to worry about range for riding anywhere you would be willing to ride your scooter. And when you run out of juice, you can plug the scooter and leave it charging overnight as it takes about 7.5 hours to charge to full. 

Two things about the battery that let you know this scooter is solidly built are that the battery comes with a higher IPX6 rating to protect it from water damage and that it has Segway’s proprietary Smart Battery Management Protection that protects against short circuits, overcurrent, and overcharge, over-discharge, temperature surges, and low voltage auto-sleep protection.

The E2 is equipped with a dual braking system comprising a front electronic brake and a rear drum brake. The setup gives the Ninebot E2 electric scooter a braking distance of 17 ft from its top speed of 12.5 mph.

This is a tad on the longer side. However, it helps that the scooter’s speed is also controlled, meaning better awareness of your surroundings and any imminent danger. But it could still do with improved braking power.

The ride feels relatively comfortable. The scooter feels nimble and easy to handle, thus adding to the fun. The handlebars don’t feel too low at 38 inches, and you have plenty of space for your hands and arms in the cockpit.

The riding platform is plenty large for even bigger feet and offers a bit of flexibility with foot position. The rubber deck coating runs all the way up to the top of the platform making for a sleek, coherent look and grippy surface.

The 8-inch tires are hollow on the inside, offering a bit of extra shock absorption compared to normal solid tires while keeping the scooter portable and low maintenance. No worrying about flats ruining your ride.

The smaller wheels and non-pneumatic tires do mean that the ride can be a bit rough in poor conditions, but this is not uncommon at this price. Also, potholes and the like are much more manageable at the speeds this scooter goes.

The 33-pound weight makes this scooter really reasonable to carry around, and even younger riders should be able to pick this up and carry it for a bit if needed. 

It’s a compact scooter that shouldn’t have any issues fitting in the trunk of a car; in fact, you could probably fit a couple in a normal sedan trunk. And for the price, you can just buy a whole fleet for the family, and you’d still fit everyone plus all the scooters into your average sedan.

It folds up and down quickly and locks down, making it easy to carry around by the stem. In addition, the stem lock has a double safety catch, meaning that even if, for some reason, the tab on the side of the latch gets slid and the latch begins to open, it’ll catch again before the scooter can completely fold down.

The latch adjusts easily by tightening and loosening its post, making removing any sort of stem wiggle or play easy.

Usually, scooters at this price point can get away with a plain set of bars on the cockpit, but not the E2 scooter. Not only does it come with a center display–but this display is also large, colored, and readable in direct sunlight. It’s made even more visible by its 25° screen tilt angle that’s ergonomically designed for comfort and ease of watch when riding. The battery status and speed are prominently displayed, while the riding mode, flight status, and lock/unlock status are less so. 

The scooter’s Bluetooth integration also allows for the E2 to connect to the Segway Ninebot App. This allows riders to customize and manage their trips through accommodations like the riding status summary, firmware upgrade, locking and unlocking the E2, personalizing metrics and settings, sharing trips with the Ninebot Online Community, and access to service tutorials.

The Segway E2 has a high-mounted 2.1 W headlight that brightly lights up the road ahead, with the beam stretching up to a manufacturer-cited 13.5 meters. It also makes the scooter more visible, especially to car drivers.

The large rear brake light lights up when the headlight is on and flashes when braking whether or not the headlight is on. One of the perks of getting the E2 Plus is that it also includes RGB ambient lighting under the deck for more visibility and a little bit of swag.

Also included on both scooters are E-Mark certified reflectors on the front, rear, and sides to give the scooters ultimate visibility on the road.

The E2 has a pair of the newly innovated hollowed-out 8.1-inch by 2.0-inch solid tires that increase shock absorption capacity while remaining maintenance-free. You definitely feel the difference over regular solid tires that have an overly rough and jarring ride. 

The E2 has decent deck space measuring 18.5 inches x 5.8 inches, so you’ll not feel too crowded regardless of your foot size. It is covered in a nice grippy rubber mat that rises all the way over the girder’s front end. The rubber mat makes for an easier cleaning experience than grip tape. And the deck sits 3.3 inches above the ground which is typical of small-tired scooters.

The design and build is where the Segway E2 base model and E2 plus really excel. The E2 leaves a strong first impression with sleek, smooth styling and is definitely one of the best-looking budget scooters on the market, and stands out in a sea of generic-looking Xiaomi M365 clones. It sort of looks like a baby GT2 or GT1, and those are super contenders for the best overall-looking scooters, alongside the TAUR, the 2023 Apollo Pro.

You get an even larger sense that this is a fresh, modern scooter when you see the large, center color display. This display is 85% larger than the E22 and clearer than any screens you see on scooters around this price. Everything is easily visible at a glance, keeping you focused on riding.

But it’s not just beautiful; it’s also solidly built. While it’s quite light at 33 pounds, this doesn’t compromise on build quality with a strong metal stem latch and automotive-grade steel frame that feels super stable and durable. Our reviewer Mitchel weighs above the recommended 200 lbs rider weight capacity, but he said he felt that the scooter’s sturdy frame adequately supported his weight during our testing.

The cockpit curves toward the front of the scooter, avoiding a cramped feeling while keeping good overall geometry. On the other hand, the dimensions are a good balance between making it comfortable to ride for an adult rider, and making it small enough for younger riders, while still being plenty portable for any type of rider.

The handlebars are wide enough to give you good control of the scooter without affecting the size and portability of the scooter. Chunky, textured handlebar grips bookend the simple, clean cockpit. The thumb throttle is intuitive and easy to use, and the bell gives you a pleasant way to draw pedestrians’ attention to your beautiful new scooter.

The Ninebot E2 has front and rear fenders that are nice and large and cover any sort of water spray from reaching the rider. This is beside the IPX4 water resistance rating, which means this e-scooter should handle puddles and light rain without issues. But a word of caution–avoid riding in heavy rain or anything that would soak the scooter, as this will cause damage and is typically not covered under warranty.

It’s not a performance scooter, but even so, it benefits from having a set of safety features. The E2 has a reliable dual-braking system paired with a lower-than-average top speed, and it has a full lighting package, including reflectors, to increase visibility. 

There’s also the good fender protection and the IPX4 rating that allows riders to weather a bit of unexpected rain without shorting the electricals. The scooter is also easy to maneuver, allowing easy escape from potentially dangerous situations.

The E2 scooter’s lightweight and compact fold make it easy to carry inside as an anti-theft measure. On the other hand, you can lock the scooter remotely via the app to keep people (or your young ones) from riding away without your knowledge.

The E2, like other Ninebot scooters, is covered under a 1-year limited warranty. Certain components are only covered for 6 months, while the parts subject to wear are guaranteed for 90 days. The warranty terms are well laid out by Segway–therefore, we recommend that potential buyers go through the inclusions and exclusions to understand coverage.

The E2 is a sleek, modernized, lightweight electric scooter at a great price and is a serious contender in the entry-level category. Anyone needing a reliable commuter for getting to school or work and is on a tight budget or wants to give a high-quality scooter a try without a huge monetary commitment should consider the Segway Ninebot E2. The Plus model boosts the top speed and offers a couple of extra features, and it could be worth the extra $50, especially if top speed is a concern for you.

As for who the E2 scooter is best suited for, first, we have younger riders around middle school to high school age that maybe walk or ride their bike to school and want a quick, easy way to get there and back. Also, for kids of that age looking for a means to get to their friends when off school, the E2 fits those needs perfectly without breaking the bank.

College students are another group that the E2 is perfect for. Riding an electric scooter is probably the best thing for getting to and around campus. A scooter that’s small and light, like the E2, can be brought around with you and into class if you don’t want to lock it up outside. Finally, the E2 is also perfect for last-mile commuters that maybe have a short ride to work or need to hop on a bus or train and can use their scooter to finish out their commute.

We hope you found what you were looking for–and if not, check out our 2022 list of the most affordable scooters.