TAUR Review

TAUR made a big splash over a year ago with possibly the best scooter intro video ever, and certainly one of the most unusual scooter designs. Then they went quiet while they finalized the design. But now it’s here.

TAUR is so different; there’s no mistaking it for anything else on the market. The handlebars take the shape of a charging bull horn, which also makes up the brand’s unique logo. Next, we have the frame that is a TAUR-White mono-tube running from the steering column to the rear end.

Then there are the weird-at-first foot platforms that fold up to the stem and give the illusion of no deck. When unfolded, this feeling turns to intrigue since this is not what a typical scooter looks like. Stick around for our impressions of this unique riding platform and what it means for ride quality.

The bigger wheels are another give-away that a new king of the roads has been crowned into power. If it ended at that, we’d be as happy. But TAUR also has next-level lighting, especially where most people forget to prioritize–the rear. 

We also have very neat portability on the TAUR electric scooter, a comprehensive set of safety features, one of the quickest charge times, an outstanding warranty, and an app that’s bound to get better with time on this scooter with looks for days.

Yes, the steady construction alone is confidence-inspiring for big dawgs.

The stiff mono-tube frame alone lets you know that the TAUR electric scooter won’t crumble from the weight of a heavy rider. Again, the 500 W motor can haul a max rider capacity of  220 lbs. The ride will feel super stable thanks to the large 13 inch tires, which also eliminate the need for suspension. Finally, the foot platforms are spacious enough for riders with large feet, and the wide and tall handlebar with a good steering access angle allows for comfortable riding positions for riders of bigger stature. 

And given that this is a commuter electric scooter, it is one of the best in its class for bigger, heavier, and taller riders.

Acceleration from the thumb throttle is smooth but quick. Power starts soft and ramps up automatically,  and it takes the TAUR electric scooter just 4.8 seconds to reach the  15 mph mark.

This beats the Ninebot MAX, and even the new UScooters GT Sport. However, of the comparable electric scooters, it picks up speed slower than the Apollo City Pro, which gets to  15 mph in 2.9 seconds, the Unagi Model One, which takes 4.4 seconds, and Dualtron Mini, which takes 4.3 seconds.

TAUR’s RG-certified top speed of 21.7 mph means it’s fast enough to breeze by bikes in the bike lane, or even briefly merge with car traffic when you need to make a left-hand turn. Anything with a top speed above 20.0 mph is great for commuting.

You can also customize your riding to three different speed modes:

• Eco mode: The TAUR electric scooter won’t ride fast but will conserve your battery, meaning you can ride longer
• Road mode: The speed and acceleration on this mode is perfect for daily commutes–not too slow that you’ll be bored by it, but not too fast that you’ll be hooting at pedestrians the whole commute
• Sport: The TAUR electric scooter travels at max speed and acceleration.

The TAUR electric scooter comes equipped with a 500 W motor with sufficient power to tackle difficult terrain–like hilly tracks. That said, we took ours out on our usual, super steep  200 ft 10% hill grade. It reached the top in 17.4 seconds.

And while this is far from the best hill climb times we’ve recorded, we should point out that we have many commuters that tap out midway, so the TAUR did good. 

We test all our electric scooters under the same conditions, and the TAUR electric scooter was able to cover  12.1 miles in top-performance mode. During the test, the scooter also sustained an average speed of between  7.0 mph to 20.0 mph up steep hills. 

The TAUR electric scooter runs on a 368 Wh battery with high-performance 18650 cells mounted in the stem. TAUR used conservative BMS charging settings, so production units should cover at least this many miles.  The battery charges from 0 to full in under 3 hours (3 times faster than similar batteries) or 2 hours to 80% charge, thanks to the 125W charger.

At about 10% remaining charge, the gauge turned red and top speed dropped to about  10.0 mph on flat ground.  1.4 miles later, the TAUR was completely done.

Braking on the TAUR is good, stopping from  15 mph in  16.1 ft. This is right between the Xiaomi M365 Pro’s  15.3 ft and the Fluid Mosquito’s and Uscooters GT SE’s  16.4 ft braking distance. 

TAUR has a very rare type of front brake: variable regen. Unlike conventional regenerative brakes, which are either on or off, on TAUR, the harder you squeeze, the more regen brake you get. But no matter how hard you squeeze, it won’t put you over the handlebars. The same brake lever also controls a semi-hydraulic disc brake at the rear wheel. 

In Carson’s words, TAUR is part of the solution for scooter ownership, since their device is ride-centric. Carson says that by focusing on lifespan, maximizing rides per day, and keeping regulators happy, ride-sharing e scooter companies create gaps for inventions like TAUR that prioritize the user experience, hence endearing the thought of actually owning your own scooter.

How does TAUR electric scooter deliver on ride quality?

The most obvious one is the unique mono-tube frame that is really stiff, and the latch, while not the most intuitive to use, results in a solid ride with zero stem wobble. The TAUR Electric scooter is also stable (you’ll read the word stable quite a bit) thanks to the large 17-degree rake angle–Only the GT2 has more. Also, inside the frame tube is the secret to fitting huge tires on a very portable scooter. So you get the best of both worlds: e-bike stability, but kick-scooter portability.  

Talking about the tires– 13 inches on a commuter is literally unprecedented. The ride is incredibly stable because of the huge tires. The large tires roll over potholes better than typical 8 inch to  10 inch tires, and just like on a bike: big air-filled tires mean you get a relatively smooth ride without the need for suspension. 

Then there’s the deck. TAUR replaces the standard deck with two-foot platforms coming off the monotube stem. We thought it might feel unbalanced, kicking off with one-foot off-center, but it was way more normal than we expected and as easy to launch as any kick-to-start scooter. You can also shift your weight forward and back more than you’d think. 

For hard braking, our rider found himself hanging his heels off the back a little and doing the opposite for climbing hills. Though he does report that on the steepest hills, you can still feel the front tire struggling for grip. But the most surprising thing was discovering that having your feet set wide and low gives your scooter truly exceptional corner-carving ability. And now we understand why eSC scooter racers are using such wide stances.  

The bull horn handlebars look just as good standing as sitting.

The TAUR electric scooter is not the quickest to fold–but it does have one of the narrowest folded platforms. This, plus the  38 lbs tested weight, make it relatively easy to carry. The TAUR also fits in pretty much any trunk.

The TAUR electric scooter can also stand vertically for storage or parking, which is pretty neat if you are short on space or simply want to eliminate tripping hazards.

Besides the cool bull horn design, the steering is quite tastefully designed. 

It has a pixel display that has a cool 3D effect to it and a very simple layout. Then there’s the joystick that just knocks it out of the ballpark.

On cars and motorcycles, all of the most important controls are made to be used without taking your eyes off the road. But recently, electric scooters like the Segway GT2 and TAUR electric scooter are getting that ability too.  

With the  5-way thumb-controlled joystick, you can access cruise control, sound the horn, change performance modes, turn the lights on, and more. 

The scooter also connects to the TAUR app, which will receive over-the-air updates, making riding the scooter all the more efficient.

Visibility is not an issue on the TAUR electric scooter. 

The scooter comes with a beautiful, strategically placed headlight with a high-power directional 300-lumen beam, which means no stray deer, child, or fallen tree will appear from nowhere on your night rides.

The scooter also features a 240-degree frosted side layer that makes the scooter more visible to traffic.

Then lastly, the rear comes with 2-dimensional lighting. First, there’s the normal 80-lumen red taillight. Then there’s a 100-lumen patented projector-beam tail light. This light casts a beam on the rider from behind, complementing the ankle-high tail light, which can be hard to see on most electric scooters.

Hello, tire ingenuity.

Small tires, even on small electric scooters are a problem. The stability and handling are just not the same as that of bigger tires, which is why e-scooters like Dualtron stick to big wheels.

The TAUR electric scooter uses Continental brand tires, which is the first good thing about them. The tires are flat proof, but it’s how they stay puncture resistant that’s interesting. TAUR Kevlar reinforced the tires, and according to their internal testing, they really work. 

If you do get a flat,  13 inches is a common bicycle tire size. So, you can pick up tubes at any local bike shop or get them the next day from Amazon for dirt cheap. Also, because they’re bicycle tires, they’re also easier to swap than small stiff scooter tires.

The tires also feature deep treads, which offer next-level traction, even on wet tracks.

What Deck?

Instead of a deck, TAUR electric scooter has a monotube stem that runs from head to tail, and for your feet, you get side-by-side foot platforms. The size of the foot platforms is sufficient for most riders’ feet. They are also steady–made of aluminum alloy, covered by a hard grip surface.

The foot-placement is not as awkward as most people might think, given the variety of stances allowed on regular decks. However, this design allows for stable weight distribution. In addition, the low platform height works well for commutes with a lot of stop and go, and for shorter riders because it’s a short step up when the light turns green. The low placement also makes it easier to operate as a kick scooter if you ever run out of battery. 

According to Carson, they wanted to do it differently. They came in ‘late to the game,’ but they also had enough time to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. And a lot of the talent within the TAUR team has experience with tech and mobility, giving the scooter quite the edge.

The TAUR electric scooter is built to be a forward-facing, sophisticated-looking personal vehicle. It is robust, lightweight, and, according to TAUR, comes with a fully recyclable frame. The build is minimalist but does everything you need it to. And the matte powder TAUR-white coating is just the bow that completes this elegant package.

The frame geometry is great–the TAUR electric scooter has the second largest rake angle we’ve seen at 17 degrees. The handlebars are a comfortable shape, and the cool custom grips also help stabilize the scooter when parked on its end. 

TAUR electric scooter was designed in London, so it makes sense that you can ride it in the rain. Don’t get too carried away, though; while TAUR has an unusually long two-year warranty, it doesn’t cover completely submerging your scooter. But we are big fans of an IP55 rating. Rear fender coverage looks very good, but wear waterproof shoes because your toes will probably get wet. 

And the final build quality fact will blow your mind–TAUR electric scooters for US customers will be assembled and tested in the US. 

TAUR is big on safety for you, other road users, and the scooter itself.

Right into it, TAUR electric scooter has brakes that won’t put you over the bars, a stable ride, buttons that don’t make you look down, and big tires that won’t get sucked into potholes. The coolest safety feature? The patented projector-beam tail light, of course.

And if you don’t feel like bringing your e-scooter inside, that’s ok. It’s the only scooter we know of that comes with a designated locking point. You also won’t have to wonder how it’s doing outside since TAUR plans to include cellular location tracking of the scooter in their upcoming app. 

The team over at TAUR has so much faith in this product that they include a 2-year warranty should the scooter stop working from manufacturer faults or defects. Other scooters from new entrants with that level of confidence (read NIU KQi2 Pro and NIU KQi3 Pro) have greatly impressed us with both build and ride quality, and we hope the same comes from the TAUR.

TAUR is like nothing we’ve seen before; we love just looking at it. But it has a superpower that we’ve been hoping to get; TAUR is right on time. This electric scooter combines the best things about e-bikes, with the best thing about kick scooters, while taking up less space in your apartment than either of them.

We wish it had a little more range, but think it makes a great city commuter or weekend ride to go hang out with friends, regardless of whether you’re a new rider or have been riding for years. After two days of riding and testing, we were still finding new things that we liked about this riding style and can’t wait for you to have the same experience.
Also check out our interview with Carson Brown for for more insight on the TAUR electric scooter