Execs
- Nicely-designed electrical scooter for city commuters and college students
- Pretty inexpensive
- Twin suspension
- Simple to fold and fairly mild
- Further options typical of extra premium scooters
Cons
- Not sufficient energy for heavier riders
- Deck could also be a tad brief and slender
- Kickstand is best on Segway’s Max scooters
Our resident electrical scooter knowledgeable, Joe Kaminski, sometimes checks extra highly effective high-end electrical scooters which have lofty high speeds and are capable of journey longer distances. He is an even bigger and braver man than I — he complains that he wants extra energy to stand up hills and infrequently rides in the midst of site visitors in New York Metropolis.
The extra entry-level Segway E3 Professional, which lists for $700 (although it is at present promoting for $500 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday) in all probability is not for him, but it surely’s proper in my wheel home. It is a wonderful possibility for commuters in search of an electrical scooter that is pretty light-weight (40.1 kilos or 18.2 kilograms), folds up simply, has first rate all-around efficiency and has some options present in higher-end fashions that price nearer to $1,000. That is why I’ve awarded it a CNET Editors’ Selection.
Learn extra: Greatest Electrical Scooters for 2025
I have been driving Segway Ninebot electrical scooters for some time. I even have purchased some really entry-level fashions within the $300 vary for my youthful teenage youngsters. These solely had high speeds of 13-15 mph as a result of I did not need my youngsters to go too quick.
Nevertheless, the E3 Professional is extra highly effective than these. Geared up with 10-inch tubeless tires, it has an 800-watt motor and a high velocity of 20 mph, with a rated vary of as much as 34 miles, although this varies significantly primarily based in your weight, what velocity you are touring, how briskly you speed up and the terrain. (That 34-mile vary relies on a mean velocity of 9 mph in its Eco mode.) In different phrases, count on lower than that high quantity, however I discovered it ample for my wants as I are likely to journey solely about 10-15 miles throughout most of my jaunts in New York Metropolis.
The Segway E3 Professional in Riverside Park in New York Metropolis.
Clean journey and acceleration
I am 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weigh 166 kilos, so I did not have any points getting up steeper hills. Whereas I used to be OK with utilizing the usual acceleration setting, I favored the Sport setting for a zippier journey. (The Eco mode has slower acceleration and feels underpowered, but it surely helps protect battery life.)
For some of us, the scooter’s deck could also be a tad brief and slender at 19 inches lengthy to the fender and 6 inches large, but it surely wasn’t an issue for me. I used to be typically impressed with how clean the journey and acceleration have been. (You aren’t getting jerked ahead if you push down on the throttle; it is a regular acceleration, particularly if you journey at a decrease acceleration degree.) The handlebars’ 40-inch peak felt comfy for me, as did their 22-inch width. I did not really feel any rattling or wiggling within the stem as I used to be driving.
On the point of do a hill take a look at.
The E3 Professional has a dual-suspension system (“twin elastomer”) and a trailing swing arm design with a 67mm giant trailing distance, which implies the E3 Professional’s wheel is ready barely behind the stem axis. That provides you extra stability and management than your typical entry-level scooter. (It is also outfitted with the corporate’s SegRide Stability Enhancement System, in response to Segway.) I felt safer driving the E3 Professional than my 5-year-old Ninebot Max, which appears just a little dated compared, although it nonetheless runs high-quality.
The E3 Professional is supplied with a entrance drum brake and an digital rear brake. There are higher, extra superior braking techniques (disc brakes, for instance) that can let you cease extra rapidly. It’s good that you’ve a mechanical brake, although, within the unlikely occasion the digital brake fails. I managed to cease in about 22 ft from a set velocity of 15 mph. However for those who weigh extra, that distance will enhance — or get shorter for those who’re lighter. I are likely to keep away from utilizing the brakes and easily ease off the throttle once I need to decelerate.
The scooter is supplied with the Segway-Ninebot SegRide stability system.
Some helpful extras and Bluetooth app help
The E3 Professional has just a few additional bells and whistles, together with an precise bell, a 4-watt entrance mild, rear brake mild, flip sign lights and RGB lighting beneath the deck. There’s an Apple Discover My characteristic and the Segway Mobility companion app for iOS and Android that I used to replace the scooter’s firmware and the battery’s firmware, in addition to activate traction management, set the beginning velocity, customise the RGB lighting and allow the guard mode, which locks the scooter’s dashboard.
The RGB lighting beneath the deck could be custom-made within the app.
A reasonably straightforward elevate
As I mentioned, folding up the scooter is comparatively straightforward, although it helps to observe an educational video earlier than doing it for the primary time. You merely use your foot to press down with some pressure on the folding swap (you must launch the swap first) and pull the handlebars towards you.
You must launch the latch earlier than stepping on it together with your foot.
At 40.1 kilos, it is pretty mild for an electrical scooter. Nevertheless, not everyone can elevate 40 kilos simply, and it does require just a little power to hold the E3 Professional round. The issue is that higher-caliber scooters are likely to weigh much more, so there is a trade-off between efficiency and weight. I might want it if it weighed about 10 kilos much less, however few electrical scooters weigh lower than 30 kilos — not less than those price shopping for.
If I’ve a small design gripe, it is that the kickstand is not barely longer — or positioned extra towards the entrance of the deck like it’s with earlier Ninebot Max fashions — so the scooter would not lean over as a lot because it does when the kickstand is down. I stored wanting the scooter to take a seat up just a few levels extra.
The Segway E3 Professional weighs 40.1 kilos and simply folds up for carrying.
Is the Segway E3 Professional price it?
Segway makes so many electrical scooter fashions, it may be just a little troublesome to decide on which one to purchase, particularly because it retains fashions round for some time. The step-up Segway F3 scooter has superior suspension and braking techniques, in addition to extra energy (a 1,000-watt motor) and an extended vary (as much as 44 miles), but it surely prices round $250 extra.
There’s additionally the 2-year-old Max G2 at round $100 greater than the E3 Professional, which presents a better high velocity (22 mph) and longer vary (43 miles) and extra energy (1,000 watts). The Max line additionally has extra step-down fashions. Max G2 is barely geared towards extra intermediate or superior riders with longer commutes, whereas the E3 Professional is maybe just a little extra pleasant to novice riders in search of a secure journey with clean acceleration, in addition to some premium options for an inexpensive value. That mentioned, it is nicely suited towards any informal rider with a brief to medium commute, so it is nice for that last-mile commute to and from a practice station.
For rather less, you’ll be able to step-down to one thing just like the Swiss-engineered VMAX VX5 Professional (round $450), but it surely would not supply the identical high velocity because the Segway E3 Professional nor the vary. And Segway nonetheless sells the E2 Professional for round $400, with the same high velocity and vary because the VMAX VX5 Professional. I feel the E3 Professional is the higher selection for those who can afford it as a result of it makes you are feeling such as you’re edging into extra premium territory with out paying the premium value.
Segway E3 Professional key specs
- Weight: 40.1 kilos (18.2 kg)
- Max energy: 800W
- Max vary: As much as 34 miles on a single cost (in Eco mode, averaging 9 mph)
- High velocity: 20 mph
- 10-inch tubeless tires
- 18% max climbing slope
- Twin-suspension system (twin elastomer)
- Brakes: Entrance drum and rear digital brakes
- SegRide stability enhancement and traction management
- Security options: 4-watt LED headlight, flip indicators and a rear brake mild
- Bluetooth connectivity with help for the Segway Mobility app for iOS and Android
- Works with Apple Discover My