I’ve been riding Segway-Ninebot’s monster Max G2 kickscooter around the roads of the Gold Coast. I’ve scootered from Southport to the Gold Coast Spit, to within cooee distance of South Stradbroke Island, around Paradise Point to Salacia Waters, and from the coast to Griffith University’s local campus. I’ve scootered here, there and everywhere.
The Max G2 is Segway-Ninebot’s heavy duty model. It has an impressive 70 km eco range, a large stable platform that offers a smooth ride with double suspension, and a maximum speed of 25 km/hr in sports mode.
This scooter is powerful, climbing moderate hills effortlessly. Segway-Ninebot cites an achievable climbing slope of 12.4 degrees with 900 watts of power.
You need to weigh-up whether the biggest and heaviest kickscooter in this new range is the right choice. I could lift the Max G2 when putting it into the car boot, but not effortlessly as with a lighter model.
You need to consider whether you really need a 70 km range as scootering can be tiring over long distances. Unless you install the optional seat, you’ll be standing all the way and you’ll be exercising several muscle groups including hamstrings, calves, quadriceps and gluteal muscles around the butt.
My upper arm muscles ached for the first trips, from the considerable force of being continually pulled along by the handlebars. The good news is that an electric scooter can give your muscles a tone up. A few trips to the gym can help condition endurance.
There are places you shouldn’t go on a scooter, particularly a heavier one. The Max G2 sank like a stone when I tried to plough through sand on the Federation Trail at the Spit, due to a combination of weight and its tiny 10-inch tubeless tires.
Don’t be taken in by those daredevils risking their lives riding electric scooters on main roads and mixing it with traffic. The Max G2 mostly started when I pressed the accelerator, but a couple of times it wouldn’t start straight away as I was in park mode. I wouldn’t want to be in a line of traffic trying to kick it along. Stick to cycleways and shared paths.
The author riding the Segway-Ninebot Max G2 scooter at Salacia Waters on the Gold Coast.
I learnt from personal experience that roadside gutters are not forgiving if you try to speed-up and mount them Evel Knievel style, as you might on a bike. You could come to grief if you ride your e-scooter inside shopping centres, as some inconsiderate riders did at Australia Fair shopping centre. I saw one narrowly miss a sushi bar.
You need to research where you can and can’t use these scooters on public transport. Where I live, you can’t take e-scooters on buses and the G:Link tram service, but you can take non-commercial e-scooters on trains at certain times in certain carriages. Personal e-scooters are still banned in poor old deprived New South Wales except where trials are underway.
These considerations aside, I found riding the Max G2 was an exhilarating experience. I could zip around Southport quickly and effortlessly, in a fraction of the time needed for walking, with a small pack on my back carrying belongings.
The range depends on the mode you choose. Theoretically you can travel 70 km on eco mode, which limits speed to 12 km/hr, and 50km with standard mode travelling up to 20km/hr. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be scootering for 70km at a slow 12km/hr. That sounds like torture. Expect less distance with sports mode where you speed along at the allowable maximum of 25km/hr.
At 1264 mm between the road and the handlebars, the Max G2 is taller than its predecessor the Max G30, which is good news for taller riders.
I found that the wider 57mm handlebars offer a better sense of control. There’s a brake and buttons for a piercing horn and turning indicators at left, and a thumb-controlled hand accelerator at right. A small display at the centre shows the speed and travel mode as you ride. Multiple button presses turn on front and rear lights.
The blinking indicators are at the left and right ends of the handlebars. They’re a good innovation, but they’d be better positioned at the rear where the traffic behind you can see them unobscured.
The scooter connects by Bluetooth to the Segway-Ninebot app. You can turn on the power remotely, and make adjustments to the maximum speed and acceleration. You can display your remaining range, perform firmware upgrades and view ride statistics and other useful information. iPhone users can locate a missing Max G2 using the Apple Find My app. 
The Max G2 has a simple plug-in cable, but expect charging to take up to 6 hours if you dare to consider very long trips. You can’t supercharge it en route like you can a Tesla.
The Segway-Ninebot Max G2 and other models will be on special from November 20 to 30 during the Black Friday sale period. You’ll pay $1299, down from $1699. You can buy it from Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, 99 Bikes, Scooter Hut, Amazon, Robot Specialist, Mobileciti and Segway-Ninebot Online.
The Max G2 offered me hours of fun. Just ride carefully, don’t take unnecessary risks and steer clear of sushi bars and shopping centres. Wear a helmet. If you travel comparatively small distances you might prefer an E2 or F2 series Segway-Ninebot which is lighter and cheaper.
