A leader in its class
Manhattan is now one of my favorite testing grounds for a new eScooter. Why? Crazy traffic, really uneven surfaces, multiple surface types, a few hills here and there, and a world full of riding fun. In this one island, you've got all of the things that will give a brand new eScooter a thorough testing on how well-built it is for hard city riding.
When I was initially approached to test the Meelz Commuter eScooter, I was quite curious at how a scooter with 8 inch tires and no suspension would do in Manhattan- and I was pleasantly surprised.
First, the details
The Meelz Commuter eScooter sits in a beautiful spot on the market at just under $400. For that price, you can buy a dependable eScooter that has similar specs to its competitors, but the attention to detail gives it a few extra goodies that will really make a difference in your ride.
Basic Specs
Additions
Easy Rider
Over the first two weeks I had the Commuter, I managed to put 100+ miles on it while riding through Manhattan. Other than having a super cold ride every day in February (BRRRRR!), my rides were easy and comfortable.
Let's talk a little bit about the comfort, first.
No- this scooter doesn't have any suspension- but it does have pneumatic tires, unlike a lot of competitors in its class. The uneven surfaces and holes in the road didn't entirely disappear, but they were so much more manageable in my ride than I thought they would be. This was an excellent move by Meelz to include a pneumatic tire instead of a solid tire.
The Meelz Commuter eScooter
Although I was primarily riding on the Hudson River Greenway (with a dedicated bike path), it's still filled with uneven pavement at the crossings. Additionally, I put quite a few miles riding through the streets of Manhattan to see how it would do in traffic. Thankfully, it handled the streets as well as it handled the bike path, although I'd probably still recommend a scooter with a larger tire and suspension for a more serious daily rider.
Although the front stem was not height adjustable, I was curious about riding this scooter initially. It was advertised as being comfortable for riders up to 6'5". I'm 6'3"ish, so this would have been a great test as I'm not always as comfortable on a lot of scooters even with a height-adjustable front stem.
For me, the handlebars sat right where I would have been the most comfortable. This may be a little tall for some riders, but for me it was a lot more comfortable on my arms and wrists concerning height and control. If my memory serves me right, I feel that these handlebars sit just a bit higher than something like Xiaomi's M365.
Looking to pick up your own Meelz Commuter eScooter? These scooters have to be purchased directly from Meelz. Be mindful that you can get a spare battery very inexpensively, or a Panasonic Battery for not much more. Current price at the time of writing this is $398.
Attention to Details
I noticed a lot of very small details on this eScooter that had obviously been very well-thought-out and also translated into a better ride.
Firstly, the one piece aluminum footboard is a great addition to the Meelz Commuter. You can look at the bottom of the footboard on some eScooters and just simply wonder if it's going to hold up on your ride. A mess of nuts and bolts, a lot of welding points, sometimes visible cabling, etc. These are all things that could have been thought through so much better on many scooter models, but the Commuter doesn't suffer from this. It's got a great one piece design that rides as sturdy as it looks.
The cabling has been thought through as well. It was really nice seeing cabling being hidden at as many points as possible on the stem and footboard in order to clean up some of the typical cable mess that other eScooters suffer from. This is a really clever design. Because of this, I doubt that the cabling might get caught on things or even getting in the way of a turning front wheel like a lot of other designs suffer with.
The LCD display is super bright and very easy to read with all of the metrics of your ride presented in a very easy-to-understand format, with the speed being the center of attention. One of my few cons on this eScooter is that there's no odometer. When I commented about that I had ridden 100+ miles in Manhattan for this test, that was because I ended up having to map out the entirety of my rides in order to see my mileage.
Bright LCD Display on Meelz Commuter
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Regardless, it's very easy to change between the 3 riding modes (different speeds/acceleration) and see the life of your battery as you progress through your rides.
The two rear breaks were an excellent idea for the Commuter and I especially like how they can be used together for a little extra stopping power.
Brake systems on Meelz Commuter.
The disc brake is smooth and responsive. The setup that came from the factory on this was absolutely perfect. My habits led me to adjust the disc brake (with quicker response) before I went out for a ride, and I should have left it as it was. I almost went over the handlebars! After resetting back to factory settings, my rides were far better.
The step-on brake on the rear is also a great addition to this scooter, although one I didn't use as much. In this class of scooters, some competitors have chosen the step break which is similar to the Razor scooters that we all rode as kids. It's nice to have this feature as it's probably a habit that some new riders have when getting into the electric world. Also, it can be used together with the disc brake to give you a little extra stopping power if you need it.
The swappable battery design here is one that I wish more companies would adopt. A slotted battery can easily be removed or changed out in the front stem. Also, it can be charged either while it's installed in the stem or when it's been pulled out of the eScooter. For a few extra bucks, you can also elect to get a Panasonic battery instead of the stock battery. For those that don't know, companies like Panasonic and LG show a much lower battery failure rate than the typical Chinese cells that are available in most scooters.
Also included on this eScooter are a bag hook on the front stem- which is a great idea although I'll never use it- and a really well-made (and loud) bell on the handlebars which you install together with the brake assembly when you're putting the Commuter together.
Advertised vs Actual
This eScooter was advertised as having a maximum range of 16 miles. Across all of my miles, I got the following results:
- Beginner mode: I didn't ride this long enough to see the life of the battery through (the top speed is 6mph!). Looking at the distances I got from the other two modes, I can see a 16 mile range as plausible if you're riding in Beginner Mode.
- Normal Mode: 11.8 miles
- Sports Mode: 8.3 miles
Now let's go through speeds. They advertised a top speed of 15.5 miles per hour. I saw:
- Beginner Mode: 6 mph
- Normal Mode: 10 mph
- Sports Mode: as high as 17 mph
Battery charge times are often not very accurate on scooter manufacturer's sites. However I found Meelz's data to be right on target. They advertised a 2-3 hour charge time. My quickest charge was 1:58 and my longest was 2:24. The average of all of my charges was 2:08.
Did You Know....
That the Meelz Commuter made our list on the 5 Best Folding Electric Scooters for City Life?
Other Things I've Noticed
This is a very nice scooter to ride around town, but if you're choosing it for a city commute, go ahead and put it into Mode 3/Sports Mode. If you've got to ride with traffic around you, this is the only one that has the acceleration and speed to keep up with vehicles around you. Even on the bike path, Mode 3/Sports Mode helped me stay on the good side of all of the rest of the riders on my paths.
Ring and lever locking stem system. Combined with an adjustable locking bolt on the front, this is a really sturdy setup for a front stem on the Meelz Commuter eScooter.
This eScooter is a bit front-heavy. This is due to the motor/hub being located in the front wheel and the battery is in the front stem. Because of the aluminum frame, there's not a ton of weight from the actual scooter and there's certainly not a lot of weight in the rear wheel area. Make sure you're focusing your center of gravity towards the back of the scooter as you're riding. This is not an unsafe scooter- and this design is very common in its other competitors' scooters- but just be mindful of your CG, and avoid potholes.
After having ridden for a few weeks, I came up what I thought were a great list of pros and cons that looks heavily at all aspects of this eScooter. If you'd like to hear about these in depth, have a look at the video I put together for the Meelz Commuter.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
Conclusion:
I think that the Meelz Commuter eScooter is a solidly-built eScooter that offers a lot of great features. I'd more recommend this for people that don't have a city commute, but I do think it would work decently in the city. Judging by the experience I've had, I can see this being a very reliable eScooter especially for those that don't need mega range or mega speed.
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