I pretty much sat at home watching my FedEx account for updates for a week since Nate from RevRides.com called and said that they were on their way. To say that my wife and I were excited to receive these eScooters was a bit of an understatement. We're basically children, and we always want to have the coolest toys.
Falcon PEV Zero 9
In comes two boxes with a giant "ZERO 9" on the side of them. I frantically unwrapped them and started charging them (per the instructions in the manual, of course). My wife and I are pacing around the house, constantly coming back to look and see if the light on the charger that's red has now become green. Nope. More pacing. 10:30pm; the light turns green. What do we do? "How about we go on our first ride as a night ride?" my wife says excitedly.
Reasoning
The Zero 9 has been on my list to review for quite some time. It seems to fit a lot of my riding mission. It's fairly lightweight for its' class (39lbs), has a good range of 28 miles, and a decent speed of 25 miles per hour, which I would rarely (if ever) use. It's got an extra wide footboard with good suspension under it, which I assumed would make for a comfortable ride. It has a single 600 watt motor (which was a recent upgrade thanks to the great communication between RevRides and Falcon PEV). It has a solidly-built front disc brake and a rear drum break. It can be super visible to everyone you're riding around, thanks to the great lighting package that comes standard. It's a real winner, and a great middle ground between the less expensive scooters with a lack of range, and the monstrous 50+ mph-capable eScooters that weight 80 something pounds. The best part to me is that Falcon PEV (and also RevRides) were one of the few companies that continually responded to my inquiries, showing me that if I ever owned a scooter from either of them, that it would be well-supported.
So we started riding
.....and it felt like we never wanted to stop riding. We just couldn't stop having fun!
It probably wasn't the wisest decision I ever made, but we went out for a night ride in one of the busiest cities in America for our first time- and we basically rode until we had to go to sleep.
Falcon PEV Zero 9
Uneven pavement in the dark? No problems.
Streets that weren't well-lit? No problems. Man, the lights on this thing are surprisingly REALLY good.
Didn't know where to go? We mounted Bone handlebar mounts for our phones, so we were able to have Google Maps open- but this is for another time...
I feel like when I went out onto these streets (in the dark) for the first time that I expected an absolute riding nightmare, but the Zero 9 took everything in stride, and handled these streets with ease. You're really getting what you're paying for with this eScooter.
Most of our area is flat, but there are a few decent hills around. The single 600 watt motor handled it like a champ, even in first gear. I should explain that this eScooter has 3 modes/gears that change things like your overall top speed, and the amount of acceleration you're getting when you ride. Riding in 1st gear was suitable for everything I did- including going up steep hills. I'm 180 pounds, and felt like I didn't see a drop in performance when gaining altitude on the scoot.
Sizing up the Specs
- 600 watt motor
- up to 28 miles range
- up to 25 miles per hour
- Carrying capacity: 220 pounds
- Battery: 48V 25 amp
- Weight: 39 pounds
These are the published specs (via Falcon PEV/RevRides.com), and again- they fit every part of my mission, almost perfectly.
The 600 watt motor made a real difference. It seems to be a real workhorse and handles every task with ease. If you need something that accelerates a little quicker, throw it into mode two or mode three and you'll beat everyone off the line. Need a quicker commute? Mode two or mode three gives you a higher top speed, and you'll definitely out-perform just about everything that's around you. I moved so much faster through the city than the cars around me, even in mode one. It just worked so well.
Although it's advertised as up to a 28 mile range, I was averaging about 23 miles for range, per charge. I expected this, considering I'm 6'3" and 180 pounds. If you look at just about any scooter review for any model, if there's a bigger guy riding it, you'll see reduced range. I wasn't really concerned with this.
25 miles per hour top speed. Admittedly, I never quite got to hit this- but it's primarily because I had no place that was safe enough to open up the throttle all the way. I hit 22 miles per hour at one point, and not at full throttle. I don't see why you shouldn't be able to easily get the 25 miles per hour out of this. Honestly, 18 miles per hour feels a little too fast for me, and I spent most of my time riding at 13 miles per hour. It just felt safer for me in the city with all of those people around.
The Zero 9 weighs 39 pounds. This was the one place where I was a little concerned as it was a bit outside my mission goals (less than 34 pounds was ideal), but I'm not going to tell you that 39 pounds was actually a problem. It was so easy to move this eScooter around, whether wheeling it or carrying it; it was an absolute non-issue. In fact, while picking it up, it doesn't even feel like it's 39 pounds at all- but actually lighter. Are you worried about carrying this into a building? You shouldn't be. It was a piece of cake!
Want to know...
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The build quality
Falcon PEV Zero 9
I'll skip straight to the point and tell you first: It's fantastic. One of the first things that I noticed looking over each component of the eScooter was that very single component on the eScooter was made with super high quality materials. It has a super sturdy look, and it feels the same way when you're riding it.
I liked the easy to read LCD screen. It has everything I need, all in one place. It's brightly lit (you can set the brightness in the options screen of the LCD display), it's easy to read, and it's simple which is the best part.
The last thing you want is to be riding 20 miles per hour and dealing with a bunch of extra stuff you don't need. This one was designed really well so that you don't have to spend your time fumbling through menus, etc. There's only one downside that I see here: I wish that the LCD displace included battery percentage, instead of a battery icon. It would really help you care for the battery, especially when you're thinking you might be almost ready to charge it again for your next ride.
The suspension paired with the wheel size (different sources say they're either 8.5" or 9", but I haven't measured them) makes for a really easy and comfortable ride in the streets. The front suspension is a spring, which admittedly, I didn't really notice as much. But the rear suspension are air shocks, which I definitely noticed upon the first step up onto this eScooter. In that step, I knew that my ride was going to be comfortable. Spoiler alert: it was. My next three rides were at least an hour and a half long and I came back feeling great afterwards.
Braking was easy, and I'm so glad that I got a drum brake/disc brake combo. I feel like they function really well where they're placed, and they don't squeak and make noise. In fact this scooter (at any speed) makes so little noise that it's relaxing to ride, even audibly. Every scooter that comes out of RevRides gets a very thorough going-over where they're also making sure that each component is perfectly setup. They did beautifully on the brakes. Also, for those of you who don't know, drum brakes require less maintenance.
The handlebars are super sturdy, and I love that they lock and screw into place. It leaves me feeling safe, because I know how sturdy they're built and I know that it's being held in place well. The front stem is the right size and weight, and it gives you confidence in the scooter. At 6'3", I've got the handlebars pulled out to the farthest point of the top of the stem and it's just enough height for me. I don't know if they have enough material to extend it a little bit, but it might be worth a shot.
The extra wide footboard is a beautiful touch, and it's especially good for my slightly larger-than-average sized shoes. It's easy to ride in any stance. I've tried them all, and I've never been uncomfortable. While we're at it- the folding mechanism at the front of the footboard is super sturdy, and it's very obvious when it locks into place. You can be absolute sure that it's not coming out of place without a little bit of effort, which I really enjoyed.
The lighting on the Zero 9 is exactly what I needed. If people can't see you riding this thing, they're absolutely blind. You've got some really very useful headlights on top of the front tire, an LED bar on the front step, additional lighting under the footboard, and then the rear brake lights which flash when you're stopping/stopped. They're super visible! They don't seem to take a lot out of your battery when you're using them either. I tend to run mine as much as possible, just for safety.
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At this point, we've ridden about 100 miles, and I couldn't be happier about the way it's performing. I've ridden on the road, off road, up and down every hill I can find, I've jumped it (somewhat accidentally), I've had to brake fast, I've had to accelerate fast, I've had to dodge crazy drivers- and every single time, the Zero 9 performed exactly like it was supposed to.
Would I recommend this to you?
I would absolutely recommend this to you, but let's talk about who would benefit from this best:
- Those who have a longer commute
- Those who need a comfortable ride but don't want a lot of weight
- Those who value quality in the build of their scooter
- Those who want a slightly larger tire, for getting through the uneven city streets
If you fall in these categories (or even if you don't!) you can't go wrong with the Zero 9. I'm really looking forward to putting hundreds (or thousands) of more miles on mine. Keep paying attention our site, as we plan to do check up videos about how they're doing as we hit the 500 mile mark and another video after that point.
Buying the Zero 9
If you're in the USA, you'll want to purchase yours through RevRides.com. The owner, Nathan, has been one of the easiest people I've ever dealt with in the business world. He values every customer, and he's constantly looking after them to make sure they got the best possible product. If you ever look on the Reddit forum r/electricscooters, you'll see nothing but great comments about the guy.
The current price on this scooter from RevRides is $999.
In Asia, you'll want to contact Falcon PEV directly about purchasing their eScooters. I've had really good contact with them, and I hope that you do too!
Looking for accessories for your eScooter? We've compiled a list of helpful articles from our website that can help you find the most useful items for your daily rides.
- The Best Accessories for your eScooter for 2019
- Make yourself visible with THIS cool new Helmet
- You’re going to need a Helmet.
Readers: Do you own a Zero 9? In the comments below, tell us about your experiences with this eScooter.
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