Hiboy S2 Electric Scooter Review: Best Alternative to the M365

Review Summary

Hiboy S2 Specification Score

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Hiboy S2 Specification

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Who SHOULD buy? If you’re looking for a great value entry level electric scooter to go on mostly smooth roads, this has it all. If avoid punctures is important, then that is even more reason to buy.

Who should NOT buy? If a smooth ride is high priority, you’re better off going for a scooter with pneumatic tyres, like the M365 or the Pure Air .

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Hiboy S2 Overview

Hiboy brand has proved its credibility: Hiboy is rapidly growing a reputation as a brand that is fit to challenge the mighty Xiaomi. Their products are built to a high standard with attention to detail. The company headquarters is in China but they have a physical presence in the US where buyers can have products shipped free direct from Hiboy. Buyers in the UK can purchase from Amazon UK.

Improvements on the Xiaomi M365:

• It’s faster at 18.6 mph (M365 goes closer to 16),
• It has a more powerful 350 W motor (compared to the M365 250 W)
• It comes with an LCD display
• It has a sturdier stem folding mechanism and a more robust rear fender
• It has little extras like a hook on the stem to hold small bags
• It has rear suspension

The specification of the Hiboy S2 is closer to that of the much more expensive Xiaomi Pro, although it does have much lower range.

Key difference is solid tyres: The most significant single difference between the Xiaomi scooters and the Hiboy S2, is that the Hiboy has solid wheels. This may be a selling point if avoiding punctures is top priority. However, road tests consistently show that the Hiboy solid tyres delivers a harder ride than the M365 with its pneumatic tyres. The rear suspension has limited travel (it doesn’t move up and down much) and ultimately it does not manage to offsetting the harder ride from the solid tyres. So despite all the improvements on the M365, the key differentiating factor comes down to a choice between hard and soft tyres.

Design

The Hiboy S2 frame is closely modeled on the M365 with some subtle differences. The socket for the charger is high up on the stem on the S2 making it more convenient to access when plugging in the charger. It also has side light LEDs on the deck which improve visibility.

Speed: At 18.6 mph the S2 really has an edge over the vast majority of entry level electric scooters. Road test have shown it can achieve this speed until about 60% battery life, at which point top speed and acceleration gradually reduce. But the extra top speed means that even when battery levels are dropping it can achieve a respectable 16 mph at well below 40% battery.

Range: Advertised range of the S2 is 17 miles, but road tests show it will achieve closer to 12 miles. The the last couple of miles the scooter acceleration and top speed reduce significantly but it still keeps going. This real world range is actually well within the expected levels (which are typically 30% less than advertised maximum range which is calculated under unrealistic ideal conditions).

Power:  The 350 W battery does not really deliver noticeable improvement in acceleration over the Xiaomi, but it does deliver marginally improved up hill speed. This is a bonus for heavier riders and for traversing up hill.

Max Load: The scooter is rated for 260 lbs which is approximately 118 kg. This well above the basic 100 kg limit of most budget scooters and will help the S2 appeal to many heavier riders who are close to or over the more standard 100 kg limit.

Whilst the S2 delivers a decent ride on smooth roads, if you are regularly travelling on rough ground this scooter will start to show real weakness

Wheels and solid tyres: The S2 has 8.5 inch wheels with perforated solid rubber tyres. In theory the perforations should help soften the ride slightly by enabling a little more flex, but that is not noticeable. The perforations also reduce the weight of the solid tyre, which reduces any impact on acceleration. Although these tyres don’t deliver a particularly soft ride they have much better traction than many solid tyres on the market and perform nearly as well as pneumatic in this regard.

Suspension: The S2 has rear suspension which unfortunately only has minimal impact on ride quality. This is partly because it doesn’t have a significant range of motion and partly because it is for the back wheel only, which has less impact on the ride than the front wheel. High quality full suspension really can negate the downsides of solid tyres but the suspension on the S2 is not up to the job.

Weight: At 13.5 kg the S2 is still a relatively lightweight and whilst carrying this scooter around is would be difficult, carrying it up a flight of stairs or putting into a car boot will possible for most adults.

Folded size: The scooter only has one folding point which is the hinge in the stem. Whilst this makes it quick and easy to fold, it also limits folding compaction and as a result the S2 is not a particularly compact scooter when folded. Some scooters have retractable stems and folding handlebars enabling them to be folded into much more compact sizes. This may not be a significant issue for some, but it is a definite consideration if you have limited living space such as students or those living in small apartments.  

Capacity: With a 270 Wh battery the S2 has almost identical capacity to the the M365. Whilst this is not huge, it does represent a sweet spot because id delivers a decent range while increasing the capacity would add both cost and weight. The approximate amount of miles added to the scooter per hour of charging is quite low at 3.1 miles range per hour of charging, but this is in line with most other budget scooters.

For a budget scooter the Highboy S2 is relatively feature packed with all you’d need and more.

Display: The S2 comes with an LCD display integrated into the handlebar, showing speed, mode and remaining battery life. This is definitely a nice to have.

Lights: The S2 comes with lights at the front, side and rear making it highly visible for night time riding. The side lights consist of a strip of LED lights along the deck which are on the deck. The front light set-up on the S2 has changed over time, with some units including a light mounted low down on the stem, whilst other versions have the front light integrated into the handlebars. There is also a rear light on the fender.

Brakes: A disc brake on the rear controlled by a standard brake lever in addition to a thumb operated electrical brake on the opposite side to the throttle. Individually the brakes are not particularly strong but used in combination brings the scooter to a stop quickly enough.

Bluetooth: The Hiboy S2 comes with app connectivity. Feature enables you to change cruise control settings, get exact battery level and adjust the strength of the electronic brake and set an electronic lock. Overall it is a good enough app which with useful features. It has been through several upgrades and connection and compatibility issues are rare. For most the app feature is not something that is used often but others enjoy playing with all the settings.

Feedback from Owners

Most owners are very happy with the Hiboy S2: Feedback from customers is key for lesser known scooter brands. The Hiboy S2 has certainly impressed many with positive reviews across several platforms including Reddit, Amazon reviews and other vendor platforms. Close inspection also indicates that these appear to be legitimate reviews. Skepticism over the ability for a smaller brands to challenge the dominance of Xiaomi and Ninebot-Segway remains this scooters biggest challenge. Many continue to see it as “just another M365 clone”. But the majority of customers who have placed their faith in the Hiboy S2 have not been disappointed.

Some criticism of the battery: One of the main areas of criticisms is that the battery does not consistently deliver on range (sometimes as low as 9 or 10 miles). Also, when the battery indicator reads 50%, it is often the case that it actually has much less capacity than this and the performance will drop substantially when it reads levels of 30% or less. If you have managed to go 7 miles with 50% battery, do not assume it will do 7 miles more! Characteristics like this are unfortunately common across electric scooters. Once you are aware of this it is easy enough to manage, but it can be frustrating if you assume the scooter will perform exactly to spec. Even with these criticisms, the Hiboy S2 undeniably represents good value.