Review Summary
Perfect for shorter distances with truly outstanding portability. It folds up small and is light enough to carry in almost any circumstance. Don’t expect great range or ride quality but for nipping down the road this budget conscious scooter is perfect. Whilst overall specification score is low, it has very respectable speed and power which means it will hit the sweet spot for many.
Speed: 14 mph Range: 6 miles Weight: 7.5 kg Power: 250 Watt
Megawheels S1 Specification Score
Note: All scores are derived directly from scooter specifications using consistent formula. This enables objective comparisons between products.
Megawheels S1 Specification
Note: Fixed color coding rules are applied consistently across all products to ensure objective assessment of specifications.
PROS
- Bargain price
- Extremely light and portable
- Speed is adequate for most uses
CONS
- Poor range
- Hard ride
- No front light included
- Unsuitable for heavy riders
Who SHOULD buy? If you want something for short predictable rides, this could deliver all you need at a very low price. Good option as a present for teens and children. Great inexpensive way to dip your toe into the world of electric scooters.
Who should NOT buy? Anyone who needs go longer distances or regularly ride over rough surfaces.
Megawheels S1 Overview
A genuinely credible Chinese manufacturer: Megawheels certainly sounds like a cheap and cheerful brand, but it should not be scoffed at. They are delivering good quality at a low price and are among the select few electric scooters on Amazon that we are happy to recommend. The main area where they have saved money is on the low capacity battery. So for users who will only ever want to go relatively short distances this could be ideal.
Perfect for very short trips: There are many use case scenarios for which a basic scooter like this, ranging from students on campus and adults taking short trips to a fun children’s gift . It is incredibly small and light making it perfect for picking up and taking on buses or trains. Compromises in ride quality are less concern for short trips. The durability of solid wheels may be a worthwhile trade-off to avoid punctures. Its low specification score reflects its bare bones function and features but it remains a good quality scooter and a great option for some.
Megawheels S1 Durability
Despite the questionable sounding brand name and low price tag, this scooter offers a genuinely good standard of build quality. Components used are produced in large quantities which means that you won’t get the leading edge in design, but you will get tired and tested. High end brands like Inokim or Unagi adopt specially designed components which bumps up the price but does not always guarantee greater reliability.
Performance
Speed: At 14 mph top speed this is nearly as fast as some more expensive models. They typical top speed for a average electric scooter is 15mph so this really isn’t far off. 14 mph is still nearly 5 times walking speed and will get you where yo need to go much faster than on foot.
Power: A 250W motor power is also very respectable for a budget scooter.
Range: The major compromise on this scooter performance is its range. The manufacturer claims 8-12 km range which is about 5 to 8 miles. Real world range is reported to be pretty close to the low end of this, so a maximum of a 5 mile round trip is realistic. For many this is will be sufficient. As far as mechanical strength of the scooter, it will be capable of 90 kg. You will start to see loss in performance starts when rider weight is more than about 70 kg, so it is better suited to the lighter rider.
Ride Quality
Wheels and Tyres: The smaller wheels with solid tyres are what gives this scooter a low score for ride quality. However, this needs to be considered in context. For short rides, particularly under one mile, the ride quality is much less important than for commuters going several miles each way everyday. If you’re used to the small wheeled kick scooters, this scooter will actually feel pretty smooth! Whilst the solid tyres make the ride harder then pneumatic, they are never going to get a puncture making this scooter very low maintenance.
Portability
Weight: This scooter is among the very lightest electric scooters on the market at just 7.5 kg. It is one of the few electric scooters that is light enough to carry around for extended periods.
Folded size: The S1 has a simple convenient folding mechanism which combined with its low weight means this scooter absolutely excels in portability. It’s ideal for taking in and out of offices, on public transport or simple in and out of car boot.
Battery
Capacity and Charging: At just 54 Wh capacity, this is where the money has been saved on this scooter. Although it only takes 3 hours to charge, the amount of range added to the battery each hour is only about 2.5 miles per hours charge. The one advantage of this small battery is it helps contribute to the scooters low weight and small size.
Features
Bare bones features: As you would expect for a budget scooter, the Megawheels S1 is not exactly feature packed, with no Bluetooth or LCD display and no front light. But most additional features found on more expensive scooters would be unnecessary on a short range last-mile solutions like this.
Feedback from Owners
The main sales channel for the Megawheels S1 is via Amazon (currently sold via Amazon UK site). Reviews indicate that overall this scooter exceeded their expectations. There has also been better than expected customer service from Megawheels which surprised many buyers. Negative reviews tend to relate to either delays in delivery or because the scooter did not achieve its maximum advertised range. With all electric scooters you should expect them to achieve about 30% lower than the advertised range because they are tested under perfect conditions (rather than real world conditions of changing speeds and gradients.