Segway - MAX G30E II

I can tell you right now that the G2 is NOT good for hills. It slows a ton. I wouldn't do the F3 either. ZT3 will work, but portability takes a hit, and upgradability is lost for that discount. G3 is a beast. Very portable and sexy. You can add the extra battery when it's out, or even swap the battery for a GT3 battery and gain 50% more internally. (You can do the GT3 battery swap on the ZT3 as well.)

Something to note about escooters is that tire changes are a nightmare especially if you're looking at commuter escooters. My experience with a Xiaomi pro 2 was that I loved it, till I had to change the tires. Even an escooters shop that was supposed to specialise in xiaomis didn't fit the tire properly. That said, I would choose the Xiaomi again if you don't mind a dealing with tire changes. alternatively the ninebot G30 is kind of like a more expensive but slightly better in every way - slightly larger battery, 10in tires, more waterproof. I would go for an ebike if I had more space in the house to store it.

Just to put things into perspective for you, my g30 max can muster out about 22-23 miles on a charge...not quite what is claimed

20 miles of actual range is plenty on a scooter. You should consider alternate transportation if you’re going beyond that. I say actual range because my G30 MAX is listed at 40 miles, but that’s only in the slowest eco mode. In Sport mode, it’s around 20 miles. I’ve depleted the entire battery before in a ride and its about the limit for how long I’d wanna be on it.

It’s a fantastic scooter; robust, simple, and reliable. My only complaint on mine is the 19 mph top speed can feel a bit slow on longer straight roads, but as soon as you are on a tighter path it feels quite fast. No suspension is up to personal preference in my opinion; it’s going to be less maintenance and less things to go wrong, but it can be a rough ride when hitting bumps in the road. The tires do help with this somewhat. I don’t think you can go wrong with it. I would take a look at the G2 and G3 and see if the suspension and higher speed is something you care about. But as a workhouse, I think it’s tough to beat the G30. Even if I upgraded to something faster with suspension, I’d still wanna keep my G30 around.

Lots of used segway g30's and g2's on the market since the g3 shipped this week. My advice, save an extra 100 and pick up one of those, or come up with a good sob story and try to sweet talk one for 200 lol

My first scooter was max g30 for 400. I test drove it and inspected it prior to purchase, and it still works perfectly after moderate usage and zero maintenance. Buying new is great, but if we're trying to extract max value per dollar, the used market will win in this price range. That is, of course, assuming you possess the bare minimum skill set to prevent yourself from being ripped off.

Bout 14 on Sport limited to 20mph Daily commute mostly flat with one steep climb at the end of the return trip. The hill totally stops my G30 but the G3 maintains speed all the way up and loses 3mph on the last few yards at the highest steepest part.

Had mine for 5 years now , no issues , haven’t done any maintenance , I don’t ride much but my other friend has 10,000kms on it and still going strong . Just replaced both tires that’s it.

If you can bump up the budget the Segway G30LP will be a good one to set him for the next few years. You could also go for the G30 Max to future proof if he needs more distance or climb higher gradients (motor is better and battery is twice the range). Both models are reliable, easy to maintain and replacement parts are readily available, affordable to buy and change yourself. Just ensure they do regular maintenance checks, don’t run the battery down below 15-20% where possible, keep psi topped up and have him wear a helmet as minimum safety gear. You can also control speeds via the dedicated app too. FWIW, I recently did an analysis on Reddit data for electric scooters, ranking them by aggregated sentiment. Maybe you'll find it helpful [https://redditrecs.com/electric-scooter/](https://redditrecs.com/electric-scooter/) You can filter for what's good for hills and get a breakdown of what ppl have said about the most often recommended ones (disclaimer some links are affiliate they help fund the analyses)

I use segway G30 because it’s easier to bring it on the CTA if i need to. No suspension tho and it doesn’t go faster than 18 mph (lime and divvy scooter maxes out at around 15 mph, so consider how you’ll feel when you fall off your scooter at higher rate of speed - in other words, your pain tolerance level). I have two helmets, ones without shield for my eyes and one with (for windy days, for rain, for bugs, etc).

I have the same G30 and have put over 7000+ miles on mine on NYC streets. With normal maintenance, these things will go the distance and last a long time. The air filled tires will offer some cushioning for those style of brick path but it depends on what you are expecting. I personally would be fine. If you are concerned about vibration/comfort, I highly recommend going for something with suspension like the G2. The price is OK, how is the mileage of the scooter?