Product Review – Smarten Up Your Commute With The Segway F3 Pro Electric Scooter

There’s few things more annoying than sitting in standstill traffic on your commute of just a few kilometres, watching people whizz by on their bikes and electric scooters. So when Segway approached Daily Addict with the chance to review the brand new F3 Pro Electric Scooter this rider jumped at the opportunity. With a 5km commute from my inner west home to my office, the F3 Pro was going to be put through its daily grind paces.

First and foremost, a disclaimer of sorts, if you’ve never ridden an electric scooter before make sure you practice in a safe area clear of pedestrians and traffic before you give it a go riding to work. And always wear a helmet. 

It’s also important to note that currently in NSW personal e-scooters remain illegal on NSW roads and road-related areas, including footpaths, shared paths and bicycle lanes. Now to the review.

What is it? 

Everywhere you look, there seems to be a new electric commuter product. From bicycles, to scooters, skateboards and even those weird uni-wheels the market is flooded with choice so weeding through what to buy is a task in itself. Just looking at electric scooters offers a wide-range from cheap imports through to established brands such as Segway. The $1,599 F3 Pro we have on review is the goldilocks of the bunch, balancing technical skills with a reasonable entry price in a range that spans from $299 kids scooters through to almost $4k ‘Super Scooters’.

If you thought that an electric scooter was a simple thing with a throttle, this model turns that idea on its head, and has some party tricks up its sleeves. The F3 Pro features front hydraulic and rear suspension, a wider ‘comfort’ footboard, and in-built stability tech Segway has coined ‘SegRide’. It’s also got handy features like smart features like a TFT display on the handlebars, hands-free unlocking, and Apple Find My integration via a linked App.

Segway also claims up to 70km on a single charge, which is a weeks worth of commuting for most of us. In the real world however, while impressive, this rider managed about 35km in ‘Sport’ mode which allows the 25km/h top speed before range anxiety kicked in and the scooter was placed on charge with 20% or so left on the display range. In all honesty this is more than enough for most users as it averaged out to a charge every three days or so for this rider. 

There’s only so much we can cover on a review experience, and with the F3 Pro’s ride experience this writer feels we can narrow down to three key points: The tech, the suspension, the usability. 

The Tech

Starting with the tech; the aforementioned TFT display is crisp, clear to understand and pleasingly weatherproof (which in Sydney is definitely required). From being able to easily pair with the Segway Mobility app, through to displaying modes, battery life, range, and ride distance as well as maps it does it all. Controlled from the left hand panel even the auto-lights are easily accessible. 

The F3 Pro has a 1200-watt brushless motor in its rear wheel (200 watts more than the non-Pro F3 model) easily reaches and maintains the 25km/h speed limit that is enforced by the scooter’s firmware. Hills were a breeze with the most challenging slopes encountered by this ride dropping the speed to about 18km/h. The theoretical climbing slope is 24% which is pretty steep by anyone’s rating so any steeper walking is probably the safest option regardless. 

Via the app you can check out the scooter’s dashboard as well as navigation, scheduled charging and remote locking function. The remote locking function pays for itself, especially when paired with being able to set a locking code it really gives peace of mind when leaving the scooter outside a shop as you pop in to pick up supplies for dinner. 

The Ride

Moving onto the ride experience itself and as with any piece of new tech there are very definite pros and cons. First up I want to get to the number one niggle with this device as a first time scooter-commuter; the throttle. Very clearly programmed with safety in-mind, the throttle control really takes some practice to get used to. Essentially immediate response is delayed so that in order to get moving you need to give it a good ol’ fashioned foot-push before depressing the throttle gently and getting moving. When in sport mode this function can end up accidentally leading to mini-wheelies if timed incorrectly with an upcoming slope. Once you’re in the groove it becomes easy to anticipate however bringing things back to the top point of practicing, this writer would really recommend a few laps at least of an empty car park. 

Onto the positive, and in this case, glowing parts of the review. The suspension is a masterclass to say the least. Small wheels and tubeless tires are a recipe for a hard and jarring ride, however this suspension can really take a beating. On Sydney’s pock-marked and busy pavements and bike paths the F3 Pro not only felt stable and secure, it meant that little detours onto the side of the footpath around pedestrians weren’t dealt with by clenching and hoping for the best. Coupled with solid brakes front and back, the downfalls of the scooter vs. bicycle ride experience are certainly mitigated for the most part. To truly go into the depths of the F3 Pro’s full capabilities will take more than this review, however there is one thing I didn’t know I needed until this scooter arrived on my doorstep. Indicators. On a scooter. Honestly, the added safety of being able to let other pedestrians and riders know your directional intentions is game-changing (and a little fun with a friendly beeping that accompanies it). 

The stability and large footboard also came into play as soon as the sky opened and things got all wet; while it was not intended to be a wet weather review the F3 Pro handled those conditions like a… well, Pro! Thankfully the IPX6 water resistance was in place as the thing got soaked, the only strange side effect was a rattle from the front disc brake once it was wet, dry there was no rattle at all. 

It’s not a light beast weighing in at 20kg, however after a couple of weeks commuting and charging it’s absolutely manoeuvrable enough to fit in car boots, or be carried up a set of stairs. This may prove trouble for smaller individuals and those carting the scooter up and down large amounts of stairs during their commute, the clip at the front of the handlebars, and the nifty locking ability made it a breeze to fold. There was also a handy hook for your bag of shopping or backpack that worked perfectly for small things.

The Verdict

For more information specifications and pricing details, visit: https://www.segway.com.au/collections/segway-max-g3-gt3-f3-pro-electric-scooter

The Segway 3rd Generation eKickScooters are now available to order:
– GT3 – $3,999
– Max G3 – $2,199
– F3 Pro – $1,699 (as reviewed)
– F3 – $1,399