Apollo Explore: What Reddit Really Thinks After Years of Rides

Don't buy, run away. Older design that had a lot of problems and is in need of constant maintenance to keep running. One of the more common parts that need replaced is the folding pin, it breaks and only one place online sells them.

Garbage company. Their Chinese overlords are proud of them though.

Big fan of Apollo and own a GO but this is a pointless product, weights more than the GO and slightly cheaper by like $50, what is apollo doing? This should have been a City 2.0 at least.

"We are here to help". We could give you a $2 part but we won't. Use a rated bolt with washers and a nyloc nut and tell them to stick the pin up their arse.

My Explore is a proven ride, over 400 miles since last fall. It folds up very nicely - I added a strap on carry handle for easier moving in and out of my Audi hatchback.

These are rebrands of Zero 10 scooters, generally did not have much issues.

From personal experience. They are asking way too much money. At one point, that scooter was selling for $1000 new. There were two models, one in 2020 and one in 2021. And they are just a rebrand of an older model - they're pretty long in the tooth. Remember, you will have no warranty and their scooters tend to have really terrible batteries. Also, it doesn't have true suspension in front. It bottoms out hard unless you install a rubber bushing (cheap and easy).

Didn't they say the Explore was supposed to have more range than the GO? Doesn't look like it will be exploring much.

Ya the Go seems better overall. Lighter and 2 motors is the way for my use case.

Whoa. It has a "Best Seller" label, lol. The thing is not even out yet, how can it be?

Solid review. I could see the value being a lot more portable than the pro (which I currently have). I really enjoy it but it's heavy af and not very portable in terms of packing it up for camping etc. This seems like it would check that box.

I tried charging with both the standard charger (54.6V @ 2A) and the Apollo City Fast Charger (54.6V @ 5A). The battery is 48V @ 13.5Ah. Standard Charger (from dead) ~8hrs. Fast Charger (from dead) ~3hrs.

There was an original model which was the same as the Zero 10 then there was an updated version that uses the same deck as the Ghost. I know for a fact the original Explore only has 1 charge port. The Ghost has 2 charge ports so I would assume the newer explore does also.

I'm a goofy foot rider myself, but I switch to normal footing as needed. It's definitely good to keep your chest pointed in the direction you might suddenly need to turn in, the feet simply follow that direction.

To be honest I wanted to replace my GO with the Explore but if that's the range we can expect, about 70% of the GO's range (56% in Ludo), then its a no go. If it had 20% more range than the GO I would have pre-ordered already.

I agree. I don't understand who this product is for. The only advantage over the Go is a slightly larger wheel at 10" otherwise it's a downgrade across the board.

Seems like the perfect commuter scoot. If only I trusted Apollo. Sticking with my ninebot.

Its my first scooter and I'm doing well with it. Not only can you limit the top speed but you can also limit the acceleration settings in the "P" settings of the throttle. It's a pretty tried and true design at this point. Don't forget that the extra power is really nice for hills. I'm not a small person and it still takes hills really well.

I have an Explore as my first scooter and had the same thoughts as you - want the features, don't care for the top speed. I just keep it in Mode 1 for 95% of my riding and turned the acceleration down via P-settings while I was getting used to it. It's not hard to handle at all once you turn down the acceleration, and eventually I got my balance and technique dialed in and bumped up the acceleration again once I was comfortable.

You made a good choice. I've had my Explorer for 3 weeks and absolutely love it. I weigh around 225 and have carried a lot of groceries in a huge currier bag. I've found that I've done a lot of errands simply because it's fun to be out. Enjoy!

A 5A charger will draw 6-7A 120volt. Your inverter probably handles 12ish amps. Time wise a 5A charger 2-3 hours and the standard 4-6 hours will give you enough for the shorter 10 mile round trip.

I'm new too don't even know what that regenerative braking is good for lol

I changed the settings to 3 and now whenever I press the brake slightly (and release thereafter), I can feel the wheel has some resistance to it. This was not the case when I had received it (with settings set to 0). My suggestion would be for you to set it to zero, accelerate and slightly press the brakes and immediately release it. Then do the same thing with the settings set to 3 or 5. You should feel the difference.

Was thinking about an Apollo Go but am rethinking after seeing this support experience!

If you want a good Bluetooth solution I suggest you do what I did. I also have an Apollo explore and I just strapped my speaker to the stem of my scooter with a couple of velcro straps. Holds it in place no problem and makes it much easier to deal with since I don't have to deal with the weight on my body.

Yeah for real, 25km range in sport with an ideal sized rider on flat ground means I'll be exploring my charger a lot on this as a larger fella in hilly Halifax.

The Apollo Ghost (Titan Unicool VDM-10) is definitely a more powerful machine (dual 800W), so it's pretty incredible that Apollo was able to go from a 52V 18.2Ah => 946.4Wh battery in the Ghost to a 48V 13.5Ah => 648Wh battery in the Explore 2.0, which is only ~70% of the power, and achieve almost the same range.

I just saw this video showing hill performance up to 23% with a rider with about 206lbs of weight (including backpack). He was impressed! He was able to make it up the entire hill without issue, no overheating, no stalling.

The Go should have been the starting product, then you go up from there. If the price difference from the GO to this was like $200-$250 then it would make more sense. Cmon Apollo do better, still cheering for you guys.

NGL, I'm tempted to upgrade from my Go but as a bigger dude, I am concerned about going from Dual Motors to a Single and going from 45lbs to 60lbs won't make this easier to haul to my office every day.

Very detailed review, finally one on the new Explore! Looking at upgrading from my Ghost, debating between this and waiting for the new City. Would only choose Apollo, their service has always been very quick/kind to me with everything - glad they're still launching quality machines!

Where's the section of this review for stem crack/snap likelihood?

I have only owned my Explore for a few days, but are surprised at how good it is, and its capabilities. I have taken it on trails and on the road and love the thing. Battery takes a long time to charge, but it has two battery ports for another charger. Lots of improvements in the 2022 model, over the original Explore model.

The Explore is an ok unit. So much fun until it breaks. If it does like mine did, you will be very sad with your choice.

I think an Apollo Ghost would be better only 14 pounds more and plenty of power to get you around at 250+ pounds.

I got my explore last week, currently set the brake regen to lv 5. I don't feel that the e-brake is activated when you release the throttle. It is activated when you slight press both brakes. With it on 5, I have to put less power in the brakes. The only problem is that it the e-brake turns off at 10mph, so I need to apply more pressure on the breaks when that happens.

I thought I was getting a great deal when I purchased the Explore back in Jan. 2023. Seemed like a reputable company? Perhaps this explains the sale pricing. Without question, I'm riding a time bomb. As a bigger rider (6'3" - 240 lbs), I'm right at the edge of the weight limit, so I wonder how much this affects the pin lifespan.

Apollo has increased the thickness of the base of the stem starting from where the orange tab is to the bottom. I think Apollo has been listening to the community after the number of City stems on Reddit that seem to be cracking.

Fair enough. The Apollo Pro and Explore 2.0 has been super solid scooters to me. It may take some time for them to regain the Reddit community trust, but I think they are moving in the right direction. I think all the Apollo-designed scooters (Apollo Pro, Go, Phantom 2.0, Explore 2.0) are SIGNIFICANTLY more reliable than their older scooters (City, Lite, Explore, Ghost, Phantom).

I ended up going with the explore primarily because I could finance it, whereas I couldn't with the ghost, plus the added weight of the scooter might be an issue, as I have to lift this up into the truck. The explore is plenty heavy as is.

The Explore folds down smaller - and there is less range and only another 3 mph at the top end. Since I've actually clocked 38mph on my Explore - it's a GREAT single motor scooter at a good price.

I had the first ghost for one summer. It was my baby. I greased it, maintained it, kept it inside, did everything I could to make it last and boom the first winter the battery went dead on me. Had it at 70% and in my apartment, noticed it after checking on it in February. Fortunately I was like 2 months left on my warranty but I just said screw this.

Do not buy the explorer. I've had mine 4 months. And already have had to spend 400 dollars to fix, the engine, brakes, back tire twice. The original motor was put together backwards. The brake line gave out instantly. The adjustment screws by the brake handle were cross threaded and had to be removed with pliers and the handle replaced completely.