GOTRAX Xr Real User Verdict: Great Starter, Honest Limits

Overnight charging is generally longer than 4 hours. You'll be fine. The battery will eventually degrade over time, like all batteries do.

On the matter of the XR ULTRA scoot scoot — I weight 190lbs and my commute is 3-4 miles each way. My path takes me up a steep hill to get home, so I needed to make sure I got one that would do that in an appropriate time. The rest is little hills and flat roads.

Wow GREAT write-up! The level of detail is extremely helpful. You may have just sold me on the ultra. Thank you!

Spend $480 and buy the Ninebot Max G30LP while it's on sale today at Segway.com. Gotrax is not nearly as reliable as the Ninebot Max.

Leaving it charging overnight will cause the battery to degrade faster, not sure how much faster though. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have no other options. What I would do when riding my scooter to work was bring my charger with me, that way I only had to recharge for approx 1-2hrs after getting home from work since I recharged at work.

You could get a smart plug. Even low cost ones allow you to set 'on' and 'off' timers to avoid overcharging your scooter battery overnight.

You sir are a good steward of the scooter — never draining or pushing the battery to its limit is smart long-term thinking.

We do not recommend overnight charging. It will usually overcharge the battery and that will deplete the battery life quicker. For the best long-term use we recommend keeping your scooter charged between 20-90% and keeping your scooter stored in a cool dry place. Avoid moisture!

The XR Elite was my "gateway scooter" that got me into the hobby/sport. I've had no problems with it for the 150 or so miles I put on it before upgrading to my Zero 9 for more speed and range and a comfier ride. I still keep it around for when I need something ultra portable or that I can lock up briefly outside and not be too worried about it getting stolen.

I'm also looking for a first scooter, something for commuting that I can easily haul on the train and up several flights of stairs, so I want something really lightweight like this model. Opportunities to upgrade to better scooters since everything weighs more than this.

People will say it's unreliable or garbage. But for a literal 2 mile round trip? It'll do the job on a budget. I liked mine, and still have it. I just upgraded cause I wanted more speed, mainly.

I got 8.9 miles out of mine. I'm 210lbs and was using honeycomb tires on a gravel path. I bet you could easily get 10 if you weighed less.

XR Ultra is perfect for short commutes, especially with its LG Battery. We also have a one year limited warranty and 14 Day return policy.

They are falsely advertised as 15mph. All of those types of Gotrax scooters will only go 13.6mph. This has been verified by other users/riders/owners here on Reddit. Aside from the false-marketing (lying), two of the three scooters had significant mechanical issues out of the box. I had to take the entire front end apart for one of the XR scooters to fix a steering issue. And the other XR had motor issues.

I find the most peculiar aspect of it. The fact that the GXL V2 is considerably older and yet has a replaceable battery, while the XR Advance is essentially inferior in that regard by not having a replaceable battery.

I always thought you weren't supposed to leave batteries untended cause the risk of it catching fire. Imo just going off that I wouldn't risk it.

Sure, charge it overnight.

Before the VESC installation, the scooter showed '15.5 mph' as its max cruising speed. With GPS, this was actually 13.6 mph. This is not just an error for my scooter. We own three GOTRAX scooters and they all do the same thing! Now, with the VESC installed, I go 16 mph using GPS. I'm 195 lbs.

My girlfriend recently bought this scooter and we've been disappointed with the top speed compared to my GXL V1. I've noticed that the top speed is aggressively limited to 15.5, even down hills, which my GXL doesn't do — I'm assuming that's the regenerative braking.

Not sure how you can get bored of 20 mph unless you live in a town or are just riding back paths/roads. Anything over 20 is not safe in a somewhat populated city and you will run into someone eventually or hit a pothole on a sidewalk or a small crevice and go over the handlebars.

I think the smart plug is the best answer. The new ones are 'smart', the old ones are mechanical timers. Great solution for managing overnight charging safely.

Wow, what a project — almost a whole new scooter! I admire your dedication. Thanks for the tip on the V1 console, I didn't realize they were cross-compatible.

Just a warning: It may not be suitable if you live in a cold place. I bought my XR Elite less than 8 months ago and it is complete dead today. The quality control isn't great. Meaning the plastic for the fender, the tire, and many other small components are made of medium quality material. They started to broke after 2 months in. Many fragile components are not replaceable.

The main reason I got myself this one was to just get into the world of e-scooters and for another mode of transportation, and that I was able to take it with me back home on the public bus. And, well, it does its job okay. I'm planning on updating to a better scooter pretty soon here.

I'm lucky to get a full hour on a full forever taking charge. I was flipped off on a busy street because it slowed down and jerked me into a pothole causing me scars and pain. I can have four bars and get a minute away and it's already three bars. My light isn't bright enough and the cheaply made hook for something as serious as the brake line is terrible.

I picked up the XR Advance this morning. Most of the reviews I could find seemed pretty similar, that it's not particularly great but it's okay, I guess. However, I'm hoping maybe it will be the right choice for me, at least as a first scooter. I got it to use for regular destinations that are, for now, within a mile or two at most.

Gotrax isn't that good for the price... check out the G30lp or maybe one on alibaba can do the job for really cheap.

I ordered Gotrax XR Ultra on Amazon. Ubering back and forth eats up a chunk of my income. So I researched a to z about scooters. I had to go up a price bracket when I found out the range as advertised comes with small print specifications like minimal speed, smooth surface etc. I live 4 miles away from my work. I needed something that can take me back and forth on one charge.

I bought my Gotrax XR Ultra in August 2020, and put at least 4000 miles into it. I thought the scooter can go on forever, but it just stopped running last week. It can still travel roughly 9 miles at max after 4 years, in NYC winter about 32℉ to 40℉, and 10 miles in Summer, most flat roads. I weigh about 140lb and 5'5".

Great review! Glad it's serving you well. I also just picked up an Xr Ultra this past weekend. Looking forward to making my mile commute to school even quicker as well as providing a bit of entertainment!

Just got one for Christmas. All I plan on doing with it is riding around my neighborhood. Loving it so far.

The tires are a problem, and you will not be able to talk to anyone helpful. We bought 2 scooters as gifts this past Christmas, and one came with a defective wheel when it arrived. Good luck trying to get them to honor the "Warranty." The wheel eventually developed a leak, in less than 8 weeks.

I've had my Ultra for a little over a year. My rear tire kept getting flats basically every other ride so I replaced it with a solid tire. My front has been fine, and I can keep it filled with a small motorized pump. The rear solid tire has been bad for range and speed, but at least I can ride the thing. Biggest con for me is the range. I'm 6' 180lbs. I max out around 6 or 7 miles. If I could do it again, I'd have prioritized range much more.

Honestly, if you could swing it go for the g4. I'd get like 13-14 miles on a charge with a max speed of 20. I can't tell you how quickly you'll be tired of going 15mph. It's awful.

I own the XR Advance, wife gave it to me as a birthday gift. Love it, great first time scooter owner and it rides well. Would like to go faster but 18mph down hill is enough for me.

Dude I'm 5 years late, this is all sick. You are the exact type of capable, competent, complete insanity I aspire to be.

I did a range test with mine vs the Segway ES1 overall it faired pretty well. Every pass I did I gained 100ft and then dropped it back so it was tough on the battery.

I really like mine and I've had it since March! No big issues or battery problems so far.

Looking on the official GoTrax website, it seems that the only difference between the XR Advance and the GXL V2 are the appearance on their tillers. Virtually every spec for both scooters is identical, so I'd hardly say neither one is preferable over the other. I'm beginning to fail to see the point in making the exact same scooter with the exact same specs and just slapping a different name and tiller on it.

It's really disappointing at this stage of the game that some battery controllers still run the risk of 'overcharging' the battery (i.e. over 100%).