It’s easy to see the appeal of an electric scooter. When you ride smart—no crowded sidewalks, no joyriding when you’re drunk (because come on)—they’re an ultra-affordable, easy, convenient way to get around the city.
There are a lot of electric scooters out there at an affordable price point, and one of those is the Hiboy MAX Electric Scooter. Here’s why it might be a great street ride for you.
Table of Contents
- Things To Consider Before Buying A Hiboy MAX Electric Scooter
- Worth mentioning…
- Hiboy MAX Overview of Key Features
- LED Display
- Ride Comfort
- Hiboy MAX Performance
- Pros & Cons
- What’s In The Box
- Best for…
- The Real Review Conclusion – More Than An Entry Level Scooter
Things To Consider Before Buying A Hiboy MAX Electric Scooter
The Hiboy MAX Electric Scooter delivers on three key points of urban living: convenience, budget, and freedom. It’s fast to fire up for a quick run to the grocery store and ultra-easy to park when you get there.
You can charge it from any PowerPoint in your house, track your metrics, and store it in the trunk of your buddy’s car when you head out on a weekend escape.
Not all e-scooters are created equal, so before you invest, you’ll want to consider:
- Maximum speed.
- Average range and battery. How far can your e-scooter go on a full charge?
- Versatility. Does it offer flexible settings for different situations?
- Value. Because who doesn’t love a great deal?
- Functionality. What bells and whistles do you need in an e-scooter?
E-scooters are no longer relegated to those things people buy when they don’t own a car. They’re a valid transportation choice for any urbanite navigating the cityscape.
If you’re tired of the eternal big-city search for a carpark, and your lifestyle lends itself to zipping around (almost) on foot, an electric scooter could be on your agenda.
The Hiboy MAX Electric Scooter has a little more heft than some competitors at this price point.
If you’re looking for something with a smaller physical footprint and more portability, the Hiboy S2 Lite could be a better fit—if you’re willing to compromise on range and features.
With a smaller deck and at 13 pounds lighter, it’s infinitely easier to cart around.
Hiboy MAX Overview of Key Features
Hiboy positions the MAX as an adult commuter scooter with a 17 mile MAX range and functionality that transcends previous commuter models. Does it deliver on its promise?
The Hiboy MAX is no lightweight. At 34 pounds it definitely has a bit of bulk to it, but it’s not too much to become prohibitive—and still portable enough to trek through your office or on the train. It comes with a kickstand for easy parking, and a one-foot easy-fold.
Simply press the pin between the stem and deck and pull down with both hands. Give the stem a little twist as it folds to click everything into place, and you’re done.
The Hiboy MAX will appeal to the minimalist in every commuter, with a brushed black color profile and basic red Hiboy branding. The brake cable and a few mechanical details are red, and the wheel spoke design is matte gray.
You’ve got a dual LED headlight and a rear brake light panel, as well as a jaunty blue LED trim under the deck.
At the center of the handlebar is Hiboy’s piece de resistance—the Intuitive LED Dashboard. Essentially, it’s an LED display to track our metrics:
- Speed—we can adjust for m/ph or k/ph settings
- Ride modes
- Battery level
It’s also the hub that switches the head- and brake- lights on and off. I like how responsive the dashboard is, plus it delivers enough information to be useful instead of gimmick-y.
The 8.5” tires are solid, so they don’t offer as much shock absorption as an air-filled option would. That means there’s a bit of jarring on rough patches of road—and don’t even get me started on trying to navigate a pot-hole or three.
On the plus side, the deep tire tread gives better grip for travelling on wet streets.
The front suspension on the Hiboy MAX electric scooter softens the jarring on your wrists and ankles, and helps ease some of the impact you’d expect from the solid tires I mentioned before.
There’s also an easy-grip rubber handlebar padding to save your hands from blisters and cramping. If your commute involves a few twists and turns, you’ll appreciate this thoughtful feature.
Finally, Hiboy have stayed mindful of how humans are built with their spacious deck. There’s enough foot real estate to keep both your feet comfortably on-board as you ride, with a 19.7” x 5.7” deck area.
Speaking of the deck area, Hiboy have added a non-slip padded material to the deckboard to keep your feet firmly in place as you ride.
The robust motor lets you travel easily up- and down-hill without losing power or wavering—a must for safe commuting on an electric scooter.
The intuitive front-wheel e-braking and rear-wheel disc braking is smooth and secure, and lets you respond to the traffic conditions fast.
With high-visibility LED headlights and break light, and the under-deck blue lighting, I definitely felt the peace of mind of knowing my fellow travelers could see me even on my early-morning office missions.
I was pretty excited that the Hiboy MAX was Bluetooth compatible, but I doubted how useful the iOS / Android app technology could be.
As it turns out, the answer is very useful. I use it to check my charge and monitor my ride metrics.
The app will also alert you to on-board issues, let you customize cruise control speed, tweak your brakes, lock your ride, and switch ride modes.
Hiboy MAX Performance
Hiboy’s promise is an 18.6 m/ph top speed from the 350-watt brushless electric motor. I run it comfortably and consistently at 10-16 m/ph, but don’t get any tremors in the deck or handlebars at the 18 m/ph mark.
The brand claims a maximum range of 17 miles from a full charge. Realistically, I expect 10 to 15 miles of range from this model, based on my weight and proficiency with an e-scooter.
If you’re navigating a hilly city, the Hiboy MAX can conquer a 15-degree incline confidently, but you’ll need to factor that into your range expectation.
The 270 Wh battery is located inside the deck. Charging is pretty fast—around 6 hours for a full charge.
I’m basing that around my proclivity to run e-scooters until the battery is pretty much dead, so if you are a little more conservative you could probably expect a 4-hour charge time.
Pros & Cons
What’s In The Box
Everything you need.
- The electric scooter unit
- Instruction manual
- Basic toolkit
- Easy folding
- On-board Intuitive LED Dashboard with preset ride options
- iOS and Android app-compatible
- Excellent safety features and braking
- Great value price point
- Solid tires can be jarring on rough road surfaces
- Heavier than previous Hiboy models—but you get better deck real estate in return
- Not waterproof
Anyone looking for a solid commuter scooter on a budget. The Hiboy MAX is a great option if you’re looking for a sturdy run-around that keeps you safer on the road.
If you do most of your running around on bumpy roads, you might feel less shaken up on a model that offers pneumatic tires—like the Segway Ninebot MAX. Granted, you’ll pay a lot more for the privilege.
The Real Review Conclusion – More Than An Entry Level Scooter
While I would have liked the shock-absorption of pneumatic tires, I’m a fan of the front suspension and responsive braking.
For a safe, convenient urban ride, the Hiboy MAX delivers on almost every other front. These features make it a great affordable e-scooter option for first-timers and seasoned scooter-ers alike.