“Already owning the turbowheel lightning, this feels like a completely different scooter. The weight difference ~40lb vs ~75lb is a HUGE benefit when maneuvering around when walking alongside it. I ride both from my apartment to the office, which involves multiple elevators and doors. The dart is very easy to walk with one hand while opening doors. Once riding the weight difference is not very noticeable. The lights are pretty neat but do seem a bit silly at times, but coming from motorcycles, more visibility is always a good thing.
I think this would be a perfect scooter if it had a front motor as well, the acceleration tends to putter out above 15-20mph, unlike the lightning. The suspension also seems a bit soft seeing that I am only 155lbs, the front bottoms out often on hard bumps. The rear suspension is much more durable.
This model replaces my GoTrax GXL and mostly fits in the same use category. It folds up quite quickly, with the stem shortening and handlebars folding inwards. It also has a latch when closed that seems more reliable than the gotrax (which broke after 6 months of use).
This is definitely a sidewalk scooter, unlike the lightning which I typically use on the road most of the time. It's small enough to maneuver around crowded areas of people and move over with one hand if needed.”
“Summary:
The Turbowheel Dart is an attractive and very capable scooter which falls short of being the road-dominating 9-mile commuting machine I desire. For city riding, its power and speed capabilities make it more than fast enough for bike lanes but too slow for car lanes.
My background:
I commute from Queens to Brooklyn and back every day - It's about 9 miles each way. Last year, I rode a Speedway Mini 4 for all of the warm months, totaling ~1,850 miles. I decided to replace the Mini 4 in 2019 instead of trying to keep up with all of its repairs. Since the Turbowheel Dart is EWheels' successor to the Mini 4, it seemed like the best option. I want as much power as possible, but I live in a 4th floor walk-up apartment so I'm limited by my ability to carry my scooter up 3 flights of stairs. My scooter is a central component to my lifestyle and I consider myself a particularly discerning scooter enthusiast. I weigh 172 pounds.
What I like about the Turbowheel Dart:
The Dart looks really nice, and it's covered in cool LED lights which fully illuminate the ground below and around the scooter, which is an important factor for visibility and safety. When passersby see my scooter their reactions are very positive, which really does have a big impact on the riding experience.
When fully charged, the Dart has respectable acceleration and top speed. I max out at about 23 mph on flat roads, and can out-accelerate most cyclists.
The 9-inch wheels have excellent grip and cornering ability compared to 8-inch wheels, and the front disc brake combined with a rear drum brake provides adequate braking power, which is extremely nice compared to the inferior braking on the Mini 4.
The handlebars are wide and solid, but you need to tighten their support rings when you unfold them, which takes 10-15 seconds. These rings also always come loose while riding which leads to some wiggle in the handlebars. I assume can be fixed by adding some teflon tape to their threads.
The suspension system is mechanically sound and looks very advanced, but I have a very large complaint which I'll explain in the next section.
What I don't like about the Turbowheel Dart:
The suspension is way too soft for my weight (172 pounds). I'm probably heavier than average but not excessively so, and both the front and rear suspension are nowhere near strong enough to support my weight effectively. When I step on the scooter, the rear suspension completely compresses, nearly rendering it useless. The front suspension still has compression room when I'm riding on smooth ground, but even mild bumps cause it to max out and make a loud clanking noise. This suspension weakness severely limits my ability to ride on rough pavement, reduces my average speed, and makes me feel like I'm riding on a machine that was not built for my body or my level of riding.
While the Dart has respectable power and speed at full battery, the power drops considerably as the scooter approaches half-battery and below. My Mini 4 did not fluctuate in power over the course of the battery charge nearly as much as the Dart does. For this reason, my effective top speed on the Dart is usually only 19-20 mph, but more importantly its acceleration drops as well, limiting my ability to obtain desirable road positioning relative to other vehicles. This battery is also more temperature-dependent than I'm used to. The performance in 50 degree Fahrenheit weather is noticeably worse than in 60 degrees. This is an inherent property of Li-Ion batteries, but again, the Mini 4's performance did not seem as temperature-sensitive as the Dart's.
I'm afraid I'm also disappointed with the range of the Dart. I can expect 15-20 miles on a single charge, which might be enough for the average user, but it means I have to charge the scooter before my commute to work, and then again for my commute home. I used to ride my Mini 4 round-trip (18 miles) and get home with 48% battery left -- for 6 months straight. I might be able to make the full round-trip on the Dart, but the trip home would be painfully slow.
Perhaps this is just a NYC thing, but I've popped three tires this month. It only takes a tiny sliver of glass to puncture these tires, and there's glass all over the place. It's also really difficult to change the rear tire and my fingers are all damaged from doing it three times. My last patch actually failed so I have to change it again tonight and I'm really not excited.
Should you buy one?
Think carefully about your use case and the class of vehicle you're looking for. Do you want a bike lane vehicle? Is your commute less than ~6 miles each way? Are you less than ~150 pounds? If you're answering yes, I recommend the Turbowheel Dart. It will outperform nearly all other consumer-level scooters on the road and it will earn you many compliments. It's certainly capable of meeting or exceeding (I assume) most people's expectations of an electric scooter.
On the contrary...
If you want to safely integrate with inner-city car traffic, if your commute is longer than 6 miles each way, if you're heavier than the average Singaporean, or if you're like me and you want to outperform cars on a vehicle you can carry up stairs, you might be equally disappointed by this scooter. I'll admit that I'm shooting for the moon and want a class of vehicle that has never before existed, but the new Dualtron Spider looks like it might be such a vehicle so I may end up upgrading to one of those. Either that or I'll get an apartment with an elevator.”
“Lots of power.long battery life.suspension and air tires soak up the bumps.stops traffic at night because it has so many cool l.e.d lights.
And of course the price is right in my range.kudos to the t9.”
“I would recommend this scooter to anyone that is serious about commuting via alternative transportation or just like riding for fun. In fact I have already recommended to many of my co-workers and they are sold on it just after riding for a few minutes. I had a terrible experience with a scooter company called Inboard Technologies where they took my deposit and 6 months later told all the pre-orders that they were going the commercial scooter route. So I was skeptical about buying another scooter. However, I called in and was instantly connected to Jason, so I knew they were a real company and then after I bought received a call back from him telling me estimated shipping times and sent all the necessary information for tracking and scooter guides. FANTASTIC CUSTOMER SERVICE. Not to mention a good warranty program. I have done a lot of research into the various companies and scooters and you won't find one with the value and quality of product like the Turbo Wheel Dart.
BTW this thing flys!!!”
“UPGRAYEDD
Coming from close to year commuting on the toy that required charging daily and way off claims on speed and range I decided to treat myself. Hours and hours spent looking through forums led me here. Hesitant to drop a grand on something I've never had a chance to test I placed my faith in the community and I'm happy to say that they were right. Not only does this have the power and range I was looking for it also has a great build, solid and I have no doubts in mind that this will last me through the harsh Detroit winters. Parking is a pain, my commute from the land of free parking to my destination is just under 3 miles round trip. I know, a little overkill but you have to treat yourself. The roads here are garbage, the people driving on them are just as bad. Having the extra speed to avoid dangers more than makes up for the price. Not having to worry if i'm about to leave and forgotten to change means nothing anymore. I opted for the power charger, as advertised, 2 hours to a full charge. Shipping was fast and free. All in all I stand behind eWheels and their products. One thing I am learning to adjust to is the folding movement. My old scooter could be folded and wheeled like a wheelbarrow as the stem would lock into the frame. The Dart sadly flops around if you try to move it that way. I did read on 04/16/19 that Dart customers will be receiving a trolley kit in the near future so that should help when navigating elevators and doors.”
“This has such great power. A super fun PEV. It is a little heavy for a daily commuter, but it is what's expected if also need a bit more power for the hills in our area. It arrives very much ready to go with little to put together to make it go. No app and limited instructions are my only real complaints, but definitely not show stoppers. A solid scooter that definitely gets some looks!”
“Originally owned a Speedway Mini IV pro and recently replaced it with the upgraded Turbowheel Dart T9- I must say it is a far superior product. The brakes are a lot better and the scooter is so much safer. It has faster acceleration- Although at first (out of the box) it was a great deal slower, but that was just due to a few adjustments needed in the menu P settings. I do wish the wheels were solid tubeless wheels like the previous model, but it actually has a slightly nicer ride due to the softer air tires. As for Customer support, I have had a few questions, small adjustment issues and other things I reached out to the EWheels team and always got a same day response and solution. Two thumbs up all around... Highly recommended.”
“This is my new commuting machine. The power is great, it’s fast, and pretty good battery life! It’s great that it folds too. It’s also really quiet. When it came, the front wheel was warped, but customer service gladly sent me a replacement and it’s working great now.
Only thing is it’s a bit heavy. But once the trolley wheels come out this won’t be as much of a problem.
I definitely recommend it for the city. Covers distance so fast!”
