TurboAnt R9 foldable scooter review – Lots of power with some harsh braking.

REVIEW – I have reviewed a couple of scooters for The Gadgeteer.  My first was the Yadea ElitePrime scooter with a max speed of 18.6mph.  The second was the HiBoy Max Pro scooter that could go up to 22 mph.  I admit that I seriously have the need for speed.  I get that fix on my motorcycle, but I am always on the lookout for a faster scooter.  The new TurboAnt R9 promises a max speed of 28mph.  I got to see if it could go as fast as they promised.

⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $529.98
Where to buy: TurboAnt

What is it?

The TurboAnt R9 is an all-terrain scooter with ten inch off-road tires, 20% climb capability, dual suspension, and a max speed of 28mph.

What’s included?

• TurboAnt R9 scooter
• user manual
• charger
• valve extender
• allen key
• 6 bolts to attach the handlebars to the stem.  Two are extra.

Tech specs

Design and features

The TurboAnt R9 is a fast scooter compared to many scooters that are for rent in the city, and that you can buy.   It has a maximum speed of 28mph in mode 3.  The scooter offers three modes to help you get up to speed.   Mode 1 will take you up to 10 mph.  Mode 2 will go up to 20 mph.   It also has both front and rear drum brakes and an electronic brake.  The pictures below show you a close-up of the suspension system on both the front and rear tires.   With wider tires and a suspension, I found the ride pretty smooth.  The tires have tubes inside, which contribute to the smoother ride versus the solid tires that some scooters have.  A nice feature is the red brake cables going to the front and back of the scooter.

The scooter has a brake light.  The pictures below show it with no brake or lighting turned on,  with the lights turned on, and with the brake light on.  I like that there is some rear illumination when you turn the front headlight on.

The scooter also has turn signals.  The turn signal switch is on the left handlebar, just like it is on my motorcycle.  The scooter will beep and illuminate the side of the brake light with an animated signal.  I created a brief video clip below to show you how it sounds and looks.  You will not forget that you left your blinkers on!

To lower the handlebars and lock the to the rear of the scooter, you need to press in the button and pull down the lever at the bottom of the stem.  The picture below also shows some of the cable insulation that is preinstalled on the cabling of the scooter.

Once the lever is opened, you can lower the stem.  On the left side of the handlebars, you will find the clip that will attach to the scooter’s rear fender.

Here is a shot of the scooter fully folded.   Folded up, it will fit in the back of my car or in my car’s trunk.  However, it is rather heavy to pick up at 55 lbs.

The right side of the handlebar has the throttle and the front brake handle.  The grips were nicely cushioned, and the wide handlebars made for a comfortable ride.

The left side of the handlebar had the blinkers, horn, and clip to hold the stem in place when the scooter is folded.  It also has the brake handle for the rear brake.

The main display is in the center of the handlebars. Below that display are two buttons. The bottom button is the power button. Pressing and holding the power button for one second will turn it on and off.    A quick press of the power button with turn the headlight and taillight on and off.  The top button is the speed level button.  Below the power button facing the rider is a USB charging port that you can use for phone charging.

The TurboAnt R9 scooter has a nice wide deck.  I wear a women’s size 10 and my husband wears a men’s 13 and neither one of us had any issues with foot room.  It has a rubber mat with grip treads on it.  I took a picture of the right front side where cables are going into the bottom of the deck to the battery to show the caulking around the hole to prevent water intake.

The scooter has a nice multi-LED 5-Watt headlight.

When you turn the scooter on, it defaults to speed level one and shows a picture of a man walking. In mode one you can go a max of 10 mph. Press the speed button (top button) one time puts the scooter in mode two where you can go up to 20 mph.  Pressing the speed button a second time sets it to mode three, where the max speed is 28 mph.  Pressing the speed button again will put it back into mode 1.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

I wanted to start the assembly part of the review by showing how the scooter was packaged.  Overall, it was packaged pretty well.  The scooter itself was well cushioned.  The only issue I saw was with the box where the charger, valve extender, allen wrench, and screws were stored.  It seemed to be randomly placed in the box and had opened up during shipping, as shown in the first picture below.

After removing the scooter from the foam, I inserted the handlebars into the riser stem. A single cable needed to be connected between the two. This cable had arrow indicators on both ends to show how they should line up. Once connected, I stuffed the cable into the stem.

Next four screws had to be inserted into the stem to lock the handlebars into place.  The screws went on using the provided allen key.  The screws had blue locktite already on them.  Two went into the front of the stem and two went into the back.

Finally, I was ready to charge the scooter. The charging port is on the left side of the scooter as you face the handlebars. It is right under the deck next to the kickstand. It has a rubber cover to help with water resistance.

When I plugged the charger in, the LED on the charger glowed red initially and went green when the scooter was fully charged.  The battery can take anywhere from 6 to 8 hours to fully charge.  I let it charge overnight.

Performance

You do have to do a kick start and manually put the scooter in motion before pressing down on the throttle in order to turn the motor on.  I verified that mode one will only let me get up to 10 mph, and mode two will limit me to 20 mph.   Mode three took my 177 lb body up to 28 mph very quickly.   My neighborhood is very hilly with several hills hitting some very steep grades.   The scooter handled all of the hills with no issues.  Yes, it did slow down, but never below 15 mph on any hill.   I am also happy to report that the scooter applied engine braking on the downhills to ensure it did not exceed the maximum speed limit for any mode.   Many e-bikes will let you exceed their max speed, but I am happy the scooter does not.   Those wheels are only ten inches, and at 28 mph, you need to be super aware of bumps and things in the road.  Once I got used to the speed, I had no issues accelerating to 28 mph almost every chance I could.

I recommend younger and first-time riders start in mode one until they get used to the scooter’s handling.  The brakes work almost too well.  I found that I had to feather the brakes.  Grabbing a handful at maximum speed will easily launch you over the handlebars!  The brakes are very harsh.  I rode the scooter close to 15 miles in the two weeks I had it.  Unfortunately, we got some much-needed rain that prevented me from riding.  Over that time, the brakes broke in a bit, but I still find them very grabby and must be careful about using them.

I ended up riding close to 15 miles. At that point, I was still showing two of the four bars of battery left. The picture below shows how TurboAnt achieved 35 miles on one charge. I was 12 pounds heavier than their tester, and the temperature was in the 80s here. I had the tires at 36 psi, and I rode in mode three as fast as possible in a very hilly neighborhood.

Unlike the two other scooters I have tested, the R9 is what I call a basic scooter when it comes to the display. It has no mileage indicator, and my watch tracked all of my mileage. The scooter also has no app associated with it. Below is a video of me riding the scooter in front of my house. I was going 28 mph at the time.

Final thoughts

My only real complaint about this scooter is the harsh braking.  You have to be very careful to not send yourself flying.  Otherwise, the scooter felt very solid and stable.  I rode over manhole covers at speed and the suspension and tires handled it with ease.  It has great acceleration and got me up to 28 mph very quickly.  I like the blinkers and the beep will keep me from accidentally leaving them on.  If you are looking for a scooter with some good acceleration and range, I think the TurboAnt R9 is a good buy for the price.

What I like about TurboAnt R9 scooter

• Great acceleration
• Yes, it does go up to 28mph
• Holds the speed at max speed for the mode and will not accelerate past it.

What needs to be improved?

• The brakes are very harsh and grabby.
• It would be nice if there were an odometer or trip meter on the scooter

Price: $529.98. on sale now,  Normally $699.98
Where to buy: TurboAnt
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by TurboAnt. TurboAnt did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.