URB-E Foldable Electric Scooter Review 2020
Get the latest price on the URB-E PRO GT Electric Scooter
URB-E Key Features
Take a look at the key features and specification, or continue reading for an in depth URB-E PRO GT review.
| Dimensions | Speed | Stopping distance | Range | Charging time | Climbing angle | Weight | Foldable | Smartphone app? | Cruise control? | Suspension | Disc brakes | Waterproof rating | Lights? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
94 x 48 x 98 cm (37 x 19 x 38.5 inches) unfolded and 94 x 48 x 55 cm (37 x 19 x 21.5 inches) folded | 29 km/h (18 m/h) | 4-5 meters | 32 km (20 miles) | 4 hours 0% - 100% | N/A | 15.8 kg (35 lbs) | Yes | No | No | Yes | Rear | Non specified | Front LED with optional rear |
URB-E company Overview
Today we are looking at something different in the electric scooter market, and its with excitement that we’ve products this URB-E PRO GT review. URB-E is a US-based company in Pasadena that manufactures most parts themselves and assembles URB-E electric scooters in California. They are very proud of their precisely built, assembled, and attentively checked electric scooters made in the USA. URB-E company was founded in 2015 in a garage, its first vision was to manufacture an electric scooter completely from all American made parts, however, they found it difficult to find manufacturers in the USA to produce parts like batteries, seats, wheels, or motors, so some parts are manufactured in China.
URB-E currently has 4 versions of their URB-E electric scooter or as they like to rather call it an electric vehicle. We will be looking at their flagship model URB-E PRO GT that comes at a hefty price tag.
Keep reading for a detailed review and our opinion whether this high-quality and good performance scooter is worth its high price tag.
Speed, Power & Distance
How fast does it go?
Let’s start off with the feature that concerns a lot of potential buyers: Speed. Being a high-end electric scooter, URB-E PRO GT delivers just that, a maximum speed of 29 km/h (18 m/h) that is on the high-end for lightweight electric scooters.
The high top speed is reached thanks to a powerful 350 Watt brushless hub motor in the back. Previous models had the motor in the front wheel which made steering a slightly more difficult.
With a powerful motor, URB-E scooter has some serious acceleration, while first trying the scooter make sure not to crank the acceleration all the way down. The scooter is powerful enough to lift the front wheel and do a wheelie!
Does it have more than one speed setting?
There are no gears or speed settings on the URB-E PRO GT. We felt that this high-end e-scooter could have had at least 2 gears for people wanting to commute in busy streets or for travelers who just want to cruise and enjoy the view.
What age/weight is it suitable for?
URB-E clearly states in their user manual that this is not a toy and should not be operated by children younger than 18 years old.
The maximum weight limit for URB-E PRO GT is 114 kg (250 lbs) which is a higher max weight than many other popular electric scooters on the market. Honestly, we wouldn’t expect less from a product made from high-quality material.
Remember with heavier weight the performance of most electric scooters drops drastically. URB-E PRO GT, however, stood its ground even with a rider around 90 kg (198 lbs), not much difference in acceleration or top speed was noticed while on flat surfaces. Only going uphill the speed and acceleration dropped noticeably.
What is the range/distance?
The powerful battery and motor allow this funky looking scooter to go for 32 km (20 miles) with a full charge while riding in perfect conditions.
The distance is impressive and much better than other lightweight electric scooters currently on the market. During our tests, we traveled mostly on flat terrain with a few small hills and got to about 85-90% of advertised distance which was very surprising.
Can it be used offroad?
The scooter itself can definitely handle some off-roading because of the high-quality material it’s made from and having a great suspensions system under the seat. Bumps and small gaps between pavement gaps are mitigated quite well.
However, pick your terrain very carefully, going on soft and hard earth should be ok, but if you pick a road with sharper rocks you can puncture the air filled tires.
Battery Life & Charging
How long does it take to charge?
A powerful electric scooter needs to have a powerful battery. URB-E PRO GT has a Panasonic 36V 30-cell Lithium-Ion battery that charges in just 4 hours. That is a very short charge time considering the distance you can travel.
What is unique about the URB-E battery is its additional features. First, it is very easy to take out of the scooter frame and transport it.
Secondly, the battery can be used as a huge power bank to charge your USB devices. It has 4 USB 2.0 ports and a type C port. This is a very cool idea knowing that these days we always need to charge our devices on the go!
Battery protection & safety
We couldn’t find any description about the battery protection, however, the battery is made to be easily transferred and is in a very well built case that looks solid and tightly packed.
How long will the battery last for?
As most lithium-ion batteries this one should last 500-1000 cycles depending on use, so we think around 2-4 years depending on usage. The good thing is even when your battery starts to wane you can buy a new one from the URB-E accessory shop instead of buying a new scooter.
Design and Ergonomics
The design of URB-E PRO GT and other URB-E scooters is one of a kind. It’s a head turner, and a beautiful, functional design.
Not only that it looks different it also feels different. You need to sit on URB-E instead of standing like on most lightweight electric scooters. There are BMX-like bars on front and back wheels to set your legs on. You can ride standing on it, but it is a bit awkward and not very comfortable.
The URB-E PRO GT is available in guards red and stealth black colors.
Going further, there are a lot of additional accessories that you can buy from their store like a vertical kickstand, cargo basket, foldable trailer, cup holder, front LED light, wheel fenders, phone mount, and other.
Some accessories are optional, but needing to purchase front LED light and fenders additionally, after paying top buck for this high-end scooter? That’s insane!
Finally, there is no display in the front for information like speed, travel distance, or battery use.
Is it foldable?
URB-E is foldable quite easy, not as fast as other lightweight electric scooters, but easy nonetheless. It takes up a bit more space because of the seat and measures 94 x 48 x 98 cm (37 x 19 x 38.5 inches) unfolded and 94 x 48 x 55 cm (37 x 19 x 21.5 inches) folded.
It is not the most compact e-scooter out there but still fits in your car or public transport. Also important to remember that it weighs 15.8 kg (35 lbs) which is heavier than many other electric scooters we’ve reviewed. You probably won’t be able to carry it for too long, just from transport to transport and a small number of stairs.
What material is it made from?
The frame of the scooter is made from high-quality aluminum alloy. Two front handlebars are made from carbon fiber that provides dampening and smoother ride with less stress on your hands.
Handlebar
The handlebar is very simple, but perhaps a little disappointing at the same time. There are only two controls the bike-like brake and acceleration throttle on the right handle.
There is no display to see your speed] or mileage. For such a high-end product we would anticipated having a well-built display. The URB-E electric scooter is not smart at all.
Does it connect to your smartphone via app or Bluetooth?
No Bluetooth or smartphone apps to connect to.
Does it have suspension?
URB-E has a very nice suspension system built under the seat and it actually works very well going through gaps in the pavement, small bumps or even jumping off of small edges.
Build quality and ease of use
We probably don’t need to repeat ourselves about the good quality of the scooter. It is visible with the eye and obvious when riding that scooter is built with care and minutely checked for flaws.
The scooter is not hard to use. Insert the key into the battery and you are good to go. As mentioned before 10-inch air-filled big tires and great suspension system allow for a smooth ride in the city and even a little off-roading.
However, the scooter is not that light, we could barely class it as a lightweight electric scooter. Even for male users, it might be too heavy if you need to carry it for longer periods of time. Be sure to think about your daily route if you consider buying this electric scooter.
Safety and usability on the road
It is always important to consider safety on the road when buying an electric vehicle. URB-E scooters being made from high-quality materials and parts provide a safe ride in the sense that the parts won’t break or become loose while riding.
However, another big part of being safe is to be visible on the road. URB-E has a tail light but no front light for night riding. We felt that it made no sense to have no front LED light in their flagship electric scooter. When buying such a high-end product, it feels you shouldn’t need to make any additional purchases for such simple accessories. Sorry, we had to rant about this…
Going past that, URB-E PRO GT has disc brakes that allow you to stop in around 4-5 meters on dry pavement. The braking feels very comfortable when sitting on the seat with your feet on the wheel bars.
As long as you keep yourself seen on the road there are no safety issues with URB-E PRO GT and it is a blast to ride it on roads, pavements or boardwalks.
We have tried offroading a little bit and it was a lot of fun, at first… The suspension is great, kind of feels like riding a bike with suspension. We rode on tough dirt and didn’t have much trouble, however, going for some wet earth and small puddles reminded us what URB-E PRO GT was missing, fenders!
Again the basic package does not have either front or back wheel fenders. So if you ride in the rain, through puddles, or even worse, dirt you will be wet and muddy. As you can guess the fenders are available for purchase in the URB-E accessories shop.
Is the URB-E PRO GT waterproof?
URB-E company does not have an IP waterproof rating for its scooters so we cannot state if they are waterproof.
Taking into consideration how carefully they pick parts that they don’t manufacture themselves we can assume that electric parts are sealed as much as they can be. Still, try and keep your scooter from heavy rain, or submerging it in water.
Does it have cruise control?
Sadly no. The scooter is high-quality but not very smart. It would be very comfortable to have cruise control on a scooter that is able to go for a long distance.
Maneuverability
Easy to control the scooter since you are sitting, you feel like you need less balance and the hub motor in the back allows for easier steering when accelerating.
Restrictions and availability
Most US-based companies usually ship just to the USA, we were pleasantly surprised that URB-E ships internationally to more than 60 countries.
Being an under 20 m/h electric vehicle URB-E PRO GT should be road legal in the USA. In other countries like the UK this scooter would be classed as a PLEV (Personal Light Electric Vehicle) that requires no registration as is not taxed, but for that reason is not legal on public roads or pavements.
As you can see every country or even state has different laws that change often in this new market. It is your duty and responsibility to check your local laws and know what is allowed and what is not.
URB-E PRO GT Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals 2020
The URB-E PRO GT price might put people off since it is a lot more expensive than many other electric scooters on the market. We think it could be worth waiting for URB-E PRO GT Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals in 2020, as the company may reduce the price for seasonal sales in the run-up to Christmas. We’ll be listing any URB-E PRO GT Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, news and price information on this page. Discover our list of possible Black Friday electric scooter deals this 2020!
