Segway Ninebot ZING E10 Review

Who is it Best For?

Will the Segway Ninebot ZING E10 Be a Good Fit For You?

Pitched at kids of any age between 8 and 14, the ZING E10 functions best as a kind of ‘bridging’ scooter.

What I mean is that the ZING E10 is ideal for children looking to graduate from a smaller, more typically ‘kiddy’ ride (such as the ZING E8), but who aren’t quite yet ready for the larger frame sizes and more powerful engines of teen scooters.

In practice, the ZING E10 is best suited to kids between the ages of 11 and 12.

That’s because it accommodates a taller demographic than the E8 – between 4ft 3 and 5ft 3 – and is also capable of bearing a heavier load of up to 132 lbs. Oh, and let’s not forget the E10’s stylish matt-grey finish, which is sure to strike a chord with the maturing design tastes of its preteen audience.

On top of all this, the E10 is also an excellent scooter for your child to learn to ride. Three riding modes help limit their top speed, while a safety-oriented design provides valuable peace of mind for parents.

Pros and Cons

Ride Quality

Is the Segway Ninebot ZING E10 Comfortable to Ride?

The ZING E10 offers one of the most comfortable rides for kids.

With a front shock absorber and springy, high elastic rubber tires, your child can expect a smooth scooting experience.

Unlike its younger sibling, the ZING E8, which features solid rubber tires, the E10 is equipped with tubeless pneumatics instead. The benefit of this is increased dampening. For example, I’m sure you can imagine how uncomfortable riding a bike with solid rubber tires would be. Now, imagine the difference if the tires were plush and air-filled.

Whilst rider comfort most relates to how the scooter performs while being ridden over varying terrain, it’s important to take note of the safety features, too. The E10’s three brakes are the perfect tonic for first-time rider nerves, while the deck’s low-lying design and anti-slip surface ensure a balanced ride.

Design

Handlebars

Segway bills the ZING E10’s handlebars as sporting a “dynamic shape”. It sounds good… but to be honest, there’s nothing particularly special about the handlebars.

That’s not to say they don’t do a great job, though. Clad in the same TPB (thermoplastic rubber) that the wheels are made of – and with a clever anti-skid design – the handgrips offer your young rider plenty of control.

Style, too – the E10’s handlebars and grips are decked out in the same matt-grey finish as the rest of the scooter, lending the ride a consistent aesthetic quality that your preteen is sure to love.

Frame

As we’ll soon see, the ZING E10 is one of the lightest scooters for kids – and this is in no small part down to what it’s made of.

With a sturdy, aviation-grade aluminum alloy frame, the ZING E10 strikes a deft balance between portability and durability. The design of the handlebar stem is stripped-back. At just 1.3 inches wide, the E10 manages to avoid the bulky trappings of many similar scooters, making it incredibly easy for small hands to lift and carry.

Oh, and it’s just cool to look at, too.

Doing away with the more juvenile pink and aqua color palette of its predecessor, the ZING E10 comes in with a slick, matt-grey paint job. Cooler still is the eye-popping electric blue accents lining the fringes of the E10’s deck and wheels.

The ZING E10 is a scooter that’s sure to appeal to kids around the 9 to 10 mark. If your young rider has moved on from bright, babyish colors, and wants something with a more mature, understated look, this is the scooter for them.

Deck

The E10’s deck is coated with a silicone, anti-skid surface, which is an upgrade from the basic grip tape used on the ZING E8. Designed to keep your child safe and comfortable, it’s also easy to wipe down and keep clean on an ongoing basis.

As for the deck itself, the E10 successfully emulates the low-lying style of the E8’s deck. This provides a low center of gravity that’ll work wonders for your young rider’s sense of balance and confidence.

Wheels

‘If it's not broken, don’t fix it’. A timeless saying and one I think may have come into Segway’s thinking when designing the ZING E10’s wheels.

For the E10, Segway stuck with the same high elastic rubber tire material that was so effective on the E8 model for younger kids. But, with one defining feature.

These tires aren’t solid like their predecessors, but instead, have a tubeless design that’s both resistant to wear and leverages increased dampening and shock absorption qualities.

Pairing the 7-inch tubeless tires with the springy, rubberized material and the front shock absorption system, the E10 can mitigate the impact of rougher terrain beyond your average road. Your child will be able to enjoy riding across the local park whilst the robust shock absorption system will help give them greater control over the scooter.

Build Quality & Durability

Segway is known for quality, and the E10 is no different.

Made from an aviation-grade aluminum alloy and boasting an IPX4 water-resistant rating, the E10 is a tough cookie. It’s lightweight and portable, yet never makes the mistake of sacrificing durability to achieve this.

My only gripe with the E10’s build isn’t a structural one, but rather what appears to be an oversight when it comes to visibility. Sure, you’ve got under-deck lighting, but this is more for style than safety. Plus, the reflectors feel more like a token addition than a key feature.

Disappointingly, the E10 has no front or rear LED lights. So, if you plan on letting your child roam the neighborhood on two wheels at night, investing in additional lights is a must.

Weight & Load

If Segway has got anything down to an art, it’s making light scooters.

The ZING E10 does nothing to buck the trend. Weighing in an airy 18.7 lbs, it’s one of the lightest scooters you can buy. Your child should have no trouble carrying it when folded – more on this below.

The E10’s maximum load of 132 lbs makes it suitable for kids of most ages and sizes. But, with inevitable growth spurts, your child may outgrow the E10 pretty quickly. If this is a concern of yours, I’d highly suggest taking a look at the Hiboy S2 Lite, which can support up to 180 lbs. You can find more information about this scooter in the alternatives section.

Folding & Portability

One of the things I love most about Segway-Ninebot’s line of scooters for kids is how easily they are to pack up and store away.

Being able to fold your kid’s new scooter may sound like a feature you would assume comes as standard. However, there are a handful of scooters out there that don’t fold, like the GoTrax GKS.

Like the ZING E8, the E10 boasts a hands-free folding mechanism. When your child is finished riding, they simply have to place their foot on the scooter’s front folding pedal, push down, and collapse the stem down to the deck.

Assembly

The ZING E10 comes (almost) ready to ride straight out of the box.

You’ll need to assemble it yourself, but don’t freak out. The process takes less than five minutes and is very basic. All that is required is to attach the handlebar stem to the deck.

To start, you need to loosen the bolts on the collar clamp (attached to the front of the deck) before sliding the stem into it up to the marked length. Then, simply retighten the bolts. Simple.

Your E10 even comes with an Allen wrench included, so you can get your kid’s scooter assembled without delay.

Once you’re done, I’d recommend giving it a quick test, to ensure the throttle, brakes, and lights are all working as they should be before you hand it over. Maybe skip the test ride, though – there’s a good chance you’ll be too heavy for it.

Performance & Safety

Speed & Acceleration

One of the ways in which the E10 builds on the specs of the ZING E8 is by giving the top speed a little boost.

Your little speedsters will be able to enjoy a velocity of up to 10 mph, a 1.4 mph upgrade from the E8’s maximum. While this perhaps isn’t a massive increase on paper, the max speed is just about fast enough to instill confidence in your child’s riding abilities without them feeling overwhelmed.

Of course, you may not want your child to immediately start zooming down the neighborhood’s busiest avenues as quickly as 10 mph, and if that is the case then you can rest easy knowing that you can change the riding mode to ‘Safe’. This limits the scooter’s top speed to a more manageable 6.2 mph.

Range

As it happens, 6.2 miles is also the maximum amount of mileage your young rider will get out of the E10. If that doesn’t sound far, well… that’s because it’s not.

This relatively paltry range means your child’s actual motor time is unlikely to ever exceed one hour per ride – and in practice, it's probably more like 40 to 45 minutes.

There’s no sugarcoating it. Range is one of the E10’s biggest weaknesses. Compare it to the Hiboy S2 Lite’s 10.6 miles of endurance, for instance, and the ZING E10’s flaws are easy to see.

Of course, there are a couple of mitigating factors. Even if the battery dies halfway through a journey, it still functions perfectly as a normal kick scooter. Plus, while it is not the quickest, the ZING E10’s four-hour charge time is still quick enough to juice up the battery so your little explorer won’t be waiting too long before their next ride.

Hill Climbing

The 150W motor – though a shiny new upgrade from the E8’s 130W setup – isn’t any better at climbing hills.

The E10 has the torque to just about get it up hills with a maximum incline of 7% (4-degrees). On the face of it, it’s another one of the E10’s major disadvantages.

And the situation looks especially bad when you compare the E10’s capabilities to the 15% inclines (8-degrees) that the Hiboy S2 Lite can tackle.

All things considered, though, I think we can give the E10 a pass here. It’s made for preteens and beginners and designed for more sedate urban rides. It’s a kid’s scooter, after all. So, unless you live in San Francisco, the E10’s lackluster hill-climbing capacity is unlikely to be a huge dealbreaker.

Shock Absorption / Suspension

The E10 comes equipped with a 40mm shock absorber over the front wheel. While this isn’t completely bump-proof, it will help insulate your child from vibrations thrown at them from your average, well-maintained asphalt sidewalk and neighborhood roads.

As well as cushioning your child’s knees and ankles, the E10’s shock absorber also makes riding across grass or dirt surfaces a cinch. This comes especially in handy for riding in communal places such as parks.

Braking

As you may have already realized by now, the Segway Ninebot ZING E10 replicates a lot of the specs that make the E8 such a high-quality ride. The one that parents will be the most grateful for, however, is the braking system.

Made up of both an electronic and rear brake, the E10’s system provides a safe system that can bring the scooter to a smooth standstill.

The electronic brake, which is located at the front left side of the handlebars, looks (and works) like what you’d see on any kid’s bicycle. The rear brake, unsurprisingly, is foot-operated.

While the E10’s brakes work best when used together, each can be used independently to bring the scooter to a secure, complete stop. Considering that younger, less experienced riders might lack confidence when it comes to operating the rear brake, that extra front brake becomes a particularly handy feature.

Charge Time

It can reach a full charge in around 4 hours.

As I touched on earlier, this means your child can expect around 45 minutes of use – though this will, of course, depend on how much they’re pushing the scooter, and which ride mode they’re engaging most.

Features

Cruise Control

Segway knows when it’s got a good thing going, and the ZING E10’s riding modes (just like the E8’s) – ‘Safe’, ‘Cruise’, and ‘Throttle’ – are the proof. Better still, all three do pretty much what they say on the tin.

‘Safe’ caps the E10’s speed at a modest 6.2 mph, so it’s ideal for parents not quite ready to let their kids off the leash.

‘Cruise’ mode doesn’t limit the speed. Rather, it’ll allow your child to reach 10 mph, but with a catch – they’ll have to do it by kicking. Once they’ve got the scooter in motion, it’ll continue to ‘cruise’ along at a steady pace, but without the need for the thumb throttle.

Finally, there’s ‘Turbo’ mode. While the name sounds unrestrained, the setting itself is as straightforward as they come. It’ll cap the speed to 10 mph. Your child will be able to control the full range of speed on offer via the ergonomic thumb throttle.

I should probably mention one frustrating aspect of these riding modes.

Rather than toggle through them via an LED dashboard (as is the case with Segway’s adult scooters), or a button on the handlebars, you’re only able to change or select each mode via a small panel of buttons located towards the rear of the deck.

This means that unless your child has octopus arms they’ll have to bring the scooter to a stop to switch between riding modes. Not a deal-breaker, but certainly not convenient.

Ambient Deck Lights

If there’s anything cooler than an under-deck LED light strip, it’s a customizable under-deck LED light strip.

And, let’s face it – no matter how old, no child is immune to the charms of being able to choose their scooter’s lighting color scheme before hitting the road.

The classy under-deck lighting, which helps lend the E10 an almost intergalactic look and feel, is customizable based on the riding mode. Safe mode = red lights. Cruise mode = blue lights. Turbo mode = multicolored display.

It’s a super engaging way of letting your young rider add their stamp to the scooter, while extra lighting effects – such as ‘multicolored display’ – dial the fun factor up yet another notch.

Water Resistance Rating

The Segway Ninebot ZING E10 is rated IPX4, making it splash-proof.

While your young one will have no trouble riding this scooter around in the rain, I wouldn’t recommend sustained exposure to the wind and rain. Avoid puddles, too.

Battery Management System

The ZING E10 wouldn’t be a Segway scooter if it wasn’t equipped with one of the brand’s many marks of quality – the Smart Battery Management System (SMBS). So what’s the big deal?

Well, the SMBS helps safeguard the E10’s Lithium-ion battery from wear and tear, as well as damage caused by overheating. It’s also part of the reason why Segway’s scooters for kids boast a quick recharge time of just 4 hours. More importantly, though, the SMBS ensures hundreds of charging cycles without compromising max 6.2-mile capacity.