Apollo Air
$699
With excellent ride quality, a solid, good-looking build and an exceptional feature set for beginners, the Apollo Air is a great, low-maintenance introduction to electric scooters for riders up to 220 lb.
Technical Specifications
| Tested top speed: 15.6 mph* | |
| Tested range: 13.9 mi* | |
| Weight: 34 lb* | |
| Max rider weight: 220 lb | |
| Water resistance: IPX4 |
Highlights
| Exceptional stability and handling | |
| Striking and solid design | |
| Beginner-friendly operation | |
| Rear split rim makes tire changes easier | |
| Both brakes on rear wheel | |
| Display could be brighter | |
| Kickstand is hard to deploy |
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Summary
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Our Take: Unbeatable Stability + Sporty Good Looks
With the Air and Air Pro, Apollo has proven that practical scooters don’t have to look or feel boring. With its all-black angular design, the Apollo Air screams sporty, fast, and fun.
It delivers a superbly stable ride that has the presence of a high-performance scooter at an entry-level price.
These are both comfort-inducing features that the Apollo Air has, with a mixed tire configuration (larger front than rear tire) and front spring suspension.
With a large rubberized deck, IPX4 water resistance rating, and legit fenders, the Apollo Air feels very durable and well built for riding in wet weather without getting damaged.
By far our favorite feature is the progressive profile tires, which let you carve around corners and shoot down straightaways with ease. The Air’s tires provide exceptional stability because they put 30% more rubber on the road than the narrower tires of a scooter like the Xiaomi Mi M365.
The Apollo Air isn’t quite perfect, as the ideal beginner scooter should have dual braking (front and rear brake configuration) and come to a stop in under 15 ft.
The kickstand works well but isn’t the easiest to find with your toe when you stop to park your scooter. And the Air’s low 3.3 in means the bottom edge of the rear fender can get caught when coming down curbs.
However, with 15.6 mph top speed and 13.9 mi range, you have enough performance for everyday commuting, making the Apollo Air an exceptional beginner scooter because it looks good and handles even better.
Best Alternatives and Competitors
| Model | Top Speed** | Range** | Weight** | Price |
| Apollo Air | 15.6 mph | 13.9 mi | 34 lb | $699 |
| Apollo Air Pro | 18.8 mph | 17.7 mi | 37 lb | $799 |
| Segway Ninebot Max | 18.4 mph | 21.6 mi | 43 lb | $899 |
| Xiaomi Mi M365 | 16.7 mph | 14.6 mi | 27 lb | $499 |
** Based on our independent testing, which may differ from manufacturer’s claims.
Is It Good For Bigger, Heavier Riders? -No.
Big Dawgs are larger riders that are over 200 lbs and 6 feet or taller, often favoring oversized decks, tall handlebars, pneumatic tires, and suspension.
Big Dawgs need more power
Even though the base Air can handle riders up to 220 lb and the handlebars are 40.0 in tall, the Air just isn’t really built for larger riders.
It has a great design that rides smooth and is very easy to balance, but it doesn’t have the raw power that bigger riders need to blast down the streets and up hills.
Although Ramier likes the way it looks and rides overall, the Apollo Air is not big dawg approved.
Apollo Air Review
Performance Summary
Results below are based on our independent performance testing and not data provided by the manufacturer.
| Acceleration (0 to 15 mph) | 7.1 seconds |
| Top speed | 15.6 mph |
| Braking distance (15 to 0 mph) | 17.5 feet |
| Range | 13.9 miles |
| Hill climb | 32.2 seconds |
Acceleration
Unlike most kick-to-start scooters, where you have to double-tap the throttle or need multiple kicks to get going, power comes on immediately with the Apollo Air. There’s no funny timing issues like with the Gotrax G4, which has a touchy throttle that takes a few strikes to accelerate.
The base Air, like most beginner scooters, has tame acceleration going from 0 to 15 mph in 7.1 s.
Hill Climb
The Air does well on gentler 4 to 6% grade inclines, losing less speed up hill.
However, climbing steep hills is not the strong suit of most small scooters, and the Apollo Air is no exception.
The Air crawled up our 10% grade, 200 ft hill test at a speed of 4.3 mph and took 32.2 s to complete the ascent.
Our 165 lb rider took the run multiple times, and would not recommend the Air if you’re of a similar build and need to ride on hills with a 10% grade.
Top Speed
The Air has exceptional ride quality, but not exceptional top speed. It is capped at an ESG top speed of 15.6 mph — the legal limit in many jurisdictions.
Although it’s a little on the slower side, you can breeze by most bicyclists (average 12 mph speed), so won’t get in traffic jams in the bike lane. The Air’s top speed is sufficient for most everyday commuters.
Range
The Air performed better than what Apollo specified, attaining 13.9 mi of ESG range. This is comfortable for a 10 mi round-trip commute with some to spare.
Braking
Disc brakes are the most effective type of brakes with the exception of hydraulic, and the Air has a rear disc brake and rear regen brake.
Although it’s great to have a main and backup braking system, the Air has an emergency braking distance of 17.5 ft with both brakes on the rear tire. For perspective, the average car is 15 ft long, so it would take you a little over a car’s length to come to a stop.
How do the models compare? Check out the Apollo Air vs. Apollo Air Pro head-to-head comparison for more details.
Ride Quality
Here’s where the Air is really exceptional. The ride is very smooth, very stable and sporty.
With the progressive profile tires and spring suspension, the Air carves very well. We found ourselves being a little more bold than on the average entry-level scooter, hitting corners at full throttle with cruise control still on, riding smooth and quiet the whole way through.
The abruptness of the brakes makes it tough to come to a gradual stop smoothly. When pulling on the brakes, the response happens a little later than you might expect, and halts you a bit more quickly than some others. However, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to toss you off, and is gentle enough for first-time riders.
We suspect that this feeling comes from the regen brakes, which are tuned a bit stronger than we’d prefer. As this is a scooter without performance settings (p-settings), you cannot control the regen braking strength.
However, the sportiness and simplicity of the Air are what work well for beginners. The handlebars angle nicely toward the rider, where most beginner scooters have straight handlebars. There’s one brake lever on the left, a small display in the center, and a thumb throttle on the right; that’s really it.
Although the kickstand keeps the Air upright, it’s a little difficult to target the kickstand with your toe. We found it easiest to hop off the deck, lean the scooter a bit, and pull it down with the side of our foot/boot.
Apollo Air Features
Portability
The Air is like it’s name in that it’s an airy 35 lb weight that most riders could handle carrying up a couple of flights of stairs or lifting into a trunk.
However, we would not call the Apollo Air an ultraportable, as it’s heavier than some others in its class, doesn’t have folding handlebars, and has fairly sizable folded dimensions of 47 in long by 22 in wide by 21 in tall.
Folding hook and ring
The Air has a nicely designed folding hook that magnetizes into a cavity when not being used.
The scooter folds down quickly, and you loop the hook through a flip-up ring (anchor point) on the deck to lock it in the folded position.
When folded, the best balance point is around where the cables enter the stem. If you hold it higher or lower, the scooter’s weight isn’t as comfortable to carry.
Cockpit
The cockpit is super clean and uncluttered, making it simple for beginners to figure out. Even assembly is easy as there’s a single plug-and-play connector inside the stem to attach the handlebars to the scooter.
When it comes to controls, they’re perfect for first-time riders. With the simple cockpit, you need one hand for braking (left) and one hand for accelerating (right), while keeping both hands in full control of the scooter.
The thumb throttle is in an ergonomic position, with a nice response that’s intuitive for modulating your speed.
The brake lever takes a bit more effort to apply, but is effective. Unlike on most entry-level scooters, the handlebar shape is unique and sporty, with comfortable handgrips, and has a great look and feel to it.
There’s a bell on the left handlebar for warning pedestrians and other passersby, but it isn’t going to be loud enough for letting car drivers know you’re near.
The centered oval display provides simple details but could be brighter, thus easier to read in daylight. Here’s how you use the display.
Display controls
A series of clicks on the sole button controls power, ride mode, the lights, and cruise control, with on-screen indicators for each along with a power meter and speedometer.
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Power | When the scooter is off, short press the button once to power on. |
| Ride Modes | When the scooter is powered on, short press the button to toggle between and select ride modes. —Walk mode limits your speed to 4 mph (no indicator). —Normal mode limits your speed to 10 mph (green S). —Sport mode allows you to hit the scooter’s max 15.6 mph top speed (red S). |
| Lights | To turn the headlights on or off, short press the button twice. |
| Cruise Control | To enable cruise control, short press the button three times. |
Lights
The Apollo Air comes equipped with a high-mounted headlight that you can angle up and down, a fender-mounted, brake-responding taillight, and orange reflectors on either side of the rear wheel. There’s also a reflector underneath the headlight.
We’d prefer if the headlight were a bit brighter and that the projection was a bit more focused, but we like that you can adjust the light’s angle to better suit your needs.
For nighttime riding, check out our guide for electric scooter lights.
Tires
Our favorite feature, the one that contributes the most to the ride quality, is the tires.
The Apollo Air has pneumatic road tires with a progressive profile, which provide great cushion, with a 10 in front and 9 in rear.
Comparing to the tires on other entry-level models, like the M365, the contact patch, or area of the tire that touches the ground, of the Air’s tires is wider, providing a stabler feel.
Although you can still get flats, what’s nice about the smaller rear tire is that it is on a split rim, making it easier to change in the event of a flat. All other tires on the base Air and Air Pro are solid rims, meaning you have to remove the wheel to get to the inner tube.
Deck
The rubberized, angular, all-black deck has an intricate, geometric tread pattern that holds your shoes but also catches dirt in the grooves, and will need a toothbrush scrub from time to time.
The deck’s slightly wider at the front and tapers in at the rear, giving you 19.5 in long by 19.5 in wide of ample standing room.
Build Quality
The Apollo Air has a solid, well-made feel to it with minimum exposed fasteners and cables. It’s a simple, refined design that resembles a performance-level scooter (even though it’s not).
From the dual fenders and pneumatic tires to the racing-style handlebars and lighting package, the Air is well built for beginners.
Fender performance
The front and rear fenders are large and provide excellent protection from water. The sides of the rear fender are filled in, which prevents water from spilling onto the deck.
In our real-world water test, the deck remained completely dry, demonstrating just how well the fenders work.
If you’re in a region where licenses and registration is required of electric scooter riders, there’s a convenient space on the rear fender for a plate.
One concern with a full-coverage fender, particularly the rear, is that it is prone to getting caught on curbs. It is made of hard plastic, which can crack or be broken off completely.
Weather resistance rating (and build)
In addition to great fenders, the Air has an IPX4 rating, and really looks like it; we even checked under the “hood” and what we found was pretty exceptional.
The bottom cover of the scooter goes over an inner cover, and the motor controller is mounted up high, against the deck. Once inside the deck, the connectors are not waterproof, but are protected by heat shrink wrap. As long as the display holds up in the rain, the rest of the scooter will too.
The bottom cover of the scooter goes over an inner cover, and the motor controller is mounted up high, against the deck. Once inside the deck, the connectors are not waterproof, but are protected by heat shrink wrap. As long as the display holds up in the rain, the rest of the scooter will too.
Folding mechanism
Along with the new scooter design, the folding mechanism is one that we haven’t seen before. There’s a single clamp that securely fastens the stem upright, and you can adjust the screws for tighter/looser hold.
To fold the scooter, you simply open the clamp, lift the clamp until the stem hinges downward, then swing the stem to hook to the deck.
Apollo Air: Review Conclusions
If you’re looking for a fun and sporty introduction to electric scooters with a low-maintenance, user-friendly setup, the Apollo Air is an excellent choice.
It has a standout design, stability, and handling, making it strong competition against champion scooters in the mid-range commuter class. It’s not a standout for performance, but is extraordinary when it comes to not being boring and riding really, really well.
If the Apollo line doesn’t fit your needs, check out our ESG Editor’s pick of best electric scooters.
Our content is independent, but buying through our links may earn us a commission.
Apollo Air Specifications From Manufacturer
Note: This may differ from our tested specifications.
| Make | Apollo |
| Model | Air |
| Weight | 35 lb |
| Folded dimensions | 47 by 22 by 21 in |
| Motor power, continuous | 250 W |
| Top speed | 15 mph |
| Range | 15 mi |
| Battery capacity | 281 Wh |
| Battery recharge time | 5 to 7 hrs |
| Max rider weight | 220 lb |
| Brake type | None + Disc |
| Tire type | 10.0 in Pneumatic (Inner Tube) + Pneumatic (Inner Tube) |
| Built-in lights | Front + Rear |
| Water resistance | IPX4 |
