At CES 2025, Segway unveiled seven new e-scooters and two new e-bikes – and I’ve had the chance to try them. Specifically, I rode the new Segway Xyber and Xafari e-bikes, as well as the Max G3 and F3 Pro e-scooters, as part of an hour-long demo event at the Las Vegas tech show.
Now readers, I’ve never ridden an e-bike nor an e-scooter before (my experience is limited to your classic non-e-varieties), so the demo’s track – complete with faux-cobblestones to test the suspension and small ramps for me to conquer – was a little daunting. After an hour with the vehicles, however, I fell in love with the assisted riding experience, and I’m excited to ride them more.
My favorite was the Xafari – the smooth city rider with a more classic bike shape. It was light enough that I could ride it fairly easily around the flat space with minimal help, but when I did ratchet up the assistance from the motor, I felt I still had plenty of control of the bike, so I could swerve through the marked course’s curves with ease.
But most importantly, I loved how comfy it was, with the suspension making the fake cobbles feel almost unnoticeable – an experience that was noticeably smoother than the Xyber or the e-scooters.
Speaking of, the Xyber was a monster that lived up to my first impression of it looking like an e-motorbike.
Noticeably heavier than the Xafari, I barely pedaled the bike around myself – only doing so with plenty of motor assistance to help me shift the weighty machine. Most of the time I simply drove and steered it using the throttle, and over the demo ramped up through its Eco, Sport and Race modes – which improve the bike’s acceleration capabilities.
I was told the max Race mode level could take me from 0 to 20mph in 2.7 seconds. And while I didn’t have a stopwatch (nor the nerve) to test those claims for myself and go full-throttle on the straight, I did feel how much more oomph this engine setting provided and noticed from the speedometer that speed was certainly not an issue.
Moving to the e-scooters, while it took me a few tries to master the kick-off – if you don’t push hard enough with your foot as you set off and turn the throttle, the engine won’t kick in to assist you – I was eventually cruising around like a natural (or so I was told by the people watching me, I certainly felt good about it).
I even got so confident that I tackled both of the ramps – though I never quite got the steeper one mastered and never failed to make some embarrassing noises and pull faces whenever I went over it.
Want to get your first e-bike? Here’s my advice
Coming away from the experience as a total newbie, the ease with which I picked everything up has convinced me that e-bikes and e-scooters aren’t as intimidating as I first thought – and I’m now keen to pick one up for myself.
However, if you’re looking to nab one, make sure to check local regulations on where you can and can’t ride them based on the vehicle’s specs. You don’t want to pick up a bike to commute and find that it isn’t road-legal where you live.
Also, don’t just get the most powerful machine right away. Even if your budget stretches that far, a weaker e-bike or e-scooter is the best place to start, as adding that motor power noticeably changes factors like your braking and the turning circle of what you’re riding. If you’re used to pedal-power-only bikes, it’s weird to feel the bike go on its own, too, and a less powerful machine will be easier to control while you get used to the experience.
If you’re looking to pick one up, a good place to start is our best e-scooter or our best e-bike guide.
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hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector)
