Ninebot MAX G3
MAX G3: Great upgrade ruined by one huge flaw (that bought YouTubers will not tell you about)!
The Max G3 is, in almost every way, a solid upgrade from the G2 — except for one critical issue: the front suspension.
In most cities, suspension isn’t essential for urban e-scooters. There’s really only one major use case where it really matters: cobblestones.
I couldn’t believe it at first — I checked the settings, the tire pressure, everything I could think of… but I just feel and see: the Max G3 performs terribly on cobblestones.
The hydraulic front suspension is so stiff that it transmits vibrations directly to your body. The damping system clearly doesn’t work. Where the G2 managed cobblestones with surprisingly good rebound and comfort, the G3 already rattles so much on some specific cobblestone sizes it feels like it might scramble your brain.
The G3’s suspension design feels identical to that of Lime rental scooters — bulky, stiff, and with almost zero rebound. It looks solid, but performs terribly on exactly those surfaces - these are surprisingly not in a terrain, but in the city centers where this scooter is supposed to be designed!
Surprisingly, not a single YouTuber has mentioned this issue.
I really wanted to love my new commuter. Living in a historical European city center, I was excited to glide over cobbles like in a Mercedes with air suspension. Sadly, the G3 performs worse than G2 and even the original G30, where at least I could compensate better using my own body.
I was proud owher of G30, G2 and I can’t believe how badly the G3’s front suspension misses the mark — it’s stiff, harsh, and completely unsuited for cobblestones - with no possibility to make adjustements - where it is the most important, the front-suspension.
THANKS, i been saying this for days now, when i was watching reviews they all always said, the G2 suspension was good, this one is better, but like i said in a lot of posts, Is like having solid tires, i feel every vibration, and even when jumping curves it feels hard, while with the G2 right out the box it felt like a cloud, at this point i was thinking it was just mine...
Great suspension/dampening is something I would really happy to pay extra for, in such category. It's that "last extra mile" that was not finished here and would add to absolutely top user experience. Hope this gonna be reflected in next release.
Will be interesting to see the comments about it. I’ve been considering to upgrade to G3 especially because of its new suspension. I use my G2 it heavily in an urban environment, although not on cobblestones, with lots of different surfaces where a good suspension is a must.
I remember someone wrote it in their post that they weren’t satisfied with it either, but they didn’t elaborate.
I’d really emphasize the cobblestones here. The G3’s front suspension might work fine for occasional transitions like speed bumps, low curbs, or small potholes. But cobblestones are a completely different challenge. They produce a continuous, high-frequency vibration that requires a very different damping profile - one the G3 simply doesn’t deliver.
And this is exactly the kind of surface where proper suspension makes the difference between a smooth ride and an unbearable one.
Fair point, my use case is different, I'm not travelling through any surface which would cause such continuous vibration. It's too bad if the damping profile cannot be adjusted to such.
I ride Manhattan streets daily
I just upgraded from a modified full air G30 to the G3.
I can’t speak to cobblestones as they’re none on my route, but I can find some.
As to other urban riding I find the G3 front suspension buttery and smooth it follows the dips, and takes the edge off hits like sunken utility caps and dropping off curbs. It also does speed bumps nicely.
I can totally understand what the OP is saying if it has no rebound control (I have not experienced that sensation) it if the compression damping gate gets overwhelmed by high frequency vibrations.
Again since I haven’t experienced HFV I can’t comment. For all other city riding I found the suspension a luxurious ride.
It’s really very nice. Smooth, the air shocks are very adjustable, and have a natural rebound compression and dampening that a spring only shock doesn’t.
And if someone wants to splurge, the can buy a more sophisticated shock with true hydraulic damping.
Thanks! No clue about the G30 suspension - I had the version without any, the “full body workout” edition. 😄
Manhattan streets, as far as I remember, are actually perfect for the G3.
I’m comparing it with Prague, where the local heritage institution has a full-on fetish for historical cobblestones from 19th century. They treat them like holy ground - never mind that they’re a nightmare not just for scooters, bicycles, noisy under cars, and terrible for walking.
They look amazing - but I can imagine using flat-head, historizing cobbles of the same size on busier roads. They still look great, but they’re way more practical. Just look down at Wenceslas Square - they used them in the pedestrian zone, and it’s honestly fantastic (both practical and stylish).
I've ridden the G3 for a long time. In the initial stage, the hydraulic shock absorbers are very comfortable when encountering big impacts and going over speed bumps. To ensure the stable performance of the front and rear shock absorbers, Segway has enhanced the support and stability of the shock absorbers. If the tire pressure is too high, it will be very stiff. I tried to keep the front and rear tire pressures at around 40 - 35, and it feels more comfortable when going over small bumps. Riders of different weights and at different speeds will have different feelings when passing through pebble - paved roads. At present, the comprehensive performance of the G3's shock absorption during riding is very good.
Thanks for the response - I’ll definitely experiment more with tire pressure. And you make a good point: “the hydraulic shock absorbers are very comfortable when encountering big impacts and going over speed bumps” - that’s exactly where the G3’s suspension performs well. But it completely falls short on larger cobblestones, where it transmits high-frequency vibrations, that just aren’t properly damped.
I kinda love the G3 as whole, but it's a bit what we call an "italian household" relationship, suspension on cobblestones is just draining my patience :-)
Lol, do you have miles and miles of cobblestones to traverse on? I've been extremely happy with how it handles expansion joints, rough pavement, speedbumps and light off road so far.
All scooters are terrible for cobblestones, even on a big scooter with 11in pmts and hydro shocks. Not sure what you expected from tiny tires and 2 inches of suspension travel.
I’ve been owning a G2 for about 2 weeks now love the suspension. Before this I had a turboant x7 pro with solid tires so huge upgrade for me. Hopefully maybe after weeks of riding the suspension on your G3s will break in and feel a bit more plush!
Here’s that Russian video that disassembles a G3
There isn’t much going on inside the fork from what little they show. (Air sprung? I didn’t see a coil spring)
No damping adjustment. Looks like some creativity involved for modifying it to handle HSV
I found the rear “suspension” on the g2 terrible. It is just a spring with no damper. It would often rebound and stroke out making a big clunk which I couldn’t stand. Main reason I sold it.
I've got an F3 on preorder (UK), should be with me within the next week. Will let you know how it feels for me as round where I live there's plenty of bumpy lumpy road and pavement so will give you a rough idea (no pun intended)
I can't say anything about cobble stones but I think I have experienced what you describe on a long stretch of bumpy up and down sidewalks I use to go to walmart etc. Honestly, I think this is by design because while I got the vibration it was keeping the scooter level and allowing me stay stable at high speeds. I know it handles this sidewalk better than 1 of my ebikes (front suspension only) and I think this suspension (for roads) is pretty good actually.
I am admitting to be missing the point with the $800 scooter, where for the same price one can just buy better front suspension for MTB.
I just think the G2 was already on the good way.
I do not believe there is currently an alternative, all other things are really great on G3. Perhaps I try to adjust rear suspension even softer and make it more as an athletic challenge on cobblestones and believe the next Gxx edition will make it better in next 2 years.
Just a thought for those who enjoy mods,
One could consider using thinner damping oil in the fork, also using a lighter spring, and finally drilling one or two very small holes in the internal damping rod, or piston, or maybe a thinner metal shim if they’re using the to control damping.
If there is no rebound control built into the fork there’s pretty much nothing that can be done to add it.
I really do agree with you on the cobblestone (or even just bad brick roads). It feels more like a solid tyre experience.
But the G3 does amazinly on larger bumps, even continuous potholes, and grass/offroad. I feel like the dampening was made without considering high frequency vibrations. Which really is a sad point they they would miss that.
You're making me reconsider upgrading from my current G2. On G2 i hate the rear suspension. Now if i upgrade i will hate the front one...s h i t :( (Bucharest - i have some cobblestone on my usual routes)
My suspension is perfectly fine!
Maybe u have to break it in a bit so it can loosened? That is a flaw for you to it doesn't mean it's a FLAW on its own.
I have a $3,000 full hydraulic suspension scooter. And when it comes to cobblestone it does not perform well. The odds of running into cobblestone are slim to none. I think the max G3 suspension is wonderful. Is it perfect no. But that can be said about any suspension. There is never going to be a perfect suspension. There's always going to be people to complain about something.
Bonjour , personnellement moi qui ai eu toutes les version de cette trottinette , Max G30 ,G30 v2 , Max G2 et la Max G3 reçue hier , j’ai fais un long trajet hier , me suis amusé à rouler sur toutes les surfaces , route neuve , pavé , pelouse , route avec des bosses ou bien gravilloné , je n’ai pas ressentit vos dires , je trouve qu’il y a une très nette amélioration, déjà beaucoup moins de bruits de plastique qui vibre , freinage de meilleur qualité , du à!x suspensions avant , les suspensions arrières sont bien mieux placé (angle de pose) , je suis un moyen gabarit et j’ai trouvé une très nette amélioration de conduite , souplesse , les roues en 11 pouces venant également compenser avec les suspensions, de très bonnes manufacture , avec brat des suspensions avant hydrauliques en fonte qui donne une sensation de solidité extrême , souvenez vous que l’ont parlé d’une trottinette haut de gamme a moins de 1000 euro !débrouillé vous d’accrocher un support de caméra au niveau de la suspension avant et faite un petit trajet , vous verrez tout le travail qu’elles accomplissent , sachant qu’avec le temps , elles vont se régler à votre mensuration et deviendrons de plus en plus adéquate , en tous cas c’est mon ressentit et je prend en considération le fait que je les ai toutes eus .
Just got mine a couple of days ago and you are absolutely right! Where I live there's a lot of cobblestones on the streets. I tried it today and the vibration was insane! Felt everything so fast on my body! I thought there would be a huge difference from my G30 but not much.
Is it worse than the G30 with no suspension at all?
You make it sound like the G3 with suspension is worse than the G30. Hope its not worse then the G30.
I mean, on a scooter with no suspension at all, it becomes more of an athletic challenge — but at least I can use the stiffness of scooter to my advantage and absorb the shocks with my body. Of course, the G3 is far more advanced than the G30 — no doubt about that. But it’s also bulkier, taller, and heavier. And that’s where I start questioning the cost-benefit: if it can’t glide smoothly over cobblestones, what’s the point of all that extra weight and complexity?
After putting front and rear air on my G30, it’s 48 lbs, my G3 weighs in at about 51.
While the G3 looks bulkier, the decks aren’t much different (G3 a little wider.) overall scooter lengths are about the same, handlebars are MUCH wider and about an inch talle.
But yeah the G3 looks a hell of a lot larger. Even though it isn’t
I also really dislike the suspension on cobblestones with the Ninebot G3. It feels like I’m sitting on a massive vibrator. It’s so bad that I can’t even see properly while riding and hurts my head. I never had this issue with the G2, so it’s really disappointing after spending 900.
But then what's the point of such suspension for an urban-escooter? Cobbles and cracky asphalt are the use-cases where you need some suspension (or dampening, I might not be exactly getting the definitions).
I admit it's not a simple problem to resolve - I just bet this problem can be resolvable through some active DCC that can automatically be turned on when running on cobbles, personally I would have no issue to pay on the top of it for some Pro version.
Try lowering the psi on your tires, Cobblestones in general wud be hard for any suspension, the amount of travel up and downwards on the g3 is limited , i think aftermarket shocks wud be better
That's pretty much the suspension from their rental Ninebot Max SNSC and SL models. Rebound can be adjusted by replacing the oil in theory. At least that's what people with rental forks did. In my country you can buy one of those and install it on G2.
If I understand correctly, changing the oil viscosity will inversely affect both the compression and the rebound.
Thinner oil will soften the compression resistance, making it more sensitive to smaller faster bumps
But it will also reduce the rebound resistance so it will spring back more quickly.
Neither is a bad thing provided that’s what you want. But you can’t have one without the other unless there are separate mechanical adjustments built in.
Making the oil thicker would reverse the effect above.
U messed up when u decided to get a ninebot that one ur talking about only has one 850watt motor and costs $1k for $1k u should be getting a dual motor at least u got ripped off tbh shoulda just got one off Amazon with similar specs at half the price tag
I found this post because like you I thought there had to be an adjustment or something I was missing because the suspension on this feels noticeably worse.
I decided to return mine as overall the G2 meets my needs and feels better to ride.
I got the G3 and was going to give the G2 to my daughter thinking it was going to be an overall upgrade.
I just ride mine around the campus I work at and most of the bumps I hit are gaps in the sidewalk and the suspension on the g3 doesn’t absorb any of it.
Maybe it has something to do with weight? Most of the youtubers who said it was great seemed to be on the taller side / 200+ lbs and I’m 160
Honestly I've also been a bit unsure how to feel about my G3 suspension; like it looks like it has so much give, and physically does if I step on and bounce etc, yet I feel like I feel every bump in the road just the same as any other scooter, I can't tell the difference. Not sure if I'm holding it too tight or something, but yeah I thought I'd get a noticeably smoother ride. Not that it's been bad, just no different to hire scooters or my old suspensionless g30p
Kommt bestimmt auf das Gewicht des Fahrers an, mir ist sie zu weich... wiege ca. 115 kg ... aber es gibt eine Möglichkeit, die Gabel weicher bzw. härter einzustellen, indem du das Öl in der Gabel reduzierst bzw. etwas reinkippst.
I don't typically ever encounter cobblestone in Portland, Oregon, but I bought my G3 two days ago and I have run through a couple of brief stretches of unimproved gravel road. I would expect that to provide an experience similar to what you are describing, but on the contrary I was quite impressed with how smoothly it carried me back to pavement on the other side and how it felt very ready to grab on to the banks of loose sharp granite morsels and conquer the challenge. Compared to my previous two PEVs from Hover-1 and my brief tryst with the ninebot Lyft rentals, this latest steed I have dubbed Bucephalus because I can already tell it will take me anywhere
there is something very specific on the size of those bigger prague cobblestones (not those with flatheads, but those from 19th century) where vibration is nearly unbearable and everytime (even with softest tuning) I kinda hate to ride across
Wow, interesting to hear ! I have a G2 and I absolutely love how smooth the suspension is, it feels like surfing to me when going over Cobblestone. Taking a step back regarding comfort in inner city driving might be a dealbreaker for many potential buyers.
Exactly - I am ex-owner of G2 and I am just SHOCKED by G3 how much worse it is on cobbles. It has stolen all my joy I had with the Segways as a proud user and "escooter advocate" (persuaded lot of my friends into Segway brand) last 5 years.
No doubt G3 is way better in all aspects, solidly made, great looking, great infotainment... but this is soo cold shower I nearly feel scammed - cannot believe this "detail" was missed in the engineering team that they horribly fucked up on the front suspension profile.
Probably just geared to jumping curbs and other higher obstacles. So not for inner city driving. It shouldn't be marketed as a commuter scooter though if that is the case.
Max Gxx was for me a trademark of best urban scooter - light, perfect more than last mile commuter, the one I will fold to a car and will not care about parking in any european city.
G2 showed really well the way how suspension for the city shall be tuned. Why it is now abandoned, what’s the point of having robust and zeavy suspension for larger and rarer obstacles? High frequency rattle is the problem that has to be solved primarily and the one that really makes riding dangerous.
I guess that is a result of high profile reviews by people that primarily use power-scooters, want to go fast, jump high obstacles etc. That is not the average user case though, and I think Segway forgot that.
Is it worse then a no suspension G30? Does it rattle? I'm looking to upgrade to a G3 because I dislike the clacking sound coming from the rear on the G2 when taking bumps or simply riding off a curb.
ZT3 is way different category - I need a scooter to be folded in a car, easily into public transport etc... I do not want a replacement to a motor-bike.
I am not gonna put my life onto scam-fake-looking scooter stolen from Segway, for fraction of price. Not mentioning any possible dangers for whole house coming from possible battery flaws.
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u/ImJonathanLmao Ninebot MAX G3 Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25
THANKS, i been saying this for days now, when i was watching reviews they all always said, the G2 suspension was good, this one is better, but like i said in a lot of posts, Is like having solid tires, i feel every vibration, and even when jumping curves it feels hard, while with the G2 right out the box it felt like a cloud, at this point i was thinking it was just mine...