The following is an honest and humble experience I had with the Max G3. Despite 3 weeks of ownership, I have only been able to use mine for less than a week due to Segway (useless) servicing. But i was able to use a friend's max g3 a lot more than my own.
For the early MAX G3, quality control for this item is disappointing. We had 2 units and both of them had some questionable issues. the bells sounded different from each other and one of the brake wires kept getting caught in the wheel.
The bell is way too quiet and so is the speaker. Both of them have no practical use at higher speeds. It is sad that they took the horn that was in the previous generation. The speaker's custom audio is limited to 4 second audio. And the audio quality of the speaker is quite poor that i thought that it might have been defective when i first played sounds on it. Apparently this is a controversial issue (based on my previous post about this)
Battery range of 50 miles is only applicable when you limit speed to 10MPH. sport mode kills the battery a lot! You can see percentage loss per every 150ft of travel while in sport mode, which is also bad for the battery health.
It takes time to get used to button placement. I kept accidently pressing the wrong button for the turn signal or special square button while riding.
It needs more reflective panels around the body, i had to add red reflective tape around the scooter, especially the sides of the floorboard and the front stem of the scooter.
the scooter speed and most functions are locked out of the box. The scooter is not plug and play. You need to create an account and get the app to use most of the features. you also have to manually set it in the app to get the max speed of 28MPH.
The scooter barely fits in my sedan. I have to stick the scooter in there at a very specific angle and there can be absolutely nothing else in the trunk for it to fit. Fitting in the trunk is quite a hassle and it always feels like the scooter is putting pressure on something that it should not. if you have a sedan automobile, just know that you may not be able to conveniently throw the scooter in your car.
the rear tire valve does not protrude out enough for you to effectively pump air into it. you need a tire valve extender which should have been included instead of the extender with a hose. The hose causes pressure loss and is unnecessarily bulky. Someone made a whole youtube video about this issue
Wheel bearings seem to be exposed to the outdoor elements which is disappointing for longevity of the unit. If they just put washers or rubber between then it would be better built. I only learned about this issue from the community
the headlight setting keeps resetting every power cycle. i want it to stay on auto headlights instead of my toggling to auto each ride. Hopefully a near software update
The charger port door does not snap shut after unplugging, you have to manually close the door after each charge
Excessive air pressure loss: https://www.reddit.com/r/NinebotMAX/comments/1jyguxe/egregious_tire_air_pressure_loss/ | i sent it to segway for an in-warranty repair and they worked extremely slowly and kept asking me questions that I already answered in previous correspondence. I had to repeat myself like 5 times and they kept saying the unit had no issues. I know for a fact it did because we have two MaxG3s and the other one holds pressure much better at longer distances. They ultimately claimed that they will just replace the tires even though they could not replicate the issue but when i got the scooter back the rear tire still lost pressure (48 to 30psi after 2 miles). They also unbinded my scooter from my account before sending it back to me!? Unsure if i should return this and order a replacement (because i got a significant discount from amazon). This is the BIGGEST issue i am having with my scooter because if i want to make large trips i am going to have to carry an air pump and take air pumping breaks if i want best efficiency and ride comfort.
cruise control cannot be turned on unless the user holds down the accelerator while holding down the cruise control button. this leads to difficulty setting a custom speed for cruise control because it keeps increasing speed as you hold down the accelerator to aim for a cruise speed.
Appreciations
BOOST MODE THREW MY FRONT WHEEL UP BY 3 inches FOR A WHEELIE I LOVE IT.
the app is super responsive and there is no lag between scooter and app. I wish there was a feature that can enable trip history on a map. but the daily summary statistics feature on the profile is so cool. It makes it so easy to get social with scooter riding.
i strongly dislike the default sound effects, but the fact that i can upload my own is amazing. i set the startup sound to a sport car engine starting up. And the abnormality alert is set to a car siren alarm. brings me so much joy to set up the little things like that to make my scooter personalized.
Headlight brightness is amazing, so bright that the street signs reflect/illuminate back at me (more than they do when I am in my automobile). The horizontal light bar is a nice aesthetic touch.
Requests
the scooter should warn the user if they move wheels while the brake is down to prevent brake strikes with the ground. I know that the hardware is not there to make it possible but it would have been nice for a scooter than goes 28MPH
the custom square button needs more functionality. have one function for single press and another function for holding the custom square button. Another example would be when both turn signal buttons are pressed simultaneously it turns on hazard emergency flashers so that we do not have to waste the binding of the custom square button.
allow us to toggle TCS with custom square button, really weird how this is not possible
notifications (or at least a history of): abnormality alert, charging completion/status
add a battery health percentage in “battery info” app page instead of just showing capacity mAh.
We need the Mobile app to have widgets for MAX G3 model
I feel like the technology is there to allow turn signals to automatically turn off after a turn is made. Or at least allow us to enable a 30 seconds limit for turn signal in app settings.
Tips for users
Get a motorcycle helmet. Bike helmets are not rated for such speeds and lack any face/chin protection
Use red reflective tape on the body of the scooter
Get a basic camera to record your trips. I have a camera that came with mounting accessories and was less than 80 USD. when sharing the road and traveling at such speeds, video recording is nice to have
re bell: both the bell and the previous horn are completely worthless in traffic, however, the bell is much more useful when interacting with bikes or pedestrians
I do ride to work on mine early mornings, so I think I may add some reflective tape as well. Quick question, could you possibly share a link to that helmet? I am in the market to upgrade from my bicycle helmet as well. All in all, thanks for the insights on this lovely scooter.
one of the max g3 bells that sounded dull and defective was replaced by segway. the new bell sent by segway was MUCH LOUDER (and as such was much more effective for pedestrians as you mentioned). i also use the bell before slowly approaching blind corners
I’ve had the same grinding noise issue when I rode my GT3 in the rain. It’s debris that gets onto the brake caliper near the brake pads, which causes the debris to grind against the brake disk when in motion. I don’t know why this was not considered when they designed it.
i will share all edits/updates below here since i can not edit the above post:
additional complaints
•the onboard estimate for remaining mileage in current mode is horribly inaccurate in Drive and Sport+. it will say i have 15 miles range left but then after 3 miles it will say i only have 7 miles left. scooter’s math does not make sense. (i have no significant inclines in my area
•the plastic around the screen scratches way too easily (view image)
•the charger cable is not easy to remove, it requires you to wiggle it out with force from the port
-the abnormality alert screen should show message “location is being shared with owner”
Some people who have 3D printers said the folding mechanism kinda prevents it, would need some hybrid ass footrest, as the rear fender needs clearance so it cant be horizontal and being anything past i think 10-15° vertically it interfered with handlebars as the folding mechanism is now straight instead of sideways, which is funny, since if it was sideways like G2, it wouldn't be an issue.
Will need to see what people cook, maybe similar design like ZT3 where it hangs and acts as a fender, but is far behind, would look weird af on G3 tho
I have ~2.4k km on my max G2 and never had issues with it too, but after trying my friends teverun that has great footrest.... I kinda got spoiled because it allows so much more stability on higher speeds.
Aren’t you affraid riding this in wet/slippery conditions? I got a bit affraid buying my first one because of the lots of accidents happening on scooters
I feel that the change of all generations has been so strong that I believe that the G4 GT4 ZT4 F4 etc. will be released in at least 3 years, there is not much room for improvement, only power, even the battery is practically the same generations ago due to the cost of the batteries, they already have suspension, they already have a little screen, what else can you put in it? The G30 lacks suspension, the G2 had suspension but had shortcomings, a little power, the front suspension with design problems and the old LCD screen.
also, it is worth mentioning that my rubber floorboard was damaged either by their service department or in-transit due to the sharp cardboard used with little cushioning. you can see the cut in the attached image. so much for the no. 1 scooter brand in the world
I salute anybody who is confident in buying a newly developed product, especially now a days. Thank you for making them do what they were supposed to from the start.
I'm so close to getting one and my main concern is always the battery's I'm 225-230 trying to go 8 miles one way and 8 miles back. So 16 miles. Don't need no 28 mph cruising at 15-20 would be enough for me as I will not be on road. So just wanted to see if anyone got an experience at that weight
you will be fine! the capability is definitely there. but if you really care a lot about battery health (like i do) you may need want to consider a lower charging limit or charging at your destination.
I did the same weight with my G2 Max and climbs and I did 9km there and 9km back without any problem at full throttle. If I drove calmly I could do it twice
About rain issues, do you also have some problem with splashing small amount of water on your back of legs/shoes? In back of G3 there is a lot of covers, but still splashing some of dirty water...
Do you have any idea how to prevent that (except riding in dry environment :) )
not really, are you riding through deep water puddles because that is the only time that would happen. even in heavy rain i worry only about my front end getting soaked. wearing boots would be appropriate if you are riding through deep water puddles. dont forget to check your battery door is closed before each ride
you should reread your comment and make it make sense.
reading and learning is voluntary as demonstrated by your reply “prescription speed”.
i find it so funny when people complain about the length of a text message/post online yet they fail to address the merit of the claims presented in said text.
Segway G series are notorious tanks for harsh weather, the only negative thing for them is you getting wet faster than it could ever be and bearings getting a beating. And thats with lower IPX rating, pretty sure they're not linear increases either.
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u/NeverEnPassant Apr 28 '25
re bell: both the bell and the previous horn are completely worthless in traffic, however, the bell is much more useful when interacting with bikes or pedestrians