Monorover R2 Self Balancing Scooter Review
- Lightning fast acceleration and speed
- Can be picked up cheaper than the original retail price
- Long battery life
This model has been discontinued. Check out our hoverboard reviews article for more options!
The self-balancing scooter rider can be roughly grouped into two categories. The first is the safety first riders. This group are looking for a scooter that’s stable, easy to learn and safe on the roads. Parents of younger children obviously fit into this group and will look to purchase products like the Swagtron t1 series. A safe to run, safe to ride scooter. The other group is the speed demons. These riders just want something fast and will accept as many scratched knees as it takes to get that. The Monorover R2 was built for the latter category.
Features
This scooter is designed for those who want to tear up the pavement at the highest speeds. The top speed is 10 mph which might not sound like a lot, but with 6.5 inch tires and a low ground clearance this thing really moves. The Erover R2, in terms of speed, is in the top bracket of personal transport devices.
It´s not just about the top speed but about how fast you get there. This product accelerates so quickly that it´s almost dangerous. When you´re first starting out, you´ll definitely want to get comfortable at lower speeds before leaning too far forward. Worryingly, at full-output the board gets very jerky and even begins to vibrate. Those without perfect balance will get thrown off easily so, if it´s for a younger child, make sure they´re wearing all the safety gear.
The build quality on the Monorover feels good but it gets damaged easily because of its instability. At the upper limit you´ll be faced with a choice of eating tarmac or jumping off. Most people choose the latter, which send the board flipping along the road. This result in lots of scratches with the plastic shattering or coming apart after particularly bad falls.
The run-time on this product is excellent. You can ride flat out for around 10 miles on just a single charge. It carries a weight of up to 220llbs but is more suited to children who have a lower center of gravity. Taller riders, or those who are closer to the 220llbs will find it difficult to control and experience some loss of performance.
As good as the battery life is the recharging time is where the problems begin. For some reason the Monorover R2 uses an absurdly convoluted AC adapter. There´s a built in fan during charging which makes a huge racket plus, the plug needs to be screwed into the scooter, although this is seemingly impossible to achieve. Even just looking at the AC adapter doesn´t fill you with confidence and you have to wonder why the Monorover team didn´t look at a simpler system.
The Monorover doesn´t come with a UL22772 certificate. That means that this particular product, alongside many others, were recalled in 2016. It´s difficult to find this model today unless you seek out second hand sellers. Given the inherent safety issues of the charging system I don´t see why you´d want to.
Seeking out second hand sellers represents a risk in itself. There´s just no way of telling what condition the board will be in and, due to the product recall, you already know they won´t be certified to sell this particular product. You also have to think about the lack of custom service with the inability to contact the manufacturer directly if you need replacement parts. The risks just keep stacking up so, in spite of the Monorovers impressive speed, we can´t recommend you go out and buy one.
back to menu ↑Monoboard R2 Hoverboard Review
Strengths
- One of the fastest boards around in both top speed and acceleration
- The battery life is excellent covering a lot of distance on just a single charge. If you´re using it indoors it will last even longer.
- If you can master it, the board is very responsive to changes in direction
Weaknesses
- Inherently unsafe
- An overly complicated charging system that is neither safe nor energy efficient
- Very jerky at the upper speed limit
- Easily damaged given you´ll be falling off a lot
Specifications
Miles per charge: 10-12
Maximum Speed: 10 miles per hour
Battery Type: Lithium Ion
Charging Time: 2-3 Hours
Speakers?: No
