Apollo City
$949
In this Apollo City review, we’ll deep dive into a well-rounded electric scooter built for even the most discerning urban commuter. The City is about the lightest scooter you can get with dual mechanical brakes and a formidable 28.6-mph top speed. Keep reading to find out what the City has to offer and if it’s right for you.
Technical Specifications
| Tested top speed: 28.6 mph* | |
| Tested range: 17.9 mi* | |
| Weight: 43 lb* | |
| Max rider weight: 260 lb | |
| Water resistance: IP54 |
Highlights
| Top-notch urban commuter | |
| Triple redundant braking system | |
| Great comfort and ride | |
| IP54 water-resistance | |
| Handlebars tend to loosen |
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Summary
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Our Take: Top Notch Urban Scooter
The Apollo City is a relative newcomer to the world of electric scooters. It is based on a tried and true chassis that has seen improvements over many design iterations. Its distinct white and blue-accented features and Apollo-branded design give it a sophisticated look without being over-the-top.
Tipping the scales around 40 pounds and offering a 28.6-mph top speed with just under 17.9 miles of ESG Certified range, we believe the City offers a package that addresses the needs of most urban commuters. It folds compactly, has plenty of speed and range — yet is still light enough to carry upstairs or accompany you onto public transportation.
Topping all this off, the City comes with a solid warranty that extends up to two years on some parts, though it is leaner on wear-and-tear parts such as tires, tubes, and brake pads. Read their full warranty terms to see what is and isn’t covered.
For most urban commuters who are shopping around, the City is an electric scooter that should be on their shortlist. It finds just the right balance of features while keeping weight and price low enough to be an attractive offering for many.
While many buyers may focus solely on the scooter itself, it’s also essential to keep the retailer and warranty support in mind. In this aspect, the City excels. Apollo is one of the top-rated retailers in the industry and maintains an excellent reputation in the leading online electric scooter community.
Best Alternatives and Competitors
| Model | Top Speed** | Range** | Weight** | Price |
| Apollo City | 28.6 mph | 17.9 mi | 43 lb | $949 |
| Apollo Light | 22.0 mph | 16.3 mi | 39 lb | $799 |
| Apollo Explore | 29.9 mph | 28.1 mi | 52 lb | $1,199 |
| Fluid Freeride Horizon | - | - | - | $799 |
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Apollo City Review
Performance Summary
| Acceleration (0 to 15 mph) | 4.3 seconds |
| Acceleration (0 to 20 mph) | 6.9 seconds |
| Acceleration (0 to 25 mph) | 11.9 seconds |
| Top speed | 28.6 mph |
| Braking distance (15 to 0 mph) | 12.2 feet |
| Range | 17.9 miles |
| Hill climb | 13.9 seconds |
Acceleration
The Apollo City has an ESG Certified 0 to 15 mph acceleration of 4.3 seconds; it reached 20 mph in 6.9 seconds and 25 mph in 11.9 seconds.
Compared to a typical Byrd or Lime-style shared scooter (such as the Ninebot Max), the City is about a second faster to 15 mph, but absolutely leaves this scooters in the dust due to its much higher top speed.
Hill Climb
We tested the Apollo City on a 200 ft, 10% grade hill with a 165 lb rider. The City completed the hill climb in 13.9 seconds with an average speed of 9.8 mph.
Top Speed
The Apollo City has an ESG Certified top speed of 28.6 miles per hour (165 lb rider on a flat, smooth road), thanks to its 600-watt brushless electric motor. It is actually faster than Apollo’s claimed 25 mph top speed.
For those unfamiliar with electric scooters, most top out around 15 mph to 20 mph, which feels quite fast and is about as fast as a typical bike commuter will sustain. The nearly 29 mph top speed — though it takes some runway to reach — is breakneck and more than most will need.
Range
The Apollo City has an ESG Certified range of 17.9 miles, under realistic, fast riding conditions. The range is due to the 634 watt hour lithium-ion Dynavolt battery running at 48V with 13.2 amp-hours of charge.
We test every electric scooter on the same urban test loop with a 165 lb rider and the controller in the fastest, the least energy-conserving mode. The loop features frequent stops, hills, and rough terrain. We ride the scooter as one would during a typical commute — accelerating quickly and riding as fast as is safe.
You can compare the range of this scooter with ESG Certified range of every other scooter we’ve tested.
Braking
The City has three independent braking systems that make this one of the safest scooters in its price class.
Both wheels feature mechanical brakes (drum in rear and disc in front), and the rear-drive wheel also has a regenerative brake. The disc brake is controlled by a buttery-smooth hand levers that automatically trigger the regenerative brake as soon as they are activated.
The regenerative strength is configurable via the LCD settings display; its actually strong enough to rely on most the time, allowing you to conserve your brakes and battery.
Read more about electric scooter brakes.
During our braking tests, we got a 15 mph to 0 mph distance of 12.2 feet — an exceptional result. We consider braking distances under 20 feet to be very good and rarely test scooters that stop in less than 10 feet.
Overall, the triple-redundant braking system makes this scooter one of the safest you can own at this price level. They are a welcome and necessary feature for a scooter capable of exceeding 28 mph.
Ride Quality
The City has large pneumatic (air-filled) tires and a front and rear spring suspension. The deck is larger than nearly any other scooter in its weight class — save the EMOVE Touring, which is slightly longer but not as wide.
The deck size and cushy suspension give the Apollo City fantastic ride quality that is amazing on smooth roads, but suitable for challenging urban commutes.
The suspension (spring in both front and rear) is stiff enough to handle riders pushing its 260-lb upper weight limit, yet supple enough to provide meaningful shock absorption. Though you will still notice roughly-textured roads, most bumps or potholes will be subdued by this system. Your knees will definitely thank you. Finally, though the City can handle dirt trails and some light off-roading, its definitely tuned to be an on-road, urban commuting machine.
Apollo City Features
Portability
Overall, the City is a very portable scooter, while still balancing comfort, top speed, and range.
The scooter has triple folding mechanisms that allow you to fold it into a compact 44-inches long by 9-inches wide by 15-inches tall package. Yet, when unfolded, you still have a comfortable, full-sized scooter.
These folding mechanisms are folding stem, folding handlebars, and telescoping stem.
The folding handlebars use a slower-to-activate screw-type mechanism that is more stable than the spring-loaded type when locked into place. When firmly tightened, the handlebars will have an only minimal play. This particular screw mechanism — common among many electric scoters, tends to loosen as you ride. Though not dangerous, you may find yourself re-tightening these on long rides.
Like other scooters, the stem folds to reduce the scooter’s height. This mechanism is solid and quick to activate. For this type of mechanism, you’ll want to make sure you give the stem an extra little push to make sure the pin drops securely in place.
During our testing, we found that the City took around 16 seconds to fold/unfold. This is slower than a shared scooter like the Ninebot Max, which is much larger when folded, and on-par with similarly compact scooters.
Cockpit
The Apollo City cockpit is a style that will be familiar to many electric scooter enthusiasts. It features dual brake levers, a QS-S4-style trigger throttle, settings LCD, and large rubber grips.
If you’ve read any of our other reviews, you know that we aren’t the biggest fans of this trigger throttle because it is uncomfortable for prolonged use. It simply isn’t ergonomic to have your finger extended for long periods.
Fortunately, Apollo is now offering a thumb-style throttle as a $69 plug-and-play upgrade.
The telescoping handlebars can be adjusted from 27.6-inches to 38.4-inches (distance measured from deck to handlebars).
Lights
The Apollo City is decked out in ample lighting that helps you stay visible to others on the road at night. It has both front and rear lights and under-deck lighting that turn the City into a Christmas tree at night.
The front and rear LEDs are low-mounted just above the wheel, so we recommend additional high-mounted lights to help better illuminate your way at night.
Learn more about riding safely at night.
Tires
The City has 8.5-inch front and rear pneumatic, inner-tube tires.
This means that that you are riding on a cushion of air that gives structural integrity to the tire but also allows the supple rubber to deform over the road.
Air-filled tires give the best performance in all conditions, provide shock absorption, and tend to be grippier than solid (airless) tires.
Deck
For most, the deck is just part of the scooter you stand on. However, we must say that Apollo has done an awesome job of making an intricate and distinct-looking deck that is both functional (grippy) and aesthetic.
The City has 20.5-inches by 7.5-inches of standing room on the deck, making it one of the largest in its weight class and is sizeable considering its weight.
We measured the City to have 4.5-inches of ground clearance — enough to clear curbs, but not so high that manually kicking is difficult (in the even you run out of battery on a ride).
Build Quality
Quality on the Apollo City is top-notch for its price category. The brakes and suspension were quiet; aside from motor pleasant motor whir, the City is a stealth ride.
The Apollo City has an IP (water-resistance) rating of IP54. It stands out in a field of competitors that aren’t water-resistant, an often overlooked but necessary feature for a commuter scooter.
At this price range, scooters typically fall into two categories: mass-produced and smaller-scale manufactured.
Mass-produced scooters like the Xiaomi and Segway have an impeccable design, nice fit-and-finish but less durability and flimsier parts (though the Max is somewhat an exception).
Smaller-scale manufactured scooters tend to be more durable and heftier. Still, often they are less refined and have overlooked fit-and-finish. The City definitely falls more into this category, with an exception. Apollo runs its own lengthy quality control checks on each scooter they receive from the factory before shipping. This tends to catch oversights that can be massive disappointment or annoyance when you’re hopping on your new scooter.
Apollo City: Review Conclusions
The Apollo City is a premium urban scooter we think every commuter will want to take a look at. It hits the sweet spot of having amazing speed and comfort, great quality and support, but is still affordable and lightweight enough to be portable.
Our content is independent, but buying through our links may earn us a commission.
If the City doesn’t appeal to you, see our alternative suggestions. You can also check out our Editor’s pick of best electric scooters.
Apollo City Specifications
| Make | Apollo |
| Model | City |
| Weight | 40 lb |
| Folded dimensions | 44 by 9 by 15 in |
| Motor power, continuous | 600 W |
| Top speed | 25 mph |
| Range | 28 mi |
| Battery capacity | 634 Wh |
| Battery recharge time | 4 to 5 hrs |
| Max rider weight | 260 lb |
| Brake type | Disc + Drum |
| Tire type | 8.5 in Pneumatic (Inner Tube) + Pneumatic |
| Built-in lights | Front + Rear |
| Water resistance | IP54 |
