E-TWOW GT SE Electric Scooter Review

Today, we’re taking a deep dive into the E-TWOW GT SE from UScooters. I’ve tested this electric scooter across more than 180 miles and benchmarked its real-world range, top speed, and acceleration. Sit back and relax as I compare this portable e-scooter to its lightweight competitors.

The GT SE is the successor to the popular Uscooters (E-TWOW) GT. While it has the exact same build, it boasts smartphone app connectivity that’ll allow you to manage how you ride and safety features. On paper, the E-TWOW GT SE looks to be an ultra-portable scooter with an impressive range and power for its weight. But how does it perform in the real world, and does it justify its price tag? Let’s find out!

Speed & Motor Performance

The E-TWOW GT SE has a 500W brushless DC motor (800W peak power) at the front and a specified top speed of 25 MPH (40.2 KMH). A 500W motor is rarely seen in ultra-portable commuter scooters so I was super excited to test it out.

Through my top speed tests, I was able to clock a top speed of 22.98 MPH (36.98 KMH) on a smooth and level surface. While it is not as much as advertised, this is easily the fastest speed I’ve ever clocked on a scooter with such a small form factor. It is nice to see a manufacturer prioritize motor power on commuter scooters because so many of them struggle on hills and with acceleration.

Speaking of acceleration, the GT SE once again finds itself among the best in its weight class. It is only beaten by the Unagi Model One E500, which has a dual-motor setup, so the traction is evidently gonna be better on that one. Still, the front-wheel-driven GT SE provides solid acceleration even as the battery level diminishes. It does take about a half-second to pick up, but once it gets grip on the road, it accelerates fast.

I put the GT SE up against some challenging roads to see if it was any good on hills, and it didn’t let me down. Several times I thought “it’s not gonna make that hill” only to be proven wrong moments later. It’s not gonna outperform dual-motor monsters on hills, but it was able to climb the steepest ones I could find.

Range & Battery Performance

The range is one of the areas where ultra-portable scooters usually fall well short of bigger models. But this is where the GT SE shakes things up.

E-TWOW have somehow managed to fit a 48V 10.5 Ah Samsung li-ion battery into the slim deck which means it has an effective capacity of 504Wh.

This is easily the highest battery capacity scooter in its weight class. While there are scooters with a better battery-capacity-to-price ratio, part of the science is how they’ve packed so much into such a lightweight build.

As per usual, I run three range tests at various speeds to see how it performs as you prioritize either speed or range. In the high-speed test, I got 14.32 miles (23.05 km); in the regular test, 19.21 miles (30.92 km); and finally, in the low-speed test, I got 22.21 miles (35.6 km) of range.

To my knowledge, this is easily the best range you’re gonna get in this weight class, and it is definitely gonna be my go-to scooter for longer inner-city commutes for that reason.

As the battery level diminishes, a drop-off in performance is common. Better quality batteries are usually less affected by this, while the drop is more notable in cheaper ones. I refer to this as performance retention. With a high-quality Samsung-cell battery, the performance retention on this electric scooter is excellent. It only really started losing its acceleration zing at around 20% battery left with the top speed keeping up pretty much until 10%.

All in all, it has impressive battery performance and an even more impressive form factor.

Portability

Portability is key for commuter scooters, and this is an area in which the UScooters GT SE / E-TWOW Booster GT SE really shines. It folds at the handlebars and the front wheel, and the stem can retract partially into itself. The result is really portable scooter that takes up minimal space. You could easily fit several of these into a trunk. 

The scooter does feel a little front-heavy, likely due to the front-wheel-drive but there’s a comfortable carrying strap around the stem that makes it easy to carry.

As I talked about before, I am extremely impressed at how much performance E-TWOW has packed into such a lightweight package. The scooter weighs 28.6 pounds (12.97 kg) and easily outshines its weight-class competitors in terms of specs.

Ride Quality

The E-TWOW GT SE blends convenience and comfort in its build. It is geared with two 8-inch (20.32 cm) airless solid rubber tires, so you’ll never have to worry about flats.

Solid tires don’t have the shock-absorbing benefits that pneumatic ones have, so E-TWOW fitted spring suspension both at the front and rear. It is atypical to see in ultra-light scooters, but it’s a very welcome addition that helps a lot with ride quality. It helps a lot with small obstacles on the road. While it doesn’t absorb all the small road vibrations, it’s a definite upgrade from suspensionless scooters, and it’s super convenient that you don’t have to worry about swapping tires all the time.

Braking is very smooth and reliable as well. You have three braking systems in place: a rear drum brake with a lever on the right handlebar, a thumb-activated electronic brake on the left handlebar, and finally, the rear fender friction brake. The electronic brake was so smooth that I found myself using it almost exclusively, but if you ever need to stop on a dime, utilizing two or three braking systems together will let you do that.

The Uscooters GT SE recovers up to 60% of the kinetic energy from electronic braking to recharge the battery, which helps with the range as well. KERS technology in e-scooters is an interesting topic, and while many models are trying to incorporate it, it seems Uscooters (powered by E-TWOW) is getting some of the most effective results with it so far.

When you are going at speed and quickly release the throttle entirely, it can give a slight jerk. It’s not going to throw you off or anything like that, but it’s worth knowing. Hopefully, this is something they’ll improve in future models.

I really like how the handlebar can be locked into two different heights. It locks firmly in place and allows for both taller and shorter people to ride it more comfortably.

Build Quality & Safety

The E-TWOW GT SE is not the cheapest scooter around, so it is fair to expect solid built quality and safety. It’s fair to say that, most of the way, it definitely lives up to that. The building itself is largely made from aluminum alloy, which is both lightweight and strong.

The stem folding mechanism is reliable. Unlike some other scooters, you don’t need to use a lot of force to click it in and out. Also, I felt no stem flex whatsoever. Many portable scooters with foldable handlebars have an issue where the handlebars can wiggle a bit, but the handlebars on the E-TWOW GT SE feel firmly locked into place.

However, I did notice that the rubber handles themselves can move a little. It’s not a big issue, nor is it something I noticed during riding but the fewer moving pieces you have, the better. The grips themselves are shaped ergonomically and have a textured surface that’ll help with grip. I found them comfortable to ride with for an extended amount of time.

I was surprised at how silent the scooter was out of the box. No loud brakes, no deafening motor and no squeaky suspension. One thing that is loud though is the user interface. It is bright and with excellent clarity on bright days, but every click on the four buttons results in a large beeping noise. It’s not something I’m picky about but I think they definitely need to either turn it down or allow users to turn it off entirely in the future. The electronic horn is loud and clear, just like we want it. I always prefer these to manual bells as they take up less handlebar space and usually are more effective in traffic.

The scooter features a Bluetooth app connection which is really cool. The SE in the name stands for Smart Edition, and this is where the name comes from. The app is available on both iOS and Android. A lot of the functionality is available at your fingertips already but it is nice to be able to set your speed limit and zero-start without jumping into the P-settings every time. Most important is the scooter lock functionality which is excellent to have. It’s not bulletproof protection against theft but it does make it harder for a thief to steal it - especially with the audible alarm.

While the top speed can be limited, there are no riding modes. It would be nice to have two or three riding modes with different acceleration curves and top speeds based on where you’re riding. Still, it is fairly easy to make fine speed adjustments with the speed throttle so it’s not really an issue.

I noticed that the speedometer seems to be off at times when you go full throttle. I saw myself reaching above 29 MPH (46.7 KMH) on the screen while my pro-grade GPS logger later confirmed I was actually only going around 23 MPH (37 KMH). The battery level gauge was pleasantly accurate, however.

As for visibility, the UScooters/E-TWOW GT SE is decent but not the best. The high-mounted LED headlight is fairly bright, but I feel like the rear brake light was a little too small and weak. There are side-mounted reflectors on the rear wheel which is nice, but I would’ve liked to see them on the front wheel as well for improved visibility.

The scooter has an IPX4 ingress protection rating. This essentially means it has been tested to be protected against water splashes from any direction. This does not mean it is waterproof. It is likely gonna be able to handle light rain just fine but if you ride for a longer time in heavier rain, some of the electronic components may be at risk of damage.

Overall, you’ve got a really reliable build with the E-TWOW GT SE. It’s both strong and lightweight and all the moving parts lock firmly into place for a safe ride. There are minor things like improved visibility, handles that can’t wiggle and a more accurate speedometer that I think would help make this product even better in the future.

Verdict - Who Should Buy The E-TWOW GT SE?

The E-TWOW GT SE is an absolute kickass ultra-portable scooter. It pushes the game of what a last-mile commuter scooter is with its unrivaled top speed and range in the weight class. It’s an impressive feat that E-TWOW have packed so much battery capacity into such a lightweight build and the fact that it runs a 48V system with a 500W motor yields some of the best acceleration and hill climb ability in scooters under 30 pounds.

The scooter is highly portable and folds together into a very small form factor that you can bring with you on the bus, train or in your trunk. App connectivity is another highlight of this scooter and I particularly find the locking feature useful.

The ride quality is well above average. The triple braking performance is excellent and the electronic brake performs particularly well when you don’t have to brake hard. Dual spring suspension is a rare treat on ultraportables and the ride greatly benefits from it as it balances convenience with its 8” solid rubber tires.

There are a few imperfections here and there that E-TWOW could work on in the future but it’s not nearly enough to dethrone it as the ultralight beast it is. I would have loved to see a bit more visibility and handle grips that can’t move along with a less daunting button-press sound but the overall riding experience is awesome.

The E-TWOW GT SE isn’t the cheapest scooter around and whether the app connectivity is worth another $100 is for you to decide but the GT SE is easily worth its price tag if portability is a priority and you still need a lot of range and motor power.

*These specifications are based on our own data measurements and may differ from those described by the manufacturers and/or retailers. The range score is based on our real-world test by a 175 pounds rider, with both hills, starts and stops and varying road conditions.

See how the E-TWOW GT SE fairs against other electric scooters here.

Full Specifications