Is the VMAX VX2 Extreme TOO Extreme?

We loved the VMAX VX2 Pro, a single motor scooter built to last, by a company making some of the most reliable electric scooters on the planet. Then VMAX sent the VX2 Extreme, a scooter that earned its title by climbing the steepest hill in San Francisco from a standing start.

VMAX VX2 Extreme GT – $1,199

VMAX might have taken it a little too far this time….

When we first reviewed the regular version of this scooter, the VX2 Pro GT, it was already quicker than anything in its class. Then VMAX decided to make an even faster one, the VX2 Extreme, a single motor scooter to beat them all.

Single motor scooters are popular because they’re usually lighter and less expensive than dual motors. The catch is that you usually get lower performance. But the VX2 models – and the Extreme especially – beat a surprising number of dual motor electric scooters when we put them through identical paces.

In short, the VX2 Extreme is extremely powerful, climbing the steepest hill we could find from a complete stop. The scooter’s specified top speed is 25 miles per hour. When we tested it, it went even faster than that. And it’s powered by a battery that’s 44% larger than the Segway Ninebot Max G2 that gives it almost 30 tested miles of range in its fastest speed mode.

Who Is This Scooter For?

As you can see in our video review below, I pulled two unintentional wheelies while riding this scooter, so it’s probably not for brand-new riders. Unless you think you can always remember to keep your weight forward during hard acceleration, you could end up flat on your back.

But for me, I think the power is a ton of fun. I think this makes a great commuter, and it’s a great scooter for just adventuring around the city, especially with the tires aired down to 35 psi for better ride comfort.

Having a relatively light scooter with a ton of range that can squash any hill just gives you a big feeling of freedom when you’re out exploring, and the VX2 Extreme GT will not let you down when it comes to speed, power, or range.

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VMAX VX2 Extreme Specs

Our Full Video Review

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VMAX VX2 Extreme: Performance

Top Speed

Like other VMAX electric scooters, the VX2 Extreme has a secret “beast mode” that unlocks its true top speed. Unlocking it is easy (we show you how in our video review), and once we did, we hit a top speed of 26.3 mph – faster than VMAX’s 25 mph spec, a finding we’ve almost come to expect from this company.

Acceleration

The VMAX VX2 Extreme GT hit 15 mph in 3.2 seconds, the same time it takes VMAX’s biggest single motor scooter, the VX4, to get to speed. In fact, the VX2 Extreme is quicker than every single motor electric scooter we’ve ever tested except the Segway GT1, which weighs over twice as much.

Hill Climb

The strength of the VX2 Extreme’s single 500W motor made itself fully felt in this part of our test. Our test hill is a 10% grade, which means that it goes up 20 feet as you go forward 100 feet. The VX2 Pro crushed this test with a time of 11.7 seconds, faster than a several dual motor scooters in our database.

The VX2 Extreme crushed it even harder, hitting the top of the hill in 10.2 seconds and cresting it at around 18 mph in both sport mode and secret unlocked beast mode. Then, I decided to really make things difficult for this little scooter that could.

Two dual motor have failed to climb this hill while hitting it at speed. To make this as difficult as possible – for a scooter that calls itself Extreme! – I started from a dead stop.

I was half-joking with this test, not really expecting the VX2 Extreme to go where dual motors have failed to tread. But guess what? It made it up a 32.5% grade hill – a hill so steep it has stairs instead of sidewalks – from a standing start.

We’ve established that the VX2 Extreme is gonna climb pretty much any hill, but the question remains: why is this 500 Watt scooter so much faster than all these other 1,000 Watt scooters? It’s puzzling. The answer is that continuous motor Wattage doesn’t mean very much. It’s one of the most commonly quoted specs, but what you really need to know is the motor’s peak power.

The VX2 Extreme has 1,600 Watts of peak power, which is what produces the massive amounts of low-end torque for fast acceleration and powerful climbing. The VX2 Pro, the regular one, has 1,300 Watts of peak power, so that’s also going to get you up most any hill.

Of course, the only way to reveal a scooter’s potential, and its flaws, is with testing in real-world conditions.

Range

On our hilly, challenging range course, the VX2 Extreme GT went 28.9 miles in its highest (Beast) mode. The only other electric scooter under 50 pounds we’ve tested that beats the Extreme for range is the VX2 Pro GT, and that’s only because it’s not as fast.

One interesting fact: I completed an entire lap of our range course – a full 1.6 miles – at 0% battery from start to finish. It was a slow finish – 9 and 1/2 miles on flat ground – but I made it.

Like most VMAX scooters, this version comes in three battery sizes, the LT, the ST, and the GT, which is the largest version and the one we’re testing here, and in all the VMAX reviews we’ve done.

You should expect performance to basically be the same, except for range, between the three. Still, no matter which VMAX scooter you get (or any scooter), if you get a choice, I recommend going with the biggest battery. You’re more likely to miss the range later on than you are the money.

Braking

There are two unusual things about the brakes on both of the VX2 models. The first is that the brake levers are reversed compared to most scooters. The front brake is on the left, like a bicycle, and the rear brake is on the right.

The other strange thing is that the rear brake looks and feels like a mechanical brake, but it’s not. It’s an electronic brake. Both scooters use a drum brake in the front and regenerative brakes in the back. The advantage here is you can mash these levers as hard as you want, and you’re just not gonna go over the handlebars. The disadvantage is it does take a firm grip to get maximum stopping power.

The regenerative braking here is powerful enough that you can use it exclusively in most cases. I used regen only on the way down the steepest hill in SF and almost came to a stop at the bottom. I just needed a little mechanical drum brake at the stop sign.

Ride Quality

The VX2 Extreme runs 10 inch tubeless tires, and they feel really good. I ran them at the upper limit of the tire pressure in our testing, and they still cushioned the ride pretty well. If I dropped the pressure down to 35 pounds instead of about 43 pounds, then it’d be even smoother, of course.

The lack of suspension could be a deal breaker for some people. The manual says you can run tires all the way down to from 29 psi for an even smoother ride if you’re up against a lot of bumpy roads, but you will lose about 10% of your range.

Of course, the big upside of not having suspension is that you end up with a lighter scooter that’s more portable and far easier to fit in the trunk of a car, or even toss into the backseat in a rush.

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VMAX VX2 Extreme: Design, Build & Reliability

The VMAX VX2 Extreme, like the VX2 Pro, earns a 9.5 on our reliability scale. This is one of the highest scores we’ve ever awarded, and it’s due to factors like the scooter’s tubeless tires, high IP rating, UL Certification, high-power, low-maintenance brakes, and generally excellent build quality.

There are some quirks in the design of these scooters, however, as I explain in our video review. But minor issues, like turn signals that aren’t self-canceling, for example, don’t detract from the overall high quality and performance.

There are a few differences in the design from the VX2 Pro. The Extreme gets a deck that’s 3/4 of an inch wider, and you get a slight better fender and taillight. There’s also a larger screen – a 4 inch TFT display that’s definitely an upgrade and much easier to read in bright daylight.

VMAX VX2 Extreme: Is It Worth It? Our Verdict

Clearly I think this scooter is worth the money, with the caveat that the VMAX VX2 Extreme might really be too much for some people – not everyone needs all that power at their disposal, and the VX2 Pro, with 1,300W of single-motor peak power, is a great choice for just about anyone.

If you already know you favor more gradual acceleration and haven’t mastered all the basics of riding fast, maybe stick with the VX2 Pro. If, however, you want to rip up hills, no matter how steep, and tear off at every stoplight, and if you already know how to handle a scooter reasonably well already at faster speeds, then the VMAX VX2 is a worthy upgrade and a ton of fun to ride.

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