Maxfind Glider G5 Pro Electric Scooter – Test and Review

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Updated April 9th, 2024

Manufacturer and Model: Maxfind G5 Glider Pro 2024
List Price: $999 Pro & $1199 Pro Max

Summary

The Maxfind Glider G5 Pro 2024 is a lightweight, small dual motor scooter with 2 750 watt motors. It is one of the smallest scooters available with dual motors. It has a lot of power for climbing hills and accelerates easily up to 20mph with larger riders. It has okay range for its size. The ride quality is good for a bike without any suspension. This Glider G5 is a good balance between lightweight portability and hill climbing power.

Maxfind Glider G5 Pro 2024 Review and Test

Maxfind is well known for making great fast electric skateboards. They also make one of the best dual motor electric scooters around too.

Once you enter the land of dual motor electric scooters you usually get a very large scooter with multi-link front and rear suspension to go with the dual motors. Maxfiind took a different approach to the dual motor electric scooter with the Glider G5 Pro. They gave you the power of dual motors but kept the scooter small and lightweight.

They did not include any suspension in the design. They did give you bigger 10 inch air tires that are 3 inches wide to smooth out the ride. They raked the steering tube more rearward to give it more stability at higher speeds. This results in a scooter that weighs the same and is similarly sized as many common single motor scooters like the Gotrax G5, Hiboy S2 Max, and Segway Max G30P.

Let’s dig into the features and performance of the Maxfind Glider G5 Pro.

1 – Features

Dual 750 watt motors

The heart of this scooter is the dual 750 watt motors. This gives the scooter much stronger hill climbing ability and much better acceleration than a single motor scooter. The 2 motors have a combined 1500 watts of power output. Most other scooters of this size and weight only have about 500 watts of power output.

43.2 Volt 15 ah battery

The Glider G5 Pro can be purchased with 2 different battery sizes. The Glider G5 Pro has a 43.2 volt 15 amp hour battery made with Samsung 21700 cells. For more range, you can get the Glider G5 Pro Max which comes with a 43.2 volt 20 amp hour battery which gives you 25% more range with only a small weight increase. It does raise the price by $200. I would spend the extra $200 to get the longer range.

The battery is built into the scooter and not swappable. That feature was removed from the older Glider G5 design.

Front Electronic and Rear Disc Brake

The scooter has a very strong electronic brake in the front wheel and a cable pull disc brake in the rear wheel.

2 – Power (9.5/10)

The Maxfind Glider G5 is one of the smallest and lightest dual motor scooters out there. The highlight of this scooter is how much power it has for its size. There are more powerful dual motor scooters out there for similar price. There are smaller and lighter scooters out there but they have less power.

Hill Climbing

I took the scooter out to our standard hill climbing test hill. This is a 1/2 mile test hill with 10% grades and some not that smooth pavement. I use the maximum speed setting on the scooter and a 250 lb rider. The Glider G5 Pro went up the hill in 2 minutes and 12 seconds at an average speed of 14.3mph.

I deactivated cruise control before this test so that it wouldn’t be set while the scooter was still speeding up. The roller throttle control is difficult to hold while riding on bumpy surfaces. My thumb slipped off the throttle several times during this climb which cost the scooter 3-5 seconds in total time.

This beat the Gotrax G5 by 12 seconds. It beat the TurboAnt X7 Max by 79 seconds. It was about 22 seconds slower than the Varla Pegasus. The Gotrax G5 and TurboAnt X7 Max weigh about the same as the Maxfind Glider G5 and have a similar level of portability. The Varla Pegasus weighs about 23 lbs more and is a much larger scooter.

• Maxfind Glider G5 Pro – 2 minutes 12 seconds
• Gotrax G5 – 2 minutes 24 seconds
• TurboAnt X7 Max – 3 minutes 31 seconds
• Varla Pegasus – 1 minute 50 seconds

Top Speed

I took the Glider G5 Pro out to a flat path to check how fast it would go. I set it to Level 3 and also opened the App to verify the top speed was set to 25mph. The fastest I could get the G5 Pro to go was 23mph on the display or 20.8mph measured by GPS. I repeated this test a few times trying to find a smoother path that was more sheltered from any wind. 20.8mph was the fastest I could get the scooter to go on a GPS on flat ground.

3 – Range (8.0/10)

I took the Glider G5 out to see how far it would go on a charge. I set the scooter to level 2 which is around 16-18mph. I rode the scooter on a mostly flat bike path using a 250 lb rider.

The Glider G5 has an impressive published range of up to 36 miles. That would be a very long range for a small scooter I was expecting to get about 18-20 miles out of it on a charge with a 15 ah battery based on other scooters I have tested. The Glider G5 Pro went 12.2 miles before the battery died.

For reference, the Varla Pegasus with a 48 volt 15.6 ah battery went 25 miles on the same route. This puts the efficiency of the Glider G5 Pro around 52 watts consumed per mile compared to 30 watts/mile for the Vara Pegasus.

Something I noticed during the hill climb ride was that the scooter has a lot of drag to it when coasting back downhill. Most scooters will coast back down the hill easily over 20mph and need braking the whole way down. The Glider G5 barely went over 10mph without any brakes. On flat ground when you let off the power it stops very quickly without much coasting.

I flipped the scooter over to check both wheels to see how they rolled and to make sure that the disc brake wasn’t dragging on the rear wheel. The motors have a decent amount of drag to them. On my scooter, the front wheel is a bit stiffer than the rear wheel when spinning the motors. Not by a lot. This scooter just has a lot of drag in the motor system.

4 – Ride Quality (8.0/10)

The Glider G5 Pro has 10 inch pneumatic tires and no suspension on either wheel. The air tires do an okay job of smoothing out cracks and joints in the pavement. They had good traction on pavement and smooth dirt surfaces. The scooter feels very stable at higher speeds and cornering. It does not ride as smoothly as a scooter with suspension. Air tires are great but they can only do so much. It’s also a smaller and lighter weight because it has no suspension.

The scooter has a more slack head tube angle than most other scooters. If you look at it, the steering tube is sloped more rearward. This gives the scooter better steering stability at higher speeds. It does make it feel like the handlebars are closer to you while riding. You can see how much farther the Glider G5 steering tube is angled back compared to the Gotrax G4 in the images below.

The deck is much lower to the ground than other scooters. This also helps give the scooter a more stable feel. It is large enough to fit 2 adult feet front to back without much room to spare.

5 – Braking (9.5/10)

Both the electronic brake and the disc brake have a lot of stopping power. You can also use the rear fender as a foot brake. I’m not sure why you would ever need to. The front electronic brake is very sensitive and strong. It will stop the scooter from full speed with a heavy rider very fast. I recommend spending a little time getting used to the electronic brake control before trying to panic stop with it.

On my scooter, there is a small amount of play in the steering tube. It’s not noticeable while riding any time except when braking hard. When I hit either brake hard I can feel the handlebar go forward a little bit.

6 – Controls (8.0/10)

The Maxfind Glider G5 Pro has a built in display with 1 button to control it on the handlebar stem. It has a roller throttle and brake switch on the right handlebar. There is a brake lever, bell, and turn signal switch on the left handlebar. It’s a very clean arrangement without many things hanging off the handlebar.

LED Display

The display is easy to read in both dark and bright light conditions. I find it a little bit difficult to look at while riding just because of how rearward the handlebar is. You have to really look down. It’s very well organized and easy to see everything you need to know on it. Speed and battery are both easy to get with a quick glance.

1 Button controller

A single button on the display controls all the settings you can set from the scooter. The manual doesn’t explain what the button will do. Here are the commands.

• Press the button once to turn on the scooter
• After the scooter is one a single tap of the button will turn the lights on and off
• Double tapping the button will change the speed level
• Holding the button for a few seconds will turn the scooter off.

3 Pedal Assist Lever or gears or speed modes

The scooter has 3 speeds. The acceleration and top speed are both affected by which level it is in. Level 1 is slow with very mild acceleration and good for first time electric scooter riders. Level 3 unleashes full power with the quickest acceleration and highest top speed.

• Level 1 – Top speed of 12mph
• Level 2 – Top speed of 19mph
• Level 3 – Top speed of 23mph.

Throttle and Brake Roller Switch

There is a roller switch on the right handlebar that controls both the throttle and electronic braking. You roll it to the left for go and roll it to the right for stopping. It works. It takes a little practice to get good control of the brakes just because of how sensitive and strong the electronic braking is.

I do not like this control setup. It is my least favorite thing about this scooter. I find it takes too much finger pressure to hold the throttle open. If you are riding on rougher surfaces it is very easy to bounce your thumb off the roller enough to release it. I would prefer a traditional throttle switch or lever and a separate switch for electronic braking. This roller gives the scooter a cleaner handlebar with fewer controls.

Disc Brake

A traditional brake lever is used on the left handlebar for the rear disc brake. The disc brake has a lot of power and can stop the scooter quickly from high speeds without using the electronic brake. I find I don’t use it very often because the electronic brake is so strong.

Headlight and Taillight

The scooter has a light built into the bottom front of the handlebar. This is a very clean looking installation. It’s bright enough for riding at night. I found the light to be at about the location I wanted it to be on the ground. It’s not adjustable so you are out of luck if you want the light to shine more forward or rearward. You can always get an aftermarket light to mount to the handlebars. A helmet mounted light is always a good idea for night riding. Your handlebar light isn’t always pointed where you want to see.

Turn Signals

The scooter has turn signals built into the rear light. They are activated with a switch on the left handlebar. The switch can be toggled left or right to activate each light.

App

There is an app you can download into your phone to use with the Glider G5. Look for “Tuya Smart” on the app store to find it. You will need it for adjusting several basic features of the scooter. You need to use it to adjust the scooter from kph to mph. It’s shipped as kph by default.

You can adjust several other things with the app. You need the app to enable cruise control. You can adjust the start mode from kick to start to stand still start. You can adjust the speeds for each speed level. It shows 25mph as top speed but the scooter itself seems to be limited to 23mph.

There is a lock feature with the app that will prevent anyone from riding it while it is locked out. It doesn’t stop someone from carrying it off.

Cruise Control

The cruise control feature must be turned on in the app. It’s off by default. It activates after you hold the throttle in a constant position for several seconds. It deactivates by moving the throttle roller or by hitting the brake lever. The scooter makes a nice loud beep when cruise activates and deactivates which is nice.

One annoying thing about the cruise control is that it activates after you hold the throttle for several seconds. If you’re going up a hill at full throttle, cruise will activate before you hit top speed. You have to jog the throttle to deactivate it to keep accelerating. This is common on a lot of electric scooters.

Start mode

The scooter is set up as kick to start as default. You have to kick it and get it moving a bit before you hit the throttle. If you prefer throttle on from the standstill you can change it in the app.

7 – Construction (8.5/10)

The Maxfind G5 Pro has a cast aluminum frame that contains the battery pack. It has a rubber deck pad that has a lot of grip and a nice feel to it. Everything about the scooter seems sturdy.

One complaint about the scooter is that there is a small amount of play in the steering tube. If you stand with the scooter you can move the handlebar fore and aft 1/4 inch. It’s a bit more noticeable than on other scooters we have tested. You can feel the handlebars move during heavy braking.

Folding Mechanism

The scooter has one of the better folding mechanisms I have seen. It has a latch with a secondary catch to hold it in place. You push a button down from the top to release it. There is an metal block that inserts into grooves on the scooter to hold it securely in the upright position.

At the rear end, there is a hook that rotates up from the deck. It can be pushed flat while riding to keep it out of the way. There is a red metal loop just below the handlebar that rotates into the hook on the deck.

The system works very well. It is easy to latch and unlatch the steering tube. The rear hook has a positive engagement with the handlebar loop. It lets the handlebars be centered when the scooter is folded. There is no tendency for the scooter to fall over when sitting on the kickstand while folded.

Assembly

The scooter comes in a large cardboard box. Our box looked like it went through a war on the way to us. FedEx was not kind to this package. The scooter was still okay except for a small area of scratched paint at the folding mechanism joint. I shared this with Maxfind and they said they were working to improve the packaging to better protect that area.

The only assembly required is to mount the handlebar onto the steering tube and attach the brake cable to the brake lever. Maxfind includes 2 hex wrenches and an extra set of bolts used to attach the handlebars.

2 small bolts are used to hold the red folding latch and the handlebar and must be tightened after inserting the handlebar. The supplied small hex wrench is 2 small for these 2 bolts and you’ll need to get another one to finish assembly. You need a 2.5mm hex wrench for these bolts. A 2mm hex wrench is supplied with the scooter.

A larger bolt is used to clamp the handlebar. The larger hex wrench is the correct size for this step.

You have to hook the brake cable into the brake lever. After that, you may need to adjust the brake cable at the brake caliper. I had to tighten my brake cable to get the lever brake lever to have good sensitivity. As delivered I was almost out of handle travel before the pads contacted the disc. I like to feel engagement almost right away when I squeeze the brake lever.

8 – Portability

The Maxfind Glider G5 Pro weighs in at 43 lbs. It’s very light considering it has 2 motors and a larger battery. It is easy to pick up and load into the back of an SUV without folding the seats. If you want a fast scooter with a lot of hill climbing power that is easy to travel with, there aren’t many better choices out there than the Glider G5.

9 – Charging

A 3 amp charger is included. It takes about 5 hours of charge time before the light turns green after completely draining the battery.

Recommendation – Buy or No Buy?

The Maxfind Glider G5 Pro 2024 packs a lot of power into a small scooter. They keep the weight down by using an aluminum casting for the frame and not having any suspension while still having dual motors. The Glider G5 is a great choice if you want a scooter with power but don’t want the size and weight of one of the bigger dual motor, full suspension scooters. I would spend the extra $200 to get the larger battery of the Glider G5 Pro Max if I was buying one.

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