Get Your Hands on the Cheapest Mobility Alternative Around: Apex E-Scooter From GoTrax

Ladies and gentlemen, the electric two-wheeler you see in the image gallery is GoTrax's Apex electric scooter. Why bring to light this rather quirky machine? For starters, it only costs $300, and if that's not worth your attention for the next few minutes, I don't know what is.

Now, you may have heard the name GoTrax before; we've featured their machines on several occasions, but the Apex is their most affordable option. Overall, GoTrax has only been around as a brand for a few years, since 2017, but its parent company, Tao Motors, has been active in the vehicle industry for over 20 years. All that brings us to the Apex.

So, what are we getting our hands on by dropping $300 (€275 at current exchange rates) on this? For starters, let's take a closer look at the overall design and the frame. Like most other e-scooters on the market, nothing but good old aluminum is used to craft the steering column and the footboard.

This ensures a strong yet lighter machine that you can easily take with you up a flight of stairs or in an elevator. How light is the Apex? According to the manufacturer's website, 32 lbs (14.5 kg) is what you'll be lugging around. This would typically be an issue for most folks that don't visit the gym, but the frame does fold, ensuring future owners can easily grip the entire board and carry it in hand wherever they need to. This also minimizes its size, so if you need to catch the bus or subway to work, bring it along.

All that sounds great and all, but some polymer or plastic has made it onto the Apex, and it's not necessarily the most attractive of materials to be using, especially once it's painted in that near-burgundy red. The fenders look like they're made from the stuff, and so does the front fork, but that has to be a cover of sorts. A bit off-topic, but do take note of the internal wiring job going through the steering column and footboard to the rear brake and motor.

Wait a minute; the motor is at the rear? Yup, and this is one way the Apex differs from other e-scooters on the market, with RWD. Mounted into the rear wheel, a 250 W motor is all the power we get for this sort of cash, but it should be more than enough to take care of some light hills and speedy trips to the store or pharmacy.

Speaking of speedy trips, in all, this little powerhouse has the ability to push you along at speeds upwards of 15.5 mph (25 kph). That's just as fast as the Okai Neon that I'm using nearly daily. There's just no mention of torque on the manufacturer's website.

Up next, it helps to know just how much range we can squeeze out of this bugger. Mounted into the footboard, GoTrax adds a 6.0 Ah battery running under 36V, and while it may sound rather small, GoTrax states that it's enough for a peak range of 15.5 mi (25 km).

However, real-world testing often shows that these manufacturer-declared numbers are about 30% higher than what we can really achieve with varying city terrain and road surfaces. Once we start to throw in some added weight because of a backpack or the size of your lunch, these digits typically drop even more.

But what about comfort? One aspect that I enjoyed about the Apex is that GoTrax has done the research and discovered that air-filled tires are a whole lot more comfortable than solid honeycomb ones. Thus, they've thrown on not one but two gassy rubbers to help smoothen out bumps and vibrations from the road.

There's another benefit of such tires. Not only do pneumatic tires provide comfort for the rider, but does so for the scooter too. What I'm trying to say is that components should also be protected from vibrations as you ride, often ensuring a longer lifetime. Customer reviews also seem to support this idea, as some riders have reported clocking in over 1,500 mi (2,414 km) with one of these puppies.

The final aspects you need to know about the Apex is that braking is achieved with a cable-driven system, there's a clear display integrated into the cockpit, and once you're out of just, you'll need to pull over for five hours before you're back with a full tank of juice.

However, none of that really matters, considering we can get our hands on one a dang e-scooter for no more than $300. If you've been looking for a short-range mobility machine that won't empty your bank account, then the Apex is worth jotting down onto your list of considerations.