Yeah, I can share my experience so far.
I just came from using a temporary loaner scooter, an Evolv Tour XL+. It has 10″ air tires and tops out at around 50km/h. It also had a huge deck and dual disc brakes. Very plush ride, I used it to commute about 180km in total. Huge step-up from my old Evolv City that I have been using for the past 2 years.
I was worried the Vsett 8 was going to feel like a let down because of it’s slower speed, smaller tires, solid rear, drum brakes, smaller battery, and shorter deck. However, despite this huge negatives list, I think it still comes out on top.
Firstly, even though the Tour XL+ can easily do higher speeds, I only cruised at about 35 to 38km/h when I was commuting. Any faster than that and I start to worry about falling hard. I did invest in a good MIPS bike helmet, armored gloves and an armored hoodie, but for more than 40km/h, I feel like I need to step up to a motorcycle helmet and a lot more protective gear. The Vsett 8 will do a max of 41km/h in gear 3 with me on it (I am about 77kg or 170lbs) but it quickly slows down to about 36 to 38km/h after the first 10% of the battery is gone. To be honest, it is right where I’d like it to be for cruising anyway.
Secondly, the smaller tires and solid rear. The Vsett 8 has some really nice suspension, and I am happy to report it is better than 10″ air tires with only modest suspension. There is a section of the bike path I take where tree roots have created huge upwards cracks almost 4″ high. When I rode the Tour XL+ over them, I thought I was going to die… it was bumping all over the place and I had to slow down to a crawl. With the Vsett 8, that section was way more comfortable and controllable. Similar story for running over cobblestones and gutter-curb ramps. I think overall, the Vsett 8 is more comfortable. The main drawback is I can feel the rear tire slipping at times on rough surfaces… I can already tell that I need to slow down to turn on bumpy surfaces in comparison to the 10″ air tires.
Thirdly, the drum brakes. The mechanical disc brakes on the Tour XL+ were too touchy and grabby. They certainly could bring you to a quick stop, but even over 180km of use, I just couldn’t get used to them. I have hydraulic disc brakes on my bike that feel far more linear and precise, it is too bad they can’t seem to replicate that. Despite having to put more effort into using the drum brakes on the Vsett 8, I do feel that I can modulate them better and have a lot more control about how quickly/slowly I come to a stop. Overall I prefer the drum brakes, plus it is a bonus that they are low maintenance.
Fourthly the smaller battery. The Tour XL+ had an 48V 18.2aH battery, where the Vsett 8 has a slightly smaller 48V 15.6aH. After some testing today, a lot of stop and go with decent hills in gear 3, it looks like I will get 35 to 40km of range out of a full battery. I was expecting less, so not a bad result.
Fifth and last, the shorter deck. I will say that having all that space on the Tour XL+ was nice… on a long commute I could really spread out into whatever stance I wanted. The drawbacks of course is that the scooter wasn’t that maneuverable. The shear length of the Tour XL+ was just a huge hindrance. The Vsett 8 feels like my old Evolv City…. just feels so much easier to pop around things or weave between obstacles. It isn’t a small deck, but it does kind of force you to ride with one foot on the kick plate.
So I know this was kind of a long post, I will wrap it up now, haha.
Overall the scooter feels very solid. The ergonomics of the handlebars feels chunky and confidence inspiring, there isn’t any detectable play in the stem. I already took it up the steepest hill I hit on my commute, and it chugged to the top without having to kick. On the advice of some other owners, I used some washers to elevate the rear fender upwards so it won’t bang the wheel, so it makes no noise at all when I ride.
So far I am really pleased with it, given the reasonable price point, it is a very good value.
