Velocifero Mini Mad 800W 36V Lithium Ion Review

I discovered the Mini Mad when I was hunting for mobility scooters, the numbers sold it to me, 20mph seemed far better than 4mph offered by the sort of scooter you see old people using. OK, so as a mobility scooter it is crippled by its lack of wheels, as it goes it was pretty scary when I first rode it. However, as my leg gets better I can see it becoming more useful and the last two outings have been issue free (an issue being putting my bad foot down by accident for balance).

Originally I came across something called a Chaos 48V 1000W beast online, however, a few reviews didn’t say it was that well built and it seemed to be a generic Chinese offering easily available on Alibaba under many different brand names. It also weighed in at a massive 44kg! Which isn’t far off what some of the proper mobility scooters weigh. The lead acid batteries making up most of the wight, it was also a chain drive too. Further investigations led me to the Mini Mad, which although on paper has a lower spec, the lithium-ion batteries save weight and produce similar numbers in terms of speed and range.

The reason I decided to go for a scooter like this, in the end, wasn’t just the fun of it, it was the practicality, the 4 wheeled mobility versions would be an absolute pain to store and this thing would take up about as much room as a small bike. Plus it would go further and faster than the more mobility focused offerings! And it didn’t look like a spacker wagon either, which I know isn’t PC but let’s be honest, I have a reputation to keep up.

I took the plunge and ordered it from Viper Scooters who offered free delivery and had it in stock, these are actually pretty hard to come by online, unlike the aforementioned versions with the lead-acid batteries which seem to be readily available all over the Internet. The scooter arrived and was easy to assemble, bolt the handlebars on with one bolt, then add the seat. Of course, the seat is optional, but in my situation, it is an absolute necessity!

With the scooter together it was time for an initial run, the battery had a little bit of charge so I boosted around the block to see what it had. Initially, I was a little disappointed with the power, but then the battery was flat. On charge it went ready for its first maiden voyage proper, would it be able to get me to the pub and back? We live in an extremely hilly area, so this scooter was going to be challenged.

First I had to get it up the hill at the end of the road… It’s pretty steep, and by that I mean it is hard to walk up. I can’t pedal my fixed gear bike up it and the electric skateboard struggles unless you hit it at full speed which is tricky as you have to make a left hand turn into it. So how did the Velocifero do? It made it, just, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to fly up there and on the second attempt, a couple of easy scoots with my good leg saw me to the top with no issues.

It’s very easy to ride and incredibly stable at speed too, despite the smallish wheels all the weight is really low so the COG is right at the bottom of the scooter. A twist of the grip provides instant torque especially on the flat and the acceleration is impressive. The turning circle isn’t too bad if you lean into it and allow the tyres to help out and the scooter feels nimble enough despite weighing 28kg.

I use a GPS Watch whenever I am doing any activities and used to track all my skateboard sessions so I have been tracking these too. I’ve had 19.1mph out of it, so just shy of the 20mph claimed, to be honest, I backed off the throttle at this point as with a broken leg I wasn’t too fond of going flat out. The furthest trip I have done was last night, travelling 7 miles to Hythe and back from my house in Sandgate. It’s a bunch of steep hills to get to the seafront and then a loooooong flat run along the promenade.

Last night it was pretty windy, so heading there drained the battery a lot and much to Mary’s amusement I was going for an aero tuck position to ensure I got there OK. I made it to Hythe and just about had the three lights illuminated still. I’d like to take it on the flat and just ride it until the battery ran out to see the full range, it’s quoted as 12 miles and I’d say that doesn’t seem to be out of reach. Last night I had to come back up some super steep hills and I thought I might not have enough juice to do that right at the end of the ride, but it coped just fine.

Things I Like

• The styling is awesome, while I’m not a massive fan of the colours or the number 48, I think this scooter looks impressive and well made, much better looking and more robust than the Choas one I was looking at.
• The numbers stack up, it seems to hit it’s quoted speed and I am pretty sure on the flat you’d get 12 miles out of it if not more.
• It’s light enough, just, to pick up and put in the van.
• It’s fast enough to keep up with someone on a bike or electric skateboard.
• The key function to turn it on is cool, although it doesn’t turn to the full “light” switch (something to do with a road legal version I think)
• It’s incredibly good fun!

Things I Don’t Like

• It would be great to have more power, while it copes OK with the hills having more juice would help I’d love to see a 1000W+ motor on one of these.
• Technically it is illegal. The UK has outlawed all of these devices for use everywhere, not just the road but the pavement too. This is a ridiculous stance as while most people can’t afford a Tesla they could afford one of these and make small journeys to the shops. The UK seems hellbent on keeping us dependant on fossil fuel which is a shame, I firmly believe personal electrical transportation is the future.

Overall

I’m super pleased with this scooter, yes it’s a little sketchier than a mobility scooter, but that’s only the last couple of weeks while my leg has been mending. Now I feel confident on it and happy to take it anywhere, especially as I know I can get up and down the hills OK. It would be great to have more power in this model, Velocifero do have a full range of these though and while this is the most powerful Mini Mad you can get the Mad scooter with a 1600w 48V version which looks bonkers, it is twice the price though, get that battery and motor in this and it would be incredible.

I’m really happy with this and would recommend it to anyone!

I didn’t get given this and this isn’t a paid review, hard-earned cash was parted with.