Segway Xafari Review

Segway smashes into the e-bike market with the Xafari, bringing features and technology others can't touch at this price point. Segway isn't a bike company (at least not until now), and the bike's design is a reminder of that. A fresh take on what is possible brings new technology and a unique look. Most of the bike's idiosyncracies feel welcome and compelling, but others may be born from their lack of experience in the bicycle market. The bike is powerful, fun to ride, and well-priced; is it right for you? The Xafari is sold as a Class 2 electric bike (pedal assist and throttle up to 20mph) but can be unlocked to Class 3 (28mph on pedal assist). The Class 3 setting is unavailable when using the bike in California.

Ride Quality

The Xafari provides a high-quality assisted ride experience with a planted and dampened feel. The bike's weight gives it confidence but robs it of the athleticism it looks capable of. The bike's weight may be a non-issue for many riders, but keeping your expectations in check is important. Segway packed the bike with features that enhance its ride quality and utility, but they all amount to a heavier and more complicated piece of machinery.

The ride quality is comfortable without feeling inefficient, using an adjustable 80mm suspension fork with a lockout and an independent swingarm with 70mm of travel. 26" wheels hold 3" Kenda tires that give the bike excellent traction and a bit more compliance than most e-bikes. A 69-degree headtube angle slows the bike's steering and gives it a relaxed disposition. A relatively short stem and a 700mm riser handlebar triangulate your upper body mass behind the suspension fork, enhancing your control and confidence on the bike. While the bike has the makings of a mountain bike, its weight of 90+ pounds leaves it decidedly outside the mountain bike category.

That doesn't mean it can't go offroad; the Xafari felt capable and fun on gravel roads, dirt paths, and even over chunky terrain, including snow. The higher-volume tires and suspension smooth the terrain and provide additional traction and control. In technical situations, you're confronted with the bike's mass; lifting the front wheel over an obstacle is quite challenging. There aren't many commuter e-bikes with full suspension, especially at this price range. The Xafari uses its suspension fundamentally differently than a mountain bike. With a pivot that sits in front of the bike's bottom bracket, the swing arm contains the entirety of the bike's drivetrain. What this means to the rider is that the rear end isn't suspended so much as the saddle is. When standing up on the pedals over a rough section, your feet aren't isolated from the bumps, but if you sit down, the top half of the frame (rider and rack) benefit from the 70mm rear suspension.

The Xafari only comes in one frame style and size that Segway recommends for riders between 155-190cm (5'1" and 6'2+"). This guidance feels optimistic, with only 6 inches of adjustability in the seatpost. Our 5'3" tester found the bike to be at the limit of her comfort, and our 6'2" tester felt like he was too large for the bike. The saddle measures 33 inches from the ground at its lowest position and 39 inches from its highest. The step-through frame makes it easy for everyone to get on and off the Xafari; your foot must clear 21.5 inches to mount the bike. Segway sets a weight limit of 352 pounds for the bike and 55 pounds for the rack. If you load the rack to capacity, the maximum rider weight is 298 pounds.

The Xafari uses a handlebar with more back sweep than most and ergonomic grips that I found incredibly comfortable. The bike uses hydraulic brakes that bring the bike to a stop with minimal effort on the rider's part. The twin-piston Tektro brakes use mineral oil and oversized 180mm rotors to handle stopping duties; these proved effective even when loaded down and braking in wet conditions. The 8-speed Shimano Altus drivetrain seems ubiquitous on e-bikes right now, and we have no complaints; this is an economical drivetrain with excellent performance for the dollar. The bike uses ABS fenders that are lightweight and quiet, even over sand and gravel. The bike's headlight is really impressive and far brighter than I expected. The small, square unit has a standard and bright mode, with the latter providing 1300 lumens! The taillight is less impressive; it's a small X-shaped light on the back of the rack. While adequately bright, its small size was less visible than some of the larger models we've tested.

Range

The distance a bike can travel on a single charge may not be everyone's key decision-making metric, but it does reflect how efficient the drivetrain is and gives you an idea of how often you'll need to charge it. The Xafari uses a massive 936Wh battery that should provide extensive range, but the bike also weighs 94 pounds, uses 3" tires, and has a very powerful motor. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect in our range test.

We range test bikes on a closed course with various surfaces, from pavement and concrete to hard-packed dirt and gravel. We always start with a fully charged battery and tires inflated to the maximum psi. Due to winter weight gain, our test rider needed only a small backpack to hit the 180-pound tester weight. We typically put the bike in its most powerful assist mode, but the Xafari gives you full throttle power regardless of the assist level. We pressed down on the throttle and held it for over two hours, racking up 38.2 miles and almost 2000 feet of elevation. We perform this test without adding any assistance from the pedals. Simply put, the Xafari is a beast; this is the longest range e-bike we've tested to date.

Power

Packing a 750W hub motor, the Xafari looks like other bikes in this category, but looks can be deceiving. This bike houses one of the most powerful motors we've tested. On throttle power, it accelerates rapidly and feels indifferent to hills. There are five levels of pedal assist to choose from, but they do not affect the throttle's power or response.

Just a quick ride on the Xafari had us excitedly speculating about how powerful the bike is. A quick press of the throttle rewards you with a powerful pull forward. It's common for a motor rated at 750W to generate more power; 750 watts is the nominal value, and the peak wattage can be much higher. While the specs of this bike seem relatively common, the amount of power you feel hints at something beyond the published numbers. We sometimes felt an abrupt decrease in the throttle power on this bike, and during our dynamometer testing, we could visualize the power drop. We dropped the bike off with the local Segway dealer, and after a short diagnostic, Segway chose to send us a new bike.

With a thumb press of the throttle, the Xafari charges forward. The bike doesn't struggle to accelerate and has no issues starting uphill from a complete stop. In our acceleration test, the Xafari shot up to 20mph using the throttle in 7.9 seconds. I was impressed by how the bike could accelerate and hold its top speed in our range test. The Xafari accelerated all the way to 20mph in our uphill acceleration test and slowed to just 17mph at the steepest part of the hill.

The Xafari ships as a Class 2 bike; switching it to Class 3 is done through the Segway app (unless you're in California). I purchased this bike in California but first opened the app in Nevada, allowing me to switch to Class 3 speed limit. The throttle is electronically disconnected if you're using the bike in Class 3. I later set up a new Xafari while in California and found that Class 3 was unavailable. Segway complies with current California law, but if you change the setting to Class 3 while out of state, the bike stays there until you make further changes in the app. When we put the bike on the dyno, we weren't surprised to see 1300 watts and a whopping 56.1 Nm of torque, but we were surprised to see dips in the bike's power output. Under throttle power, our test bike accelerated with the feel of an old automatic transmission instead of the smooth electric power band that we've become accustomed to with electric bikes. We suspected a faulty motor controller and sought support from Segway, who sent us a replacement bike within days. A follow-up test revealed identical power and torque numbers without problems from the bike's controller.

User Interface

Since Segway isn't a bike company, they approached the user interface in a different way. The display offers more comprehensive data than most, with the ability to answer calls from your phone and control your music using handlebar controls. Segway also equipped the Xafari with a 4-way scroll wheel similar to the control on a Tesla steering wheel that allows you to control a wide variety of the bike's functions with a single thumb. The interface feels slightly more complex than most e-bikes but offers more features.

It's important to note that the bike doesn't have a speaker for your music and calls; instead, you can connect to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones. We don't ride with headphones, and we generally discourage the practice, but some riders may appreciate riding with music playing through an external speaker. Provided you have some sort of speaker, you can take a call while riding without taking your hands off the handlebars or reaching into your pocket for your phone.

The 75mm x 45mm frameless color display is centrally mounted and supported from both sides of the stem. Your current speed is displayed prominently on the main screen with your mode and assist level. The battery level sits below in easy-to-read graphic and numerical form. The current time and icons for the headlight mode and Bluetooth connection are at the top of the display. Much of the screen shows the expected data, like mileage, cadence, and a trip meter. Toggling through the screens, however, there's much more to the interface than we've seen on any other e-bike. A screen that shows an incoming or current call, another for your current music, and yet another for navigation. Segway has taken features that normally live on your phone and embedded them in their UI. This makes attaching your phone to the handlebars redundant and hopefully doesn't cause too much distracted riding. Should you choose to mount your phone anyway, there is a 20W USB port with A and C outlets.

The wide breadth of features on the screen doesn't end when the bike is parked. You can set the bike to lock its rear wheel automatically when parked, and it unlocks with a code entered through the scroll wheel or automatically unlocks using Air-lock, which detects your phone's proximity. With Air-Lock enabled, you can ride to the store, park your bike, and walk away. The bike locks itself when you get 20 feet away and unlocks when you return; this is incredibly useful. Of course, someone very strong could lift and carry the bike away, but you have the app. The Segway app lets you track the bike's location with Apple Find My and GPS, get over-the-air software updates, connect with Apple Health or Google Health, and even sound the bike's alarm. The alarm uses the bike's horn, which can be programmed to make different sounds. For times when the horn feels too aggressive, there is a built-in bell.

The bike's downtube has a locking plastic cover that hides the battery compartment. Inside, you'll find a massive 936Wh battery that can be removed to charge away from the bike. Unlike some e-bikes, the battery doesn't simply pop out; once it's ejected, you must unplug the pack from the bike. The Xafari uses a 4 amp charger, allowing you to charge a depleted battery in just over 5 hours. The battery has an IPX7 waterproof rating, while the rest of the bike gets an IPX5 rating, making it suitable for use in the rain or snow.

Ease of Assembly

Segway bikes are only sold through dealers, so the Xafari was fully built when we picked it up. In some ways, this couldn't be easier; there were no wrenches to turn and no packaging to dispose of. Since Segway is new to the bicycle market, their dealer network is very small, and I had to drive for over an hour to pick up the bike. When I returned it to our offices, I made a few adjustments, charged the battery, and it was ready to ride.

In the e-bike market, I've become accustomed to dealing with direct-to-consumer brands, which offer more value for your dollar and generally have responsive customer service teams to help you with issues. Notice a problem, jump in an online chat, and have a new part delivered a few days later. The flip side to the direct-to-consumer model is that you're largely unable to test-ride new models or shop the bikes up close and in person. While some DTC brands have partnered with bike shops to get their bikes on the sales floor and have mechanical support, most don't have retail representation. Somehow, Segway is getting the best of both worlds; I could buy this bike online for an incredible price and pick it up at a bike shop a week later. When the bike showed signs of a faulty controller, the bike shop performed some troubleshooting but could not fix the issue. The bike shop placed a call, and Segway quickly sent the dealer an entirely new bike; this was a huge win for working through a dealer network. So, unlike many of the bikes in our review, you can actually test-ride the Xafari and rely on the dealer to assemble and service it.

Should You Buy the Segway Xafari?

The Xafari is different from other bikes on the market, and most of its differences are net positives. The bike is wildly powerful, very comfortable, well-appointed, and brimming with useful features. If you want a bike that you can throw on the bike rack and drive around, there are many better choices. If you're planning to start your bike trips from home and want the freedom to explore deep and far, the Xafari's fat tires and massive battery offer more comfort and range than any other bike we've tested. We loved how comfortable this bike was, and while the user interface took a little getting used to, the additional features were great. When you consider the bike's price, it's an exceptional value and absolutely gets our recommendation.

What Other E-Bikes Should You Consider?

In some ways, the Xafari is in a class of its own. We don't have another recommendation with this much power, range, and value, but a few come close. If you want comfort and capability, the Aventon Aventure.2 is a spectacular bike with 4" tires and front suspension. If you'd like something a bit easier on the pocketbook, check out the Lectric XPeak 2.0 with your choice of batteries. The XPeak performed well in our testing but doesn't have near the range of the Xafari.