Two-minute review
The YES is Yvolution’s first attempt to enter the ever-so-popular electric scooter market. And the Dublin-based company didn’t just copy what worked well for others; instead, it designed one of the most handsome electric scooters we’ve seen in a while that combines vibrant colors, bright lights and the unique Flexpress wooden deck – a real feat for the eyes.
The scooter comes pretty much pre-assembled; all you need to do is screw on the handles, and you’re ready to go. Operating the YES Electric Scooter is equally as easy since there is only one button to press. The LED display is clear and easy to read and shows all the information you need to know about speed, headlights and more.
Speaking of lights: the Yvolution YES has a five-point safety lighting system that includes a bright headlamp, an equally as bright tail light and smaller lights sprinkled around the Flexpress board. You will be seen riding the YES on the street.
And it’s probably the best you’re highly visible because riding the YES Electric Scooter is a somewhat dangerous affair. It’s limited to 25Km / 15.5 miles, just like any other e-scooters, but the brakes are electric and quite powerful. Worse still, you apply them by pressing a small lever that hasn’t got much resistance, which makes braking jerky and abrupt. The rear mudguard can also be used for braking, but that’s also connected to the electric brake, strangely, so you’re not much better off using it.
The range isn’t too bad, but we found that on the highest setting, you won’t be able to go far with the Yvolution YES Electric Scooter, especially if you live in a hilly area. To add insult to injury, the battery can cut off without warning, also disabling the electric brake, which isn’t ideal by any means.
The YES Electric Scooter is definitely not the best electric scooter on the market, but hopefully, Yvolution will look into the issues so that the second iteration can take on big-brand models such as the Pure Air Pro and co.
Yvolution YES Electric Scooter price and availability
The Yvolution YES Electric Scooter is available to buy now directly from Yvolution (opens in new tab) (retailer link) for a recommended retail price of $599 (approx £494/AU$862). The scooter only sells in the US, where Yvolution offers free delivery on all orders over $40 for mainland USA. The company currently only sells one type of electric scooter.
Design
- Very eye-catching
- Comfortable grip
- Maple wooden deck
Design score: 5/5
The Yvolution YES Electric Scooter is drop-dead gorgeous; one of the main reasons we agreed to give it a try. It comes in a variety of bold color choices, including the tested Night Sky version that’s more of a Navy Blue if you ask us but looks wonderful in real-life nevertheless.
Starting from the top, the first thing you’ll notice is the big headlight unit and handlebars. The former is housed in a plastic case but feels sturdy enough; the latter is the smoothest thing you’ve ever touched. The handles are made of a soft, cork-like material that’s a real joy to grip. Our only criticism is that although it’s easy to screw them on, you must make sure you don’t twist them too much when you ride, as that might unwind them.
You’ll find two bag hooks on the stem, which is a nice thought, albeit a bit useless in this case. We had bags jump off the hooks as we hit bumps on the road, which isn’t great if you’re on the road trying to stay out of the way of oncoming traffic. A carabiner-style option might be safer.
The main attraction is located under your feet – the wooden Flexpress board. This is as fabulous as it looks in the pictures and makes it feel like you’re riding a skateboard, not an electric scooter. Yvolution described the Flexpress as a ‘floating maple wooden deck’ that comes with an ‘innovative ‘Flexxpress-technology’ that absorbs bumps and shocks’.
Now, in reality, the Flexpress doesn’t replace full-blown suspension units, but it provides some comfort, which is needed since the puncture-proof tyres are tough as a walnut. We didn’t mind, though, in exchange for the peace of mind that we won’t have a flat tyre no matter what.
Portability
- Foldable
- Three riding modes
- Immovable bag hook an issue
Portability score: 3/5
The Yvolution YES Electric Scooter is foldable, making it easier to carry it on and off public transportation. We use the train to commute between cities, and carrying the YES was never an issue, although we wouldn’t call it lightweight (it’s around 15.5 kg/34 Lb).
A slight issue is the position of the lower bag hook, that’s located in the area where the balance point of the scooter is when it’s folded up; not ideal when you need to carry it up and down the stairs on the train station. We’d appreciate a carry strap or something on the scooter so it can be thrown on the shoulder.
According to the video on the Yvolution website, you can also drag the scooter behind you, which is probably less taxing on the arms but makes it a bit harder to manoeuvre in areas where there are a lot of people. It’s an option, though.
There are three riding modes, one of which is walking and helps you push the scooter easier, even if you aren’t on it. You can activate this by double-pressing the main action button until the console displays the number ‘1’.
Battery
- Not quite as advertised
- Cuts off without warning
Battery score: 2.5/5
As mentioned above, the Yvolution YES Electric Scooter has three riding modes: walking (6 kmh / 3.7mph), mid-speed (18 kmh / 11.2 mph) and max-speed (25 kmh / 15.5mph). On paper, the scooter has a 15.5-mile range, but in reality, that might only be the case when the road surface you’re traveling on is as smooth as butter, and there are no hills.
In our experience, the YES scooter had a less than 5-mile range on max-speed setting, although we must admit, the area we used it can be quite hilly. That said, The scooter is supposed to be able to cope with hills up to 14% incline rating, and none of the hills we climbed is more than that.
Strangely, when it decides it’s time to power down, the battery will off without warning. All you’ll feel is the loss of power, look down, and the display is off. This happened on multiple occasions on our way back home from the train station, at around the 4-mile mark on a full battery.
Said battery is a 20-cell lithium-ion 36V 7.5Ah battery that powers a 350 W (500W max) motor – should be enough to cope with a few hills. It takes around 4-5 hours to charge it from 0-100%, which would be fine if only it didn’t cut off after 20-25 minutes of riding time in a day.
Riding
- Enjoyable on flat surfaces
- Puncture-proof tires
- Electric brake is too powerful, and laggy
Riding experience score: 2.5/5
That segues us nicely into the next section: the riding experience. Again, on paper, the Yvolution YES Electric Scooter should provide an excellent riding experience, thanks to the safety features, electric brake and the ‘floating’ Flexpress board. The stem runs up quite high, too, so it’s comfortable to steer the scooter, even if you’re tall (I’m 6″1′).
In reality, although it’s not impossible to ride the YES scooter properly, it’s far from a smooth experience, especially at the beginning. The main hurdle to overcome is the electric brake – it’s slightly laggy and way too powerful. Once the button is pressed, the brake switch on ever so slightly later but almost at full force, making it hard to work out how to use them properly.
We found the best way to slow down was to accelerate only when necessary and to look out for any signs in the distance that might force you to slow down. Before braking, you move your center of gravity further back, almost pulling the scooter back, so the braking force won’t make you fall forward.
Certainly not the most ideal way to travel.
Despite the floating deck, the Yvolution YES scooter offers a bumpy ride due to the solid-as-a-rock tyres. The deck can only cope with so much vibration, and the scooter will vibrate on most surfaces, at least it did when we rode it.
Another peculiar thing we noticed was that although you can’t turn the scooter off while it’s in motion, even the slightest movement is registered as motion. So, it’s possible to push the scooter forward slightly and rev the lever, so the scooter starts going. This is not a massive issue if you’re an experienced rider, but we can envision beginners losing control of the e-scooter until they learn how to use it.
On a more positive note, the YES Electric Scooter pulls well on flat surfaces, and it’s actually quite fun riding around the city (as long as there aren’t any hills). The turn radius is a bit wider than we’d like, but thanks to the tall stem and the handlebars, the riding experience is far from unenjoyable. Plus, thanks to the puncture-proof tyres, you get a sense safety, too.
