Turbowheel Lightning / Lightning+ Review – One Of The Best Electric Scooters Ever Made

Last Updated on November 14, 2022 by Matt

This is a comprehensive review of the Turbowheel Lightning and Turbowheel Lightning+ scooter models. We will see why this scooter is so respected and beloved in the scooter world, and why it is often seen as one of the best higher-end electric scooters in the world in general.

Should you buy the Turbowheel Lightning?

The most common type of scooterist that buys the Turbowheel Lightning or the Turbowheel Lightning+ is a relatively experienced rider that has maybe owned a budget scooter and is either bored by it, or is ready for the next level.

However, unlike most other premium scooters, the Lightning is also very often chosen by first-time owners that simply want to buy one of the best electric scooters ever made, without going through the pains of owning a budget scooter first.

Personally, while I usually don’t recommend such powerful scooters for beginners, I’m ready to make an exception here, as the Lightning has a lot of different speed and riding modes that can make it suitable for all types of riders, and I would recommend it to anyone that’s a true scooter lover, even if all they’ve ever ridden are rental scooters.

Ordering

The best place to get the Turbowheel Lightning or the Turbowheel Lightning+ in the US and Canada is EWheels. If you live in Europe, your best bet will be RideFatDaddy.

Prices are subject to change, but typically you can expect to pay around $1600 for the standard Turbowheel Lightning version, and around $2200 for the Turbowheel Lightning+ upgraded version. Both scooters are available from the same listing, you only have to choose the model you want.

EWheels is probably the only merchant where you can get the original scooter that’s also gone through an extensive quality assurance process.

Shipping

When ordering through EWheels, shipping costs are not included in the original price, and are calculated at checkout. They will depend on your location and state in the US. If you live in Canada, you may have to pay sales taxes or customs fees.

Shipping can take up to a week, but in most cases, it won’t take more than 2 days, and in some cases, owners have seen their scooter arrive the same day they’ve ordered it.

Warranty

In the US and Canada, the warranty for the Turbowheel Lightning will last for 12 months and will cover factory defects, as well as damage from what is considered normal use (riders under the weight limit, not riding in wet conditions, not suffering impacts from collisions, etc). The warranty also covers the battery for the same period as well, which is quite good, as most warranties only cover the battery for 6 months.

Also, if the scooter is dead on arrival or has defects out of the box, you can ship it back to EWheels free of charge and either have it repaired, also free of charge, or possibly get a new unit.

Returns and refunds

If you’ve ordered the scooter through EWheels in North America, you can return the scooter within 14 days of ordering for a refund, but the scooter needs to be unopened, unused, and in the original condition. Also, you will have to pay the outbound and return shipping costs, as well as a potential 10% restocking fee.

Customer support

EWheels is one of the most reputable online scooter merchants, and you will receive unrivaled customer support and guidance, both throughout the buying process, and in the case of possible repairs and other support you may need later. All of your questions and concerns will be answered swiftly and in detail. Some of the EWheels customer success team members, most notably Jason, even have a sort of a mini-celebrity status in some scooter communities online because of their care and devotion.

The Turbowheel brand and scooter line

The Turbowheel Lightning comes from a proud line of strong-performing scooters. The scooter line includes some of the most celebrated and desired power scooters in the world, like the Turbowheel Phaeton, which is even more powerful than the Lightning, but also other models crafted for more casual riders, like the Turbowheel Dart, the Turbowheel Swift, and the Turbowheel Hornet.

Basics

This is the 101 for the Turbowheel Lightning and Turbowheel Lightning+.

Unboxing and assembly

The box that arrives at your home will include:

• scooter
• standard charger
• two keys
• Allen multikey
• user manual

There’s almost no assembly required on your part, you only need to install the handlebars, adjust the controls and set the brakes to your preference.

User manual

The user manual for the Lightning is not terribly long, and has quite a lot of useful illustrations, so going through it shouldn’t be a major pain. Make sure to at least quickly scan through it, as different versions of the scooter may have some different specifics.

How to fold and unfold

The folding mechanism of the scooter is very sturdy, and many have described it as rigid even. Folding and unfolding is fairly standard – all you need to do is unlock the latches on the front, raise the clamp, and you can fold the stem. You may have to tighten or loosen the screws on the latches.

The angle of the stem can be adjusted as well by tightening or loosening the screws at the base of the stem.

The Turbowheel Lightning+ also has foldable handlebars.

How to use

To turn on the scooter, you need to start the ignition with the keys first, and then turn on the dashboard.

Pressing the mode button switches the gear, while holding it down turns the lights on. With 3 speed modes, a choice between turbo and eco mode, and a choice between using one or both motors, you have a total of 12 different riding setups to choose from.

The scooter has cruise control, but you can choose to deactivate it through the P-settings, or change the time it takes your scooter to enter cruising mode. Braking or accelerating stops the cruising mode.

Build quality

The Lightning is a true high-end electric scooter, and that’s best reflected in its excellent build quality.

Design, colors, looks

If you’re a scooter enthusiast, you may recognize the design and the looks of the Turbowheel Lightning model, and it may look familiar to you.

That’s because it shares a lot of the design and exterior elements with a few other similar scooters, and it looks a lot like the Zero 10X and the Techlife X9. There are some differences in the performances and use cases between each of these scooters, but they look very similar from the outside.

The Lightning is only available in the traditional stylish black with red details.

Engineering and materials

The scooter is engineered for quality and performance first, with a heavy focus on durability and ride comfort as well. It is made from aluminum primarily, but also uses steel for some critical components.

Every single one of its crucial components is of excellent quality, and they mostly come from premium brands, but what makes this scooter truly great is how the components are put together and how well-executed the final product is. The craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into producing this scooter are remarkable, and they are further enhanced by thorough quality assurance processes.

Ride experience

It’s not surprising that the Lightning provides buttery-smooth rides, both in challenging urban environments like poor roads with lots of potholes and bumps and cracks, and in punishing off-road scenarios like dirt trails and rough terrain.

The combination of large pneumatic tires (with an off-road option available), top-notch dual suspension, and excellent build quality overall, all work together to make riding this scooter a dream.

Durability and longevity

This is one of the best-selling high-performance scooters ever, and it has already been around for a few years, so we have plenty of data to see how long it lasts and how well it handles abuse. The jury is in – after dozens upon dozens of owner reviews, and probably a few thousand units sold, the number of serious defects that render the scooter useless can still be counted on two hands.

The typical scenario is riding the Lightning without a single defect for the first year, with a possible minor malfunction or a flat occurring after a lot of use, but very low chances of a complete breakdown even after two or more years.

Defects, problems, and downsides

The Turbowheel Lightning is a premium scooter, but as with any complex electronic gadget, it’s not without its issues. Luckily, even the most commonly reported defects and problems are very rare, and none of them are actual dealbreakers.

The most common issue with the Turbowheel Lightning and the Turbowheel Lightning+ is the slight understeer of the front wheel (which many people actually view as a feature rather than a bug, especially when riding at faster speeds), and the somewhat mediocre handling. Even though this is the most commonly reported issue with the scooter, it has still only been reported by a handful of owners, which proves the high quality of the scooter.

Only one owner has reported possible issues with the clamps and the handlebar connection being somewhat too rigid, as well as some concerns about some squeaking sound coming from the folding mechanism, and this is probably the most serious issue. Even this owner has reported being very satisfied with the scooter overall and this issue is the only objection he has had.

Other issues reported include an overly sensitive throttle (although that can be adjusted), noisy front brakes, weak headlights, and, of course, the inevitable occurrence of several flat tires (most owners haven’t had any trouble replacing them).

One issue that’s a personal pet peeve of mine is that the scooter doesn’t have an IP water protection standard. If you plan on riding through rain, snow, or other wet environments, you might want to consider looking at some waterproof scooters instead.

Other than those few small issues, you should also be aware that this is a large and heavy scooter that isn’t really meant to be carried a lot. That can’t be considered an issue with the scooter, as this is clearly a power model, but it’s still something you should think about if you’re considering buying this scooter.

Performance

Performance is where both the Turbowheel Lightning and the Turbowheel Lightning+ shine the brightest. The value proposition of both models is simply brilliant – scooters with similar specs can often cost twice as much! In fact, there are only a handful of other $1500 scooters with dual motors.

The Lightning is probably the most powerful scooter for regular scooterists and casual riders, and it may be a bit too powerful for some of them as well. Anything more powerful than this scooter can already be considered a true racing scooter, and is likely outside the scope of interest of the average rider.

Battery

Probably the biggest difference between the Lightning and the Lightning+ models is in the battery.

The Turbowheel Lightning comes with a 18650 Li-ion, 52 Volts, 957 Watt-hours, 18.4 Amp-hours battery. The battery is manufactured by Sincpower, which is a Chinese brand, but still a somewhat solid and well-respected battery manufacturer.

The Turbowheel Lightning+, however, comes with a fairly stronger battery, with 60 Volts, 1260 Watt-hours, and 21 Amp-hours of capacity. Also, the battery comes from LG, which, if not the best scooter battery manufacturer in the world, is certainly among the top three.

Many of the differences in performance and overall experience stem from the differences in the batteries.

Charging

Both of the models have two charging ports, and both models can support three charging methods:

• single regular charger
• two regular chargers
• one fast charger (3 hours for an 80% charge)

The scooter comes with a single regular charger, and you can order either another one of those or the fast charger. Using the fast charger will let you choose the charging speed, and the capacity up to which you want the battery charged. The only unsupported option is using two fast chargers.

As usual, using the rapid charger will reduce the number of charge cycles and the battery’s overall lifespan, but for many people, that’s well worth it. Also, as battery technology improves, the fast chargers for the Lightning are much more efficient than fast chargers for scooters from 5 years ago, so the deterioration will not really be as bad.

The indicator lights on the chargers work as usual – red means the scooter is still charging, green means the battery is full.

Range

Of course, given the differences in the batteries, it’s no wonder that the ranges of the Lightning and the Lightning+ will be very different.

The Turbowheel Lightning has an official range of 30 mi / 48 km on a single charge. This is actually the real-world range, not merely the range obtained under ideal ride conditions, and it has been confirmed by quite a lot of owners so far.

The Turbowheel Lightning+ has an even better range of 40 mi / 64 km, which is almost directly proportional to the difference in battery capacity.

While both scooters have decent ranges, the Lightning+ is obviously a much better choice for commuters and most casual ridders, as 30 mi / 48 km is a pretty good range for a scooter these days, but 40 mi / 64 km is already an excellent range and clearly makes the Lightning+ a long-range model.

Keep in mind that you may get less range in colder temperatures, but that’s common for every electric vehicle

Motor, power, torque

Probably the strongest, most prominent feature of the Turbowheel Lightning is its two hub BLDC motors. Each packs 1000 Watts of real power, and 1800 Watts of peak power, for a combined peak power output of 3600 Watts delivered via two separate controllers.

The Lightning+ model is even more powerful than that, with 1200 Watts of real power in each motor. While the peak power of the motors is the same, the real power level is much more important for most scenarios (at least the ones that truly matter), and the Lightning+ is definitely the more powerful choice.

With two powerful motors, the torque and the acceleration of the scooter are both excellent.

Speed, acceleration

The top speed of the Turbowheel Lightning is 40 mph / 64 kmh, while the top speed of the upgraded Lightning+ is 45 mph / 72 kmh. Several owners and independent testers have confirmed this top speed, and almost every single one of them has been scared to death while doing it.

There’s no doubt about it, the Lightning is truly fast.

The two powerful motors also deliver very quick acceleration, especially when riding in dual motor mode. Of course, the Lightning+, coming with upgraded motors and a higher battery voltage, will provide even quicker acceleration.

Climbing

Given the Turbowheel Lightning’s powerful setup, with both the two motors and the battery being much more powerful than the average commuter scooter, it’s no wonder that it climbs like a wildcat, and only the steepest of hills and slopes will defeat it.

In fact, according to user tests, the scooter almost never really gives up, it can only slow down on some extremely steep hills, but everything else will be a cakewalk.

There is no official climb angle for the Lightning/Lightning+. Judging from tests and other owner reports, the estimated climb angle of the Lightning is at least 30° / 58%, and even higher for the Lightning+.

Weight limit, rider height, and usage by heavy adults

The official weight limit of both the Lightning and the Lightning+ is 330 lbs / 150 kg. Heavier riders generally confirm that the scooter doesn’t really have many issues supporting their weight (although a small number of heavier riders close to the weight limit have reported a slight drop in performance for the regular Lightning model).

One thing that doesn’t really make much sense is Lightning+ having the same weight limit as the Lightning, given its clear advantages in the most important performance aspects when it comes to weight limits, such as the battery voltage and the motor power. I suspect that the Lightning+ can probably support even heavier riders, as the standard model obviously supports 330 lbs / 150 kg.

When it comes to rider height, several riders over 6 feet / 183 cm have reported that the scooter is tall enough for them to comfortably ride it.

Features

Both the Turbowheel Lightning and the Turbowheel Lightning+ lack no feature, and come fully equipped with every possible detail a modern scooter is expected to have.

Cockpit, dashboard, controls

The right handlebar hosts the digital screen, along with the small control dashboard with the trigger throttle, the power and speed mode buttons, and the key ignition lock with the voltmeter. Also, the brake lever for the front brake is on the right handlebar.

The left handlebar has buttons for switching between the eco and the turbo mode, and switching between single and dual motors mode. The brake lever for the rear brake is there as well, along with a bell to notify other traffic participants of your presence.

The rounded digital multicolor screen has high contrast, shines fairly brightly even on sunnier days, and can show you the readings for:

• current speed
• battery level
• speed mode
• trip distance

Tires

By default, both the Lightning and the Lightning+ come with the Tuovt street tires with shallow treads, meant for regular street and urban use. The tires are 10 inches in diameter, and 3 inches in width, and with a combination like that, they provide a lot of comfort and ride smoothness, as well as ride stability and control. The tires have inner tubes, which makes them more vulnerable to flats in theory, but reports and complaints of flats are very rare for the Lightning models.

Upon purchase, you can opt-in for the Tupda hybrid off-road tires. Their diameter and width are the same, but they come with deeper treads and larger knobbies. You can also buy the tires separately as an upgrade and switch them as needed, although the process is a bit more involved and I recommend choosing your primary tire type wisely.

The recommended tire pressure is 40-45 PSI.

Suspension

The Lightning has dual spring and fork suspension on both wheels.

On the front, the scooter has a bouncy spring suspender. On the rear, the scooter has a spring suspension damper as well, but that one can be easily adjusted to your preference by simply screwing a screw.

While the suspension setup is not as cushy as a hydraulic one might be, it’s still very good, and many experienced scooterists still describe it as one of the best suspension setups in the game.

Brakes and safety

The standard Turbowheel Lightning used to come with dual disk brakes, but now, both the Lightning and the Lightning+ can come with the fully hydraulic Nutt brakes, which are the best hydraulic brakes for electric scooters in the world.

Since the scooter is very well made, and has strong or excellent brakes depending on which model you choose, we can easily classify it as a safe scooter. Still, you must always respect its power and potential, and wear the proper electric scooter helmet at all times while riding. I recommend a full-face motorcycle helmet.

Water resistance and riding in wet conditions

Neither the Lightning nor the Lightning+ have an IP water protection standard. The battery casing is protected against water, as well as other critical components, but still, the manufacturer makes no guarantees on how the scooter will behave and perform in wet conditions. Also, the warranty doesn’t cover water damage, so it’s really recommended to avoid riding in the rain as much as possible.

That said, a few brave owners have tested the scooter through some light rain and report no issues at all. My initial advice still stands though – avoid riding in the rain.

Lights and night rides

The lights are one of the biggest weaknesses of the Lightning.

The front headlights are situated inside the deck, which is the worst possible position for the main headlights to be in. Also, they are not very bright and mostly serve as positional lights – you won’t be able to ride at night with them alone and see the road far ahead enough.

The rear fender hosts the brake light, and the deck has two additional brake lights, and all of them flash in red when you use the brakes.

If you plan on riding at night, I suggest getting a stronger set of lights (see my guide on the best electric scooter accessories for the ideal pick).

Frame, deck, and handlebars

The frame of the scooter is made from aluminum and steel, so it’s quite tough and sturdy.

The stem itself has actually been the source of a few complaints in the past, as it has been reported as having some instabilities, but that seems to have been a problem in an older batch, and newer versions no longer have that problem. Also, you may need to occassionaly lubricate the joints.

The deck is very wide and spacious, and it has an elevation in the rear, which gives you some extra deck surface but also serves as a footrest, which is very handy when riding at higher speeds.

Security and locking

The Turbowheel Lightning can’t be started without a key, which makes theft a lot less likely. Still, this is a very expensive item, and experienced thieves will quickly recognize it on the street, so I recommend getting an additional scooter lock of high quality and strength, and not hesitating to spend even a few hundred dollars on it.

Weight, dimensions, and portability

This is not a portable scooter. It is not meant to be carried around in your hands too much.

The Turbowheel Lightning weighs 77 lbs / 35 kg, and the Turbowheel Lightning+ weighs 80 lbs / 36.3 kg. That will be too heavy for most people to carry for longer distances.

The dimensions of both scooters are the same.

When unfolded, the dimensions are:

• 50.4 in / 128 cm in length
• 26.7 in / 68 cm in width
• 48 in / 123 cm in height

When folded, the dimensions become:

• 50.4 in / 128 cm in length
• 26.7 in / 68 cm in width
• 19.8 in / 50 cm in height

When folded, the scooter doesn’t have a convenient place where you can grab it to carry it, and you will have to use both hands to carry it. The scooter will fit in the trunks of medium or large cars, but not in smaller trunks.

Accessories, customizations, and upgrades

The scooter itself is fairly complete in terms of features, but it also provides a few different customization and upgrade options you can add after-market.

One of the first accessories that many owners choose to get for their scooters is the Turbowheel Lightning seat. This optional part is easy to add or remove as needed, and you can get it for $119.

Another very common upgrade that owners frequently choose are the fast chargers. Keep in mind that they differ for both the models:

• Turbowheel Lightning fast charger
• Turbowheel Lightning+ fast charger

Another useful accessory might be the thumb throttle, although that comes down to personal preference.

You can also see some generic scooter accessories as well, chances are, they will fit the Turbowheel Lightning just fine.

Maintenance

The Turbowheel Lightning is of such great quality, that you will barely have to do any maintenance at all. I only recommend a quick routine performed once every week or two:

• clean the scooter
• check the tires and inflate them if needed
• check the brakes and adjust them if needed
• make sure there are no loose screws
• potentially apply some lubricant to the joints

Cleaning

The scooter has no official water protection rating, so it’s best if you don’t hose it or spray it with water. Simply use a soft damp cloth, and possibly some toothpaste or soap to remove stains. Also, don’t use any corrosive liquids or abrasive materials when cleaning it.

Repairs and spare parts

EWheels have a repair center in Tucson, Arizona, and your scooter may have to be shipped there for potential repairs. In many cases, shipping will be free if the scooter is still under warranty and the defect is covered by the warranty.

Luckily, serious defects with the Lightning are rare, and for most small defects, you can simply buy the spare parts and perform the fix yourself.

App

As with any Turbowheel scooter, the Lightning doesn’t have bluetooth features, and doesn’t support an app.

I recommend taking a look at the EScooterNerds Universal Scooter Helper app. It will not connect with the scooter either, but it will provide you with some complementary features such as cleaning and maintenance checklists, tools, calculators, resources, guides, etc. You can find the app available for both iPhone and Android.

Turbowheel Lightning vs Turbowheel Lightning+

The most important differences between the Turbowheel Lightning and the Turbowheel Lightning+ are the motor, the battery, and the folding handlebars.

The Lightning has a combined real motor power of 2000 Watts, while the Lightning+ has 2400 Watts. That results in a top speed difference as well, with the top speed of the Lightning being 40 mph / 64 kmh, and the top speed of the Lightning+ being 45 mph / 72.4 kmh.

The battery of the Lightning has 957 Watt-hours, so the scooter has a range of 30 mi / 48 km, but the Lightning+ has a battery of 1260 Watt-hours and a range of 40 mi / 64 km.

The Lightning+ has the folding handlebars feature as well.

A while ago, there were differences in the brakes, as the Lightning used disk brakes, but today, both models should come with fully hydraulic disk brakes.

Turbowheel Lightning/Lightning+ vs Zero 10X

On the surface, the Turbowheel Lightning models and the Zero 10X look pretty much the same.

Under the hood, it can almost be said that the Zero 10X is somewhere between the Turbowheel Lightning and the Turbowheel Lightning+.

All three models have dual motors, and the motors of the Zero 10X, with 2000 Watts of real power and 3200 Watts of peak power, are almost in between the two Lightnings.

The speed of the Zero 10X is the same as the speed of the Turbowheel Lightning, so it’s slower than the Lightning+.

The range of the Zero 10X is the same as the range of the Turbowheel Lightning+, so better than the regular Lightning.

So, the Zero 10X is almost right in the middle between the two Lightning models.

Reviews and what owners are saying

The Turbowheel Lightning has almost no truly negative reviews online. The overwhelming majority of its owners are thrilled with their scooters, and many say it has been one of the best purchasing decisions they’ve ever made.

Now, you should be aware that reviews hosted by online merchants can be filtered out to only show the scooter in the most positive possible light.

But, when it comes to the Lightning models, I had to dig really deep to find some truly negative reviews, and I only really found two semi-disappointed owners, and both of them have managed to get even their most serious concerns addressed by the excellent customer support team at EWheels.

Overall, the Turbowheel Lightning and the Turbowheel Lightning+ are some of the most popular and most beloved electric scooters ever made, with many of them saying that people on the street constantly stop them and ask them where they can find a scooter such as theirs.

Frequently asked questions

These are some of the most frequent questions about these two Turbowheel models.

Is 40 mph fast for a scooter?

Even for an experienced rider, a 40 mph / 65 kmh speed is incredibly fast, and you should be very careful when riding at such high speeds. You must also always wear protective gear on you, including a helmet, kneepads, a proper windproof jacket, and non-sliding shoes.

Where can I find spare parts for the Turbowheel Lightning scooter?

You can find all spare parts needed for the Turbowheel Lightning or the Turbowheel Lightning+ at the EWheel custom parts webpage, found on their official website.

Who should buy the Turbowheel Lightning?

The Turbowheel Lightning is not exactly for everyone. For many, it will be too heavy, too fast, or too impractical.

But true scooter lovers will immediately fall in love with it. The excellent quality, the superb performance, the amazing experience, and the stellar support you get, make either one of the Lightning models a true investment.

You will almost certainly not buy another scooter after the Lightning. But unlike other premium scooters, the Lightning is also very often bought by first-time owners who simply know what they want.

So, if you’re after your second (and last) scooter, your upgrade scooter, your power or off-road scooter, or you simply have the budget and you want one of the best electric scooters ever made, then consider the Turbowheel Lightning or the Turbowheel Lightning at EWheels.

Turbowheel Lightning Specifications

Turbowheel Lightning+ Specifications

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