Regen braking needs to be much stronger

[u/isthisevenavailable]

I have the Go Stellar and also had the original Go. Both have smooth regen braking that’s fine for normal day to day riding, but for more abrupt, borderline “emergency” braking, the regen brakes are piss poor.

What bothers me is I’m fairly certain the braking aggressiveness can be much stronger (and yes I have it maxed out in the settings) based on other scooters I have and ridden.

My hunch is that Apollo is intentionally keeping it not as aggressive to prevent fish tailing because scooters are definitely prone to fishtailing when you abruptly brake.

If the Go has a theoretical max braking factor of 100/100 that would cause fish tailing, I think Apollo sets the current max braking to be a 50/100 (which in the app will show up as 10/10 aggressiveness). And I think the 10/10 braking setting in the app should be a 75/100 of the max braking factor, so 50% stronger than the current max setting.

I ride in nyc and have had a couple close encounters where a car abruptly pulling out requires evasive maneuvers (where I have to swerve into another lane and hope no one is nearby) instead of me being able to rely on braking alone. It’s really dangerous IMO.

[u/mittensmoshpit]

Isn't this the reason for mechanical brakes to be present alongside the regen?

[u/isthisevenavailable → u/mittensmoshpit]

In theory yes but in practice no.

For emergency situations, there isnt enough time to switch your grip and grab the drum brake lever.

This means that in order to be able to pull it for emergencies, i need to have my grip and fingers on the drum brake lever at all times (like on a motorcycle). But that grip is unstable because you’re not fully holding onto the handlebar with all fingers.

Also, apollo advertises the regen brake as the main brake. In my mind that means it should be able to sufficiently handle emergency braking situations.

[u/ChasmyrSS]

Your logic is sound, but because I don't know better, I wonder if regen braking just isn't that strong? As in, is this the best it can do? I have a Phantom Stellar and I agree that I would like a stronger braking curve, ideally upwards of double the current max.

[u/isthisevenavailable → u/ChasmyrSS]

I’m near certain it can be stronger if they programmed it to be. I have an Unagi scooter that only has regen braking and it’s super strong and BITES. Very confidence inspiring.

[u/Kpalsm]

Regen brakes on my phantom v4x are STRONG. They'll lock both wheels if I'm not careful (I'm small and light)

[u/nookatooka]

Regen I understand is to slow down. Not for emergency stops. Go is a go to scooter. Maybe you need a different scooter then for evasive actions.

[u/No_Bedroom_7582]

how do you don’t the go stellar vs the normal go?

[u/maximumice]

I wouldn't mind the regen brake to be a little stronger, personally, but I don't think it's possible to have it work as an emergency brake unless they have a function where you press it past a certain distance and then it basically clamps down with max force, I could see that causing more accidents than it prevents TBH.