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(If you find me on the app, I've already posted photos internationally nickname Virgile74)

My Mini S PLUS, despite having a battery replacement, is now seven years old. I've been looking for spare parts or another model to buy, but here in France it's impossible, and the price of importing spare parts reaches the cost of a new MINI S PLUS. So, I bought the miniPro 2 /   S2. For the past few months, the MiniPro 2 / Segway S2 has been available to Europeans on the grey market from Aliexpress. We're talking about the N5M340 and not the N5M350 (USA). As usual, I will publish a complete review of the S2 / miniPro2, detailing the contact with the resellers, the buying and delivery experience, and the first 100 kilometers. Then, a second phase review at 500 kilometers will be published. The publication is in progress and will be completed in the coming days.

 

I started by contacting all the resellers on Aliexpress, and none of them offered the Black model. This reminded me of the time when I was affiliated with GEARBEST, selling INMOTION V5F units. It turned out that it was actually an Inmotion agent who had opened a shop on Gearbest and was selling the V5F at very low prices because they had too much stock.

Regarding the Aliexpress resellers, all their responses about stock availability and colors were strangely similar. I also remembered that some Aliexpress resellers open multiple shops on the marketplace to avoid paying too much commission to Aliexpress. So, I chose a less popular reseller (I don't trust SUMTOP) and ended up having to get a White S2. However, being used to the White S PLUS with its diffuse wheel lights, I figured it would look very nice at night.

I believe these are unsold white stock from the Chinese market, as the black model is much more sought after.

I also think that Ninebot China is reselling its unsold stock on the grey market.

Fewer taxes, fewer after-sales service issues, and stock liquidation.

So, I paid with PayPal when ordering on Aliexpress, 458 euros. I received the package in five days; it was in Poland (all products shipped from a Polish warehouse are imported by rail from China). I received a white package and was worried I might have gotten a clone when I opened it. I managed to peel off the white paper from the box, and it is indeed an original, although I am surprised by the packaging. With the SPLUS, the packaging was neat, but here it is plain.

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The connection with the app was seamless; however, the model had already been activated in March 2024, likely for regional unlocking, I think. There was a tutorial to follow, and the new feature is the built-in speaker with Chinese voice prompts. I quickly changed it to my language (the French voice is horrible to listen to). I'm not used to the steering bar of a PRO model; I either have the steering of the S (MINI), the first model, or that of the S PLUS. I had to adjust the tilt and sensitivity to achieve a slightly sportier ride.

 

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I've already covered 80 kilometers, and around 100 kilometers, I'll give you a detailed report. I can already tell you that there have been significant changes in the behavior of the MINI and S models in terms of safety and handling, which is related to the firmware. In terms of design, I can tell you it is more compact than before. I'm thinking of the ultra-safe models for children, the L6 and L8, which followed the Nano models. I believe the design of the S2 miniPro2 is based on these models

 

Edited by jojo33
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  • jojo33 changed the title to Segway-Ninebot S2 / miniPro2 review
Posted (edited)

Part 2:

62 miles / 99 km


The major downside to driving, when you’ve had a Mini "S" or an "S Plus," is the steering bar cushions, on the Mini "S" pro: their curves at the ends bother me, my pants catch on them at the knee level. I’m not comfortable with this curvature. With the non-curved models, my driving was smoother because my knees could move along the length while pushing the steering in the chosen direction. With these curved cushions, driving is limited, and smoothness is not achieved in the knee pressure and body movement ratio. For those accustomed to the Mini Pro, you really need to try the steering bars of the "S" (Mini) and S Plus models; it's truly different.

The cover of the steering bar: a piece of rubber that falls off frequently, if you have any advice, it would be appreciated...:efefae4566:

Although I have accomplished a respectable mileage of 3000 miles / 5000 km with the S and  23 200 km / 14 415 miles with the S Plus, you are never safe from an accident or a fall. I recently had a notable fall due to my distraction; the path I was on had no obstacles, and I fell into a hole in the middle of the path. The S2 miniPro2 maintained perfect balance, it didn’t lose its stability during the impact with the edges of the hole it fell into and stopped less than a meter after the fall. A notification of intense speed and overvoltage appeared. 

Regarding the runaway issue: I recall this phenomenon affecting older models, where loss of control during a fall would cause the Mini S to continue on its path, sometimes with even more speed (related to the last pressure exerted before the fall, the strongest) until it lost balance and/or the balance cut off. Here the behavior is different, as the balance is maintained, and the miniPro 2 S2 stops after a few seconds. If I’m not mistaken, this was an improvement in the firmware since the Nano model.

The black box data is no longer accessible. (It used to be a downloadable CSV file, the blackbox is a file containing the number of loads, errors, developer and model codename, etc.).

After a while with 76% battery, I saw my speed stuck at 16 kmh 10 mph, although I had not had any driving errors, beeps or security notifications, so I turned it off and turned it back on and the speed limit at 18 kmh 11 mph was reached again.

Regarding tires, we used to have smooth tires on our old models and the lifespan was around 620 miles / 1000 km, so we will see if these offroad tires last longer.

Given the thicker mudguards and the even more solid and compact design, it will be complicated to replace the tires with 11" offroad models...

Here again, you will have to be careful of imitations of miniPro2 tires. I already received fake mini S Plus tires once

I haven't tried it in the rain yet. On the other hand, I felt slipping under the wheels twice.

On the battery side, for the moment we are on break-in charges, it will soon be at its best, I will have to empty it completely, which I have only been able to do once for the moment

Edited by jojo33
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  • 1 month later...

Part 3 : Tires

mileage: 256 km / 160 miles

Infinite disappointment: I was thrilled to finally find off-road tires natively mounted on a Mini. For the past 7 years, I've been using 11" off-road tires from mini pocket bikes that generally last 6000 km / 3730 miles . This requires modifying the fenders of the S Plus or another model. Regarding the S2, I immediately noticed the central band of the tires and suspected the tire anatomy would pose a problem: the central band is too wide and unfortunately, I slip on the road in turns. This is not good at all. These are custom-made CST tires, but the central band is too wide and continuously molded. A wide, knobby, and discontinuous band would have been necessary to prevent this slippage.

Below the highly anticipated CST offroad tire from ninebot with its central strip: be careful, guaranteed slippage ! or I take a cutter and I cut the central strip at a bevel

 

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Below, much less comfortable, requiring mudguard adjustments but offering resistance over 3730 miles / 6000 kilometers, the minipocket off-road tire, and I think I will order a pair soon for the S2...

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can you tell me if I can drive this model with the app or not? Im trying to find a radio controlled hoverboard /segway that I can turn in to a robot prop for a show that i can steer with a  remote or app.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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