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Glion Dolly Foldable Review

This scooter aims to make commutes a cinch with decent battery life and a moderately powerful motor in an easy to fold and roll platform
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Glion Dolly Foldable Review (The Glion has one of the best braking systems in the class and is competitive with models that sport three brakes...)
The Glion has one of the best braking systems in the class and is competitive with models that sport three brakes instead of two.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Price:  $499 List
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Manufacturer:   Glion
By Nick Miley and Austin Palmer  ⋅  Aug 19, 2022
58
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Range - 25% 7.4
  • Power - 25% 5.6
  • Ride Comfort - 20% 2.7
  • Portability - 15% 9.6
  • Braking - 15% 4.0

Our Verdict

The Glion Foldable Dolly delivered a strong showing in most commute-related tests and its performance in the portability category was unequaled. This scooter has power, speed, and longevity when being ridden. When folded, it is compact and easy to roll or carry if needed. Additionally, this is one of the rare models that offer an adjustable handlebar height. The only blemishes on this scooter's otherwise stellar review are the single electronic motor brake and the solid rubber wheels that produced a relatively rough ride.
REASONS TO BUY
Folded dolly function
Decent travel range
Hill-climbing power
REASONS TO AVOID
Rough ride
Single brake
Editor's Note: This review was updated on August 19, 2022, with info on updates to the Glion Dolly.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Product Update Note — August 2022
Glion updated the Dolly scooter since our test period. Above, the photos show the model we tested (left) next to the revised model (right). Though they look similar at first glance, the new model has an open-spoke front wheel, suspension on the front fork, and a mechanical press break with an LED tail light on the rear fender. The T-bar cover is now a hard molded plastic. We haven't tested this updated model, so be aware that the review that follows is only our experience with the previous Dolly scooter.

The Glion Foldable Dolly is a stand-out model in the class due to its commuter-specific features. This machine can turn grinding traffic and parking nightmares into a memory and replace them with joy as you zip to and from work with ease. This scooter cruises at a reasonable 13+ mph and has a moderate travel radius. It folds up quickly and easily into a compact package that is (thanks to the dolly function) a cinch to transport when it's not being ridden. The only knocks against the Glion are its relatively rough ride and single electronic brake.

glion dolly foldable - the glion dolly foldable electric scooter.
The Glion Dolly Foldable electric scooter.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Performance Comparison


In a concerted effort to isolate and analyze the very top electric scooters on the market, we've combed the web compiling users' praises and criticisms, manufacturer's innovations, and redundancies, and finally bought the most promising electric scooters for a regiment of peer-to-peer tests. We narrowed product assessments down to key features that, when designed and integrated well, coalesce to form a high-quality product that is greater than the sum of its parts. Here we divided our analysis into five weighted categories and the Glion Foldable Dolly's performance in each is discussed in depth below.

glion dolly foldable - the glion's moderate range and power should be adequate for many...
The Glion's moderate range and power should be adequate for many users.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Range


The Glion is a mid-pack performer in this category with a matched effective and maximum range of 13.2 miles. What that means in plain terms is that a rider can pretty much go full speed until the battery is completely depleted. The flip side of this appraisal is the time that is required to recharge the battery. Here, too, the Glion delivered a strong performance with a 4 1/2 hour recharge time.

As referenced above, our range assessment is comprised of two separate tests: travel radius and battery recharging interval. To properly appraise what the travel radius of a scooter is, we broke the assessment up into two parts that we call effective range and maximum range. The effective range is the number of miles a scooter can travel on flat ground going at or near full speed. Conversely, the maximum range is how far the machine will go at any speed. Unlike many in the class, Glion's effective and maximum are the same.

glion dolly foldable - with moderate power and speed, the glion does a respectable job on...
With moderate power and speed, the Glion does a respectable job on the commute.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Power


The power metric is a composite of a few different tests that provide an overall understanding of how well a scooter will propel a rider across a range of topography. Here we assessed flat ground max speed and hill-climbing capability. The speed test is a measure of the time it takes a tester to cover 100 feet of flat pavement given a running start and a full battery. The test was performed three times in a row and the average was converted into miles per hour. The Glion wasn't bad, but it didn't dominate either with an average max speed of 13+ mph.

glion dolly foldable - the glion's solid rubber tires produce a lot of feedback from the...
The Glion's solid rubber tires produce a lot of feedback from the road surface.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Hill tests were conducted on two hills — one at a 3.5% grade, and the other at 10.5%. The Foldable Dolly cruised up the shallower grade, steadily climbing at a respectable 8-10 mph. Impressively, this machine worked its way up the quarter-mile stretch of 10.5% grade pavement. This feat was out of reach for almost all of the other products in this class.

Ride


The world is a rough place and we're looking for a scooter that can smooth it out. Ride is admittedly a more subjective category than others here discussed, but what isn't subjective were testers' reactions to the rattly ride served up by the solid rubber tires on the Glion Foldable Dolly.

This scooter's performance (or lack thereof) in the ride metric assessment hurt it in the overall assessment.

glion dolly foldable - single electronic brake.
Single electronic brake.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Braking


While most electric scooters in this class offer an electronic hub brake, it is less common for that brake to be the stand-alone stopping mechanism. The fact that the Glion uses a single electronic brake (with no mechanical redundancy) hurt it in our stopping power assessment.

To get at stopping power we isolated two components that most will agree are paramount: hill braking and flat ground stopping. The first is an evaluation of the scooter's ability to maintain the desired speed when going down a hill. Considering that the scooter only has one brake it did pretty well. But the lack of redundancy had testers concerned - if the battery died on a descent, then the brake would cease to work as well.

glion dolly foldable - the glion foldable dolly makes non-riding transport of the scooter...
The Glion Foldable Dolly makes non-riding transport of the scooter easy peasey.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The second half of the assessment is an analysis of the scooter's capacity to stop when cruising at the maximum speed. What we want to quantify here is how quickly we could stop if something unanticipated popped out in front of us like a car or pedestrian. Here the Glion did poorly. For those scooters with dual brake systems we looked at each brake individually and then in unison, and what we found was that, regardless of brake type, two brakes always stopped a scooter better than one. While the Glion's single brake was functional and effective, it lacked the power of a dual brake system.

Portability


If you're looking at electric scooters to simplify your commute, then portability is paramount. Why? Because a scooter has to be carried or stowed as one moves from the train, bus, or cab to the street where the scooter is useful and vice-versa. Our portability analysis aims to isolate and appraise specific features that make transporting and stowing a folded scooter as easy as possible. This appraisal focuses on weight, folding ease, carrying latch design, carrying ease, and folded dimensions.

The Glion put big points on the board in each of these subcategories and garnered the highest portability score overall. It's no surprise since the design focuses on these needs specifically. As the name implies, the folded scooter is essentially a dolly with two small rear wheels that stabilize the machine when it's being rolled in this configuration. So, it's no big deal that the weight of the machine is average when compared to its peers. However, if you do need to carry the machine, it has a comfortable handle and the most compact folded dimensions in its class.

Value


We understand that price is a chief concern for most consumers. However, as the old saying goes: buy cheap, buy twice. With that in mind, the Glion Foldable Dolly is moderately priced in our test class. Yet, given all the performance that the machine delivers, particularly to the commuter, we find this machine to be well worth the money spent and thus a good value.

Conclusion


While other electric scooters in this review outperform the Glion Foldable Dolly in individual categories such as ride and braking, few do better at addressing the portability needs of modern commuters. However, if commuting isn't your primary reason that you're looking for a scooter, then the Glion's strengths may not outweigh its weaknesses.

Nick Miley and Austin Palmer