VOLPAM SP08 Electric Scooter Review: a practical commuter with decent power and no-fuss solid tires

I’ve been riding the VOLPAM SP08 (the 10'' dual suspension, 500W version) for a few weeks for daily errands and short commutes, roughly 5–8 miles a day. I’m not a scooter nerd, I just wanted something to get to work, the gym, and the store without taking the car every time. So I used it in a pretty normal way: mixed bike paths, some rough sidewalks, a couple of small hills, and some night rides.

On paper, the specs look good for the price: 500W motor, 10-inch solid tires, dual suspension, and a claimed 23-mile range. That’s the kind of sheet that usually belongs to scooters a step above basic entry-level. I didn’t expect miracles, but I did expect something clearly better than the random cheap scooters you see on sale.

In reality, it sits somewhere in the middle. It’s strong enough for city use, the range is fine but not as high as the marketing suggests, and the comfort is better than most solid-tire scooters I’ve tried, but still not on the level of a big air-tire model. It’s light enough to carry up a flight of stairs, but you still feel the 18–19 kg when you do it every day.

If you want a blunt summary: it’s a pretty solid commuter scooter with a few compromises. Good for daily city runs and people who want low maintenance (solid tires, simple folding). Not perfect, not trash, just a practical machine that gets the job done if you know what you’re buying and don’t believe every number in the product page.

In terms of value, this scooter lands in a pretty reasonable spot. You’re getting a 500W motor, dual suspension, solid 10-inch tires, dual brakes, and a claimed 23-mile battery for a price that’s usually below some of the big-name brands with similar specs. It’s not dirt cheap, but it’s also not in the premium segment. For people who just want a reliable commuter and don’t care about brand prestige, it’s an attractive combo.

Where it really makes sense is if you value low maintenance. Solid tires mean no flats, and the drum brake in the back tends to need less attention than disc brakes. If you compare that to a scooter with air tires that you have to pump, check, and sometimes repair, this one is much more “charge and go”. For a busy commuter who doesn’t want to wrench on their scooter, that has real value.

On the other hand, there are trade-offs. The real-world range is clearly lower than the marketing claim for most adults, and the comfort, while decent for a solid-tire scooter, still isn’t as cushy as a dual-air-tire model. If you’re willing to spend more, you can get better suspension and more battery. So it’s not the best thing on the market, it’s just a sensible middle option.

If I look at what I paid versus what I got, I’d say the price-performance ratio is good, especially if your main use case is: 5–10 miles per day, mostly city, some bumps, and occasional small hills. If you expect to do long-range rides, frequent steep hills, or you’re over the upper weight limit, then you might feel the compromises more and it might be worth paying extra for a bigger model.

Design-wise, this scooter is pretty standard black commuter style. If you’ve seen Xiaomi or Hiboy scooters, it’s the same general vibe: straight stem, deck with grip, small rear fender, and a front stem folding latch. Nothing flashy, no weird shapes. Personally, I like that. It doesn’t scream “steal me”, and it blends in on bike racks and in office hallways.

The folding mechanism is a simple latch at the base of the stem. You push it, the stem folds down, and hooks onto the rear fender. It’s not the smoothest system I’ve ever tried, but it holds. I had to get used to it the first two days to fold it without fumbling, but now it’s a quick one-hand move. There’s a bit of flex in the stem if you push it side to side, but nothing that made me feel unsafe while riding.

The deck size is okay for an adult. My shoe size is 10.5 US, and I can stand with one foot straight and the other slightly angled without feeling cramped. It’s not huge, but for a city scooter it’s fine. The grip tape does its job; even in light drizzle, I didn’t feel like my feet were sliding around. I wouldn’t ride it in heavy rain anyway, but for slightly wet pavement, it felt under control.

The display and controls are basic but readable. You get speed, battery bars, and mode indication. Buttons are simple: power and mode. There’s a bell on the handlebar, which is okay but a bit cheap-feeling. Overall, the design is clearly more about function than style, and that’s perfectly fine for a daily commuter. It looks like what it is: a mid-range electric scooter trying to be practical rather than fancy.

The battery is probably the part where expectations and reality differ the most. VOLPAM advertises up to 23 miles on a charge for this version. In practice, I never saw that number, and I wasn’t expecting to. My usual pattern was full charge overnight, then a mix of full-throttle stretches, some stops, and mild hills. With that usage, I got around 11–13 miles before the scooter started losing speed and felt weak.

If I stayed in a lower speed mode and rode more gently, I could stretch it closer to 15 miles, but honestly, riding eco mode all the time is boring. So I’d say for a normal adult using the highest mode most of the time, a realistic comfortable range is 10–14 miles, depending on weight, terrain, and temperature. Lighter riders on flat ground in warm weather will obviously get more.

The charging time is about 4 hours from almost empty to full, which is pretty reasonable. I usually just plug it in when I get home and it’s ready again well before I go out. The battery indicator is a simple bar system, and like most scooters, it drops faster in the last part of the charge. Don’t plan a long ride when you see it at 2 bars; the power also starts to sag and you lose top speed.

On the positive side, I didn’t notice any weird battery behavior: no sudden shutoffs, no big voltage drops when climbing, at least in these first weeks. Long-term durability is a question mark, but that’s true for almost any battery product. For a daily commute of 5–8 miles round trip, this scooter is fine. For longer routes, you’ll need a mid-day top-up or a bigger battery model.

Comfort is where this scooter is better than basic models but not exactly a magic carpet. The big selling point is the combo of 10-inch solid tires + dual suspension. Compared to cheaper 8.5-inch solid tire scooters with no suspension, this is clearly more comfortable. You don’t get that constant bone-rattling feeling over every crack in the pavement. Small bumps, cracks, and rough asphalt are handled fairly well, especially at moderate speeds.

That said, you still know you’re on solid tires. On really rough sidewalks or cobblestones, the scooter shakes and you feel it in your wrists and knees. The suspension helps, but it doesn’t erase everything. After a 20–25 minute ride on bad pavement, I could feel a bit of fatigue in my hands from gripping the bars. For daily 10–15 minute trips, though, it’s perfectly manageable. It’s definitely more comfortable than my old no-suspension solid-tire scooter, which felt like riding a jackhammer sometimes.

The handlebars are fixed and at a good height for me (5'10" / 178 cm). A shorter friend around 5'4" also tried it and felt okay. Taller than 6'1" might find it a bit low, but that’s common with these scooters. The grips are ergonomic and not too hard, so they don’t dig into your palms. I rode a few times without gloves and didn’t get any blisters or major discomfort.

In terms of riding position, it’s standard scooter stance: one foot front, one back. The deck is high enough to clear small curbs and bumps, but not so high that your knees are always bent at weird angles. Overall, comfort is good for a solid-tire commuter, but if you want a really soft ride and you have bad wrists or knees, you might want air tires instead. For normal commuting, this setup is a fair compromise between comfort and low maintenance.

In terms of build quality, the frame feels solid. The aluminum chassis doesn’t flex in a scary way, even when going over small curbs or rough patches. I hit a few potholes I didn’t see in time, and the scooter handled them without any cracks or weird noises beyond the usual thud. For a scooter in this price range, the structure itself seems pretty robust.

Where you start to see the price point is in the small parts. After about a week, I noticed a light rattle from the rear fender on rough pavement. Tightening a screw helped, but it still buzzes a bit on really bad surfaces. The folding latch has a tiny bit of play as well, not enough to feel unsafe, but enough that you hear a light clack over bumps. This is normal on many commuter scooters, but it’s worth mentioning if you hate noises.

The solid tires are a big plus for durability. No punctures, no air to check, you just ride. The downside is comfort, but at least you’re not patching tubes on the side of the road. After a few weeks of riding, the tires show almost no visible wear, which is what I expected. They’ll probably last a long time, and that’s one of the reasons I picked a solid-tire model.

As for water resistance, I didn’t fully soak it, but I did ride on wet roads after light rain. No immediate issues, no loss of power, and the brakes still worked. I wouldn’t take it out in a heavy downpour because the rating isn’t clearly advertised, and these scooters are rarely fully waterproof. Overall, durability feels good enough for daily city use, as long as you’re okay with the occasional rattle and you tighten screws every now and then.

Performance-wise, the 500W motor does its job. On flat ground, it pulls well and gets up to 18–20 mph in a reasonable time. It’s not a rocket, but for city riding that’s honestly enough. Acceleration feels smooth, not jerky. I never felt like I was about to be thrown off when I hit the throttle, even in the highest mode. If you’re used to faster scooters, you’ll find it moderate. If this is your first real scooter, it will feel quick enough.

On hills, it’s okay but not a monster. On short, gentle slopes (the kind you find in most cities), it keeps going at around 12–15 mph with my weight. On steeper stuff, it slows down to 8–10 mph but doesn’t completely give up unless the hill is really long. I tested it on a one-block steep street and it crawled up, but it did make it to the top without me kicking. So yes, the claimed 10–15% slope is roughly accurate if you’re not too heavy and don’t mind slowing down.

The braking is one of the things I liked. You get EABS (electronic brake) in front + rear drum brake. The combo is strong enough to stop you quickly without locking the wheel like crazy. I did a few hard stops from around 15 mph, and it stayed straight and controlled. In wet conditions, you obviously need more distance, but that’s true for any scooter. Compared to some cheap scooters with only electronic braking, this feels a lot safer.

Stability at top speed is decent. At around 20 mph, I didn’t feel wobble, as long as I kept my weight low and my knees slightly bent. If you ride one-handed or hit potholes at that speed, yes, it can get sketchy, but that’s more rider behavior than scooter design. For city commuting and bike paths, the performance is good enough and feels safe, as long as you don’t treat it like a motorcycle.

On the listing, VOLPAM throws a lot of numbers: 500W motor, up to 22 mph, up to 23 miles range, 264 lb weight limit, 10-inch solid tires, dual suspension, dual brakes. All of that is technically correct, but in real life it’s a bit more nuanced. I’m about 185 lb (84 kg), and on flat ground, I usually see 19–20 mph as a comfortable top speed. You can hit close to 22 mph on smooth, slightly downhill stretches, but that’s not what you consistently ride at.

For the range, with mixed riding (full speed most of the time, some hills, and winter temperatures around 45–55°F / 7–13°C), I was getting around 11–13 miles before the battery started dropping power and speed. If you ride more calmly and are lighter, you might push closer to 15–17 miles, but 23 miles is basically best-case scenario: light rider, eco mode, flat ground, warm day. So yes, the range is usable, but don’t plan a 20-mile round trip without a charge.

The weight limit of 264 lb seems realistic. A friend at around 220 lb tried it and the scooter still pulled fine, just slower on hills and with a bit more rattling over bumps. For heavier riders, it works, but don’t expect the same punch or range as lighter users report in reviews.

Overall, the presentation on Amazon is not completely off, but you need to cut about 20–30% off the speed and range expectations to match normal daily use. If you go in with that mindset, you’ll probably say, “yeah, this is decent for the price.” If you expect the full numbers, you might feel slightly cheated.