The GoTrax Glider is a great little electric scooter for riding around the nighborhood. Often foudn on sale, its a great scooter for the price. Check out our review!
GoTrax Glider Cadet
RATING: Recommended
MSRP: $180
BEST FOR: Kids 8+ just starting out on an electric scooter.
SCOOTER TYPE: Electric scooter
WEIGHT LIMIT: 120 lbs.
MAX MPH: 10
TIRES: Front air
PROS:
- Kick-start motor for smoother starting
- Fast enough for fun, but not too fast for young riders
- Front air tire for a smoother ride
- Fun colors to choose from
CONS:
- Motor cover catches and scratches on ground with sharp right turns
GoTrax Glider Cadet Review
The GoTrax Glider Cadet is a quality electric scooter that can be directly compared to the very popular Razor E100. With very few differences between the two scooters, your choice may just come down to what color and design your child likes best, or which one you can find on sale.
Performance
With a maximum speed of 10 – 11 mph, the GoTrax Glider Cadet Electric Scooter gives kids that exhilarating feeling of the wind rushing by as they operate their own motorized vehicle! As a parent, it made me nervous watching them, but every tester who hopped on the Glider Cadet looked at ease and maintained easy control. With an added safety feature of a kick-start motor in which the child has to get the scooter moving at 3 mph before the motor kicks in, kids steadily and safely get started without a jolt.
Glider Cadet vs. Razor E100
| Razor Power A2 | Power Core E90 | Power Core E100 | E100 | E200 | E300 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Power A2 | Power Core E90 | Power Core E100 | E100 | E200 | E300 |
| Also Sold As | E95 | E125, E150, E175 | ||||
| MSRP | $199 | $130 | $160 | $160 | $230 | $270 |
| Recommended Age | 8+ | 8+ | 8+ | 8+ | 13+ | 13+ |
| Max MPH | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 15 |
| Max Ride Time | 40 min | 70 min | 60 min | 40 min | 45 min | 40 min |
| Weight Capacity | 143 lbs. | 120 lbs. | 120 lbs. | 120 lbs. | 154 lbs. | 220 lbs. |
| Throttle | Push button | Push button | Twist Grip | Twist Grip | Twist Grip | Twist Grip |
| Motor | Kick start, in-wheel hub | Kick start, in-wheel hub | Kick start, in-wheel hub | Kick start, chain | Chain | Chain |
| Brake | Foot brake | Front hand brake | Front hand brake | Front hand brake | Rear hand brake | Rear hand brake |
| Front Wheel | Urethane | 140 mm polyurethane | 8" air | 8" air | 8" air | Extra wide 10" air |
| Rear Wheel | Airless rubber | 125 mm polyurethane | Flat-free rubber | Polyurethane | 8" air | Extra wide 10" air |
Speed and Distance
The Glider Cadet has a maximum speed of 10 – 11 mph. While the manufacturer says it’s 11, the Razor E100 scooter’s maximum speed is 10 mph, and in races between the two, sometimes the Glider Cadet won, and sometimes the E100 won. From a performance standpoint, the differences between the Glider Cadet and the Razor 100 aren’t noticeable enough to mention.
The Glider Cadet has a twist grip accelerator (just like the E100) that allows kids to easily gain speed and just as easily let go to slow down. The Glider Cadet is all systems go or nothing – there are no variable speeds available, and on a full battery can scoot your kid around for 40 – 60 minutes or 7.4 miles (give or take depending on the weight of the rider, inclines, etc.)
Power
With a 100W chain driven motor (just like the Razor E100) running on a 24V battery, the Glider Cadet has enough power to keep your child interested, but not too much to overwhelm them.
Chain motors do have the disadvantage of being able to come off track. Although this hasn’t happened to us yet, it would be a bit of a pain to take the body of the scooter off to put the chain back into place.
The initial charge takes 12 hours while subsequent re-charges take just 8 hours.
Maximum Incline
According to GoTrax, the maximum incline the Glider Cadet can handle is 12 degrees. Not that we could measure any of the hills in our neighborhood, but none of the moderate hills on our neighborhood trails were a problem. The Glider Cadet does go a bit slower on an incline, but nothing too bad. And even with the kick-start required to get the motor going, our testers didn’t have an issue with starting and stopping on hills.
Performance Issues
Within 30 seconds of our first tester’s ride on the Glider Cadet, he went down the driveway, turning right onto the sidewalk in front of the house, and scraped the chain-driven motor cover on the ground. As seen in the image below, with even a slight right turn, the metal cover comes into contact with the ground and will scrape – every time. Sharp right turns are not recommended. This is also an issue on the Razor E100 which also features a chain-driven motor, but with a plastic cover.
Chain Motor Cover Catches on Sidewalk on Right Turns
Sizing
Handlebar Height: The Glider Cadet’s handlebars are stationary in height, extending 29.5″ from the deck.
Weight: Ours weighed in at 26.5 lbs, although the manufacturer quotes At 29 or 32.6 lbs. This is about a pound heavier than the Razor E100.
Weight Capacity: 120 lb. weight capacity
Height Requirements: Minimum height requirement is 4’3″, while the maximum is 6’7″. Although I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a 6’7 human that weighs on 120 lbs…??
Age: 8+
Components
Wheels
The front wheel is an 8″ air tire while the rear wheel is a smaller polyurethane wheel. The air tire allows for a much smoother ride than traditional polyurethane scooter wheels. You can get an electric scooter with two air tires (like the Razor E200), but they cost additional $$$$ and are recommended for older kids/teens because they go faster.
Foot Platform
The foot deck is 7.6 inches wide, a tad more narrow than the E100 at 7.75″ wide. While much wider than a traditional kick scooter, kids still don’t really have enough space to put their feet side by side. This didn’t seem to bother any of our testers given they were all used to dealing with a much more narrow foot platform on their non-electric scooters.
Handlebars and Throttle
The handlebars are a standard t-bar with rubber hand grips with rubber bumper ends that will protect hands from falls and also will hold up better than traditional foam after getting scraped on the ground during falls or if the scooter is laid on the ground.
The throttle controlling speed is on the right hand and must be held in place with a firm grip to maintain speed.
Brakes
The Glider Cadet features a single handbrake on the left hand that engages a caliper brake on the front air tire. Your speed can also be decreased simply by letting up on the throttle. The brakes are not powerful enough to effect sudden stops, which may or may not be a good thing depending on the situation.
Ease of Transport and Storage
The Glider Cadet, like the Razor E100, is not foldable. The kickstand is an added bonus for space-saving upright storage.
GoTrax Glider Cadet Bottom Line
The GoTrax Glider Cadet is a great little electric scooter for riding around the neighborhood. Almost identical to the Razor E100, your choice between the two will probably come down to color and design. The Glider Cadet can regularly be found on sale for a lower price than the Razor, so that may sway your choice as well.
GoTrax also offers a dual-certified helmet for just $20. Nothing fancy, but it does feature a dial-adjust fit system which is rare at that budget price point.
For a look at other electric scooter options, check out our 10 Best Kids Electric Scooters list. We put 10 scooters to the test in a head to head competition!
FTC Disclosure: Affiliate links are included in this review. No monetary compensation was provided for this review, however, the reviewed product was supplied by the manufacturer or distributor to help facilitate this review. All opinions and images are that of Two Wheeling Tots LLC. All content and images are copyrighted and should not be used or replicated in any way. View our Terms of Use.
