Apollo Air 2022 vs InMotion Climber - Comfort King Meets Hill-Killer: Which One Actually Deserves Your Money?

Fast Answer for Busy Riders ⚡ (TL;DR)

The InMotion Climber is the overall winner: it delivers far more punch, better hill-climbing, tougher water protection and sharper value, all for noticeably less money. It feels like a serious commuter tool that just happens to be great fun when the road tilts upwards.

The Apollo Air 2022 still makes sense if your priority is silky comfort, a cushy front suspension and a calm, confidence-inspiring ride on rough city tarmac - and you do not care about explosive power or best price-per-Wh.

Choose the Climber if your city has real hills, you weigh a bit more, or you simply want something that pulls hard without becoming a 30 kg monster. Choose the Apollo Air if your roads are terrible, your commute is modest, and you prefer a softer, slower, more "premium-feeling" glide.

If you want to know which one will actually make your daily commute better (and not just look good on a spec sheet), keep reading.

There is a fascinating clash going on here: on one side, the Apollo Air 2022, a self-proclaimed "premium commuter" that focuses on comfort, design and a reassuringly solid feel. On the other, the InMotion Climber, which takes a fairly tame-looking frame and quietly stuffs two motors into it like someone hid a sports bike engine inside a city bicycle.

I have put real kilometres on both - from glassy bike paths to patchy old cobbles and spiteful, long hills that love killing weak motors. The Air behaves like a polite, well-bred city runabout. The Climber, by contrast, is the quiet colleague who turns up to the Friday ride and absolutely drops everyone on the first hill.

So which one deserves a place under your desk or in your hallway - and which one will you secretly wish you had bought six months from now? Let's dig in.

Who Are These For, and Why Compare Them?

On paper, these two shouldn't be that far apart: both are mid-range commuters, roughly in the "serious daily rider, not a toy" category. They both roll on similarly sized pneumatic tyres, both have app integration, both target riders who actually rely on their scooter to get to work rather than just to fetch coffee.

But they come at the problem from almost opposite directions. Apollo tries to bring "big-scooter" refinement down into an urban package - lush front suspension, wide bars, tidy design - and asks a premium price for the effort. InMotion takes a lean chassis, skips the suspension entirely, and spends the budget on dual motors, a higher-voltage battery and stout weather protection.

So the comparison is very relevant: they're competing for the same kind of rider - a committed commuter who wants something better than rental-grade - but they each make you choose your poison: comfort versus power, plush versus punch.

Design & Build Quality

Pick up the Apollo Air 2022 and it feels like a single, solid chunk of metal. The one-piece frame casting, hidden cabling and rubberised deck give it a mature, "proper vehicle" vibe. The grey finish is understated, the wide bars feel serious, and nothing rattles. It's the kind of scooter you don't mind wheeling into a lobby with marble floors and disapproving security guards.

The InMotion Climber looks more utilitarian. Matte black with orange accents, flatter surfaces, less sculpted drama. But once you start poking at it, it's obvious this isn't some rebranded generic deck: the stem is stiff, the folding joint locks rock-solid, and the split-rim wheels show a very unsexy but very welcome respect for maintenance. The deck rubber is grippy, the tolerances are tight, and it still feels composed after the kind of mileage where cheaper scooters start singing you a chorus of creaks.

In the hand, the Apollo comes across as a tad more "premium object"; it's the better-looking of the two and the frame casting is lovely. The Climber, though, feels like it's been engineered by people who hate downtime: everything is accessible, purposeful and ready for abuse. Think of it as design sophistication vs. mechanical pragmatism.

Ride Comfort & Handling

This is where the Apollo Air 2022 finally lives up to its reputation. The front dual-fork suspension and large pneumatic tyres soak up broken asphalt, seams and small potholes with an ease you just don't expect from a mid-range commuter. Ride a few kilometres of patchy city streets and you step off feeling... fine. No buzzing knees, no tingling fingers. The wide handlebars calm down steering twitchiness and help you place the scooter exactly where you want, even at its top end.

The InMotion Climber, in contrast, is brutally honest with you about your road surface. No suspension, just pneumatic tyres between you and the ground. On decent tarmac, it feels planted and connected in a good way - you can carve bike-lane bends with confidence. But once you head onto older cobbles or those European pavements that look like they've survived three wars, you start acting as your own shock absorber. Bend your knees, pick your line, and it's manageable; stand stiff, and it will remind you you're on a rigid frame.

Handling-wise, the Climber benefits from its sturdy stem and direct steering. There's no disconcerting flex even when you unleash both motors. It feels nimble and eager, whereas the Apollo feels more calm and composed. Over nasty surfaces, the Apollo is clearly the nicer place to be. Over smooth ones, the Climber feels more alive, if a little less forgiving when you misjudge a patch of broken concrete.

Performance

Put simply, these two scooters live in different universes when you open the throttle.

The Apollo Air 2022's single motor offers what I'd call "grown-up but sensible" pace. You pull away from lights smartly enough to keep up with city traffic and leave cyclists behind without drama. The acceleration is progressive, free of cheap-scooter surges or dead zones, and the top speed sits firmly in that sweet spot where it feels brisk without being stupid. It's well tuned for newer riders and those who want predictability more than thrills.

The InMotion Climber... is not modest. Dual motors give you a punchy lunge off the line that will surprise anyone stepping up from a Xiaomi-type scooter. It doesn't just "gather speed"; it snaps up to commuting pace and keeps pulling. In Sport mode it can feel almost overeager if you're heavy-thumbed, but the power delivery is still controlled enough that you're not constantly fighting wheelspin or weird surges.

Hills are where the difference becomes almost comical. The Apollo will tackle normal city inclines with reasonable dignity; speed drops, but you don't end up walking. On longer or nastier climbs, though, you feel the motor working hard, and you start to think about your route choices. The Climber simply doesn't care: you point it up, it hauls you there, even if you're well into triple-digit bodyweight and carrying half a flat in your backpack. The name is not marketing fluff; on steep grades the Apollo feels like a commuter, the Climber feels like a specialist tool.

Braking follows a similar pattern of philosophy. Apollo's drum plus smooth regenerative system is wonderfully predictable and maintenance-light - very commuter-friendly, very civilised. The Climber's regen plus rear disc has more bite and outright stopping power, though you may have to tame a touch of squeal out of the box. Both stop you safely; the Climber does it with a bit more authority, which is handy given how quickly it gets you up to speed.

Battery & Range

On paper, both promise "respectable" ranges, and in practice, both will comfortably handle an average day of commuting for most people - but the experience is different.

The Apollo Air 2022 packs a fairly chunky battery for a single-motor scooter. Ride it in a normal fashion - not crawling, not full-throttle everywhere - and you can string together a solid day of urban riding without constantly eyeing the battery gauge. Push it hard, sit in the fastest mode and attack hills, and you'll understandably watch the bar drop more quickly, with a noticeable softening of power once you dip into the lower third.

The Climber, with its higher-voltage pack and dual motors, is more of a split personality. Cruise in milder modes, resist the urge to blast up every incline at full power, and it will deliver real-world range very similar to the Apollo. But feed both motors constantly in hilly terrain and you pay for the fun at the plug. It's very easy to trade range for smiles if you're not disciplined.

Charging is another area where neither really shines, if we're honest. Both are "overnight or office-day" chargers rather than "quick top-up at lunch and go again" machines. The Apollo edges ahead slightly on charge time versus capacity, but not enough to transform your routine. The Climber's more sophisticated battery protection is a quiet long-term win, though - especially if you're the sort who forgets the scooter plugged in every other night.

Portability & Practicality

Here's where numbers lie a little. The Apollo Air 2022, despite its name, is not exactly a feather. Carrying it up a couple of flights is doable; treat it like a gym routine and you'll be fine, but you won't be thrilled about it. The non-folding handlebars also mean that once folded it's still quite a wide object to manoeuvre through busy train carriages or narrow hallways.

The InMotion Climber is heavier on the scale, but its more compact fold and hook-on-the-fender system make it surprisingly manageable in real life. Lifting it by the stem to board a train or stash it in a car boot feels natural, and the solid latch inspires more confidence than many scooters I've tried that cost quite a bit more. It's still no "throw it over one shoulder and forget it" scooter, but in the dual-motor world, it's almost svelte.

Day-to-day practicality tilts towards the Climber once the weather turns foul. That higher water protection means you're far less anxious about riding through persistent drizzle or grim puddles. The Apollo's rating is fine for light rain and wet streets, but you're more conscious about avoiding real soakings. On the other hand, navigating broken city surfaces day in, day out is simply nicer on the suspended Apollo, so practicality is partly defined by your local infrastructure: bad roads, Apollo; bad weather, InMotion.

Safety

Both scooters take safety far more seriously than budget clones - just in different ways.

The Apollo Air 2022 leans heavily on stability and predictability. Those big tyres, wide bars and front suspension keep it composed over nasty bumps and surprise potholes, reducing the chances of being pinged off-line into traffic. The dual-brake setup, with its super-smooth regen, encourages you to use both braking systems instinctively, and the handling at top speed is confidence-inspiring rather than edgy. Lighting is adequate for city use; for truly dark country lanes, you'll want extra lumens either way.

The InMotion Climber adds safety through raw competence and electronic robustness. The powerful hill-climbing means you're not that rider crawling up an incline at walking pace with cars impatiently stacking up behind. The low centre of gravity helps it feel planted even at its upper-speed range, and the brakes have the muscle to match the acceleration. Where it really distinguishes itself is water ingress protection: that battery sealing is a genuine safety feature, not just a convenience. Less chance of electrical gremlins when it's wet translates directly to fewer scary cut-outs.

The flip side: on rougher roads, the lack of suspension on the Climber makes you work harder to stay composed. Hit a sharp edge inattentively and it can jolt you; do the same on the Apollo and the fork does a decent job of smoothing the blow. In smooth cities, the Climber feels perfectly mannered. In battered ones, the Apollo has the safety advantage simply because it keeps the scooter more composed when the ground misbehaves.

Community Feedback

Price & Value

This is where things get slightly uncomfortable for the Apollo.

The Air 2022 sits very much at the premium end of the single-motor commuter segment. You're paying for nice casting, suspension, a solid-feeling chassis and a polished app experience. If you compare it only against other refined single-motor commuters with no suspension, it can justify its tag. But when you drop the InMotion Climber into the same conversation - with two motors, more voltage, serious waterproofing and a lower purchase price - the Apollo suddenly looks more like a comfort indulgence than a value play.

The Climber's proposition is blunt: dual-motor performance and hill-munching capability for money that usually buys you a decent single-motor with maybe some suspension. If your metric is "performance per euro", it wins by a healthy margin. If your metric is "arrive with all vertebrae smiling on rough streets", the Apollo pushes back, but you really have to care about comfort to overlook the financial efficiency of the InMotion.

Service & Parts Availability

Apollo has worked hard to shake off the "dropship-and-ghost" model that plagues some scooter brands. For the Air 2022, that means a decent ecosystem of parts, documentation and community guides, particularly in North America, with growing support via partners in Europe. Drum brakes and fairly conventional components mean there's not much drama in sourcing what you need; the most annoying maintenance job is really just dealing with inner tubes in hub motors, which is hardly unique to Apollo.

InMotion, courtesy of its electric unicycle heritage, has a long-standing distribution network and a big pool of technically-minded fans. The Climber benefits from that. Boards, batteries and shells are not unicorns; split rims mean tyre work is easier; and the brand's habit of designing in-house rather than rebranding catalogue parts makes long-term parts sourcing more predictable. As always, your exact experience depends on your local dealer, but at a brand level, both are in the "respectable" camp rather than the "hope your AliExpress seller still exists next year" camp.

If you're in Europe, I'd give the Climber a slight edge purely on parts pragmatism (those rims really do matter the first time you puncture), but Apollo is no slouch either.

Pros & Cons Summary

Parameters Comparison

Final Verdict - Which Should You Choose?

If you strip away marketing, group-chat hype and spec-sheet heroics, you end up with a pretty clear split.

The Apollo Air 2022 is the scooter you buy if your daily reality is broken city streets, moderate distances and a strong desire not to be shaken to pieces on the way to work. It's refined, stable and genuinely comfortable. It just also happens to be on the pricey side for the performance it offers, and the "Air" name oversells how pleasant it is to carry.

The InMotion Climber is, bluntly, the better-rounded tool for most riders who care about capability and value. It hauls harder, flattens hills, laughs at heavy loads and shrugs off wet weather, all while costing significantly less. You sacrifice suspension comfort and accept a firmer ride on rough surfaces, but in return you get a scooter that feels like it's always got a bit in reserve.

If I had to live with one as my only commuter, it would be the Climber. I'd pad my knees, maybe drop tyre pressures a hair for comfort, and enjoy knowing that no hill, storm cloud or hurried schedule was going to catch it out. The Apollo Air 2022 is still a nice ride - especially if your roads are grim - but in this particular head-to-head, "nice" is not quite enough to outweigh what the InMotion brings to the table.

Numbers Freaks Corner

These metrics put hard numbers behind things you feel on the road. Price-per-Wh and price-per-km/h tell you how much performance or energy you're buying for each euro. Weight-related metrics show how much scooter you're lugging around for the battery and speed you get. Efficiency (Wh/km) reflects how gently each scooter sips its battery in typical use. Power-to-speed and weight-to-power expose how "muscular" the drivetrain is for its size, while average charging speed gives a sense of how rapidly you can replenish the battery relative to its capacity.

Author's Category Battle

Overall Winner Declaration

In the Numbers Freaks Corner, the APOLLO Air 2022 scores 4 points against the INMOTION CLIMBER's 6. In the Author's Category Battle, the APOLLO Air 2022 gets 23 ✅ versus 28 ✅ for INMOTION CLIMBER (with a few ties sprinkled in).

Totals: APOLLO Air 2022 scores 27, INMOTION CLIMBER scores 34.

Based on the scoring, the INMOTION CLIMBER is our overall winner. For me, the InMotion Climber is the one that feels like it earns its keep every single day. It might not pamper you over broken tarmac, but the way it shrugs off hills, weather and heavy loads makes it feel like a proper partner in crime rather than just a nicer rental scooter. The Apollo Air 2022 is pleasant, polished and genuinely comfy, yet next to the Climber it comes across more as a well-made indulgence than the best tool for the job. If you want to feel your scooter working for you rather than just along with you, the Climber is the one that keeps you smiling longest.

That's our verdict when we try to stay objective – but hey, riding is mostly about emotions anyway, so pick the one that will make you look forward to your commute every single day.