Apollo City 2022 vs Mercane Wide Wheel Pro - Which "Muscle Commuter" Scooter Actually Deserves Your Money?

Fast Answer for Busy Riders ⚡ (TL;DR)

The Apollo City 2022 is the better all-round scooter for most riders: it's more comfortable, better sorted for real commuting, safer in bad weather and generally feels like a grown-up transport tool rather than a toy with a gym membership. The Mercane Wide Wheel Pro hits harder off the line and looks like something out of a comic book, but it compromises too much on comfort, grip in the wet and everyday usability to seriously beat the Apollo as a primary vehicle.

Pick the Apollo if you actually rely on your scooter to get to work, often ride in mixed weather, and care about comfort and low maintenance. Pick the Mercane if you're power-hungry, mostly ride on good tarmac in dry conditions, and want a wild, characterful second scooter that makes you giggle rather than one that quietly gets the job done.

If you want to know where each one really shines-and where the marketing gloss wears off-keep reading.

Every now and then two scooters end up squaring off not because they look similar, but because they quietly aim at the same rider: someone who is done with flimsy rentals and now wants a serious, fast commuter that doesn't quite cross into full "hyper scooter" insanity. The Apollo City 2022 and the Mercane Wide Wheel Pro both live in that space.

On paper, they are close in price and both promise strong performance, proper suspension and "real vehicle" build quality. In practice, they go about it in completely different ways. Apollo tries to be the polished, integrated commuter that also happens to be quick. Mercane leans into drama: big motors, big looks, big attitude.

If you are torn between an everyday city tool and a compact muscle scooter, this comparison will help you decide which compromise you're actually willing to live with.

Who Are These For, and Why Compare Them?

Both scooters sit in that awkward-but-exciting "premium commuter" price bracket where you're spending four figures in €, but you're not yet in exotic Dualtron territory. They target riders who want something faster and tougher than rental-style scooters, but still light enough to live with in a flat or office.

The Apollo City 2022 (especially the dual-motor Pro version, which is what makes sense at this price) is pitched as the civilised power commuter: high comfort, integrated design, strong weather protection and clever features like regenerative braking and app integration.

The Mercane Wide Wheel Pro is more of an enthusiast's toy that pretends to be a commuter: dual motors, massive solid tyres, striking low-slung chassis and that classic "hold my beer" acceleration. It costs only a bit less than the Apollo, which makes them direct competitors whether they like it or not.

So the real question isn't just "which is faster?", but "which one will still feel like a good idea three months into a rainy commute?"

Design & Build Quality

Standing next to each other, these two might as well be from different planets.

The Apollo feels like a modern consumer product designed end-to-end. Cables vanish into the frame, the deck is covered in a practical rubber mat, and the whole thing has that cohesive "someone actually drew this" vibe. The folding stem, inherited from Apollo's bigger models, clicks shut with a reassuring clunk, and the fenders and kickstand feel properly overbuilt for daily abuse.

The Mercane, by contrast, looks like it escaped from a CNC machine factory. The die-cast frame is chunky, angular and unapologetically industrial. It's visually impressive and instantly recognisable, but also a bit old-school in its execution. The folding system and bar clamps work, but they clearly prioritise brute strength over slick ergonomics. The low deck and low ground clearance look cool, yet you quickly learn to baby it over tall speed bumps and kerbs.

In the hands, the Apollo feels more refined: fewer sharp edges, more thought put into little touches like the integrated display and the cable routing. The Mercane feels tough and dense, but also slightly crude in places-functional rather than elegant.

If you like your scooter to blend into a modern office lobby without raising eyebrows, the Apollo wins. If you want people to ask, "what on earth is that thing?" every time you park, the Mercane obliges.

Ride Comfort & Handling

Here the difference is night and day.

The Apollo City 2022 is one of the comfier commuters in its class. Triple spring suspension combined with relatively tall, pneumatic, self-healing tyres gives a plush, almost floaty ride. After several kilometres of broken pavements and those charming European cobblestones, your knees and wrists still feel reasonably fresh. The scooter tracks straight, and the bars offer enough width for confident steering without feeling twitchy.

The Mercane Wide Wheel Pro has its own type of comfort, but it is much more conditional. On smooth tarmac, the combination of dual suspension and those ultra-wide, foam-filled tyres gives you a "magic carpet" glide. The scooter feels planted, like it's on rails, and small ripples simply disappear. Hit sharp bumps, deep cracks or cobbles, though, and the story changes fast: the limited suspension travel and solid tyres pass a lot more shock up into your legs. After a few kilometres on rough city back streets, you know exactly how many fillings you have.

Handling-wise, the Apollo behaves like a normal scooter-just heavier and more stable. You lean into turns naturally, carve bike paths with ease, and low-speed manoeuvres feel predictable. The Mercane's wide, square-profile tyres change the game: straight-line stability is fantastic, but getting it to turn sharply requires more steering input and a bit of muscle. Quick slaloms and tight corners feel like you're fighting the tyres' desire to stay upright.

For daily urban riding over imperfect surfaces, the Apollo is kinder to the body and easier to live with. The Mercane can be very satisfying on nice asphalt, but you pay for that "planted" feeling with extra harshness and heavier steering elsewhere.

Performance

Both scooters can comfortably outrun the typical rental crowd, but they do it with very different personalities.

The Apollo City Pro's dual motors deliver strong, controlled acceleration. It surges away from lights briskly without trying to rip your hands off the bars, and hill climbs are dealt with confidently. The real highlight is how smooth the power delivery feels: no sudden jolts, no surprise wheelspin, just linear, predictable thrust. This makes it surprisingly civilised in dense traffic or when threading through pedestrians.

The Mercane Wide Wheel Pro is far less restrained. With two motors constantly eager to show off, it lunges forward the moment you pull the throttle hard, especially in the more aggressive modes. If you enjoy that "rocket away from the lights" sensation, you'll love it. You absolutely feel the torque advantage on steep hills where many single-motor commuters start wheezing and begging for mercy.

At higher speeds, both machines feel reasonably stable, but in different ways. The Apollo's tall tyres and long wheelbase give a more traditional, bicycle-like sense of balance. The Mercane, with its very wide contact patch and low centre of gravity, behaves more like a squat dragster: immensely stable in a straight line, a bit stubborn once you ask it to change direction quickly.

Braking performance is where the Apollo quietly claws back respect. Its dual drum brakes, combined with a dedicated regenerative brake lever, offer remarkably smooth, low-effort deceleration. You can modulate speed with one thumb most of the time and keep the mechanical brakes as a backup. The Mercane's dual discs have plenty of raw stopping power, but require more frequent attention and adjustment, and the feel at the lever is less refined.

If your inner child demands drama, the Mercane is the livelier, more aggressive performer. If you value fast but composed progress-and not having to re-learn throttle finesse every time the road is damp-the Apollo edges ahead.

Battery & Range

Both scooters live in the same "realistic all-day city range if you're not being completely ridiculous" territory, but again, the Apollo plays the grown-up.

With the larger battery in the City Pro, you can ride hard and still cover a healthy urban round trip without watching the last bar with sweaty palms. In my experience, riding briskly but not totally unhinged, you get enough distance for a decent commute and some detours. If you dial things back and use the regen sensibly, the practical range stretches nicely. The relatively efficient drive system and pneumatic tyres help here.

The Mercane's battery is only slightly smaller on paper, but the way this scooter encourages you to ride-and the dual motors combined with solid, less efficient tyres-means you chew through charge faster. Ride it the way most owners do (full beans often, Eco mode rarely) and you're realistically looking at a noticeably shorter "fun riding" radius than the Apollo. Long, hilly commutes especially expose that difference.

Charging is a small but real quality-of-life detail. The Apollo's quoted charge time is surprisingly short for its battery size, meaning a lunchtime top-up at the office genuinely refuels a big chunk of your range. The Mercane's brick needs more of a full working day nap to go from empty to full, and the low-mounted charge port is slightly more fiddly to access.

Neither is a long-distance tourer, but if you dislike planning routes around sockets, the Apollo feels less needy.

Portability & Practicality

Neither of these is a featherweight "grab with one hand and sprint up three flights of stairs" scooter. Let's manage expectations.

The Apollo City Pro is solidly in "you can carry it, but you'll remember it tomorrow morning" territory. The folding mechanism is quick and secure, and when folded it fits under most office desks or in a car boot without drama. However, the combination of weight and bulk means regular stair carrying gets old fast. There's also that mildly annoying quirk where the folded stem hook sometimes doesn't stay latched if you don't get the balance just right.

The Mercane is slightly lighter on the scales, but it feels denser and more awkward to carry because of its low, chunky frame and weight distribution. The folding handlebars do make it very compact length-wise, which is nice for storing in a narrow hallway or tiny hatchback, but walking more than a minute or two with it in one hand is a workout.

In day-to-day terms, the Apollo is more practical if you have to deal with weather, bad roads and occasional public transport. Its higher deck and better water protection make it less of a fair-weather specialist. The Mercane works best for ground-floor storage, short lifts in and out of cars, and mostly direct road rides without too many stairs or train platforms in the way.

Safety

Safety is one of the clearest separating factors between these two.

The Apollo approaches safety like a cautious engineer: sealed dual drum brakes that work in rain and need almost no adjustment, a very usable regen brake that encourages smooth speed control, integrated front and rear lighting plus turn signals, and a serious water-resistance rating that actually lets you ride in the real world instead of just on sunny Instagram days. The only notable weak spot is the headlight, which is fine for being seen in lit streets but underwhelming for fast riding on unlit paths.

The Mercane does have powerful dual disc brakes and a better-than-average stock headlight beam. Straight-line stability from the wide tyres is genuinely confidence-inspiring at speed, and the low centre of gravity keeps wobbles at bay. But those same tyres are its Achilles heel the moment the road is wet or dusty. Slick, solid rubber plus painted lines or rain equals "ride like you're on eggshells". Add the harsher reactions to potholes and the lower ground clearance, and you're dealing with a scooter that demands more attention and respect from the rider.

If you commute year-round, or you simply prefer a scooter that has your back when conditions aren't perfect, the Apollo is the much safer, more forgiving package.

Community Feedback

Price & Value

Price-wise they sit close enough that you will absolutely be cross-shopping them. The Mercane undercuts the Apollo slightly, which at first glance makes it look like the better bang-for-buck: dual motors, solid tyres, dual suspension, all for a bit less money. For sheer "spec sheet per euro", it holds its own.

But value is more than motor count. The Apollo gives you a more complete commuter package: better weather protection, much lower ongoing maintenance, higher comfort, more safety features and a more modern integration level. Factor in how much less you'll fiddle with brakes, flats and dubious wet-road traction, and the running-cost equation starts tilting towards the Apollo despite the higher sticker price.

The Mercane's value proposition is strongest if you specifically want that dual-motor punch and no-flat peace of mind, and you mostly ride on clean, dry tarmac. For broader, everyday use, the Apollo makes more sense long-term, even if its headline numbers don't scream "deal of the century".

Service & Parts Availability

Apollo has spent the last few years building exactly the kind of support structure most riders wish every scooter brand had: documentation, parts, and reasonably responsive customer service, especially in Western markets. Because the City 2022 is a relatively recent, headline model, parts like tyres, controllers and displays are not some obscure eBay hunt-they're available through official channels and a growing network of partners.

Mercane is more of a niche player. The Wide Wheel Pro has a solid enthusiast following, so you will find community knowledge and some aftermarket support, but it's more patchwork. Depending on where you live, getting specific parts-especially if you damage something like a rim or unique frame section-can involve delays and creative sourcing. Routine stuff like brake pads is easy enough; broken proprietary bits, less so.

If you want a scooter you can keep running for years without becoming your own import department, the Apollo ecosystem is the more reassuring one.

Pros & Cons Summary

Parameters Comparison

Final Verdict - Which Should You Choose?

If you strip away the marketing and the fan hype, the choice is actually quite simple. The Apollo City 2022 Pro is the more complete, better balanced scooter. It rides more comfortably on bad roads, behaves more safely in variable weather, asks less of you in daily maintenance, and comes wrapped in a more modern, integrated package. It may not be the most exciting thing I've ever ridden, but as a serious commuter, it just makes sense.

The Mercane Wide Wheel Pro, on the other hand, is wonderfully flawed. It's fast, it's fun, it looks like a prop from a sci-fi film and it climbs hills like they insulted its mother. But it also beats you up on rough roads, gets sketchy when surfaces are wet and is less forgiving if you misjudge a pothole or a painted line. As a second scooter or a weekend "fun machine" for good tarmac, it's easy to like; as a daily all-weather commuter, you need to be more tolerant of its compromises than most riders will be.

So: if you want reliable, comfortable, low-drama transport that still has some punch, go Apollo. If you are chasing torque, style and character above all else and accept that practicality will occasionally sulk in the corner, the Mercane will put a big, slightly guilty grin on your face.

Numbers Freaks Corner

These metrics answer questions for the spreadsheet-inclined: how much battery you get per euro, how heavy each scooter is for the performance and range it offers, how energy-efficient they are, and how quickly you can pump energy back in. Lower is better for cost and weight ratios, while higher is better for power density and charging speed. They don't capture comfort or fun, but they do reveal which scooter is more optimised on paper.

Author's Category Battle

Overall Winner Declaration

In the Numbers Freaks Corner, the APOLLO City 2022 scores 7 points against the MERCANE Wide Wheel Pro's 3. In the Author's Category Battle, the APOLLO City 2022 gets 31 ✅ versus 11 ✅ for MERCANE Wide Wheel Pro (with a few ties sprinkled in).

Totals: APOLLO City 2022 scores 38, MERCANE Wide Wheel Pro scores 14.

Based on the scoring, the APOLLO City 2022 is our overall winner. Put simply, the Apollo City 2022 Pro feels like the scooter that wants to get you where you're going, every day, with the least drama-and that quiet competence is what wins it this comparison. It's not perfect, but it's coherent: it rides well, behaves sensibly in bad conditions, and feels like a proper urban vehicle rather than a toy you happen to commute on. The Mercane Wide Wheel Pro is the one you buy with your heart, not your head: huge fun in the right setting, full of attitude, and undeniably entertaining, but also more tiring and less forgiving in the messy real world most of us actually ride in. For most riders, the Apollo is the better choice; for a smaller group of thrill-seekers on smooth, dry streets, the Mercane will still be the guilty pleasure they can't resist.

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.