Segway Myon Electric Bike Review: Too Smart?

Bikes should be intuitive enough to figure out on the fly—in theory, anyway. In practice, it’s a wise idea to read the instruction manual first. With Segway's new Myon ebike, the cockpit is so packed with bells and whistles—there are 11 separate buttons, toggles, switches, and a throttle—it feels like the control panel on a small aircraft. On my inaugural test ride, I was so distracted by the options that I almost collided with a car.

My bad. After I returned home, read the instructions, and rode the Myon a few more times, I found that once I understood how to operate it, the bike is loaded with features that increase its visibility, enhance its rideability, and decrease the odds of it getting ripped off.

Segway’s dedication to safety begins before you even turn on the bike. The Myon is UL 2849 certified, meaning that its electrical drivetrain, battery, and charger system have been tested to the highest US standard for fire safety. One might assume that this certification is mandatory for all ebikes sold in the US, but it isn’t—not yet, anyway. Having UL2849 certification brings peace of mind and increases the likelihood that a local bike shop will fix it.

Powering up the Myon feels akin to logging in to your online bank. To ride, it requires communication with its Intelligent Ride System, which keeps the bike locked until the user physically enters a password on the bike’s computer screen or toggles the power on via a smartphone companion app. The same app can employ Apple Find My and has built-in GPS. Cyclists can even micro-adjust their gears from the app with the bike’s Shimano Cues nine-speed e-shifting derailleur, which is a quality component for a bike at this price.

This isn’t an ebike that allows you to be far from your cell phone, especially if you set off the alarm, which sounds like a foghorn. I set it off multiple times when trying to wrangle the Myon out of the garage or unlock it from the rack outside a local restaurant. There is a way to override this feature in the app, but until you figure that out, there will be a few embarrassing seconds that the bike is making itself known to the world

Once it’s up and running, riders can activate turn signals that illuminate the end of the handlebar, honk a horn at traffic, tinkle a bell to warn others of their presence, and turn on powerful headlights that, when in Auto mode, illuminate the way in low light.

It’s all good stuff, but with more tech comes more that needs to be troubleshot—the right blinker never did function, despite unscrewing the Allen bolt at the end of the handlebar and che