NIU - KQi Air

RS6 ultra 2900. What I bought. Upgrading from a Nui Kqi

It has 9.5 inch tubeless tires...not the crappy solid tires. The thing weighs 26 pounds and goes 20mph. This is the final boss of last mile scooters. Its not a parts bin though so it costs a little more...Black Friday deals are coming though.

I just got the NIU Air from Best Buy. I would highly recommend going this route based on what you have described as your use case. Should get 15 - 20 miles for an avg sized individual. I really like it. Had a few issues getting it set up but chatgpt walked me through getting my Bluetooth set up. No issues in my first week and am very impressed with how light it is. Don't wait, you can always test it out and return. I don't think you'll find anything as good for 600. I looked but all other options had more compromises (mainly solid tires which I am not a fan of).

Just unboxed a Niu KQI air and it’s a beautiful carbon fiber model that weighs just 26 lbs. so far so good it’s a sweet ride for sure 👍🏼

I just bought an Niu KQI air for $599 at Best Buy wish me luck 🍀 when I first saw this carbon fiber model that weighs 26 lbs it was $1499. Arrived today ….

Best Buy had it as a clearance item and that’s why it’s less. On the niu website it’s $900 so I took a chance it’s my first e scooter and I’m an older (don’t ask) first time rider so I better be damn careful. 🤞

As a fan of AliExpress since before Amazon sold more than just books, I still wouldn’t buy a rideable from there. You want some level of reliability and good reputation. For your budget, you’ré looking at Niu kqi or Inmotion products. Way less maintenance and better value than any ebike or diy kit. I use all the PEV’s and generally recommend an escooter for most people thinking they want an ebike. If they can get away with the range, escooter is way better value. For $1,000, you get a junky ebike but a pretty good scooter. Feel free to use my coupon code, Funcentric if you decide to go with an Inmotion product.

I’ve been liking my kqi air from niu and it comes recommended by some in this sub, thats where I got my inspiration. I got mine for similiar reasons, it is 27 lbs due to carbon fiber and manageable for me to carry in the supermarket while grabbing a few things, though I could lock it outside with a bike lock for a short time. I should note this is a good 10-15 lbs lighter than most similiarly specced scooters, and I can still fairly easily manage it as a someome with less upper body strength. It is not ultracompact though, it is closer to full size, but i guess the idea is you are ridiing it to/from the bus or train it is seems pretty manageable. I can’t speak for long term maint as I am a new user.

I’ve logged seat time on most of the 2025 releases—Apollo City, NIU KQi Air, Vsett 10+, etc.—and the pattern is the same as last year: the lighter you go, the more you sacrifice ride comfort after the first five miles. For pure fun I’d still grab the Vsett (suspension wins), but if weight matters the KQi Air is the one you can haul up apartment stairs without regret. Source: [https://thetoyz.com/kids-electric-scooters/](https://thetoyz.com/kids-electric-scooters/)

I've had my KQi Air for over a year, and have been pretty happy with it. There was one time when the battery gradually gave out on me while on a ride, and I had to walk it back to the house. I believe it was related to the fact that I cap the charge at 85%, and the on-board battery meter isn't entirely reliable. Also, you can never shut these things completely down, so make sure you charge them occasionally even when stored away.

You can basically only put the scooter to sleep, and when in sleep mode, it still draws enough power from the battery such that it will drain completely in a month or so. So if you're constantly using it, this shouldn't be much of a concern. But if you plan to stop riding it, during the winter for instance, then you need to remember to occasionally top it off.

This was actually my first electric scooter, so I don't know if this power management behavior is typical. Somebody from NIU did comment in this thread, so maybe they have some insight into whether these scooters could ever be updated to go into full shut-down mode. Though given that I've seen this issue come up in these discussions before, I think any changes would be reflected in a newer model instead of one that has already been out for some time. $599 is a great deal on this particular scooter. I paid above $1k for mine initially, but then got reimbursed a bit when it went on sale shortly after. Its light weight is its main selling point - I'll literally hang it off my shoulder while grocery shopping. Of course, the light weight means its built-in security features (alarm and locked wheel) are somewhat useless since someone could just pick it up and toss it in the back of their car. I tend to not carry a lock, but the businesses in my area don't seem to mind when I park it inside - it's not as massive or intimidating as some of the other scooters out there.

I've got a [NIU KQi Air](https://youtu.be/vdpU3ElzLLM?si=9Bbwjrz3Ijf-EFpv) on order. I've tried some other e-scooters in the past but they were either way too heavy or way too flimsy and unstable with not enough range. This one is the first of its kind and comes in at 11.9 kg/26 lbs while allegedly retaining a solid build with a solid ride feel. Has a real/practical range equivalent to that of an AT wheel eskate with a battery twice the size, or ~800 Wh. And manages to do that at a weight at least 3 kg/6.6 lbs under that of its range equivalent AT wheel e-skate. Tons of nifty stuff like an alarm and a headlight strong enough to light up a small city. Guessing this will become standard pretty soon. If it pans out, I wont be using e-skates as commuters anymore. The compromises just aren't worth it. AT wheels, even though they absolutely suck and dilute road feel, are more less a necessary safety and comfort feature on European roads, which almost comes standard with cobblestone and stuff. And I'm guessing also US roads which are less than pedestrian friendly with poorly maintained bike paths and sidewalks. Plus speed is really limited if you're not in motocross gear, so you're not getting any of the benefits of a higher top speed, if anything you will be riding the e-scooter safely at higher speeds than the e-skate. So as commuters I think e-skates are pretty much doomed in large parts of the world with these new gen ultralight scooters. Ironically though, it makes your boards far more viable to me personally. It doesn't make sense to ride a heavy board with a stiff set-up and AT wheels if I'm using it purely for recreation. At 8 kgs I can throw an Aero X on my back and use the scooter to ride over the cobblestone and other stuff I have to navigate in order to get down to the smooth bike path at the beach. And then I can just enjoy a comfortable cruise without having to worry about saving range to get back home, or how the 80 mm PU wheels will cope with the not so smooth road. So you kind of built the perfect non-commuter board for that purpose. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯

Isn't the KQI a pretty good one with decent speed and build? NIU gives me the impression that its a higher quality brand than Kukirin (who can't even get their naming right, Kukirin vs Kugoo Kirin, Kugoo). keep in mind there is no app for Kukirin so you aren't gonna get any OTA updates. I got a Kukirin G2 Max. The display died before even 1000km. The company sent me a new one but not before doing some tests, like reseating the connections. But the worst part was they made me open up the scooter which meant ripping up some of that rubber mat and then they wanted me to check the voltage on the battery and charger. I'm half handy so I was willing to do this, but WTF? You want a customer to check voltage with a multimeter? When I checked the charger it gave me a HUGE spark. Naw fk that. I enjoy the scooter but, the design decisions are weird. I bought new shocks so I disassembled the front. And to my surprise the bolt and the nut on the front axle don't use the same size socket! In a sense it meant that I could use a socket wrench on both sides when tightening/loosening the nut but its just weird. It made it feel like its put together with whatever parts they could find. Not sure if other scooters are like that? G2 Master would just rip with those motors. too fast for me to be comfortable on those tiny wheels.