NIU - KQi Air

How do you like it so far? Mine just came this weekend with this sale. On it right now lol.

I was debating getting it when I saw the price drop too (the day or two before yesterday, it was listed at 750. Weight is my big concern for brief parts of my commute. I saw a comment above regarding it not shutting down completely - what have you experienced so far since just getting it?

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 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).

It’s been my commuter for the whole past year and I love it too. Although I’ve only done 1000 km on it.

I love my kqi air. A mini NY standard kryptonite lock weighs 4.5 lbs but added to 26.4 for the scooter is very doable. Had it for 3 months or so to replace a steady stream of lime rentals.

I've been riding the KQi Air for nearly 2000km and its by far my favourite all round commuter scooter. Have fun with the new scooter.

I ordered a NIU KQi Air on amazon just now and possibly lucked out with pricing. Perhaps my experience will help others shopping around. I have a personal amazon Prime login, but also a separate business login (same Prime account, but a separate login for Business that Amazon allows just to keep personal and business purchases separately). On my personal amazon login, the price for 2024 Air/Grey is $1,399, although Best Buy has it at $1,149 and NIU's official store has it at $1,049. It seems like everyone has a random number generator for price! Anyway, then I get on my amazon business login and it shows $899 for price! And on top of that, it says I can "Save 18% at checkout". I went ahead and ordered it for a final price of $737.18 before California sales tax. It is supposed to be here in 2 days. I hope it all works out. The price seems so random. I haven't really shopped around for this or any scooter before. I was looking for one for my adult son to ride about 1.5 miles to the bus stop and carry it on the bus easily. The review by u/RasmusHax was really helpful in picking this NIU KQi Air. Thank you.

I've kept it. It has been working well, about 250 miles so far. The only service issue I've run in to is the screw that fastens the end cap on the right side of the handlebar loosened in normal use and fell off. I've asked NIU Support to send me a couple of screws. It should be a 10 second fix once I have the right screw. Maybe a little Loctite will help. The scooter is still usable, but the end cap slides off sometimes. For those who value lightweight and portability over everything else, I still think this is the best ride and build quality scooter in the market. If weight is not a big consideration, there are a ton of options at much lower prices.

I don't know if they fixed the issue of false alarm triggers. But, I have made it a non-issue by turning off audible alarm in the app settings. That setting has been there from Day 1 for me. Perhaps that didn't exist in older versions of the app? Anyway, when audible alarm is turned off, the lights blink, but there is no sound.

kqi air is the best lightweight scooter, but it is pricey and it wont fold as compactly as the one in your picture

Sound like it's time to learn how to replace a tire. Is the overheating happening while you ride it or charge it? My charger would always get warm, but I've never felt my scooter itself get warm. Maybe upgrade to a better charger and see if that resolves the heat issue if it's happening during charging, just be careful to get the right charger tho. I was actually able to upgrade to a fast charger, which helps compensate for the battery range. Double check the specifications tho, and I babysat the charger and watched it charge for the first time just to be sure it was safe. Tbh, I still have no idea what a hall sensor is or does or even what kind of problems a broken hall sensor would cause. You're on your own with that one. My advice is that it's better to beat up your cheap scooter while you're learning than having all these issues on a scooter that costs twice as much. Obviously, don't keep using it if it's unsafe or anything, but riding a janky scooter will help you get a better idea of what you want in your next scooter. I know that if I had to carry the thing up several flights of stairs, I'd be looking at lightweights like Niu Air.

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)\_/¯

I’ve had my air for 6mo and love it. Got it because of the portability, and it would be a drag carrying anything much heavier around tight corners or up steps regularly. Speed and distance are as much as I would ever need. It’s got no suspension, so you feel all of the bumps on rough surfaces, but smooth roads are fantastic. I was in a hotel for a month and could Cary it in the door and up the elevator with no problem.

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

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.