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 have a NIU Kqi Air, which works fine for me, but I also only weigh 120 with gear. Mostly I ride from Caltrain to the Union Square area, so no really crazy hills. But it’s absolutely sufficient for what I want it to do.
NIU Kqi Air. Good range, 20mph speed, 26 lbs. I have one and it works great for what I do. I wish it had suspension and maybe a greater range but that would come with heavier weight.
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 likeit.
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 itis.
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).
The problems people have with it ( and apparently Niu scooters in general) with regards to the Anti Theft system being something you CANNOT disable, and constantly causing annoyances when you move it, are what stopped me from buying.
Like, holy shit, who makes a scooter you can take with you, but you have to constantly keep it on or else it puts on a light show even when the alarm is muted when you nudge it funny?
Did nobody actually use one IRL?
The numbers SOUND great, but someone on their managerial team who said "YEP THATS FINE SHIP IT" needs to be slapped with reality.
Yes, but as far as I’m concerned, **weight is a spec**. You might not care about it, but it’s still a spec. If you buy a bike, you can easily pay twice as much just to save 1 kg, so I don’t see why it should be any different for a scooter. That’s why, in my opinion, it really deserves a super positive rating.
Of course, someone else might prefer speed, power or other specs—but those can also be irrelevant depending on the use case. For example, what’s the point of extra power if you live in a country where the law limits you to 20 km/h, and in a flat city where there aren’t even any hills?
The only Air real drawback, in my view, is that people who look for light weight usually also care about portability—for instance, if they take the train/metro and bring the scooter along. The Air is easy to carry, but in a crowded train it’s still bulky. Same thing if you go on holiday by car: it takes up a lot of space in the trunk. The situation could already improve a lot if they made a version with a foldable handlebar (that is very large). Let’s see what happens in version 2.
I actually own both the Air and an E-Twow. In every respect I find the Air better: comfort, safety, braking; plus it has a much stronger light which is really useful for riding at night, and the turn signals are a big help too.
The E-Twow, however, has one huge drawback: the solid tires. Sure, they protect you from flats, but they slip on wet asphalt like a bar of soap.
That said, the E-Twow does keep one real advantage: it’s much smaller (deck, wheels, but especially the foldable handlebar). Both are light enough to carry up to a third floor, so that’s not really an issue. But you really notice the size difference if you plan to use the train (or subway): you can put the E-Twow under a seat or in the luggage rack, while with the Air on a crowded subway… good luck. Same thing if you go to a restaurant – the E-Twow fits discreetly under a table. I’ve even taken it into places where scooters aren’t usually allowed, just by using its folding carrying bag: it looks like a sports bag, and nobody complains.
Same story when traveling by car – the Air takes up the whole trunk. That’s why, after buying the Air, I didn’t sell the E-Twow. I use the Air 95% of the time, but that remaining 5% (when I need to take a train) I prefer the E-Twow… just hoping it doesn’t rain.
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