NIU KQI3 Scooter

Possibly the best value electric Scooter around.

I discovered this scooter through Unbox Therapy and their video. A short while later I saw it on sale on Amazon for just $642USD including taxes and delivery, so I snapped it up.^[1]

Reasons I like it

• Regenerative braking. Releasing the throttle triggers the regenerative brake, which has customisable strength using the app. I have mine set to Strong, and rely on it most of the time instead of using the scooter's disc brakes.
• Lights everywhere - Front and rear lights, including brake lights
• Huge deck. I have lots of flexibility over where to put my feet.
• Excellent folding mechanism that easily changes between folded and ready. Some other scooters have quite fussy folding systems. Once folded, it can fit in a car or be carried up stairs. It fits in the boot of my Prius, provided it's quite empty.
• Throttle safety - You have to kick off before the throttle will work. This might sound like a downside, but it means you can't accidentally press the throttle while standing around. This is a common problem with e-skateboard owners.
• Lightweight. It weighs as much as 1.5 corgis, or 45 pounds, or 20 kilos. I can generally hold it in one hand when folded.
• Maintains speed as battery drains. I've heard of other scooters becoming slower as the battery approaches zero.

Things that aren't fun

• Compulsory phone app. The scooter has a software locked top speed, which you can only unlock by installing the NIU app on a phone and pairing that phone with the scooter over Bluetooth. Others have had the novel idea to use a burner phone to install the app.^[2]
• Security. Being a scooter, it is lightweight and easy to steal. The shape means it is difficult to physically lock to a bike rack – clever thieves can just tilt and angle the scooter out of such a lock without cutting it. Thus, I have to be creative when in public spaces. This isn't too bad, such as when grocery shopping I can fold it and place under the shopping trolley. I can also bring it to the front foyer of a store, and use the app to "lock" it. When software locked, the scooter beeps an alarm when moved.
• Can't ride in the rain. With just IP54 dirt and water resistance, the manual warns it cannot ride in more than 2cm of water.

Overall I'm super pleased with this - in terms of raw cost it's similar in cost to my 6700 XT graphics card, but arguably gives much more joy.