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A bike / scooter to carry in the back of the plane (including electric ones)?

Wait until you get a puncture in one of those Xiaomi scooters before considering your review complete

EIMH, Ireland

@AF

Technically, it is the same as the previous “uncertified” model M365 – which I could (and did) only use outside Germany.

Unless there are some serious load control electronics added for the battery cells, I would not not feel any safer on a plane with it.

…speed nodding above 20km/h is likely invalidating the certification and the insurance. Just be careful ;-) especially being so open about it in public ;-)

@zuutrooy

Not too bad, if you warm the tires and use proper tools. Mine came with spare tube and tire.

Last Edited by ch.ess at 23 Aug 11:11
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EDM_, Germany

Hi @ch.ess
Thank you, of course you are right about everything.

zuutroy wrote:

Wait until you get a puncture in one of those Xiaomi scooters before considering your review complete

Yes, but thankfully there is a solution:

ch.ess wrote:

Not too bad, if you warm the tires and use proper tools. Mine came with spare tube and tire.

I’ve had 3 punctures now and find it incredibly difficult even with proper levers. Maybe they’ve improved since I bought mine a couple of years ago but the build quality is awful (lots of creaking from the steering column, brake pad grinding off the disc, bolts rounding off). I also find the small wheels make the ride very uncomfortable on anything but smooth tarmac. Bicycles are the way to go!

EIMH, Ireland

I have self debated this hundreds of times.
I really like the idea of an e-scooter.
Small lightweight, jump on, jump off, good to walk with in busy pedestrian areas. In the UK at the moment they are illegal but this is very loosely enforced. Are they legal in France/Spain?

However folding bikes don’t take a min to sort. Are generally more acceptable on busier roads,
can deal with off road tracks equally well as made roads, plus have the capacity to carry much more luggage if relocating from the aircraft to a hotel. Finally, they are IMHO less of a target for thieves when chained up in town for longer periods.
An ebike will do very well but as already mentioned, are either heavy, bulky (poor folding design) or in the grand scheme of things, cost about the same as a few hundred more convenient taxi rides.
So around in circles again I go.
I’m thinking I’ll stick with std folding bikes for now. But still keeping an eye on the developments.

United Kingdom

zuutroy wrote:

I’ve had 3 punctures now and find it incredibly difficult even with proper levers.

Strange, I find mine to be incredible. Massive value for money and exactly what I was looking for.
Mine also came with a spare tire, but I haven’t touched anything other than the acceleration and brake levers.
I don’t use the mechanical brakes unless I have to… I always use the regeneration brakes, which work great for me.

Side note, I also use the scooter on the airfield which expedites a lot of maneuvers.
When I have luggage, I pop into the control tower on the scooter, pay, then scoot back and grab my gear.
Also, forgetting something in the plane isn’t so painful anymore. Just cruise back in a few seconds.

I’m sold and not looking back.

I’ll update everyone if anything legal happens, but otherwise, I’m totally satisfied after 5 airports and more cities…

GA_Pete wrote:

I have self debated this hundreds of times.

I guess like aircraft, it depends upon your mission profile.

For a few km, escooters are great. Some have amazing range (at least at lower speeds), but for most people their back will give way before the scooter battery gives out. Standing a long time with slightly bent knees isn’t brilliant for one’s posture…

We borrowed a few for our last trip to France, and it meant we could go much further, and much faster than walking. Plus, they’re fully legal over there. We brought them into restaurants instead of locking them, as they fold down pretty small.

I can hugely recommend Fat Lama.com for peer-to-peer rentals, to see if you like them. Ours were M365s and ridiculously cheap – £9/day.

Bikes will go on as long as you do, and are more comfortable. E-bikes are fine, but weigh a ton.

zuutroy wrote:

Maybe they’ve improved since I bought mine a couple of years ago

Have the batteries deteriorated much over that time (reduced range)? Lithium batteries normally deteriorate over time and I understand the ones in the escooters are expensive enough to replace. I’m wondering if that’s an issue?

EIWT Weston, Ireland

If anyone wants to “try” a Xiaomi M365 with a well cared for battery (no noticable deterioration) in a long term basis, just PM me with a realistic offer ;-)

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EDM_, Germany
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