Tips for using your NIU

If you treat your NIU well and pay attention to a few essential things, it will reward you with a longer lifespan, plenty of driving fun, and significantly lower running costs than a gasoline-powered vehicle. Here are a few tips.

1 - The battery deserves your respect

Background

The most valuable components of your NIU are the battery packs. Even though the operating costs are lower compared to conventional gasoline-powered scooters, the battery still requires attention. The NIU battery packs are the fuel of your e-scooter and consist of dozens of premium lithium-ion cells – protected and controlled by a battery management system (BMS) – which in turn communicates with other core components. NIU states that with proper use, up to 90% of the capacity should still be available after 600 charging cycles (several tens of thousands of kilometers). You help determine whether this is realistic, and you should keep a few things in mind:

Charging effectively

You don't have to wait until the battery capacity is almost empty before recharging. You'll notice that you get less power at lower capacities. Charge when you think it's right. Keep in mind, however, that lithium-ion batteries don't like deep discharges. Regularly letting the battery drop to almost 0% is not a good idea. But it doesn't hurt to let it drop below 10% occasionally – quite the opposite. When the battery drops below 20% of its capacity, your NIU will display a message on the screen and the app will indicate that it’s time to recharge.. Depending on the model, it will enter power saving mode at 15% or 10%. When power saving mode is activated, it's obviously a reminder to recharge.

The battery packs in this NIU are at too low a charge level and should be charged as soon as possible.

Please only leave your NIU plugged in for as long as necessary. Overnight is fine. However, make sure your scooter isn't plugged in for days. Even though the BMS (Battery Management System) limits the charging process, there's still a residual stress that a fully charged battery pack doesn't like. The BMS also helps with charging in extreme temperatures and intervenes if necessary. Avoid charging below freezing and above 35 degrees Celsius (although the BMS also plays a role here).

If you are one of those who keep the battery capacity between 20 and 80% with the intention of maximizing its lifespan: Don't forget that a battery should be regularly charged to 100% to keep the cells balanced.

Disconnect the battery packs if you won't be using your NIU for an extended period of time.

Your NIU also consumes energy (between 0.5% and 2% per day, depending on the model) even when it's not in use. Why? It constantly monitors itself, searches for GPS signal, and sends and receives data from the NIU Cloud. So, if you travel for a few weeks with the battery connected and at 20% charge, you could experience a deep discharge. In the worst-case scenario, the battery might require a complicated revival or could even be damaged. To avoid this, simply disconnect the battery(ies). Ideally, the charge level should be between 50% and 70% when disconnecting and storing the battery packs. If you disconnect them for an extended period of time, reconnect them after a maximum of two months, fully charge them, and allow the capacity to drop back down to 50-70% before disconnecting them again for a longer period.

2 - Keep an eye on the tires

Be careful with new tires!

Drive very carefully, especially for the first 50 km. New tires have a sealing layer and release agent residue from the vulcanization process. “contamination” that must be rubbed off by careful riding.

How much air is in the tire ?

The higher the pressure, the better the rolling resistance, but the more you'll feel bumps in the road. 2.5 bar front and rear (perhaps 0.1-0.2 bar less in the front) seems to us to be an ideal compromise between comfort and rolling resistance. NIU tends to recommend slightly lower tire pressure, but in our opinion, this is due to the poor road conditions in many countries. Please don't go below 1.5 bar or above 3 bar. You can inflate your tires for free at any gas station. NIU tires use standard motorcycle/car valves.

When should tires be replaced?

According to the Ordinance on the Technical Requirements for Road Vehicles (VTS), tires must have tread grooves at least 1.6 mm deep across their entire contact surface (Art. 58). Most tires have tread wear indicators (small rubber bumps = TWI = Tread Wear Indicators) that provide an indication of tire wear. However, note that the TWI typically indicates the minimum tread depth according to US standards: 0.8 mm.

Two original NIU NQi GT rear tires. Left tire with 5,000 km: the wear indicator is level with the tire and a tire change is overdue. Right tire with 3,000 km: at most another 1,000 km and then a change is due.

Which tires should I use to replace the originals?

Once your first set of tires is worn out, it's best to switch to tires from European manufacturers. We've had very good experiences with Michelin's all-weather tires, the " City Grip" and "City Grip 2." These are available for most NIU models. You can find a general overview of compatible tires provided by NIU here .

3 - Basic care

You don't need much more than water and a little mild shampoo. Your NIU e-scooter is generally very tolerant of environmental influences. However, if it's exposed to the elements day in and day out, we would recommend using a tarpaulin - at least when it's raining heavily or during pollen season.
If you're cleaning your vehicle, please don't aim a pressure washer directly at electrical components. Silicone spray helps to make worn parts look new again, protects and waterproofs them, and its good lubricating properties also make it suitable for use on moving parts to eliminate any squeaking.

4 - Occasional maintenance

Compared to gasoline scooters, the maintenance required for a NIU electric scooter is very minimal. For example, the electric motor is completely maintenance-free. By having it serviced occasionally (according to the manual or once a year) at your authorized dealer, you respect the warranty conditions, promote the early detection of wear and tear (primarily affecting the braking system), and your scooter usually receives a basic cleaning at the same time. You can expect your dealer to see more than you would (not least because of their diagnostic equipment).

5 - Keep your NIU connected to the app

Dozens of sensors monitor all the core components of your NIU e-scooter — its current status, location, and how it has been moved. The “NIU E-Scooter” app is an integral part of this system. If the battery charge is too low, the scooter is being moved erratically, is lying on its side, or a component may be damaged, the app provides you with all the necessary information to help you react appropriately. You can also download standard updates directly to your scooter through the app. NIU is increasingly enabling you to control the scooter remotely via the app. On the latest models, you can start the scooter, activate or deactivate the alarm system, and unlock the seat with the app.

The NIU app shows you more than just interesting analyses. It also informs you if it believes something is no longer as it should be.

6 - In case a malfunction occurs

If your NIU ever malfunctions, the display and/or the app will usually show an error code. You can find information about the corresponding code in the app (or more detailed information from us). The error does not always have a serious cause. For example, Error 99, which you may encounter at some point, is usually nothing more than a freeze similar to what happens on a mobile phone or PC.
If you experience such a problem, always try this first:

1. Switch the NIU off and then on again, and wait about 30 seconds. If that doesn't help, disconnect the battery(ies) , wait 2-3 minutes, reconnect the battery(ies), switch on the ignition, and wait 10, 20, or 30 seconds (!!!). This will perform a soft reset of the scooter's ECU (electronic control unit).
2. Since around mid-2023, the app has also included an ECU restart function. This is available from ECU version 3 onwards. So you can conveniently restart your scooter's ECU via the app.

Manual: NIU provides an excellent manual. You can vacuum up the kernels in 15 minutes. Do it!

Groups & Forums: We also use these sources to stay up to date – and actively participate ourselves. The principle: Many NIU riders make use of the collective intelligence of others. The content isn’t always positive – people tend to report negative news before positive — but you learn from the posts and almost always get an answer to your questions. Four useful sources:

• NIU Freshdesk - NIU's official knowledge base with many questions and answers, documents, and the option to submit your own questions via a ticket.
• Facebook NIU Club Global - Official international Facebook group of NIU itself
• Facebook NIU Roller - a fairly active NIU group with a focus on Germany
• Electric Scooter Forum - A very active German forum with a special section for NIU e-scooters. You need to register to search for topics and start your own posts.
• NIUMOBILITY on YouTube - For occasional tips & tricks

We wish you lots of fun on your journeys!