The return of M365
Today is June 6th, 2022. It’s a beautiful day outside in NYC: mid-70 degrees F, some wind with quite the weekend of goodbyes and celebrations. It has been a while since I have written something on here. I guess I wanted to talk about my scooter thought and impressions.
So — I have been riding my Xiaomi M365 scooter, bought back in March 2019 (feels like a longer older) and haven’t really been riding my Apollo City scooter. It feels like my scooter spec preferences have shifted. I used to what to balance speed and weight but now I think weight/portability>speed. Like I wrote on my last post, this xiaomi is a tank and pretty reliable. It’s around ~29–30 lbs with the addition of the suspension. I think it goes around ~15–17 mph now but I kind of want to re-iterate: who needs to go 20–40mph in Manhattan? It may have something to do with a recent incident of mine but the more I think about it, the less safe it is to ride that fast without full body gear and a seat beat. The number of obstacles and dangers on the NYC streets are numerous: pedestrians, potholes/bumps, debris/garbage, cars, trucks, outdoor dining booths, delivery guys with their wagons, wrong-way riders, other scooter riders, and my least favorite, other cyclists. I will self declare myself as a pretty safe, wary, and defensive rider. I look everywhere I turn, go, and try to anticipate. It’s still very difficult for me to ride. And my reaction time is shorter when I go 25 mph. 80% of cyclists tend to stray and wobble and weave in the bike lane; they are complete idiots when it comes to riding and have no etiquette at all. This is very dangerous for other riders. So it’s not that I’m not comfortable with my own riding — I’m nervous that other riders will weave into me or cut me off, etc. They’re not to be trusted. So are riders that go the wrong way in the bike lane (the other day I saw a wall of two cyclists, side to side, going the wrong way and occluding the entire bike lane). So, to my original point, I’d rather go slower on the bike lane. I think I can skip riding with cars on the road now too because I don’t need to go that fast.
I also want to be able to carry my scooter anywhere I go. It’s the most convenient thing in the world. I carry it in the elevator at work (the security guards don’t let me wheel my scooter in anymore). With the Apollo City, 40 lbs is kind of heavy and makes me feel clumsy. Quick supermarket trips are made easier now that I can carry my scooter inside instead of wheel my Apollo City — I don’t do that because supermarkets are so crowded in manhattan.
So those are my main points. Apparently it’s really hard to get a Xiaomi M365 scooter or any of its counterparts in the USA. That is unfortunate for such a good scooter.
