Using the Xiaomi m365 every day when getting to work, in the sunshine, heavy rain and even in wintertime in snowy weather conditions. Rain and snow, especially when they salt the roads in winter, will ad corrosive wear to the scooter. There are some key components that require periodic maintenance to keep them from breaking down. These are not mentioned in the official Xiaomi M365 Maintenance Guide.
The main components that are sensitive and need maintenance are the wheel bearings and the charging port. For preventive maintenance, a drop of corrosion preventing oil on the bearings and contact spray in the charging port will extend the life of the scooter.
How to maintain the wheel bearings on the Xiaomi m365
The most recommended lubricant in skateboarding is the silicone-based Bones® Speed Cream®. The reason for the use of silicone-based is because it reduces the likelihood of dirt and dust accumulation, it last months and is unlikely to dry out. If you use your Xiaomi m365 or another scooter daily in rain and snow you will need something better, I recommend ReelX® that you can easily buy from Amazon. ReelX® is a fishing reel lubricant design to see saltwater, it disrupts existing corrosion and prevents new corrosion or rust from forming. Making it perfect for your scooter, it also contains no wax, tar, silicone or other solids, so it will never gum up the beatings.
- Make sure that the scooter is fully dry before applying the product.
- Clean the outside of bearings with a microfiber cloth
- Apply one drop on each bearing, both front and back, and
- Spin the wheels.
- There you are done!
FYI CorrosionX® and ReelX® is the same product, ReelX® is easier to apply but if you want to save some bucks buy CorrosionX®.
How to maintain the charging port on the Xiaomi m365
The dust cover and weather protection for the charging port will over time brake of and be lost. Changing the cover might introduce more risk of getting water inside the device than just properly maintain the port.
Electrical contact in the port occurs when metal surfaces are in direct contact with each other, ie metal to metal. The problem is then that most metals oxidize on contact with oxygen (air) and the oxides are bad electrical conductors or even good insulators resulting in bad contact in the charging port.
What must be fixed then is to get rid of the oxides and prevent them from being recreated.
Oxides can be broken mechanically with high pressure from the spray or chemically by dissolving substances. The protection against re-oxidation is done by preventing the entry of air with the help of grease or oils.
Contact sprays are formulated to solve both these tasks.
I recommend a contact spray DeoxIT 5% Spray Contact Cleaner that you can buy from Amazon. Compared to the other commonly recommended solution, WD 40, DeoxIT not only chemically removes the oxides it also protects the contact from oxidizing again.
Common Xiaomi M365 maintenance
To keep the scooter safe go over the nuts and screws on a regular basis, ensure that they are tight and secure. There is a risk of them coming loose because of the road vibration. If needed Loctite can be used to secure them even better.
Other common wears and things that will need to be tuned and replaced are
- Tire pressure / replacement
- See recommended tire replacement below (CST 8.5inch Tire)
- Tuning the brake pad tightness as brakes wear
- New brake pads can be bought from Amazon for a couple of dollars
Change to ceramic bearings on the Xiaomi m365
Ceramic bearings are not suited for devices with lots of vibration and impacts, like scooters, as they are more prone to shattering. The rolling resistance change would in most cases be negligible so the recommendation is to use standard bearings.
Upgrade for Xiaomi m365 to print on a 3D printer
The first thing to print from a 3D printer to help the reliability of your m365 is the Mudguard Bracket from Thingiverse. It’s the most common thing to break on the scooter, it can easily happen if you by accident step on it. The mudguard bracket will add structural integrity to the scooter, and in my mind, the scooter should have been designed with something like this already in place. The support is added to the newer versions of the scooter.
The second thing should be the Xiaomi m365 rear bearing protection. Print them and fill the gap inside the bearing cover with grease for better water protection of the bearing itself (and self-lubrication). Remove the wheel and press-fit the cover on until the grease comes out of the sides.
Upgrade the tire on the Xiaomi m365
Anyone who drives the scooter as their daily transportation device will get a puncture at some time or need to replace them after it has worn down. Even if you have done everything right and have applied tire sealant to decrease the likelihood of a catastrophe. My recommendation is Armor-Dilloz red or if you want to get the next best thing from Amazon, Slime.
It can be tempting to get tubeless puncture-proof tires, don’t do it. The two main purposes of a tire are to take most vibration from the road and dampen them and giving a good contact surface and grip to the road. The puncture-proof tires will result in increased vibration going into the scooter and many users have reported that the solder points of the battery are giving away destroying the device. The rubber used in the puncture-proof tires is also more slippery than the standard coming with the scooter. This is crucial if you plan to drive a scooter in wet or even snowy conditions.
The tire recommended, with better rubber and inner tube than the standard tires on the Xiaomi m365, are the CST 8.5inch Tire. It has better traction to the ground and is less prone to get a puncture. Still, an anti-puncture solution, like Slime, inside the innertube is mandatory if you don’t want to get late to work.
If you want to know more about must-have accessories and mods for your scooter check out Xiaomi m365: 9 Upgrades and must-haves.
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