The Scooter Hub

No, hub motors are not waterproof. You may have seen photos Metal gets wet, metal gets rusty. Yeah, okay, but why is water getting into the hub motors? And are they just simply destined for an oxidized future? Well, some people on the interwebs believe so. In fact, some people believe that in its current form, it is virtually impossible to keep water out of a hub motor on a personal electric scooter. Is that true? Maybe. My name is Nick and I But I want to take a look and see if t Are hub motors on personal scooters going to fail the weather test? So let's go back to the rusted motors. These come from two different scooters, the Xiaomi M365 Pro and the Cabo Mantis 10. These scooters are quite different, but they share one t If you don't know what that means, check out my video on IP ratings. But essentially, these scooters have a pretty basic water resistance rating. They should not be ridden in the rain. And to be honest, you should avoid standing water with them as much as possible just to be safe because it's not only the motors that are susceptible to water damage. Mantis 10, water damage. Your mantises are not waterproof. You want to ride them in the rain? Don't ride them in the rain. But yeah, those are the ones that shouldn't be around much water, but what about those that are touted as the best rain-worthy scooters? Now, I can'test them all, but I happen to own two in the wet-ready category and have already put them through thousands of kilometers in Vancouver's rainy weather. So let's open them up. Starting with the Ninebot Max G30P rated at IPX5. And if the ratings online are to believed, t When someone is looking for a scooter that is going to see some wet conditions, t Now let's open t I've had the scooter for almost a year now and it has about 2,500 kilometers on it. And it was my commuter until I upgraded and had seen its fair share of rain. Initially in the battery compartment, we can see it is clean. There was no sign of water getting in at all. Before opening the motor, I disconnected it from the power. And it's also clean. And this was a surprise to me because the cocksure in this online was to the extent that it had me believe that no matter what the manufacturer told you, no matter what kind of DIY silicone solution you came up with, water getting into hub motors is basically a certainty if you plan to regularly ride it in the rain And here we have, at least to my eyes, a rust free motor. Next up is my Apollo City Pro. And I've had t I got it the first week of November of 2022, just as the rainy season started. So even though it only has half the mileage of the Ninebot Max at 1,200 kilometers, there is no doubt it has seen more rain. I've run there are two layers protecting the battery and controller. The first is the front probably for me spraying water up below the neck when cleaning in the rear where the brake cable comes through. But the battery and controller housing is all metal and is sealed up pretty nicely with a supple rubber lining and grommets for the wires. And the rear motor cable grommet even has sealant to help prevent liquid entry. I didn't notice anyt It's clean and dry. So I disconnected the rear motor. Now the screws w I actually destroyed one of my bits in the process. But As far as I could tell, there was no visible rust on either side of the motor. And again, I was pleasantly surprised considering the abuse it has put up with so far. So to see all the vital components dirt and rust free is a great sign. However, look at some of the other unprotected components. Rainwater is not good for it. I took t But the motors? Well, we have two dry ones w How has water not ingressed thus far? Well I can point to three features. One is where the wire enters the axle. The wire itself seems to plug the hole quite well. On top of that you can see in both motors there is silicone covering the electrical connections and it looks But I can't be sure without completely destroying the motors. The second are these bearing covers best seen on the 9Bot Max. They create a barrier between the bearings and the elements. And even though the the t So these measures have clearly worked at keeping a fatal amount of moisture from getting in. And the key point here are the conditions. Is it virtually impossible to keep water out of a hub motor? Well, maybe, but If I completely submerge the scooter in water, it probably won't stand a chance. But in regular riding conditions, so Does it mean it's waterproof? No, and it doesn't mean moisture might not get in at some point. Components fail, rubber breaks down, and Weatherproof? I would say yes. Because there they are, two hub motors that have survived the rust that being said, t Just because these have survived doesn't mean you shouldn't avoid water if possible. And it doesn't mean others with these exact scooters will 100% have the same experience. Because remember, rust never sleeps. But with proper maintenance, I believe these should last for a long time. So with that, my name is Nick.