Sina Zhongce listter乐
Whether it's for the last kilometer of your commute or for an outing, a portable electric kickscooter would be a good choice. I remember experiencing an electric kickscooter at a product trial activity in Shenzhen many years ago, and I then was deeply impressed by its lightning speed when I stepped on it. With the progress of science and technology and the upgrading of the industrial chain, the clunky electric kickscooter has gradually evolved and become foldable, lighter and more intelligent and safer.
Looking at the products on the market, most of them are difficult to find a balance between endurance and lightweight and foldability. Some e-commerce products have a lot of bad comments on broken wires in folding parts after using for a period of time. Recently, I was lucky to receive the 2020 Air T15 electric kickscooter produced by Ninebot from Sina Zhongce. Air T15 has a range of 12 kilometers but weighs only 10.5kg. It can be folded and dragged along in one second, keeping it from getting in the way even on a crowded subway, thus solving the current demand dilemma for similar products.
First of all, I would like to introduce the brand background. Ninebot is
a high-tech enterprise in the field of global innovative short transportation
and robotics, as well as a member in the Xiaomi ecological chain. Founded in
2012, the Company is located inBeijing, China
and famous for its electric cars, which have been selling well and have a good
reputation; in addition, it also produces various models of electric kickscooters.
Packaging box. Air T15 is the latest product, featuring the flagship lightweight. Its body is made of aerospace-graded magnesium alloy and its side panels are painted in white, which gives it a sci-fi look. As a unique and beautiful product, the cover of the box is printed with a reminder card, by which the user is instructed not to throw away the fixed foam in the box, because it is a charging base, which does not take up any space in the home and can allow the kickscooter be charged when it stands up.
The package contains charger instructions and three replaceable fenders. To be honest, the kickscooter is really folded excellently to take up less space even if you place it horizontally against the wall of your home.
This is what the product looks like when it's fully unfolded, it's very simple and compact in appearance with an excellent degree of integration, and you will not see any exposed wires at all. 90% of the metal parts, including the frame, are made of aerospace-graded magnesium alloy, including the frame, featuring the characteristics of light weight, high strength and corrosion resistance. This is also the main reason why the Air T15 weighs only 10.5 kg, that is, almost 20 jin. It can basically be lifted with one hand, although it takes a little bit of effort. Besides, it can be folded and towed on a single wheel, so it doesn't really feel heavy.
Many friends have a similar idea with me, that is, they want to buy an electric kickscooter as a means of commuting. For the limited space in home, the Air T15's design is quite satisfying: the foam in the packaging box can act like a charging base when standing on end! It's fairly reliable with a stable center of gravity, and the length of the charging wire is just right to wrap around the rear recess, keeping the floor as tidy as possible.
The above gif shows the process of the kickscooter being lifted from the storage base and then opened and folded. The whole process can be done with one hand only by pressing a switch handle, which is really simple enough.
There is a kickstand on the left side of the pedal of the electric kickscooter, which can be opened to see the charging interface inside. It can either stand on end and be placed in a storage base for charging, or can also be charged directly.
The front panel of the Air T15 has a long ambient light in the middle of the white panel. You can customize the RGB color via your cell phone, and the breathing light and flashing alarm light can also be adjusted freely. The line-shaped ambient light makes the front end of Ninebot Air T15 look thinner and slimmer. The ambient light acts as a breathing light when it is still and is on during cycling. The default color of the light is white, and the preset effects include monochromatic breathing, full-color breathing, flashing alarm lights, etc.
On the front panel there is a round 2.5W highlight lenticular headlamp with a light exposure distance of up to 10m, which can guarantee the safety even if you riding the kickscooter at night at a reasonable speed.
You can see the wire hidden in the front wheel from this angle, as it's really well designed. The handle cannot be twisted at a big angle, and there is no danger of wires being twisted and pulled apart.
The Air T15's tires are not inflatable. It adopts customized radial hollow tire with internal support. I pinched it hard and it felt solid, so I don't have to worry about the embarrassment of a flat tire on the road. The small wheels have obvious advantages, by making the kickscooter comfortable to drive, easy to pack and can be conveniently placed in the trunk of a car.
The pedal material feels like rubber and has excellent anti-skid performance, but it is easy to collect dust. It is recommended to scrub the pedal every day if the kickscooter is placed at home.
Few people care about what's out of sight. I deliberately tipped the kickscooter over to look at the bottom of it and found that the bottom was also all metal, with well-made, well-balanced screws. The vehicle seems to be fairly reliable, with no exposed wires outside.
Now let's take a look at the rear tire, which is a fully wrapped 6-inch internal support rubber tire. Above it is a switch that incorporates a fender, power switch and mode switch, and all you need to do is tap with your heel during the ride. Fenders can be considered as consumables. Three fenders are given as a gift along with the kickscooter, which can be fixed with 3M adhesive. There is also a red taillight on the outside of the rear tire, which is necessary to increase the safety of driving at night.
From this angle, I looked at where the front wheel and handrail are connected, and I can see the thick metal support frame, which is quite well built.
There is no need to go into the boot and activation process, as the instructions are clearly written. Let's talk about the design of the dashboard. The Air T15 has a digital dashboard in the middle of the handle that displays the battery capacity when it's charging and the speed when it's driving, as well as alerts when it's switching modes. The dashboard is actually quite a bit more sophisticated, with six-axis attitude sensor that can detect vehicle roll angles, such as left-right horizontal tilt and pitch angles (angle of tilt in the direction of forward and backward folding). In fact, when you activate Air T15 on your mobile App, you can see a sensor calibration function, which is to make the vehicle's sensors work to the maximum.
When the vehicle speed is less than 3km per hour, the six-axis attitude sensor will capture the angle of pitch changes of the riser during the folding process to make a judgment. For example, if you perform folding operation in the state of power on, the kickscooter will shut down automatically, which is very intelligent.
Now let's get to the actual outdoor testing experience!
Here are my thoughts on the safety aspects of the Air T15. The first is that the foot pedal is big enough that my size 42 feet can stand on it without feeling cramped, leaving a bit of space in front and behind. Secondly, the height of the foot pedal from the ground is reasonable. Although it cannot pass through some sections like steps, safety is more important. In the case of any emergency, low center of gravity can ensure safety to the maximum extent.
In addition, the handle has a good sense of holding, the appearance of two handles is irregular prism, and their sections are beautiful and practical parallelogram with rounded corners, enabling the user to control direction steadily.
The switch design of the tailgate is also very scientific: a single step is to boot, step down for 3 seconds is to shut down, and step twice in succession in the driving state is to switch mode. The maximum speed under the energy-saving mode is 10km, the maximum speed under the standard mode is 15km, and that under the motion mode is 20km. In addition, it also supports constant speed. I didn't expect a small electric kickscooter to have so many functions.
Now let's talk about the driving experience. First of all, I think it is very scientific that the kickscooter is designed to be drove with the support of one foot. It can ensure safety and avoid the risk of an instant crash if you're not stand firm or if you accidentally press the accelerator. Secondly, the accelerator adopts a paddle-like button design that is safer than the traditional rotating grip, allowing the hands to hold the handles more firmly to avoid accidents. Thirdly, in the process of driving, there is a high requirement for the flatness of the ground, because it bumps along uneven roads at high speeds and has no shock absorbing design. It is advisable to drive at a lower speed on level ground for safety reasons.
When using the mobile App for the first time, the user needs to connect to the Bluetooth of Air T15 for activation.
The user can lock the kickscooter through the mobile App and view the track of historical driving record. However, because the kickscooter does not have a built-in navigation module, the user still needs to rely on the mobile App to operate. You can also see how much power is left and how far you can drive, keeping an eye on the charging needs.
The manufacturer has also developed a number of supporting products, such as helmet protection, cell phone stand for handlebars and umbrella for handlebars. After installing the mobile phone stand, the user can use the mobile phone to record the GPS track.
Ambient light can be customized on the mobile App to fully meet your personalized needs.
Now let's move on to the shortcomings of this kickscooter. First, it has a low chassis and no shock absorption, but the kickscooter is positioned as a means of transportation and leisure toy, so it should not be too demanding in this regard. Second, the rear wheel is designed as a single wheel, which needs to keep balance when the kickscooter is folded and dragged along; otherwise it is easy to tip to one side. Third, the body is not designed with a lock hole, and if the user needs to park it on the street temporarily when going out, it may be more convenient to have a lock position.
All in all, the Ninebot Air T15 electric kickscooter is light and beautiful in my most intuitive impression of it. Secondly, the workmanship and 1 second folding design are also its major highlights. It's important that it can be folded and dragged along on the way to and from work, and that it doesn't get in the way even on a crowded subway or bus. In addition, it has an energy recovery function, which makes sense in terms of energy saving. Finally, for safety and compliance, users must, wearing helmets and protective gear, drive the electric kickscooter in accordance with local regulations and the principle of safety first.
(Statement: The copyright of this article is jointly owned by the author and Sina Zhongce, and it shall not be reproduced without permission.
This article only represents the author's point of view instead of the position of Sina Zhongce.)