In recent weeks we have tested Alfawise M1, an electric scooter with a 350W motor. We used it along a cycle path to try to understand if a vehicle of this type can actually be effective in moving around the city and if it is really capable of replacing the car or bicycle on some occasion.
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The scooter measures approximately 110 x 45 x 50 centimeters and weighs 12.5 kilograms, which is by no means small when you have to lift it to get on a bus or cross a flight of stairs. Fortunately, the company has designed an intelligent system to facilitate transport as much as possible by transforming the central rod into a sort of handle.
In fact, it is sufficient to unhook the pin that holds the handlebar locked and fold it towards the footboard until the hook fits into the relevant rubber pin positioned above the rear wheel mudguard. The operation is facilitated by the presence of a stand that keeps the scooter upright without having to support it with your hands (and which also works very well for quick stops that do not require the scooter to be switched off).
The platform is quite wide (45 x 15 centimeters) and allows the sole of both feet to rest entirely on it and the surface is covered with a layer of notched rubber that ensures excellent grip with the sole of the shoes. On the left edge there is a red rubber cap that protects the battery charging input.
The central shaft – inside which the battery is installed – appears rather slender (it has a diameter of 4.5 centimeters) and, like the rest of the structure, is in satin metal. In the upper end that connects to the handlebar there is the small on-board computer: if the scooter is off, you don't even notice it but just turn it on to have some useful information at a glance during the ride, i.e. the current speed (in Km / h) and the amount of residual energy in the battery (via 4 LEDs, each representing 25% of energy).
The handlebar is compact and accompanied by two rubber sleeves with non-slip texture: on the right there is the lever for the accelerator while in front of the left sleeve we find the brake lever and the smaller one to ring the bell (in addition to the hook for the transport we talked about before).
The wheels are 8.5 ”: along the fender of the rear one there is a small red light that flashes when the brake lever is pulled to signal to those in front that braking is in progress. It uses a disc brake with ABS system to prevent the wheel from locking which could cause a fall in the event of hard braking.
How it works
To use it, simply press the only button under the display. Hold it down for a few seconds until the screen turns on and you hear a triple beep.
At this point, just step onto the platform with one foot and give yourself a generous push with the other while keeping the accelerator lever down. A few tens of centimeters and the engine will start running by activating the electric thrust. At this point all you have to do is press the lever more or less strongly according to the speed you want to maintain.
In our opinion, this acceleration system could have been better designed: the position of the lever is really uncomfortable and also the type of use means that after more than half an hour the finger with which you control the speed goes numb. The classic knob like that of scooters would have been better or, if nothing else, a front lever similar to that for the brake (perhaps smaller and of a different color?).
In addition, the speed lock system is even less intuitive. Do you think that in the user manual it is not even mentioned and we only discovered it by mistake. To activate it, it is necessary to keep the lever positioned with extreme precision at a certain angle for more than five seconds: only in this way an acoustic signal (among other things, almost impossible to hear outdoors) will confirm that the speed lock has been activated and at that point. point you can release the lever while the scooter continues to push trying to keep the speed constant (although clearly it will lose speed uphill and downhill it will gain a lot).
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Speed lock is automatically deactivated as soon as the brake lever is touched. Here, too, it would have been better to be able to control this function with the simple press of a button, also because keeping the lever stationary at a certain angle for so long is possible on a few occasions, when in front of us there are no obstacles and excessive vibrations. and there are no ground inclinations that would lead to an increase or decrease in speed during this phase.
This obviously if you want to maintain a “civil” pace: if you keep the lever pressed to the end of its stroke it will be much easier to activate the speed lock, but at the very dangerous twenty-five kilometers per hour.
It may be that this reporter is no longer of age or much more likely the fact that sport and physical activity are diametrically opposed to our lifestyle, but driving this scooter was not easy at all. At least in the first few minutes.
In fact it took at least thirty to master it properly and during this phase the fear of falling to the ground has never let us go. This is because in our opinion the Alfawise M1 has more than one defect.
First of all, the maximum speed: twenty-five kilometers per hour is really too much for a vehicle of this type, which lacks a cushioning system and which uses very small and really hard wheels.
The rear one is equipped with a honeycomb tread while the front wheel uses an inner tube to improve shock absorption: however, our sensations in our feet and hands were anything but reassuring.
The vibrations, even the smallest, are all felt and are sometimes exaggerated by the rigid structure of the vehicle. If you then move on the street, using it on the asphalt is almost equivalent to connecting an electrostimulator to your hands, arms, legs and feet.
To reduce all this – at least in part – it is better to keep the legs slightly inclined, but this requires a little effort that should not be underestimated on long journeys.
During the first few minutes it felt really unstable but actually we never crashed and not once did the scooter lose grip. Only impressions, we said, probably dictated by a not very agile body and even less used to this kind of vehicle.
To this there is then to add the discomfort of the acceleration lever that we discussed earlier and the excessive sensitivity of the brake: ok, there is ABS and therefore even a sharp braking will not risk transforming the scooter into a catapult, but just touch the lever to slow down the ride a lot. The body automatically moves rapidly towards the central rod and moving the center of gravity risks unsaddling the user.
However, it is possible to make braking slightly less sensitive by loosening the wheel adjacent to the brake lever, but this is not enough to make braking much softer (perhaps the wear of the brake pads, over time, could help in this sense).
The autonomy is good: we managed to cover almost seventeen kilometers with half a charge so we should be able to do almost thirty-five with a full charge. These data must clearly be compared with the type of trip that has been made, in our case almost entirely on a cycle path at an average pace of almost twenty kilometers per hour (almost all the time with the accelerator lever completely lowered) and almost entirely flat. However, we attach the statistics collected with the Runtastic app on the mobile phone to offer a comparison as accurate as possible.
However, we believe it is important to keep in mind the overall autonomy guaranteed by a single charge to avoid being halfway with the scooter completely discharged. In fact, pushing it like a classic scooter is out of the question.
Apart from the fact that this mode of use is not provided by the manufacturer – the rear wheel, being motorized, in fact exerts an important resistance to manual thrust – the weight of the scooter is such as to require a truly considerable overall effort and is likely to frustrate everything. the advantage offered up to that moment by the electric displacement within a few tens of meters. In this case it is better to get off the scooter and push it by hand as if it were a bicycle.
But can it be used in Italy? Ni
It must be said that the regulatory vacuum in which our country was navigating since the first examples of electric scooters ended up among the electronics stores has been filled (in part) by a ministerial decree published last June 4 and with which seeks to regulate the circulation of these new generation electric vehicles.
In short, there are several rules to be respected and the individual municipalities must first of all authorize their circulation. To find out more, please refer to our in-depth analysis.
Conclusions
There are not a few limits that must be accepted when purchasing the Alfawise M1 for simple entertainment or for more useful trips around the city. If it is true that after half an hour you become familiar with the vehicle, the acceleration system is impractical and the rigidity of the structure greatly penalizes the tranquility of the journey, especially on partially uneven ground.
Pro
Retail price
Alfawise M1 is on sale on Gearbest: at the time of writing the price is approximately 295 euros by clicking on this direct link but with the coupon ALFAWISEM1CN you can pay around 280 euros.
The offer is valid while stocks last; for more information on shipping costs and times, any charges and order management, you can consult the seller's website.
