The first test drive of Mavericks electric cattle air ten thousand yuan pneumatic road vehicle.

Original: Director Chen takes you through everything.

At the 20 19 new product launch conference, Mavericks Electric released its sports bicycle product line-Niu Aero, including three mountain bikes and four road bikes. This is another non-traditional bicycle industry company involved in the field of professional sports bicycles after Internet companies such as LeTV Sports, Cycling and Beast.

In the past few years, "building a car online" was frustrated for various reasons; What kind of report card will the Mavericks hand over this time? Really relieved the addiction of people who eat melons.

Before this conference, I had received a niaeroad-03 sport road car (but without electronic accessories) and tried it for a while. According to my experience, let's take a look at this "calf bike".

NiuAero Road-03SPORT is priced at RMB 12999, and it is the second top model of the Mavericks road vehicle. Considering the "sky-high price" of the top model Road-09 pro 6 1999 yuan, Road-03 can be regarded as the flagship product for the mainstream market. Compared with Lu -09, Lu -03 has a great castration in both the design of the frame set and the configuration of the wheel set kit. But because of this, this model can be close to 50 thousand yuan cheaper.

Intelligent part of NiuAero product line-including code table, sensor and APP. Perhaps the product is immature, and it is not provided in the model submitted for inspection. This paper mainly introduces bicycle hardware.

Unpacking articles

Usually unpacking is not worth mentioning, but I think it is necessary to analyze NiuAero. The above is the big cardboard box I received, which is big enough to fit this XS-sized bicycle in, and there is no need to disassemble the wheelset and seat bar at all (this is the state when I took the car out, and it has not been moved at all). In addition to this niaeroad-03, there is an accessory box in the box. If some vehicle brands with the front wheels removed for packaging call their products "99% loaded", then NiuAero can be called "99.9% loaded". But, is it packed like this? I have reservations.

As the smallest vehicle, the standard seat post is 38cm long, so the minimum seat height is 75.5cm. For me, the height of the seat cushion is only 67.0cm, and at least 8.5cm must be sawed off before it can be used. Due to the existence of the seat bar (in the installation position when leaving the factory), the height of the loading box should be increased by at least 20cm, which is actually a waste of packaging materials.

The small accessories in the accessories box are basically safety auxiliary accessories such as reflective strips and bells, as well as flat treads and three hexagon sockets for shunting.

NiuAero adopts the design of drum shaft disc brake, and the two drum shaft rods have no handles, which need to be released with the handle attached to the vehicle. However, this handle does not indicate the direction of tightness, so there is a certain probability that the primary user will screw the thread.

Load assessment

After the car is taken out of the carton, it will make the user feel that they can ride happily by turning the handle right and stepping on the pedal-because the car has given you enough oil. But in fact, the factory installation degree of the car is far from this, and even there are hidden dangers that are difficult for non-professional bicycle lovers to detect. This is what I found-

1, the seat post is too long, and the position of the seat cushion cannot be adjusted to a suitable height, so it is necessary to cut off the pipe. Forcibly using the seat height that is too high will lead to sports injuries;

2. The braking control mode of civil bicycles is "left rear and right front", which does not conform to the control habit of "left front and right rear" of most professional cyclists;

3. The amount of oil in the brake pipe is very small, which can only bring a small braking force when pinched, and it needs to be refueled, so it is impossible to effectively slow down when riding directly on the road;

4. Friction between front and rear discs;

5, the speed change is not adjusted, and the market cannot be dialed before;

6. The locking screw of the toothed plate is not tightened, and the pre-tightening ring is also in the original position, so that the toothed plate has a virtual position. If you ride without locking, it is likely to cause the crank to fall off.

It can be seen that "99.9% loading" has not reduced the adjustment demand for professional bicycle technicians after the car leaves the factory. Novices who have not been exposed to professional bicycles still need the help and guidance of professionals. If you use the bicycle in the factory state directly, it is likely that the accident will happen because the brake is incorrect and the crank falls off.

Admittedly, none of the above problems are related to the quality of NiuAero products, but if the user has an accident due to assembly, the brand will still bear the brunt (I don't know how many users of folding bicycles sue the manufacturer because they didn't lock the head tube properly and rode on the street). So Mavericks Electric wants to know how to sell this car and who to sell it to. If it is sold directly to consumers through e-commerce channels, it is necessary to guide buyers to professional service points for debugging; If it is sold to traditional electric vehicles, dealers need to be trained in bicycle products technology to ensure the safety of consumers.

My test ride was carried out after fully adjusting this niaeroad-03, so as to restore its due experience as much as possible.

Frame article

The truncated tubular downcomer and the popular three-screw hole design make it convenient for users to move the kettle rack down under the condition of installing only one kettle rack, which increases stability and aerodynamics.

The design language of front fork has been proved by mainstream pneumatic road vehicles such as PinarelloF 10, which also caters to the trend of wide tires.

The connection between the head pipe and the upper pipe and the lower pipe is smooth, but the existence of the speed change line makes the upper end of the lower pipe not simple enough.

The method of improving the quality of carbon fiber materials with modulus value is not very popular now, but it is still reflected in NiuAero.

The five-way position of the frame is quite firm, and T47 standard five-way is generally used for manual steel frame bicycles. This specification can give consideration to the rigidity of the five-way and the compatibility of the crankshaft, and avoid the common abnormal sound problem of the press-in shaft.

The wiring and variable speed cables at the bottom of Wu Tong are wrapped with plastic pipes to improve waterproof and dustproof performance.

The rear fork boldly applied the "wing" design similar to KTMRevelatorLisse, which is also the same design language as NiuAero series product line. Compared with the practice that individual brands of pneumatic tires directly stick the rear upper forks on both sides to the riser, this design is more solid, the combination of the rear upper fork and the riser is better, and the risk of "dislocation" is less in extreme cases.

Sword-shaped rear fork, all pneumatic; The negative effect is poor vertical performance, which is simply jumping into a dog.

The joint of the rear fork is designed reasonably, and the opening of the rear shift line is located at the lower end of the rear upper fork. The framework has not yet developed an integrated tail hook for the new Shimano rear transmission.

Kit and configuration

Look at the frame and then at the accessories, starting from the front. This XS code-named NiuAero is equipped with a swept aluminum alloy bent handle with a nominal height of 77mm, which can actually reach about 70 mm. The bent handle on XS and S code vehicles is 400 mm wide.

80mm long aluminum alloy bent handle with an angle of 7 degrees. There is not much length left for the front fork. When the vertical fork is placed on it, there are only 25mm washers and a bowl set of about 10mm below. What if the height is not enough? Replace the handle or erect it at a large angle.

The wiring of the handlebar does not conform to the product positioning. According to a classic bicycle wind tunnel experiment, the wind resistance produced by exposed pipes is almost the same as that of a huge streamlined body; This is why mainstream pneumatic vehicles are trying to hide all kinds of pipes completely. Niaeroad-03 obviously doesn't consider the aerodynamic performance components outside the frame like its sibling master Road-09, so it makes four braking/transmission lines "fly with the wind".

"No low aerodynamic matching". To achieve the best aerodynamic performance, you have to choose top-level parts with better aerodynamic performance, such as radio transformers and circuit breaker handles. The 10,000-yuan niueroad-03 adopts 105R7000 mechanical oil dish set, and customers who want to find faults can only increase their budget.

R7000 is the front dial, and the factory fashion has not been adjusted in place. This is an entry-level kit with high cost performance.

The 7075-T6CNC aluminum alloy crank of niaeroad-03 surprised me. This crank is BB386 axle specification, light weight and good rigidity. Even if sold separately, it is a very competitive product in the market (if the price is reasonable).

Standard 52-36t "semi-compressed disc", the large and small discs and disc claws are cut integrally, which is similar to the integrated disc structure of the rotor and has obvious advantages of light weight.

The crank leg is hollowed out to reduce the weight, and the length of the crank leg configured on XS and S code vehicles is 170cm.

Truncated tubular carbon fiber seat rod with metal lock, giving consideration to lightweight and stability. The seat bar moves back 20mm, and there is no straight seat bar.

The seat cushion is FizikAntaresR3. Considering that the seat cushion is a part of the airship that varies from person to person, I won't comment on its comfort (if I use this car for a long time, I will consider changing it to SPECIALIZEDPowerArc).

Wheel set and disc brake

Perhaps this is not in line with some Xiao Bai's understanding of bicycle aerodynamics-wheelsets are the most important aerodynamic performance components of bicycles. On this point, the German aerodynamicist Hambini introduced it in detail in his blog (reference link: hardcore comments: comparison of aerodynamic performance of Hambini 38 wheelsets).

The front wheel is the first part of the bicycle to contact the airflow, and the wheelset rotates at high speed, and the effective airflow speed at the top of the wheelset/tire is twice the forward speed of the bicycle; Therefore, wheelsets produce the most important wind resistance on bicycles-greater than the frame. The aerodynamic performance evaluation of countless wheelsets points to the fact that the higher the frame height, the better the aerodynamic performance. The standard of a pair of low-frame aluminum wheels on niaeroad-03 is a typical wheel set with poor aerodynamic performance.

According to the standard of low-frame disc brake aluminum wheel, this pair of wheels is still a standard work, but it should not appear on the broken car that emphasizes aerodynamic performance.

The classic table disc brake hub takes into account the driving and braking performance in a double-sided crossing way, and the disc brake specification is six nails. The flower drum also determines the weaving method of the wheelset. This wheelset adopts the knitting mode of 24 spokes 1: 1, which is steady and conservative.

105 hydraulic calipers, with 160mm disk at the front and back, have strong braking performance (after adjustment in place).

The rim also has a brake edge, which matches a new tire with a nominal width of 25mm, and the actual width is 1~2mm.

physical dimension

The NiuAero in my hand is XS code-the smallest code of this model. But this code number is already 375mm Reach and 5 14mm stack, which is basically not used by small users; However, the XL size of the car does take care of big users. If your height is not high enough, or your riding posture is not radical enough, NiuAero may not be able to adapt to your setting.

From the evolution of various geometric values, including Reach and Stack, the geometry of NiuAero almost copied the five dimensions of specialized D 'Armacsl 6 from 49 codes to 58 codes. Even the evolution of handlebar width, handlebar length and crank length is similar. This also makes NiuAero look like a "pneumatic version of TarmacSL6".

This geometric setting is "loose" compared with mainstream pneumatic cars, but its STR value (the ratio of Reach to Stack, 1.45 is considered as the boundary between racing cars and endurance cars) is still within the range of racing road cars; For most ordinary users, it is necessary to equip with multiple washers and even handles. However, niaeroad-03 didn't leave much length of the front fork rudder tube when leaving the factory, so some users with "bad waist" may need to use upright.

Although the geometric shape of Road-03 is highly coincident with that of TarmacSL6, some differences in details still make the two cars have different riding experiences. Road-03 shows stable cruise characteristics due to the design difference between the head tube and the front fork, but the steering is relatively slow (the accuracy of tangent selection of TarmacSL6 is impressive); The shape of the rear upper fork and the different connection position with the riser make the acceleration and cruising of Road-03 satisfactory, but it is bumpy.

In all fairness, it is controversial to copy the existing product geometry in the market, even if it can make the product excellent, it should be avoided as far as possible.

Test ride experience

The riding quality of niaeroad-03 can keep up with the mainstream products on the market, and it is not the kind of product that makes people in the industry laugh behind closed doors. There is no problem with the aerodynamic optimization of the frame (limited to the frame), and the handling characteristics are also very satisfactory to me. Enough five-way sinking, so that you can lower your body at will when cutting corners, and at the same time, you can start early when you go out of the corner; The car runs very smoothly. You can feel that you can go straight ahead by releasing the handcart, and you can feel the security brought by the acceleration of the linear rocking car.

If the wind resistance caused by the pipeline cannot be "visible to the naked eye", then the obvious wind noise of the wheelset will always remind you that this is not a product for cruising; Personally, I suggest that Mavericks can produce a high-end version of Lu -03, adding a pneumatic integrated handle and 50 carbon knives.

The weight of Road-03 is 8.36KG (including the pedal, excluding the periphery of the kettle rack, etc.), and it is not crazy when climbing the gentle slope. Stepping on the platform makes up for the lack of lightweight-this car doesn't pick slopes, only the road conditions.

The rigidity of five-way frame and aluminum alloy CNC crank is satisfactory, and the rocking car does not drag its legs; The front fork and the rear fork also have excellent strength, and heavy trampling will not cause disc grinding. Personally, I think the frame set and crank can be used for competition purposes, but there is a lot of room to lift the wheel set, kit and handlebar set.

Advantages and disadvantages—

Advantages: stable cruise, excellent overall rigidity, convenient use of aluminum alloy toothed plate and strong braking force;

Disadvantages: The geometric shape overlaps with TarmacSL6, which leads to messy group routing and excessive wind resistance of wheel groups.

Summary:

Mavericks electric first tried to hum in the field of bicycles with high intentions. But for Road-03, it can only be regarded as a semi-finished pneumatic car. It needs to integrate more self-developed frame technology-both in material and geometric design, it needs to consider aerodynamic components such as integrated interior handle set and high-frame carbon knife more comprehensively.

It's easy at first, but it's hard to keep improving. It depends on the sincerity of this electric vehicle company in the professional bicycle market!