Xiaomi Launch Electric Mopeds: A1 and A1 Pro with Pedals?

We love when companies try new things, especially when it comes to electric transportation and Xiaomi has been an active player in the electric bike and electric moped and scooter market for several years now with unbelievable pricing, although the majority of their products can only be purchased in China. That being said, their newly launched device seems to be an electric scooter with pedals haphazardly attached at the last minute to afford it the title of electric bike, although looking at the specifications, one would not confuse this with anything but a moped style device:

Technical data the A1-mopeds:

• size: 161 x 68 x 104 cm (length x width x height)
• weight: 52 kg
• tires: 16 inch
• degree of protection: IPX6
• colors: White, Red, Yellow, Blue, Gray

They have a EU friendly maximum speed of 25kph and claim that they can travel 60km on a charge using a battery that is rated at 16ah on the lower end and 70km with a 20ah battery on the higher end model. The math does not entirely add up with the range offerings based on battery capacity however it may be due to the fact that these devices are heavy, 52kg on the base model and understandably heavier higher end model with a larger battery pack.

Comparing the pricing however is another thing. These moped-bikes are very competitively priced at a starting price of only $420 which is unbelievable value for something of this nature.

You would not be able to bring these on public transport due to the sheer size and weight and of course many public transport systems worldwide have certain requirements such that the device must be able to fold for carriage.

One of the very interesting things with these models are the high quality IPS displays which provides the rider a host of useful information as well as support for touch control, or voice input (somewhat hard to use in more dense traffic conditions we would imagine). they also include wide angle cameras which record all of whats going on around you which is an interesting feature that we have looked into including on our upcoming Stark Drive Torque, both from a safety perspective and to be able to share your rides with family and friends. That being said, they also include GPS navigation but we think with the ubiquity of smart phones, that feature could easily be taken care of by your own mobile device.

Comparing this to our base Stark Drive Mini just based on price and you can see that for $299 you could get a folding full electric bike that weighs in at around 13kg which is less than a third the weight of this device and with Mini you can also bring it on a plane with you as the battery is compliant with IATA regulations on battery capacity. Mini also includes a throttle (if you configure it with one) so that the Xiaomi device although practical in terms of range for continuous city use, think delivery drivers, it does not really compete in terms of convenience if you want to use it for last mile commuting while also using public transport or even your vehicle (which hopefully by now is electric right?). Mini ships worldwide and can be configured with a high capacity battery, carbon belt drive system, and a host of other features depending on the end use case. Did we mention you can get whatever color you like? maybe even a unique pattern using hydrographics?

That being said, it's great to see manufactures trying new things and helping to hone and refine the technology that is out there when it comes to electrified transportation.

Sincerely

Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC