This e-bike makes life easier

Smafo 3 in the test: our conclusion

benefits Proven technology Driving fun Additional offers such as theft protection Very good value for money large batterydisadvantage Heavy (26 kg) Thumb controls difficult to achieve

There are just things in life that you don’t want to deal with any longer than necessary. This also includes many purchase decisions. Which washing machine is the best or which laptop has a gigabyte more RAM, many people simply don’t care as long as the technology works. And e-bikes don’t always trigger excitement either, because not everyone is as enthusiastic about this technology as we are. For them, an electric bike is just an elegant solution for getting from A to B with little effort. That is perfectly legitimate.

But which e-bike should you get yourself then? A clear answer: the Smafo 3. Because the pedelec impressed across the board in our test and offers everything you need and even a bit more. It is easy to use, comes in a timeless design, has more than enough power, offers a very fair price-performance ratio and even offers smart features. A GPS module serves as theft protection and there is a replacement service.

It is therefore difficult to say anything bad about the Smafo 3. Only the heavy weight of 26 kilograms is annoying. Carrying the bike into the apartment or the basement quickly becomes a sweaty affair. But to be fair, it has to be said that most e-bikes weigh that much and very few even break the 20 kg limit. In addition, the control unit for the engine was difficult to reach with the thumb.

Smafo 3 in the test: equipment and workmanship 

The Smafo 3 looks relatively unspectacular from the outside, but still modern – regardless of whether you choose the black or white color. However, if you look at the built-in components, you will discover a solid selection. For example, the Paderborn company installed the popular Tektro HD M275 disc brakes, which can be found on many trekking e-bikes. Rightly so, after all, they work reliably and in our test they always grabbed hold of it – even in the rain. The Shimano Altus derailleur has already proven itself and is also used on the Smafo 3. There it offers a total of 9 gears, which is more than sufficient in everyday urban life, regardless of your driving style.

The heart is of course the engine, which is hidden in the rear hub and comes from the big player Bafang. More precisely, an RM G020.250.D with 45 Newton meters is working here. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is easily sufficient in city traffic. 

The LED display DP C231 with USB connection and Bluetooth also comes from Bafang and does its job according to plan. We were able to easily read all information such as speed or support level at any time. The setting buttons are located below the display and together they form a unit. However, the combination sits a tick too far from the handle, so you have to stretch your thumb very far to be able to press the buttons.

NIO Day: The world does not owe Weilai an understanding, a word of hello to the world

Due to the prevention and control of the epidemic, NIO Day reduced the number of attendees. “We try to suppress our emotions,” said Li Bin, the founder, chairman and CEO of Weilai.

However, this still cannot stop NIO Day from becoming one of the most popular and topical auto brand activities in China.

In addition to the new car ET5, which detonated the order, Li Bin’s topic of “don’t understand why there are still people buying fuel vehicles” in the interview rushed into hot searches.

On the first NIO Day in Wukesong, Beijing, Weilai ES8 turned out to make people realize that Weilai has come, but it is not yet popular.

For the second NIO Day in Shanghai, NIO used a more mature ES6 to knock more people’s hearts.

In the third NIO Day in Shenzhen, after the “catastrophe”, Weilai used a more refined EC6 to make people believe that Weilai will always be there.

The fourth NIO Day in Chengdu, a medium and large luxury flagship sedan ET7, announced that smart electric vehicles have entered the era of computing power + horsepower.

What kind of NIO did we see in the Suzhou NIO Day with the theme of “Hello, World” this time?

Li Bin said that this is a “new chapter” for Weilai. Basically shows the main development direction of NIO in the next few years.

Can ET5 play double 3s?

Let me talk about ET5 first.

With rave reviews, orders are bursting. It is said that this is the one that received the most orders on the day of release among the five production vehicles of NIO.

More importantly, many of the ET5 orders placed this time are new users who placed the order for the first time, rather than trade-in or additional users. This is the situation that Wei Lai wants to see most.

Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, said: “We are launching a new car in a brand-new market segment. It should open up a new virgin land instead of rolling in. I feel that ET5 has basically done it.”

Obviously, the launch of ET5 complements NIO’s product line. As for whether ET5 can become an explosive model like NIO’s iPhone 4 and Model 3, it needs to be answered by the market, but at least NIO is very confident.

An insider of Weilai revealed that the real start of the ET5 project was in early 2020. When Weilai stepped out of the so-called “worst person in 2019” storm, Li Bin hoped to build the smallest, most beautiful and most beautiful vehicle around Weilai’s power exchange structure. The ultimate car is such a simple question. NIO’s design and engineering team and product team have conducted a very in-depth thinking, and finally handed over the ET5 answer sheet.

Although before NIO Day, ET5’s positioning and pricing have already been guessed. However, the configuration of ET5, compared with the higher-end ET7, has not declined. It is still equipped with automatic driving hardware such as dual motors and lidar as standard, and the rights and interests of user services have not been cancelled. It can be seen that Weilai is still very sincere.

The price of the ET5 with the BaaS battery leasing solution is 258 thousand yuan, which is not much different from the 266,000 yuan starting price of the Tesla Model 3 single-motor version, and it is nearly 4 yuan cheaper than the guide price of the BMW 3 series entry model of 293,900 yuan. Ten thousand yuan.

It is precisely based on such sincerity that Li Bin shouted in the interview that he did not understand, “Why do so many people buy gas trucks now?”

Obviously, this sentence was chopped off, and the Internet was violent. Compared with BBA petrol trucks at the same price, ET5 is a win in terms of acceleration performance, styling design, cost performance, overall intelligence, safety configuration and full experience service. If you have to say that the refueling experience is better, it is because the gas station is doing a good job, and it has nothing to do with gasoline cars.

NIO DAY

NIO launched the new electric car ET7 at this year’s NIO DAY, with a cruising range of over 1,000 kilometers, which directly eliminated the weaknesses of electric vehicles, and further magnified the advantages of other aspects such as quietness, intelligence, and money saving. And its assisted driving technical conditions clearly exceed the same level in the industry, entering the L4 range from the technical level. Weilai is constantly thinking about why cars, people, and brands, its ambition is not to become an excellent car company, but to form its own unique circle and values-to impress more with its own users + product values Many people impress the global auto market.