ANGWATT CS1 is the best in its category this year, for me.
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Introductory
We have reached the end of summer, and the season of scooter and bike tests is slowly coming to an end. Last year I tested an Angwatt scooter for the last time, and it is quite possible that I will try an ANGWATT scooter for the last time this year as well. But while last year's subject was the 6000-watt, dual-motor T1, this year I touched the single-motor, C chassis, 1000-watt CS1.
The manufacturer claims that this scooter is better than the direct competitor KuKirin G2 Max and better than the Joyor S10S. These are serious claims, and in this article I will try to find out how true they are. At least compared to the KuKirin scooters, because Joyor has not been with me yet.
So, what can you expect in this article?
There will be unboxing, exterior and specification. I get a little theory from the operation of the C chassis by comparing the KuKirin scooters I had with the ANGWATT CS1. I'll look at the tendency to drip and also what the manufacturer has done to eliminate it. Of course, I will tell you what it was like to use the machine, and also to whom I can recommend it. That's about it, let's hit the strings!
Unpacking and assembly
Like better scooters, the ANGWATT CS1 comes to you in a double box. Inside the thick and strong cardboard, we find a more decorative, kind of shelf-friendly packaging. When unpacking, I opened both boxes (that is, I removed the inside from the outside), but I don't recommend this for you. If you listen to me, you turn the box upside down, open the bottom, then turn it back and the scooter will stand on the nikecell bricks.
In other words, with this upside-down trick, you save yourself the trouble of removing it from the box.
The basic installation process is not complicated. You screw on the rear fender with 3 screws, the steering horn with four screws and a clamp, and then the dashboard can be added at the end. The second phase is checking and adjusting the brakes, this was a lot to deal with on this scooter, but it's not a problem.
The problem is that the cable leading to the rear wheel is so long that it sticks out about 20 centimeters behind the brake caliper. I don't understand why. It's not a crazy problem, it's more of a slenderness.
Before I talk about the front of the housing, I will describe the screws so that they can be inspected, if they are too tight (for example, at the swing arm) then loosen them a little, if they are too loose, then tighten them. It is worth checking whether there is thread locking paste on the screws, and it is worth using a little grease at the pivot point of the rotating and moving parts, because the Chinese are not used to it. So it will be a bit of a chore before you go through everything.
I will insert here at the end of the installation chapter that the speed limit can be turned on and off on the scooter. To do this, you need to pull in the right brake lever and at the same time press the accelerator until it clicks. With the brake applied and gas pressed, you press the power button with your other hand, then activate the scooter with the NFC card. You will see error code E2 on the display, but don't worry about it. After about 15-20 seconds, you can release the brake and gas. The error code disappears. If the speed limit was activated, you turned it off with this, if it was not activated, you turned it on with this.
External
The ANGWATT CS1 is a completely traditional C chassis scooter. These are fairly common solutions because they are cost-effective. There is no need for a complicated chassis in advance, the manufacturers design a type of swing arm, add shock absorption, and they can put this in the front and rear chassis as well. So this is a sporulation on their part, but we don't mind, because if the chassis is well built, there won't be any problems with it. The hardness of the shock absorber can of course be adjusted.
What is C chassis?
AC chassis basically consists of a simple C-shaped bracket that connects the steering fork to the wheel hub of the scooter. This results in the form C, which has no particular complexity. The undercarriage is easy to manufacture and the production costs are low, which is why many manufacturers choose this solution, especially for cheaper basic scooters.
Advantages of AC chassis
- Simplicity and low cost: the production of AC chassis requires less material and labor, so the scooters can be produced cost-effectively. This is especially important for entry-level scooters, where price-sensitive customers are the main target group.
- Light weight: AC chassis is relatively light as it consists of few materials and has a simple construction. This can be beneficial for users, as the scooter has a lower mass, which makes it easier to transport and maneuver.
Disadvantages of AC chassis
Trailing and straight running: Trailing is the distance measured from the steering fork to the point of contact with the ground, which determines the stability and controllability of the scooter. In the case of an AC chassis, the value of the overrun may be smaller compared to conventional chassis, which makes the straight running of the scooter more uncertain. Due to the low trailing value, the scooter may be more prone to rolling, especially at higher speeds.
Propensity for steering wheel drift: Steering wheel drift is a phenomenon where the steering of the scooter becomes unstable and the steering wheel begins to make sudden, rhythmic movements. This phenomenon occurs especially in the case of scooters with chassis C, since the design of the chassis does not provide sufficient stability. Due to the stiffness and geometry of the AC chassis, the tendency to rudder is greater than with other chassis.
The net weight of the ANGWATT CS1 is 30 kilos, which means that it is quite a substantial piece. Its dimensions are 132 x 68 x 130 centimeters when opened and 132 x 68 x 60 centimeters when closed. Of course, folding means that the steering column can be folded back, which changes the height, but not the width and length.
The wheels are 11 inches (red dot because they have ten inches on them), the ground clearance is high, the wheelbase is wide enough and long enough.
It is very important that there is a lot of light on the scooter. I mean, there are a lot of lights on it. We have a front and rear light, the rear brake light and index as well. There is a white light on both sides at the front of the trepni, and a red light on both sides at the back. These are pretty strong too. In addition, both sides of the trepni also light up, this with orange light.
Two more important things, one is that the frame neck is screwed, that is, it is not cast in one piece with the body of the scooter, and the other is that the height of the handlebars cannot be adjusted.
Specification
Let's quickly run through the factory data!
The electrical system of the ANGWATT CS1 is 48 volts. The motor is 1000 watts, but the manufacturer honestly states that this peak power, i.e. the power of the motor during use, can be around 800 watts. The battery capacity is 21,3 Ah, which means a very fair capacity of over 1000 Wh. That's why he's a huge dude! We can charge the battery from zero to 100 in 8 hours.
According to the factory data, the maximum load capacity is 200 kilos, but they note that it is better if we are under 150 kilos (Best Within 150 Kg). I already wrote about the disc brake, but not about the fact that its work is also assisted by an electronic brake, so there are a total of three brakes on the machine.
According to the factory data, the ANGWATT CS1 has a range of 65-85 Kilometers (one charge) and a maximum speed of approximately 55 Km/h. It is also important that the manufacturer points out that the controller is not a piece of crap, it also gets by with a current of 29 amperes. One more interesting thing at the end, the ANGWATT CS1 can be activated and locked with an NFC card, you will find the exact operation of this towards the end of the article!
Experiences
Well, now a long chapter is coming, let's start with the bad stuff!
I have already written about the length of the cable leading to the rear brake. The display is a similarly annoying problem. The manufacturer says it's an HD display, which I don't doubt. It shows quite a lot of data, which I can only praise, not to mention the battery charge volt, so you can know exactly how many soufflés are left in the machine and how long you can go with the ANGWATT CS1.
What is disgraceful is the visibility in sunlight. The HD display is also HD because the numbers, e.g. how much you go are "drawn" with very fine graphics. In other words, the characters are damn thin in Hungarian, everything on the display is simply invisible when the sun is shining.
Well, here approx. the very bad things are over, let's see what it's like to drive the scooter!
As I promised in the introduction, I will give you a quick reference from the C chassis. I've been outsmarted on this topic this year, to be honest, I didn't really care about the physics of these runners until now, but the KuKirin G4 and his tendency to sift made it mandatory for me to outsmart myself. In other words, I now roughly know what a better and worse C chassis looks like.
What depends on the manufacturers and the design is the size of the run-up. But what is the follow-up, what is it like if there is one, and what is it like if there is none.
The first example is the wheeled shopping carts and their front wheel with a rotating axle. As soon as you start to push the car, the wheel turns backwards, no matter what position it was in. This is because if it is turned against the direction of travel, it has no overrun (it is negative), if it is in the direction of travel, then it has overrun.
In the case of a scooter, you can check if there is backlash by extending the line of the steering column to the ground, then drawing an imaginary vertical line that intersects the axis of the wheel. If the intersection of the two lines is above the point of contact between the road and the wheel, there is overrun, if below it, there is no (negative) overrun.
Why is this important?
It is important because, if there is no follow-up, the wheel wants to turn backwards, just like the shopping cart. I think you can all imagine what happens when the front wheel of the scooter turns backwards while you are going forty.
Well-designed scooters therefore have a trailing edge! Yes, but there is a complicating factor, which is that the pivot point of the lower suspension arm is behind the wheel. If you load the scooter, the lower swing arm starts to approach the horizontal, at the same time the wheel axis moves forward, so the trailing is reduced.
So, it may happen that an unloaded scooter still has it, and a loaded one no longer has overrun.
What happens if the follow-up turns negative while driving? A condition known as steering wheel shake may occur, when the wheel wants to turn backwards, but due to the rotation of the wheel, the centripetal force (and your muscle power) pulls it straight again. Also, he pulls it not straight, but a little beyond the straight line, so e.g. it swings from right to slightly left, then swings back to the right due to the lack of follow-up, and this process results in an ever-increasing left-right rudder, which means that you are almost guaranteed to fall.
That's the story.
Here, in the explanation, you will find the diagram of the KuKirin G4 and the Angwatt CS1. This shows that the Angwatt CS1 has a larger overrun in the unloaded state, which means that even under load there is a chance that it will stay out of this overrun or go into the negative range less than the KuKirin G4.
Overall, the Angwatt CS1 was slightly better than the KuKirin G4 (and the KuKirin G2) in terms of steering and trailing, but it wasn't perfect either. However, the point is that it is better, and we are happy about it, no matter how little it is!
What other solutions did Angwatt use to protect itself against government interference?
In addition to the correct chassis design, the steering wheel is also quite wide. According to the factory data, it is 680 millimeters, I measured 700 millimeters including the grips. This is not a crazy amount either, but it is enough for such a powerful machine. The steering wheel of the KuKirin G3 is about 10 cm narrower than this.
In addition to these, the steering bearing can also be overstretched while driving. But, as in the case of the KuKirin G4, I also state that the bearing is not only over-tensioned, but somehow there is also a small hitch in the middle position. This is good because if the steering wheel starts flapping due to the rudder drizzling, then this small middle hitch stops the flapping a bit during every movement to the right and left.
In summary:
So the bottom line is that the ANGWATT CS1 has really become better than the KuKirin scooters when it comes to preventing steering wheel drift!
What is it like to drive a car?
Well, let's get on with this steering wheel jam. In the beginning, this was very disturbing, as in the case of the G4, but during the test it loosened so much that it was barely noticeable, so it does not cause any problems. But, don't forget about it, do the first kilometers carefully and pay attention, so that you don't get a surprise due to a small hitch in the steering wheel!
I indicated above that the 1 watts specified for the ANGWATT CS1000 is the peak power. There is an incline not far from us (16-18 degrees), on which I usually test the power and torque of the scooters. At the moment, the situation is that the 2000 watt machines are going up, if not cheerfully, the 1200 watt KuKirin G3 suffered with a lot of trickery, but neither the KuKirin G2 nor the OOTD S10 went up. The former is 800 watts on paper, the latter 1200 watts.
In the case of the OOTD S10, I also wrote that this scooter was not 1200 watts in its stinking life, maybe even the peak torque is not that much, and the testing also proved this, because it took me just as far as the 800-watt KuKirin G2.
And the ANGWATT CS1 did not lag behind the G2 and S10 in any way, it even took me by a hair's breadth, so it can be stated that the 1000 watts that are honestly indicated as peak power can in reality mean a constant power of approximately 800 watts.
The battery capacity is a very, very, very good thing. The KuKirin G3 has a 936 Wh battery, the OOTD S10 has a 960 Wh battery, the KuKirin G2 has a 720 Wh battery, and the tested ANGWATT CS1 has a 1023 Wh battery. In other words, it appears that this scooter has one of the largest capacities in its category. Since the battery makes up a very large part of the scooter's price, it is especially gratifying that the price of the ANGWATT CS1 has not gone down even because of the large battery.
According to the factory data, the possible range can reach 85 kilometers, according to my own calculations, with my body weight, it will be more like 45 kilometers. If you are small, light and don't want to go fast, you can easily get 10 kilometers more from a charge.
There are a few things I really liked about the ANGWATT CS1. One is the index switch, which is similar to what is usually found on motorcycles. In other words, you have to drag it left and right, it doesn't index in the middle position. If the turn signal is working, the dashboard indicates this with a sharp and audible beep, which is also very good!
Which is so bad that unfortunately there was no index in advance. The good thing is that the direction indicator built into the rear light is more visible than in the case of KuKirin scooters.
I also liked that the tread is relatively long and wide, so it fit my feet comfortably. What I didn't like was that my foot, accidentally placed between the neck of the frame, got caught in the neck of the frame due to my carelessness when landing and I almost fell on my face. You have to pay attention to this!
Top speed. Well, 55 didn't really work for me, it ended up being 45+, the + here meant an extra 2-3 kilometers depending on the road.
However, driving with the ANGWATT CS1 was extremely pleasant. Due to its size and weight, it gave a sense of security, it tolerated potholed roads quite well, and when used in the lowest gear, it could even be used as a retired scooter.
Stable, with normal straight running, sufficiently hard, but not bouncy chassis. As I wrote, the chassis hardness can be adjusted, so if you are lighter than me, you can soften it to make it comfortable.
I don't feel it is an exaggeration to say that the Angwatt CS1 is the best in terms of feel and use among the peers I visited this year!
There was no problem with the turns either. what should be noted is that the steering wheel can also be turned at an extremely sharp angle. This is good for the roundness of the turn, you can turn in a small area, but if you are not careful and you turn more than necessary while driving, it can end up in a pretzel.
I left an interesting point at the end of the experience section, and it is none other than the NFC card launch. ANGWATT CS1 cannot be turned on with the power button on the switch group. If you press this, you will hear a beeping sound. If you hold it down, it beeps continuously, but nothing happens.
It is turned on by pressing the power button and releasing it when it beeps. You then hold one of the 2 NFC cards you received to the right rear of the dashboard, which turns the scooter on.
Of course, this doesn't protect you from theft either, but it's a little help, because if someone wants to take it, they either run away with it or try to kick it on a scooter. Such a person is easier to catch than a lame dog. If he could start the scooter, you could run after him, you wouldn't stand a chance.
Summary
The most important question, which I asked at the beginning of the article, is whether the ANGWATT CS1 is really better than e.g. the KuKirin G2 Pro or the Joyor S10. Regarding the former, I dare say that it is better. In terms of the chassis, it beats almost all KuKirins with C chassis that I've had so far, I've had a few of these as well.
Power is another matter. The real 800 watts, which I know little about. But let's add, I weigh 100 kilos and live in a hilly area. So the point is, 800 watts is not enough here. Let's say for use in Pest (or it could be Mohács, Szeged, or Debrecen
Kecskemét too) is perfect.
Because of the top speed, I wouldn't use it between cars, it can be used safely on a bike path.
So the bottom line is that the ANGWATT CS1 is indeed better than many of its peers. It's not flawless either, but basically it's a lovable, comfortable machine to use. If I had to choose between buying the KuKirin G2 Pro, the KuKirin G2 or the ANGWATT CS1, I would definitely go with the ANGWATT CS1, even though it is slightly more expensive than the G2.
If you liked the ANGWATT CS1, then a EFANSANWCS1 you can buy it from a Czech warehouse for HUF 219 with a coupon code. Shipping is free! To buy, click on the link below:
ANGWATT CS1 electric scooter
