Rating: 9/10 | Price: from £2,500 via Piaggio, Scooter and Motoden
WIRED
Perfect for zipping around the city; removable battery; small, light and simple to use; takes a passenger
TIRED
Not one for longer journeys or fast speeds; limited power
It’s so plastic. It’s so small... It only costs that much?
Whatever our first impressions, the Piaggio 1 looks like a real game changer for both Europe’s biggest bike manufacturer and the entire e-bike market. It's a diminutive electric moped with removable battery that comes in at just over £2k. Yes, that’s less of an outlay than many regular e-pedal bikes - and pretty much all of the bikes in WIRED’s best electric bikes for commuting edit. The 1 is available in three models: 1 (a 50cc moped equivalent), 1+ (with increased battery capacity) and beefier 1 Active (a 125cc scooter equivalent).
Piaggio is betting hard on Gen Z - eco conscious, tech-savvy urbanites who could be looking for that simple, safe and emission-free first bike. A ride with a user interface that’s more Tron than Triumph, and that plugs in to charge at home, just like an iPhone. This is mobility as tech, buying a motorbike like buying a new gadget.
Jumping on the Piaggio you immediately realise how small and low the seat is. It's 77cm high. Great for confidence inspiring standover height, not so great for very tall riders. The saddle is comfy enough and although modest in size, will accommodate a passenger (again, of a modest size). WIRED did multiple trips across the city with an adult comfortably riding pillion. Yes, tight manoeuvring in heavy traffic is easier ‘one up’, but the size of the bike meant even with company those moves were well weighted and predictable.
A ‘keyless’ fob unlocks the bike and brings that flashy 5.5-inch colour LCD display to life (think shrunken Tesla control-unit for teenagers). From a handlebar mounted button you then toggle through three riding modes. Eco is for battery saving riding in heavy traffic at modest speeds (up to 18mph / 30kph). Sport, with a modest top speed of 40 kph (Piaggio 1) or 60kph (1 Active), is the mode which will suit pretty much all riders, all of the time. Finally, Reverse mode. Select this to manoeuvre the bike for parking. Although the Piaggio 1 is so light compared to a regular 125cc scooter you’ll probably never have to trouble it.
All of this motion is powered by a 1.2kW rear hub mounted motor (2kW on the Active), which opens up valuable under-seat storage for an open face helmet. The motor is in turn powered by a removable (loaf of bread sized) lithium-ion battery. Open the seat, pull it out and plug it in with a mains charger for empty-to-full 6hr charge. As well as liberating riders up from those horrible trailing charging cables or the need for off-street parking, the bike is far harder to steal (having no power source). The company says the battery is good for 800 cycles, at which point the charge is down to around 70% the capacity of new. If you’re using the bike for commuting you can obviously charge at work as well as home.
Out on the road the first impression is one of nothing. Silence. Complete silence. There’s virtually no hum from the motor and the acceleration is buttery smooth. Prepare to use the horn more than usual, purely to let pedestrians know there is a bike coming. The experience is oddly calming and a marked contrast from the vibration and noise from even a modest sized petrol scooter.
Acceleration is even and although the limited power is occasionally frustrating when overtaking buses (WIRED had to abort a few manoeuvres due to lack of power) or off ‘the lights’, navigating UK urban speed limits of 20 and 30mph is a breeze, there’s only so much throttle available. Double 175mm disk brakes bring those tiny 10” wheels to a halt with ease and KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) recharges the battery during deceleration. Parking is straightforward and again, that size and weight make putting it on its centre stand and adjusting the bike when stationary markedly easier than bigger engined scooters.
So who’s the bike really for? Rider looking for a clean, easy-to-charge zero-emissions bike. City-locked riders happy with modest speeds up to around 30mph (40kph). Riders looking for a light, simple introduction to motorbikes albeit with a limited range, regardless of whether they fit that Gen Z demographic or not. Riders looking to take longer journeys over 30 miles or riders tackling roads with a speed limit over 30mph… keep moving...
The Piaggio 1 is available for £2,500 (£2,011 with UK EV grant) from Piaggio, Scooter and Motoden. The Piaggio 1 Active is £3,000 (£2,411 with UK EV Grant).
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
