The evaluator is an 8-year sports downhill player who has participated in many cycling competitions in China and has driving experience on mountain bikes and off-road motorcycles. The following is his feedback on the riding test of Light Bee X.
Not long ago, we did a cross-country test for the light bee. For road conditions with little ups and downs, the performance of the light bee can basically meet the needs of most people. But if it is judged that its off-road performance is a bit too arbitrary just because of this, we took it to a more professional mountain off-road section for testing this time.
Getting started with Light Bee, the first feeling it brings to me is different from any other vehicle. The sitting position of the upper body is almost the same as the downhill bicycle, but the lower body has parallel pedals, and the sitting height is relatively low. The posture of riding a light bee is almost a downhill bicycle that adjusts the footwork, and it is easy for the rider to get started.
Let’s mainly talk about the feeling of off-road. First of all, it really shocked me in terms of power. The power is very abundant. At low speed, it only needs half of the “throttle” to “lift up”. The biggest difference from bicycles is the change in the center of gravity brought about by the weight of 50kg. When riding a light bee, the center of gravity position is significantly lower than that of riding a bicycle, which is closer to the feeling of a cross-country motorcycle and less flexibility like a bicycle.
Now let’s talk about the light bee’s feelings mainly in the off-road links that require power and those that do not require power.The links that require continuous power, such as when going up the mountain, are almost a cross-country motorcycle. It is completely different from a bicycle. The abundant torque allows me to easily ride on an impossible slope that the bicycle can not do.
Similarly, in the links of forest roads that need intermittent power, the direct power output makes them take the lead in the shuttle of forest roads, and the use of abundant power can make them continuously accelerate in the forest roads, leaving bicycles far behind.
In the part that does not require power, the gravity speed drop section, there is a lack of flexibility of a bicycle. In many road sections that only require braking and no power, you will clearly feel the gravity brought by the weight of 50kg. When going downhill at high speed, you must choose a route in advance to enter the corner and slow down.
In the difficult downhill section, the light bee is not as light and sensitive as the bicycle, and the trafficability in the limit state is not as good as the bicycle with large wheel diameter. In short, it is difficult for the light bee to catch up with the Enduro and downhill models on the pure downhill section.
On the whole, I personally think that Light Bee is a completely cross-border product that combines various elements of cross-country motorcycles and downhill bicycles. After being in contact for a day, I think the Light Bee is more suitable as a “transition” product for novices towards cross-country motorcycles, or as a “fever-free” toy for downhill players or cross-country motorcycle players.