Test / E-Performance: With the AN.T. the ZEG closes the gap between cargo bikes and small vans. The compact heavy-duty truck is fun to drive in commuter traffic - even without a driver's license.
It drives like a go-kart and gets up to speed fairly quickly, packs heavy loads and brakes brutally: the cargo bike AN.T., which was recently admired at the ZEG in-house exhibition, doesn't have much in common with cargo bikes and other alternative cargo vehicles should curb the "Sprinter" flood in the inner cities. Because the tricycle doesn't look like a typical cargo bike - it's much more solid. Stable tube constructions form the two loading platforms, which are tailored to a payload of 160 kilos (plus driver), but which, in internal tests, also accepted an overload of 50% without complaint. The provider, the Zweirad-Einkaufs-Genossenschaft, has thus occupied a niche that was previously open in the cargo bike market: that of the heavy-duty cargo bike, which combines the advantages of conventional delivery bikes with enormous loading capacity.
Of course, the loads mentioned cannot be moved without motor support - even the unloaded "ant" can hardly move due to its own weight of 60 kilos with pedal power alone. A special mid-engine is therefore used, which comes from the Erzgebirge drive manufacturer EMGR and is tailored to the total weight of almost 300 kilos. The motor's three-speed gearbox is also significantly more solid than hub gears typical of bicycles.
AN.T.: Surprisingly quick and agile in everyday life
The engine can be controlled at speeds of up to 6 km/h using the throttle grip, so that a deliverer, for example, can obediently drive the vehicle alongside him. However, if you step on the pedals, the driving pleasure increases exponentially with the speed. This is ensured by the high torque, but above all by the innovative parallelogram steering, which on the one hand minimizes the turning circle and on the other hand allows very sporty cornering - just that go-kart feeling, whereby the driver sitting upright can fully enjoy the centrifugal forces that occur. With a track width of just under one meter, with a little effort you can let the front wheel on the inside of the curve lift off the ground; if the front loading platform is loaded, this should be impossible. The steering, which is extremely agile when driving empty, should also be dampened somewhat by the load at the front, so that clean straight-line stability is ensured.
Three hydraulic disc brakes bring the AN.T. to stand, which can be quite jerky if you pull the levers too hard. If you are fully loaded on a descent, you will be happy about the stable braking system. The wide tires interlock properly with the ground and bring the high deceleration forces safely to the road. If the truck comes to a standstill, you lock the parking brake and you can get off without any effort - the frame is so low that you hardly have to lift your leg.
AN.T.: Practical pack donkey with bicycle privileges
The drive train of the new commercial vehicle does not look like a “bicycle” at all – perhaps also because a Vespa rear wheel is used in the pre-series model. Like the front wheels, this can simply be pulled off to the side, which makes repairs and maintenance much easier. The chain is completely encapsulated, and the motor is also well hidden; There is space for a double battery, so the range in rush hour traffic is not a problem, even if you call up a permanently high level of support with a heavy load. As a conventional e-bike, the AN.T. Throttled to 25 km/h, and that is very practical in city traffic: the van can use all short cuts that are also open to cyclists, one-way streets open to cyclists as well as cycle paths and cycle lanes.
At one meter, barely wider than a trailer for two children, the vehicle can even be used on sidewalks and is therefore so practical overall that it is far ahead of conventional cargo vehicles in the city where it does not reach its load limits. Another plus is that each AN.T. is allowed to drive, because a driver's license is not necessary - these can be apprentices or trainees, but also hardware store customers without a driver's license who get the AN.T. borrow to transport a larger load. In a custom design, the truck can be tailored to different usage requirements, whether for mail delivery, for transporting goods or as a workshop vehicle for a craft business.
The AN.T. also interesting for smaller companies; the provider also has the vehicle fleets of large courier services in mind. With innovative logistics concepts, they could do without conventional vans in inner-city areas and instead deliver parcels from micro-depots by cargo bike.
The use of the fleet also explains the solid design of the AN.T. Since the only wearing parts are tyres, brake pads and chain, like on a bicycle, the maintenance costs can be greatly reduced compared to motor vehicles; With a service life of six to eight years, the "ant" can be used very economically.
Compared to the pre-series model driven by Velomotion, the AN.T., which is going into series production these days, has changed optically in details and now looks even more elegant and smooth-surfaced. The first vehicles are to be delivered from March 2019 - and then it will be seen whether the heavy-duty ant will find its place between conventional transport bikes and "Sprinters".