Ninety One Meraki 29T: ChooseMyBicycle Expert Review

The Ninety one Meraki 29T is built on a full Steel frame. This frame has a slanting top tube which connects to the seat tube and ensures the rider has comfortable standover clearance. This comfort focused frame geometry ensured the rider has a straight and open chested riding posture without any aggressive body positioning.

The stock front suspension fork comes with an 80mm travel which sufficient to handle bumps and speed breakers on urban roads as well as flat trails.

The Meraki 29T from Ninety One which We test rode came in a Red primary colour on the frame with Black as the secondary colour for the graphics. The gloss finish paint job was top notch in quality and the bold text fonts were definitely eye-catchy. This Electric Bicycle has an internal battery placed inside the bottom tube. The size of the bottom tube along with its shape and welds made the E-Bicycle look neat and seamless in design.

This Meraki 29T Electric Bicycle comes with a Single-Speed drivetrain. There is no compulsory need for an Electric Cycle to have gears as the battery is going to dominate and contribute to the speed of the E-Bicycle. For short commuting needs there will be no necessity of gears and this Single-Speed drivetrain is also easy to maintain. The lack of gearing components also decreases the weight of Electric Bicycle a little.

The Ninety One Meraki 29T Electric Bicycle runs on a rear hub BLDC 250W rear hub motor. This motor is powered by a 6.3AH Lithium-ion Panasonic battery, concealed in the bottom tube. The half throttle on the right grip was easy to use and there was a clear surge in speed from a stationery position, thus making it a fun experience. The 3 level pedal assist termed Low, Medium and High give three different levels of power assist from the battery for each pedal. There is also a walk mode which helps get a constant speed for easy walking with the E-Bicycle and this can be activated by pressing and holding minus button used to reduce the Pedal Assist. The LED button display on the left side of the handlebar bar has the On/Off power button, assist level changer and also the battery level indicator. The maximum speed using battery power is 25kmph. As a safety feature there is a lock and key system under the right hand side grip accelerator which can be used to switch on and switch off the complete battery power, thus making it tamper proof.

With 1 full charge this battery is capable of giving 18-35kms. These mileages might differ a bit with the varied riding conditions, pedal assist or throttle mode and the rider weight. This battery takes 3.5-4hrs to charge from 0 to 100% with any normal Indian plug point. The charging point for the battery is on the left side of the frame on the top tube, almost near the head tube. The small downside to and internal and concealed battery is that the Electric Bicycle has to be near a charging point as the battery is not detachable.

This Electric Bicycle’s stopping power is controlled by stock Mechanical Disc brakes at the front and rear. Both these brakes were powerful enough to get the Electric Bicycle to stop safely and quickly even while riding at 20-25 Km/hr.

The riser handlebar on this E-Bicycle was of the perfect length with a slight raise from the middle to give the rider a comfortable riding posture. The grip throttle on the right was smooth and easy to use.

As in the name of the E-Bicycle this Meraki rolls on a pair of 29” x 2.10” Hartex Hi-Traction MTB tires. These tires are heavily treaded to tackle rough and wet urban roads and flat trails easily. The Alloy rims contributed to the strength of the wheelset.

The stock saddle did not have the most ergonomic shape but it definitely had enough cushioning to keep the rider free from soreness.