Luna made a YT video showing the FLX on a hill and the FLX didn't do very well. It's a very small motor and I doubt it sheds heat very well. FLX promised a torque sensor. The video isn't there anymore and I heard something about FLX threatening to sue Luna. So maybe that is why the video isn't there anymore. That's wild. You can't sue FLX, but FLX will come back to the US to sue you? Maybe that explains why Luna is selling FLX stuff, undercutting them on price?I'm reposting something a customer sent in about FLX bikes. I think it's important for our community to educate newcomer into the world of ebikes in an honest way and make sure they understand that they get what they pay for:
David Schorr (via Facebook)
I had a nice phone conversation with Robert Rast about the falling resale value of our FLX bikes. I came away with a clearer understanding of the FLX business model. I don't wish them any harm, but I do think that you all and all future potential buyers should be put on notice of exactly how FLX does business.
When I tried to pin Robert down to what address FLX uses in the U.S., he told me there wasn't any. He and Pete live in China. FLX is registered to do business in China. They pay no taxes in the U.S. or the E.U. and they are not subject to any regulation by any state or government outside of China.
Don't get me wrong. This is a brilliant way to do business!
Here's what they did... They set up shop in China and then used the internet to raise money. They came to the U.S. for some meetings and to film themselves riding around San Francisco on the FLX bikes. The company never had a physical presence in the U.S. They created a nice web site. Then they set up their phones with a 415 area code. You dial a 415 area code and expect to be talking to San Francisco, right? They set their phones up to ring the phones in their pockets in China. You call a 415 phone number and, without really thinking about it, you are talking to someone in China.
I, along with a lot of other customers, thought I was dealing with a couple of young entrepreneurs based in the U.S. importing bikes from China. They sure look young, energetic, and honest don't they? The early videos that they released look like they had to go to China to kick some butt at the factory so we could get our bikes back in the U.S. Remember those? The fact is, they never had to go back to China. They were there all along.
Remember when containers 5 and 6 were held up at the port for so long? That's because (emphasis here) there was nobody on the ground in the United States to do whatever needed to be done to move the process along. Remember the video they posted of themselves driving down the California coast from San Francisco (while playing air guitar) so they could kick butt at the port of Long Beach? The delay took so long because they had to fly in from China and they landed in San Francisco. Why didn't they just fly direct to LAX? Clearly, they wanted to bolster the image that they were based in San Francisco.
There is a very good reason why they are based in China. A good reason why they live in China and why their assets are in China. It's one word.... liability.
Companies in the U.S. and the E.U. have to spend buckets of money on insurance and attorneys because if something goes wrong with one of their products, they get sued.
Robert and Pete don't have to worry about getting sued. If you are riding your FLX at top speed and the frame cracks in half and you end up skidding down the street, you can't sue them. If some part of your FLX bike fails and a bystander gets injured, they will sue you, but you can't turn around and sue FLX.
That's because they don't exist in the U.S. or the E.U. If you can find out where they are in China and actually go through the trouble of getting them served in China, you might actually win at trial in your home country. But then, you'll never be able to collect. Their assets are in China and no Chinese court is going to recognize a foreign judgment against a Chinese company.
That's why FLX can sell their bikes at an incredibly low price point compared to the competition.
Now, I don't have a problem with this. I buy stuff from China all the time with my eyes open and I know that I have no recourse if something goes south.
The difference with FLX, and the thing I do have a problem with, is that they don't tell you this up front. In fact, Pete and Robert have done everything possible to hide the fact that they are Chinese company masquerading as a U.S. company.
I know there will be some apologists among you who will find fault with some or all of what I have written here. When one finds one's self hoodwinked, it is a natural response to come to the aid of the hoodwinkers.
To those of you who really want to defend the honor of Pete and Robert with every snarky comment you can muster, I ask that you take a deep breath and think about what has transpired with this company over the past year. Watch those old videos again and ask yourself, "Are these young, energetic people really based in the U.S., or are they just pretending?
Some people are calling for FLX to upgrade their motors at cost or to offer this or that warranty. A warranty is worthless, by the way, if you can't enforce it.
I'd be happy with some transparency.
Great information!I'm reposting something a customer sent in about FLX bikes. I think it's important for our community to educate newcomer into the world of ebikes in an honest way and make sure they understand that they get what they pay for:
David Schorr (via Facebook)
I had a nice phone conversation with Robert Rast about the falling resale value of our FLX bikes. I came away with a clearer understanding of the FLX business model. I don't wish them any harm, but I do think that you all and all future potential buyers should be put on notice of exactly how FLX does business.
When I tried to pin Robert down to what address FLX uses in the U.S., he told me there wasn't any. He and Pete live in China. FLX is registered to do business in China. They pay no taxes in the U.S. or the E.U. and they are not subject to any regulation by any state or government outside of China.
Don't get me wrong. This is a brilliant way to do business!
Here's what they did... They set up shop in China and then used the internet to raise money. They came to the U.S. for some meetings and to film themselves riding around San Francisco on the FLX bikes. The company never had a physical presence in the U.S. They created a nice web site. Then they set up their phones with a 415 area code. You dial a 415 area code and expect to be talking to San Francisco, right? They set their phones up to ring the phones in their pockets in China. You call a 415 phone number and, without really thinking about it, you are talking to someone in China.
I, along with a lot of other customers, thought I was dealing with a couple of young entrepreneurs based in the U.S. importing bikes from China. They sure look young, energetic, and honest don't they? The early videos that they released look like they had to go to China to kick some butt at the factory so we could get our bikes back in the U.S. Remember those? The fact is, they never had to go back to China. They were there all along.
Remember when containers 5 and 6 were held up at the port for so long? That's because (emphasis here) there was nobody on the ground in the United States to do whatever needed to be done to move the process along. Remember the video they posted of themselves driving down the California coast from San Francisco (while playing air guitar) so they could kick butt at the port of Long Beach? The delay took so long because they had to fly in from China and they landed in San Francisco. Why didn't they just fly direct to LAX? Clearly, they wanted to bolster the image that they were based in San Francisco.
There is a very good reason why they are based in China. A good reason why they live in China and why their assets are in China. It's one word.... liability.
Companies in the U.S. and the E.U. have to spend buckets of money on insurance and attorneys because if something goes wrong with one of their products, they get sued.
Robert and Pete don't have to worry about getting sued. If you are riding your FLX at top speed and the frame cracks in half and you end up skidding down the street, you can't sue them. If some part of your FLX bike fails and a bystander gets injured, they will sue you, but you can't turn around and sue FLX.
That's because they don't exist in the U.S. or the E.U. If you can find out where they are in China and actually go through the trouble of getting them served in China, you might actually win at trial in your home country. But then, you'll never be able to collect. Their assets are in China and no Chinese court is going to recognize a foreign judgment against a Chinese company.
That's why FLX can sell their bikes at an incredibly low price point compared to the competition.
Now, I don't have a problem with this. I buy stuff from China all the time with my eyes open and I know that I have no recourse if something goes south.
The difference with FLX, and the thing I do have a problem with, is that they don't tell you this up front. In fact, Pete and Robert have done everything possible to hide the fact that they are Chinese company masquerading as a U.S. company.
I know there will be some apologists among you who will find fault with some or all of what I have written here. When one finds one's self hoodwinked, it is a natural response to come to the aid of the hoodwinkers.
To those of you who really want to defend the honor of Pete and Robert with every snarky comment you can muster, I ask that you take a deep breath and think about what has transpired with this company over the past year. Watch those old videos again and ask yourself, "Are these young, energetic people really based in the U.S., or are they just pretending?
Some people are calling for FLX to upgrade their motors at cost or to offer this or that warranty. A warranty is worthless, by the way, if you can't enforce it.
I'd be happy with some transparency.
I don't have an FLX but Like I posted above their FB page says "SF based business" a little misleading that's all!Did you buy this FLX eBike on Indigogo? Cause it says they are from Shanghai China... There is nothing on their webpage that says where they are from, if there is a USA office, and their warranty page is very uninformative about where you ship the bike for warranty work.
At this point of time with Internet shopping, everyone should be suspicious about any Seller and their location, their physical presence, and their reputation. It takes about 10 minutes of web searching to find the needed information...
I'm reposting something a customer sent in about FLX bikes. I think it's important for our community to educate newcomer into the world of ebikes in an honest way and make sure they understand that they get what they pay for:
David Schorr (via Facebook)
I had a nice phone conversation with Robert Rast about the falling resale value of our FLX bikes. I came away with a clearer understanding of the FLX business model. I don't wish them any harm, but I do think that you all and all future potential buyers should be put on notice of exactly how FLX does business.
When I tried to pin Robert down to what address FLX uses in the U.S., he told me there wasn't any. He and Pete live in China. FLX is registered to do business in China. They pay no taxes in the U.S. or the E.U. and they are not subject to any regulation by any state or government outside of China.
Don't get me wrong. This is a brilliant way to do business!
Here's what they did... They set up shop in China and then used the internet to raise money. They came to the U.S. for some meetings and to film themselves riding around San Francisco on the FLX bikes. The company never had a physical presence in the U.S. They created a nice web site. Then they set up their phones with a 415 area code. You dial a 415 area code and expect to be talking to San Francisco, right? They set their phones up to ring the phones in their pockets in China. You call a 415 phone number and, without really thinking about it, you are talking to someone in China.
I, along with a lot of other customers, thought I was dealing with a couple of young entrepreneurs based in the U.S. importing bikes from China. They sure look young, energetic, and honest don't they? The early videos that they released look like they had to go to China to kick some butt at the factory so we could get our bikes back in the U.S. Remember those? The fact is, they never had to go back to China. They were there all along.
Remember when containers 5 and 6 were held up at the port for so long? That's because (emphasis here) there was nobody on the ground in the United States to do whatever needed to be done to move the process along. Remember the video they posted of themselves driving down the California coast from San Francisco (while playing air guitar) so they could kick butt at the port of Long Beach? The delay took so long because they had to fly in from China and they landed in San Francisco. Why didn't they just fly direct to LAX? Clearly, they wanted to bolster the image that they were based in San Francisco.
There is a very good reason why they are based in China. A good reason why they live in China and why their assets are in China. It's one word.... liability.
Companies in the U.S. and the E.U. have to spend buckets of money on insurance and attorneys because if something goes wrong with one of their products, they get sued.
Robert and Pete don't have to worry about getting sued. If you are riding your FLX at top speed and the frame cracks in half and you end up skidding down the street, you can't sue them. If some part of your FLX bike fails and a bystander gets injured, they will sue you, but you can't turn around and sue FLX.
That's because they don't exist in the U.S. or the E.U. If you can find out where they are in China and actually go through the trouble of getting them served in China, you might actually win at trial in your home country. But then, you'll never be able to collect. Their assets are in China and no Chinese court is going to recognize a foreign judgment against a Chinese company.
That's why FLX can sell their bikes at an incredibly low price point compared to the competition.
Now, I don't have a problem with this. I buy stuff from China all the time with my eyes open and I know that I have no recourse if something goes south.
The difference with FLX, and the thing I do have a problem with, is that they don't tell you this up front. In fact, Pete and Robert have done everything possible to hide the fact that they are Chinese company masquerading as a U.S. company.
I know there will be some apologists among you who will find fault with some or all of what I have written here. When one finds one's self hoodwinked, it is a natural response to come to the aid of the hoodwinkers.
To those of you who really want to defend the honor of Pete and Robert with every snarky comment you can muster, I ask that you take a deep breath and think about what has transpired with this company over the past year. Watch those old videos again and ask yourself, "Are these young, energetic people really based in the U.S., or are they just pretending?
Some people are calling for FLX to upgrade their motors at cost or to offer this or that warranty. A warranty is worthless, by the way, if you can't enforce it.
I'd be happy with some transparency.
Sounds to me like the ebike business is becoming quite the cut throat business.I'm reposting something a customer sent in about FLX bikes. I think it's important for our community to educate newcomer into the world of ebikes in an honest way and make sure they understand that they get what they pay for:
David Schorr (via Facebook)
I had a nice phone conversation with Robert Rast about the falling resale value of our FLX bikes. I came away with a clearer understanding of the FLX business model. I don't wish them any harm, but I do think that you all and all future potential buyers should be put on notice of exactly how FLX does business.
When I tried to pin Robert down to what address FLX uses in the U.S., he told me there wasn't any. He and Pete live in China. FLX is registered to do business in China. They pay no taxes in the U.S. or the E.U. and they are not subject to any regulation by any state or government outside of China.
Don't get me wrong. This is a brilliant way to do business!
Here's what they did... They set up shop in China and then used the internet to raise money. They came to the U.S. for some meetings and to film themselves riding around San Francisco on the FLX bikes. The company never had a physical presence in the U.S. They created a nice web site. Then they set up their phones with a 415 area code. You dial a 415 area code and expect to be talking to San Francisco, right? They set their phones up to ring the phones in their pockets in China. You call a 415 phone number and, without really thinking about it, you are talking to someone in China.
I, along with a lot of other customers, thought I was dealing with a couple of young entrepreneurs based in the U.S. importing bikes from China. They sure look young, energetic, and honest don't they? The early videos that they released look like they had to go to China to kick some butt at the factory so we could get our bikes back in the U.S. Remember those? The fact is, they never had to go back to China. They were there all along.
Remember when containers 5 and 6 were held up at the port for so long? That's because (emphasis here) there was nobody on the ground in the United States to do whatever needed to be done to move the process along. Remember the video they posted of themselves driving down the California coast from San Francisco (while playing air guitar) so they could kick butt at the port of Long Beach? The delay took so long because they had to fly in from China and they landed in San Francisco. Why didn't they just fly direct to LAX? Clearly, they wanted to bolster the image that they were based in San Francisco.
There is a very good reason why they are based in China. A good reason why they live in China and why their assets are in China. It's one word.... liability.
Companies in the U.S. and the E.U. have to spend buckets of money on insurance and attorneys because if something goes wrong with one of their products, they get sued.
Robert and Pete don't have to worry about getting sued. If you are riding your FLX at top speed and the frame cracks in half and you end up skidding down the street, you can't sue them. If some part of your FLX bike fails and a bystander gets injured, they will sue you, but you can't turn around and sue FLX.
That's because they don't exist in the U.S. or the E.U. If you can find out where they are in China and actually go through the trouble of getting them served in China, you might actually win at trial in your home country. But then, you'll never be able to collect. Their assets are in China and no Chinese court is going to recognize a foreign judgment against a Chinese company.
That's why FLX can sell their bikes at an incredibly low price point compared to the competition.
Now, I don't have a problem with this. I buy stuff from China all the time with my eyes open and I know that I have no recourse if something goes south.
The difference with FLX, and the thing I do have a problem with, is that they don't tell you this up front. In fact, Pete and Robert have done everything possible to hide the fact that they are Chinese company masquerading as a U.S. company.
I know there will be some apologists among you who will find fault with some or all of what I have written here. When one finds one's self hoodwinked, it is a natural response to come to the aid of the hoodwinkers.
To those of you who really want to defend the honor of Pete and Robert with every snarky comment you can muster, I ask that you take a deep breath and think about what has transpired with this company over the past year. Watch those old videos again and ask yourself, "Are these young, energetic people really based in the U.S., or are they just pretending?
Some people are calling for FLX to upgrade their motors at cost or to offer this or that warranty. A warranty is worthless, by the way, if you can't enforce it.
I'd be happy with some transparency.
Update.
Our new warehouse / shop front / US office is located at:
4170 Morena Blvd. Ste D
San Diego, CA 92117
We've just taken possession of the keys to this new facility so we'll be up and running in a few weeks. Please keep an eye on our FB page for more updates.
Basically what that means now is, we'll have fully operational facilities in the US as well as China. Team China will continue to ensure the highest quality control on every single one of our bikes. The UK / Dutch / Chinese Engineering team in China will also be responsible for the majority of our extensive research and development program.
Even though we've had a presence in the US the entire time we've been in business, we'll now be able to step up customer support yet another level and also have bikes available to test ride. We're also taking over the fulfilment side of the company so purchases will be sent out even faster.
Please let me know of any other US operated eBike company that has made this sort of commitment to building and selling bikes...
Thanks for the continued support, hopefully see you all at the new facility v.soon!
P.s. There's a micro brewery located directly next door if awesome eBikes aren't already enough of a draw for you!
Pete
FLX
They are in San Diego, not SF.I don't have an FLX but Like I posted above their FB page says "SF based business" a little misleading that's all!