Got my Espin Flow - Short summary

[Melonbike]

Thought i'd add to this forum for those interested in Espin's bike.

First off, about me.
I'm a value guy. When I buy things I like to know I got my money's worth. I also do research when i buy things of high value.
So when Espin had the sale for $1199, imo it was a no brainer as blew everything else out of the water at that price point.
That's why i'm here and posting.

As for ebike experience. I've ridden a Rad Power Bike and Pedego Bike. My non ebike is a scott hybrid bike w/700cc tires.
As for putting things together, i'm pretty good at putting together IKEA furniture and I have tools.

Ordered my bike June 16th, got it July 12th.

Came double boxed.

Opened the box, bike look like this.

Read the instructions, google if espin had a youtube video and it did. Watched the video. Went back to work on the bike.
Bike looked like this.

After some more work. Bike was assembled.

Total time it took assembling:
Opening from box and taking it out. 5-10 mins.
Reading instructions 5 mins.
Watching Youtube of espin assembly. 15 mins.
Assembling bike 1hr 15 mins.
Figuring out how to put fenders on my own (not on youtube) 25 mins.

Total time: About 2hrs.
Estimate of the next time: About 30mins.

Tips for assembly. Do the headlight last. Wheel then handle bar. Then light!

One tip for improvement for espin: Make throwaway plastic parts PINK or orange or yellow. There were some black plastic parts where i was like....do I throw this away????? (Yes throw the black plastic parts away)

As for riding. I rode it for 8 miles. About 4 miles of hills. Bike feels fast. Feels light. Lighter than previous ebikes i've ridden. I can feel the frame flex, but I got a step through so it's expected. I am currently having clanking issues in 7th and 8th gear so i'll take that to a bike tech guy after i've riden it a bit more.

My complaints - Throttle doesn't work in PA 0. PAS1 is up to 8mph...i'm use to it being around 5mph. Got a small nick on the bike the size of a booger on the frame that I didn't cause.

My pros - I got a $1800 bike at $1300!

I hope this helps some people. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[BigNerd]

Good to see more owners are getting their Espins.

Let us know how it goes with more trips.... pros/cons etc.

Thanks for the "unboxing" post!

 

[BigNerd]

Forgot one more thing. I was told that you can change the PAS from 5 levels to 9. That might help make PAS 1 top out at a lower MPH.

 

[GenXrider]

My complaints - Throttle doesn't work in PA 0. PAS1 is up to 8mph...i'm use to it being around 5mph.

Thanks, that's one of the things I was wondering about. And I assume that is basically just turning the pedals with no effort that it goes up to 8 mph on level ground.

 

[Melonbike]

Rode to work today. Here's my impressions for day 2.

Hit 14 miles on the new bike.
Fixed the issue causing the chain to clunk...the chain derailuer guard was a bit bent in... probably weight was put on it during shipping...so i bent it back and now all gears work fine and smooth.

Adjusted front fenders last night. Took me another 1hr to get it perfect. My screw placement is a little different from what I saw on the sport review video, but the fenders are tight, don't rattle, and symmetrical. I can take a photo and show everyone what works for me.

As for riding, PAS 1 goes to about 8mph, 2 goes to about 11. 3 goes to 16? 4 goes to 20. 5 goes to 22.5? Truth be told i'm just leaving it on
Top speed i've hit is 28.8mph going downhill. Top speed on flat ground is about 24mph with me on PAS 5 and trying to go hard.

My wife now wants one. I told the wife to order a sport and i'll give her my flow. I probably can assemble it in 30mins now.

Note:
I've ridden a pedego, and the throttle always works, on that bike no matter what. On the flow I just have to make sure i'm in PAS 1 if i want to use the throttle after coming from a stop.

Coworker saw my bike and gave me lots of compliments and I told her it was an ebike. She asked a lot of questions. Also got comments on my instagram story when i posted. So it's a good looking bike.

I'm happy. I live in San Francisco, so if there's ever an issue having someone to fix it is not a big deal. I mean I saved about 500 bucks compared to the closest ebike with the same specs, so that money saved can always be used for maintenance and repairs if needed.

Hope this helps you fellow shoppers

 

[nufo]

Thanks for the update Melonbike! Sounds like a great deal. You mentioned hitting 24mph if you pedaled hard. Did you unlock the bike to class 3 already? I believe it can be done on both the flow and sport. Thanks again for the info.

 

[Melonbike]

Thanks for the update Melonbike! Sounds like a great deal. You mentioned hitting 24mph if you pedaled hard. Did you unlock the bike to class 3 already? I believe it can be done on both the flow and sport. Thanks again for the info.

Don't know how, know any good tutorial sites?. 22mph is pretty fast.

Don't know if I need 9 speed on the PAS, I think it would be annoying. I find that 5 is enough for me.

I'm going fast enough where I ordered a full face helmet

 

[Deleted member 4210]

You received your flow at less than what they charged their dealers. At least prior to when they ran out of ebikes in April. Now do they keep selling direct at that low price, and have no dealers, or go back to the old price at $1799 ?

I'd be surprised if they get past 2021 still in existence since they've lost all chance at having dealers, and now are between a rock and a hard place on how to price going forward. There will be a lot of these types of ebike firms going through the same sort of dilemma and trying to figure out how to survive in the battle of on line -sales. I suspect majority of them wont survive. With prices too low they will not be able to support needed overhead to take care of warranty issues, service complaints and calls, nor do much in the way of expansion.

A lot of these on line folks got caught with their pants down during Covid-19, and can't get enough inventory in a timely fashion,so they are missing out on a ton of sales. For some this was a boom year. For most, I suspect not so much.

 

[BigNerd]

I wondered about how stores react to the vendor selling lower than the MSRP.

From my communication with Espin, this is a pre-order price.

But maybe they will adjust their pricing as costs have gone down. In the EBR review video, Josh mentioned that their factory is in Taiwan so it’s not subject to the same tariffs as China.

Did you carry their bikes? Can you ask them about a change in dealer pricing?

 

[nufo]

Do Espin bikes have any proprietary components (batteries, etc) that would be difficult to source if the company went under?

 

[nufo]

Don't know how, know any good tutorial sites?. 22mph is pretty fast.

Don't know if I need 9 speed on the PAS, I think it would be annoying. I find that 5 is enough for me.

I'm going fast enough where I ordered a full face helmet

I don't know the procedure for adjusting the speed. I'm sure if you reach out to the Espin folks they can tell you how to get into the settings. Would be great to know if it's even possible.

 

[BigNerd]

Do Espin bikes have any proprietary components (batteries, etc) that would be difficult to source if the company went under?

The one thing I can think of is the battery because it's integrated into the frame.

 

[Taylor57]

Seems like the Flow at 1100 is a pretty good value. It's got my attention. Either that or a mean looking MTB with dual suspension I can ride on the street!

 

[BET]

The one thing I can think of is the battery because it's integrated into the frame.

I do not know for sure but I think the espin sport battery that is integrated is similar to integrated batteries sold by ride1up and those are not proprietary. Anyway I believe most of these ebikes can be adapted to work with aftermarket batteries. Most of the other parts are standard name components.

 

[Melonbike]

The batteries are reention dorado 48v battery.

I think you can buy them on alibaba.

 

[BET]

Forgot one more thing. I was told that you can change the PAS from 5 levels to 9. That might help make PAS 1 top out at a lower MPH.

Big nerd, I emailed Espin today and asked if you can change the 1-5 assist levels to 1-9. They said no you cannot. (You can do that on the similar Ride1up bikes). Also they confirmed that throttle does not work if assist level set to 0. I think it is a very good bike at a great price.

 

[BigNerd]

Hmm. My friend emailed them and they said you could. Maybe to get the sale?

No throttle at PAS 0 seems reasonable as it’s basically no power but I know some people who would like to throttle from 0.

Not having 9 level PAS is ok I just thought it might make level 1 less powerful.

Thanks for checking.

 

[BET]

The batteries are reention dorado 48v battery.

I think you can buy them on alibaba.

Is this the same battery Ride1up uses. They say they use the 48 v Reention Dorado( LG ) for the Ride 1up500 but a different Reention integrated batter for the Ride1up 700 also 48 v. The 700 and the Espin Sport both use 48 v integrated style batteries.

 

[BigNerd]

So the Ride1Up 700 battery will fit in the Espin Sport frame? Doesn't look like it, the 700 is a bottom mount and the Sport is top mount. I think the Core-5 looks like a better match battery wise.

 

[BET]

Agree. Core 5 battery looks like a better match