Hello all! Bent rider in southeast PA

[HarryB]

I am in the VERY beginning stages of converting my Easy Racers Tour Easy. I am in my early 60s and switched to bent riding about 5 years ago due to a bad back which required surgery to relieve the chronic pain. I LOVE this bike. Even if I could still ride my upright road bike, I much prefer the bent. It's like riding around on my recliner!
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Falco system. However, the bike is just as pictured below at the moment. http://www.electricbicycleworld.com/copy-of-f7-9-750w-672wh-ebike-system/

What I hope to achieve by executing this conversion is not arriving at work everyday needing a shower, being able to, once again, enjoy the social aspects of the activity (I am just too slow and cannot keep up with my buddies on this bike. therefore, when I do try to ride with them, I do not enjoy the ride. I am simply working too hard to have fun.)

I intend to chronical and photograph the conversion process to share with the community. I expect I will be able to rely on the experience within for help and advice.

In an effort to keep this from being excessively long, I will detail the reasoning for purchasing the Falco system in that sub forum.

All indications are that this is a wonderful community hear. You are fortunate to have it. I am happy to be aboard!

 

[rich c]

Welcome. I bought a converted Fat-Tad recumbent tadpole trike from Electric Trikes this year. No health issues, just wanted something different for the miles of crushed rock rail trails in my region. Finally getting good enough recumbent muscles after the first 350 miles. Interesting in my case, I purchased a completed trike for the convenience. But then changed cranks, chainring, and made new seat brackets to get comfortable. Good luck with your build.

 

[J.R.]

Welcome from a central PA ebiker.

 

[Hugh]

Welcome, nice looking ride. I have been visiting recycled recumbents to check out their plans for similar bikes to yours-I already have a home built recumbent trike powered by me and a rear hub motor. I do understand your comment about the social aspect. The guys i ride with fall into 2 groups - the fast ones who are frankly not much fun to ride with - and a couple of my also retired buddies who want to take a more relaxed pace. I much prefer the latter group.

 

[Ann M.]

Very sleek, comfortable 'bent, HarryB! Looking forward to hearing how the Falco system works for you. I'm impressed with the features and power it offers.

 

[HarryB]

@Ann, yes me too. As i did the research (hours and hours) It really came down to the only choice. Rakesh is one SMART guy. I had lengthy conversation with him. I am an electrical engineer working for Siemens in the industrial controls business unit. I know motors. Albeit, 3 phase induction motors, not DC motors. He has been refining and perfection this system for many years. There is nothing like it in the industry.
EXPENSIVE! but any other choice would have included compromises I was not willing to make. The open architecture, customization capabilities. 5 year warranty, software, engineering, both torque and speed sensors, on and on and on.

Rakesh is clearly very committed to his ideals. His energy is infectious!

I see a BionX on your avatar. They went belly up. Did they not? That sucks! Their system is quite the opposite of open architecture.

 

[Ann M.]

Yeah, Rakesh is very sharp and good communicating with customers. I've known him since his days at E+.
And yes, that is an older BionX system. We've installed a couple of these on other recumbents; very easy, straightforward install with good support from BionX. We're all hoping they find a buyer for the company; very messy situation they got into with GM Canada. Enuf! On to happy rides on that bent

 

[Rakesh Dhawan]

Off to sell Falco's someplace else, eh?

Dear Mr. Nelson,

Thank you for your interest in Falco.

Mr. Harry forwarded this thread to me. I thought it necessary to clarify few points as you have some knowledge about Falco.

I am afraid to say that Your facts are incorrect and outdated about Falco. That Dealer you refer to was a great friend of mine in the UK. I miss him everyday. We were like two brothers from different mothers. We were starting in Electric Bike business and he chose to become a dealer. He was trying to get into electric bike business with little or no resources and no ability to provide after sales support. Also, He and his staff thought they knew a lot about electric bike business and they dictated the specs of how the system should be used in spite of our repeated warnings. We learnt a great lesson. We do not allow that kind of discretion to any of our dealers today unless you are an OEM. When that Dealer faced a medical problem, he chose to get out of electric bike business. That was back in 2013.

Other fact is called Product evolution. Here are some questions for you to think about which could provide you some insight into Falco as a brand, as a philosophy and as a way to engineer.

1. Is BionX still in business?
2. What year did they start?
3. What customers do they have?
4. What problems did they face?
5. How did their product evolve over the years?
6. How many times did Bosch do a recall of their products in Europe?
7. Why Bosch is still in Business?
8. What year did Falco start?
9. What products Falco offered before and now?
10. How has Falco product evolved over the years?
11. What other products does Falco market or sell?
12. And the last but not the least, which company has the highest warranty in the world?

Answer to these questions will lead you to how Falco thinks about Electric Bike industry and how we plan to move forward.

Otherwise, please try not to downplay our tremendous sacrifice, blood and sweat, passion, commitment and entrepreneurship in making a small difference in the electric Bike space.

We have over 150 dealers in the US and several small OEMs. We specialize in converting Trikes, Recumbents, Tandems, Cargo bikes etc.

Our journey, Mr. Nelson has been to stay focused and deliver an extraordinary product to the market. We learn and improve every day and we have a very long list of extremely passionate and committed fans who use their Falco everyday for last several years. These fans know about our tremendous passion and staying power.

We have succeeded in making a difference in the life of countless number of our seniors and we will continue to do so.

I do not wish to sell my product to you or anyone. I do care about making a difference in people’s lives using our technology. That has been our driving force and our greatest passion.

I am happy to answer any additional questions or comments you may have.

Sincerely,
Rakesh Dhawan
President
Falco eMotors Inc.

 

[HarryB]

Hello Rakesh,
Thank you for setting the record straight. I know I will receive my system very soon. I can't wait!!! I am confident it will be everything I expect and more.

I have requested the moderator of this forum to ban Nelson. His anger and controversial postings are poisonous and contrary to the spirit of this wonderful community.
HarryB

 

[Falco Support]

Dear Mr. Nelson,

I wish to thank you for your continued interest in our company and products. Please see answers below:


1. Are you still pushing the six-phase motor?
Our motor technology is based on 5-phase motor architecture and is now patented. You may read about it here: http://www.electricbicycleworld.com/blog/review-of-ebike-motor-technologies/. We have two patents granted and several pending. Our latest evolution called eDrive is the integration with virtual reality training program such as Zwift. Here is the link to that: http://www.electricbicycleworld.com/Falco-edrive/.
Here are some comparisons for you to review:
Falco vs. BionX (D-Series Comparison with Falco f7 Series)
Falco vs. BionX (P-Series Comparison with Falco e5 Series)
Falco Comparison with the Copenhagen Wheel (Superpedestrian)

2. How many US dealers sold more than 3 last year?
In order to stay a dealer, they have to sell a minimum of six systems a year. I am happy to send a dealer application and agreement if you like.

3. Why Trikes, recumbents, tandems, and cargo bikes? What's up with regular bicycles?
Our product is quite premium. Regular bicycle market has gone to very low price points and bicycle owners do not have the budget to afford our system.

4. Why were you selling the product when it apparently did not work reliably?
We offer 5-year warranty in the market. Why do we offer that warranty if there were reliability concerns? Even Bosch does not offer more than 2 years. Why are they selling their product even after having recalled twice? Why does Toyota continue to sell its cars after having recalled so many times? Why does Pedego continue to sell their bikes after having recalled 5000 Lithium batteries not so long ago?

5. What is your lowest price functional motor kit?
Kit is a derogatory word to describe our product. I request you not to use it. Here is the list of our systems. Lowest is $1895.

6. If the UK dealer was so poorly equipped to handle your product, why did you allow him to become a dealer?
In business, it is called the learning curve. Business is a great teacher. You learn from your mistakes.

7. Referencing #6, why did you sell him so much product?
We did not sell him a lot. He had a number of prototypes and sales samples which were developed during the development stage and used during Eurobike.

8. Does Harry receive a salary, or straight commission?
Mr. Harry does not receive a salary or commission. He has placed his order recently and is very excited about it. He shared his excitement with this forum.

9. What turn-key ebikes are manufactured using your motor kit?
Our product is expensive for OEM applications. OEMs are normally looking for extremely low price points. Nevertheless, here are some who use Falco Systems.
Terra Trike EVO
Utah Trikes
WeWatt
Santana Tandem
Cobrane
etc.


10. Does anyone else on the planet make a controller compatible with your motor?
No. Our controller is embedded inside the motor.

11. Do you know who Eric Hicks is, and why he is not pushing his "double-speed, double-torque" motor anymore?
I know Mr. Hicks very well. I do not know about his products or his business model in great detail. I am Sorry.

Please do let us know additional questions or comments.

Sincerely,
Rakesh Dhawan

 

[Falco Support]

Hello Rakesh,
Thank you for setting the record straight. I know I will receive my system very soon. I can't wait!!! I am confident it will be everything I expect and more.

I have requested the moderator of this forum to ban Nelson. His anger and controversial postings are poisonous and contrary to the spirit of this wonderful community.
HarryB

Dear Harry,

Mr. Nelson has raised some great questions and I have no issues with his questions or comments. I am more than happy to answer any questions or address any concerns.

 

[HarryB]

"Excited " is an understatement! If you told me it is ready to be shipped, I would drive to Virginia today to fetch it!

 

[Ann M.]

@Falco Support, Rakesh, thanks for taking the time to answer all of those questions. We're all looking forward to @HarryB's posts as he builds the 'bent

 

[Rakesh Dhawan]

@Falco Support, Rakesh, thanks for taking the time to answer all of those questions. We're all looking forward to @HarryB's posts as he builds the 'bent

Thank You Ann! It is always great to see your wonderful support since the Tidalforce days.

Best,
Rakesh

 

[HarryB]

The 1st of 2 boxes arrived today! Right on schedule (4 weeks as promised). I am at work so I cannot personally inspect/touch. Apparently the wheel build is occurring in MI. I believe the wheel/motor will be shipped today. Oh boy! The excitement builds....

Rakesh has been an absolute pleasure to deal with. He responds quickly to my inquiries, says what he means, and does exactly what he says he is going to do.

More to come shortly.

 

[HarryB]

As expected, the wheel/motor shipped yesterday. It will be here today!!!
Can you guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?
Falco, and most specifically Rakesh, is amazing. Customer care and support second to none. The motor was held up for a week in customs (Rakesh sent me the tracking info from FedEx) Still made his promised delivery date. In fact, I was a major pain in his a** as I am leaving on vacation and want to take the E'Bent with me, he sent the motor/wheel overnight on him so that I would have it on time. Now THAT'S customer service!
I made a mistake when placing the order. I did not realize that when I identified my drive train as SRAM 9 speed I was actually ordering a new cassette. (I did wonder why it was a $39 cost adder???) Anyway, the package that I received yesterday had a SRAM PG950 in it. I have no use for it as I have a PG990! I am returning it and I told Rakesh not to credit me. Put it towards what he paid to overnight the wheel to me.

Look for photos and post about the install and conversion completion soon!
Harry

 

[cyclecherry]

Hey all. I have been a bent rider for about 8 years now. I have a easy racer tour easy that is my main ride and short wheel base Bacchetta also. I hate hills. I am not a good climber and never will be. It hinders where I ride and who I can ride with, every ride here in Norh Georgia is hilly! After a friend of mine converted her bike with a BionX system, I was SO jealous. I decided to buy a system just as they went under. After asking a lot of questions in many different places I found the Falco system. I have ordered it and am not very patiently waiting it’s arrival! I am so excited for the rides this will open up for me. I will post pictures of my set up when that time is here.

 

[Ann M.]

Awesome @cyclecherry; be sure and start your own "Garage" post with all of the details and pics. Looking forward to hearing more about your N. Georgia adventures!