I just bought my Turbo FLR (Sweden)

[eagamer80]

Hello guys,

First post here. I am happy I found this forum of people sharing experiences with the Specialized ebikes, specially the Turbo brand.

I recently adquire one Turbo FLR 2016 here in Sweden (200W motor, 28km/h max (17,4 m/h), mainly for commuting 44km every day (27 miles) in total. I did around 100km (62 miles) already.

Here some hasty conclusions:

- Great bike in general. A tittle bit stiff for bumpy roads (Stockholm's roads are not so even and the asphalt due to the rough winter, is usually battered with patches everywhere).
- Battery (396Wh) range in turbo mode is enough for the 44km (27miles) if there is not strong wind. 20-30% battery remaining when I arrive home. I only charge the battery home, only the battery connected to the slim charger (I tried doing it the first time directly on the bike but I hated that the lights keep turned on all the time).
- The seat, even though it looks nice, doesn't fit well to my ass. I replaced that for a black brooks seat that is more confortable to me (and has some shock absorbers which makes them more suitable for the kind of road I ride in).
- The grips of the handlebars are not the best but acceptable. The same with the bell, the pedals and the rear lamp (not so powerful). In winter here is extremely dark (not "California dark", deep-space-vacumm black =).

My future concerns:

- Battery reliability during the winter (temperatures ranging from -10 to -25 celcius (14 to -13 Fahrenheit. If its a rough winter, it could be -22 some weeks, let's cross fingers here). During those rough weeks I should better take the bus I think, I do not want to screw the battery (that happened to my phone's battery last winter).
- I am concerned what will happen after 300 load cycles when the battery is suppose to last 30% less as I read somewhere. Is the battery covered in the bike's guarrantee?
- Specialized support local or worldwide (I know I get support from the store I bought the bike but...) What would happen if I want to buy a new battery? How do you buy new accessories directly from Specialied? (when I click in the battery in their webpage it says the item is gone). Do you know any good source to buy Specialized accesories for the Turbo models?
- Bike locked in 28km/h (17,4 m/h). I read that you need the Diagnostic Tool that only is sold to bike stores. I asked the bike store where I bought the bike and they said they have no idea, so I am on my own here.
- I hope I could use this bike for a few years and Specialized will keep selling batteries for the 2016 model. I do not want to have an obsolete expensive bike in a short time period.

This is a pic of my new bike before changing the seat.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Thanks for your comments!

 

[Senseiwai]

Välkommen i gänget vi syns på vägarna!!!

 

[reoutput]

The tool and the updates to firmware are only available to dealers so try asking them if they can order the tool...they may not want to buy it just for your bike but if you are willing to pay for it, they may buy it for you. The tool is almost useless without access to the firmware which can only be downloaded by a Specialized business account.

Your local Specialized rep should be able to order the battery for you, ask them about ordering one for you.

I am also interested in the performance of the battery in the cold weather conditions...not for my local conditions but curiosity. I didn't know about the charge cycle thing of 300 charges and I am already 1/3 the way there with just over 100 at last check. I will keep this forum informed about the battery charge performance if and when I hit the 300th cycle.

 

[Douglas Ruby]

The tool and the updates to firmware are only available to dealers so try asking them if they can order the tool...they may not want to buy it just for your bike but if you are willing to pay for it, they may buy it for you. The tool is almost useless without access to the firmware which can only be downloaded by a Specialized business account.

Your local Specialized rep should be able to order the battery for you, ask them about ordering one for you.

I am also interested in the performance of the battery in the cold weather conditions...not for my local conditions but curiosity. I didn't know about the charge cycle thing of 300 charges and I am already 1/3 the way there with just over 100 at last check. I will keep this forum informed about the battery charge performance if and when I hit the 300th cycle.

I put about 200+ miles on my Specialized Turbo in temperatures from 0C to 5C last winter shortly after I got it (November 21, 2015). I store the bike in a heated basement and charge the battery off the bike in that basement, so the battery was only cold when riding. It worked great, though range was less (maybe 10% - 15%) than it is in warmer weather. As regards the "300 charges", this has been discussed a lot on the forum here, but it depends on how far discharged the bike gets over the course of each charge cycle and temps and conditions the battery is subjected to. I now have 1200+ miles on my Turbo (468Wh battery) and it has shown no signs of degraded performance whatsoever.

Doug

 

[ragtopjoek]

Congrats on your new Turbo FLR. I plan to ride in the winter too and was thinking about making some kind of insulated wrap for my Turbo Levo's battery. I always get the winter package for my Jeeps and they come with an insulated cover for the battery.

 

[jwb]

... they may not want to buy it just for your bike ...

That's absurd. If that actually happens to anyone they should publicly shame their Specialized dealer and complain directly to Specialized. If a bike shop is going to market a 7000-dollar bicycle they should stand behind it.

 

[reoutput]

@jwb that is true but I can't speak for another business. I tried looking up an extra battery on the dealer site and could not find one, that doesn't mean you can't order it though. The dealer site for looking up parts for any bike is especially horrible and you usually need to shovel through pages of useless parts that aren't relevant before finding what you need...I just haven't had enough time to research it yet. The 300 cycle thing has me worried but I guess I'll just have to wait and see since I'm already over a third the way to 300.

On a side note, I called Specialized and asked them about leaving the battery connected once it is charged and they said "We recommend unplugging the battery from the charger once it is charged". I haven't been doing this but will from now. Maybe this is why the lights stay on when you charge from the bike port?

 

[eagamer80]

Hello guys,

nice checking that I got many replies here =) it was a long while since I connected back to this forum. Now the bike odometer is about 600km (372 miles). No big changes or surprises. The bike is still working as expected (though I wish it were a little faster =). The temperature here is unusually high for being this time of the year (yet temperature between 10-19 celcius, 50-66 fh). So the battery working as normal.
I made a few slight modifications on the bike for example I changed the stem (I hope that's the English name, the device that connects the head tube with the handlebars. I added one with an adjustable angle, to make my position a little bit taller to make my rides more comfortable). In Swedish is called Styrstam same brand as (Link Removed - No Longer Exists) but for the 31mm in the handlebar end. I can assure you if you are not a racer-like your back will thanks this.
Regarding the battery and it's diminished efficiency after 300 cycles, that's not a myth, it says so in the user manual. This affects to all Turbo models and is "normal". Lithium starts degrading its load capacity after a certain time (happen even to phones).
I emailed Specialized to its representatives in Europe, and this is what they said:
"We offer two years warranty on the Turbo battery – or a minimum of 75% usable capacity after 300 charge cycles. Please note a charge cycle is a complete charge 0% to 100%. If you charge it from 50% to 100% it only counts as a half charge cycle. The battery itself automatically keeps record on the charge cycle amount. ".
If one wants, could buy a new battery being the one with the highest capacity 691 Wh at a bargain of 12299sek or 1440 usd (yes, the one of the Turbo S). Anyway...
To finish this reply, I would like to paste here Specialized response after asking about the Diagnostic Tool to unlock the full speed of the bike:
"The Turbo FLR is a 25 kph bike and it is not made to be ridden faster than that. The reason being it is not allowed to ride a pedal assisted bike faster than that without registration plates, light, horn etc. in EU. Specialized do not recommend that you under any circumstance try to make the bike go faster than the allowed 25 kph. If you anyway decide to go ahead with this process, please note the brain of the system in the battery registers the removal of the limit – and it will void the warranty of the complete bike."
I insisted, "ok but what if...", second reply:
"By bypassing the speed limit you will break local law. Many countries has set a speed limit of 25 km/h by law.
To have it set to 45 km/h you will need to register you bike with number plates, use a full face helmet, install side mirrors and have the bike insured." Which that last answer's not being true to Sweden. There are many idiots out there with faster motorbikes without plates, but that's probably the lack of police enforcement here =).
Specialized responses were fast and if you think about it, it makes sense. I just wanted to push this a little bit to know how far Specialized wants to go with this. I actually do not wish to unlock the bike and brake something (specially myself). If I ever need a faster bike, I would directly go for the S model some years ahead. For the moment I prefer to keep myself alive and enjoy the ride, not rush it.

 

[eagamer80]

Välkommen i gänget vi syns på vägarna!!!

Tackar!

 

[eagamer80]

October 2020 and the bike and battery still working fine. The rear wheel was replaced for the 4th time in January this year (still in warranty) but apart from that, it's still alive!