New Falco Customer Checking In!

[bareyb]

I am sure they can make it work for you. The controller is key. You just need to get the update or hack the software.

You might want to exchange it. I would only consider the 1.5kW motor. It requires a wide dropout, about 175mm. I am not sure how many gears it would take, either. So I would need something like a pinion gearbox on the crank.

That motor can reach 30mph on my 10% grade. I would love to race cars up the hill the speed limit is 35. I think I could 40+ mph. I run up the hill about 10mph.

Yeah. Something sure isn't right. That's for sure. It's like they changed it so it would cut off at 20 mph no matter what. Unless of course you're in Turbo Mode which gets you about ten miles to a full charge... Interestingly, the settings in the software were set on "20 mph" but I was told by Cameron that those have been disabled... Huh. I guess we'll see what happens when Rakesh calls. I'll report back if anything good happens.

Side Note: I don't think the 1500 watt motor is available in the US. I think 750 watt is as big as you can go. Would upgrading the Battery to 48V help? Thing is... I'm about 85% sure I'm probably going to end up having to buy another e-bike if we can't fix this one. I wouldn't enjoy using this thing the way it is. If I do, this one will never get used and I don't want to put any more money into it... It's kind of a sucky situation.

Side Note II: Oh I see you are in Redwood City. I guess you can get the 1500 watt in the US. Where did you buy it?

 

[Mike leroy]

Yeah. Something sure isn't right. That's for sure. It's like they changed it so it would cut off at 20 mph no matter what. Unless of course you're in Turbo Mode which gets you about ten miles to a full charge... Interestingly, the settings in the software were set on "20 mph" but I was told by Cameron that those have been disabled... Huh. I guess we'll see what happens when Rakesh calls. I'll report back if anything good happens.

Seriously, upgrade to the 1.5kW. Something like this killer bike:

Why go to all this trouble ? The Grace One.15 is scheduled for Sept. 2015. Check out these specs:
gearbox: Pinion P1.9 (crank only, no cassette needed)
Weight ca. 31 kg
Battery 15,6 Ah / 718 Wh (Range Extender: 23,4 Ah / 1076 Wh)
Torque 55 Nm
Support Levels 3 Modi Eco, City, Sport
Controller Electrical System by Eltronic AG
Fork Grace Rigid Fork, Rock Shox Domain RC
Shifting system Pinion P1.9
Engine 2000 W Ultra Motor
Drive Gates Carbon Drive
Braking system Magura MT 4
Tires Schwalbe Crazy Bob 26″
Front light Grace developed Light System/front light LUMOTEC IQ Cyo E
Back light LED Backlight
Options carrier set
Range max. 60 km* (Range extender: 90 km*)
Recommended sales price 4.999 €

 

[Mike leroy]

Yeah. Something sure isn't right. That's for sure. It's like they changed it so it would cut off at 20 mph no matter what. Unless of course you're in Turbo Mode which gets you about ten miles to a full charge... Interestingly, the settings in the software were set on "20 mph" but I was told by Cameron that those have been disabled... Huh. I guess we'll see what happens when Rakesh calls. I'll report back if anything good happens.

Side Note: I don't think the 1500 watt motor is available in the US. I think 750 watt is as big as you can go. Would upgrading the Battery to 48V help? Thing is... I'm about 85% sure I'm probably going to end up having to buy another e-bike if we can't fix this one. I wouldn't enjoy using this thing the way it is. If I do, this one will never get used and I don't want to put any more money into it... It's kind of a sucky situation.

Side Note II: Oh I see you are in Redwood City. I guess you can get the 1500 watt in the US. Where did you buy it?

I am only considering my options. I like the Grace One.15 best of all, which is due in Sept. 2015. I would much rather buy a completed bike that has been tested.

 

[bareyb]

Can't

I am only considering my options. I like the Grace One.15 best of all, which is due in Sept. 2015. I would much rather buy a completed bike that has been tested.

I hear you Mike. I'll probably end up buying something new and using this for the wife and kids if they ever want to come with me. In other words, I probably just made a really expensive mistake.

That Grace looks nice, but the nearest dealer is in Arizona. No way I'm buying something without local support. Especially after this Fiasco with Falco.

 

[Ann M.]

Yeah. Something sure isn't right. That's for sure. It's like they changed it so it would cut off at 20 mph no matter what. Unless of course you're in Turbo Mode which gets you about ten miles to a full charge... Interestingly, the settings in the software were set on "20 mph" but I was told by Cameron that those have been disabled... Huh. I guess we'll see what happens when Rakesh calls. I'll report back if anything good happens.

?

@bareyb When you get the dongle, then you'll be able to change the firmware settings; this is how the BionX is reprogrammed. Rakesh will be able to help you with that. Look at the links I sent in an earlier posts, since they have those program settings.

 

[bareyb]

@bareyb When you get the dongle, then you'll be able to change the firmware settings; this is how the BionX is reprogrammed. Rakesh will be able to help you with that. Look at the links I sent in an earlier posts, since they have those program settings.

Hi Ann. I already got it and we worked on it all afternoon. From my previous post:

Spent the better part of my afternoon with Cameron at Falco and we made some changes to the settings ,but it's not really any better than it was before. I'm beginning to think they have changed the software to cut off EVERYTHING at 20 mph. The motor simply stops helping after that. The only way I can get more power is to go to Turbo Mode.

Rakesh is the true expert so I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow night to speak with him. Maybe he can figure something out. I don't know what's going on but this isn't what I thought it would be at all. It was supposed to be a Pedelec that can do 28 mph. It is not. Well not without invoking a super high power Turbo mode. I wonder if there's a return policy for these kits? I'm guessing probably not since it's been installed already. This thing is not working right and I'm beginning to lose faith it ever will.

I a nutshell, it stops providing any assistance above 20 mph in ANY mode (even Pedelec). No amount of tweaking the setting made any difference. The only way it can go faster than 20 mph is in Turbo mode which reduces battery range to about 10 miles or less based on what I'm seeing.

Side Question: Do you allow returns of the BionX Kits if the customer is not happy with it?

 

[Mike leroy]

Can't


I hear you Mike. I'll probably end up buying something new and using this for the wife and kids if they ever want to come with me. In other words, I probably just made a really expensive mistake.

That Grace looks nice, but the nearest dealer is in Arizona. No way I'm buying something without local support. Especially after this Fiasco with Falco.

I believe the bike manufacturers provide a great deal of intangible value by integrating a total bike. Brakes are part of the system, too.

 

[Ann M.]

Hi Ann. I already got it and we worked on it all afternoon. From my previous post:



I a nutshell, it stops providing any assistance above 20 mph in ANY mode (even Pedelec). No amount of tweaking the setting made any difference. The only way it can go faster than 20 mph is in Turbo mode which reduces battery range to about 10 miles or less based on what I'm seeing.

Side Question: Do you allow returns of the BionX Kits if the customer is not happy with it?

Ah, @bareyb of course you already know the answer to that is 'No' since most are a special order. However, my customers can ride a BionX kit on a test bike and then we help with the tweaking and generally we do the installation so most of that 'oh crap, it's not working' happens before you come to pickup your new ride. Sorry you're having difficulty with the Falco kit; it really does have some great features. You were so excited in your early posts; don't give up just yet.

 

[Mike leroy]

Yeah. Something sure isn't right. That's for sure. It's like they changed it so it would cut off at 20 mph no matter what. Unless of course you're in Turbo Mode which gets you about ten miles to a full charge... Interestingly, the settings in the software were set on "20 mph" but I was told by Cameron that those have been disabled... Huh. I guess we'll see what happens when Rakesh calls. I'll report back if anything good happens.

Side Note: I don't think the 1500 watt motor is available in the US. I think 750 watt is as big as you can go. Would upgrading the Battery to 48V help? Thing is... I'm about 85% sure I'm probably going to end up having to buy another e-bike if we can't fix this one. I wouldn't enjoy using this thing the way it is. If I do, this one will never get used and I don't want to put any more money into it... It's kind of a sucky situation.

Side Note II: Oh I see you are in Redwood City. I guess you can get the 1500 watt in the US. Where did you buy it?

Barry,
I run two miles to the store and carry 30+ pounds of groceries back. I did it today. Last time, I talked with the owner of a 10kW Honda PCX Scooter. He owned an eBike and is very fit. He bought a scooter because commuting more than five miles was too arduous. The PCX costs less than $4000 and gets 100+ mpg.

Whatever eBike I buy has to be competitive with the PCX. I am willing to bias my decision highly against gas. I just hate the idea of burning gas. It is like smoking tabacco. The only eBike that I consider competitive is the Grace One.15.

 

[bareyb]

Ah, @bareyb of course you already know the answer to that is 'No' since most are a special order. However, my customers can ride a BionX kit on a test bike and then we help with the tweaking and generally we do the installation so most of that 'oh crap, it's not working' happens before you come to pickup your new ride. Sorry you're having difficulty with the Falco kit; it really does have some great features. You were so excited in your early posts; don't give up just yet.

All I want it to do is go 28 mph in Pedelec mode like it can in Turbo mode. If he can make that happen, I'm good.

 

[bareyb]

All I want it to do is go 28 mph in Pedelec mode like it can in Turbo mode. If he can make that happen, I'm good.

UPDATE: I think we have the problem solved!

Apparently, my motor came from the Factory with the Speed Restriction turned ON just like I thought. We turned that off and now it works perfectly. I knew it had to be something easy like that... I'm glad I persisted. It feels like a completely different bike now. So smooth, and so powerful. I'll give it a good run tomorrow and I'll report back, but it's looking really good right now.

Note: Props to Rakesh and Falco for being willing to do whatever it takes to get this right. He said I could still upgrade to the 750 motor and 48V battery, but I'm not so sure I'll need to now. This thing is flying now.

 

[bareyb]

Update 2: Unfortunately, it appears there's still a problem with my Motor that won't allow it to stay in "Cruise" mode, so every time I turn it off it reverts back to Non-Cruise mode. Rakesh is going to update the firmware next week to make sure it stays in Cruise Mode permanently. They are shipping me the USB to Serial converter as we speak.

Until then I'll need to connect up to the software and put it into cruise mode manually. So still have a couple of problems to work out, but in the mean time I have a workaround. I think we are very close to getting this worked out.

 

[bareyb]

I thought you might like a picture of my bike in it's current state. I just ordered new Schwalbe Marathon Tires and and 11-32 Freewheel for better top speed.

 

[Ann M.]

I can see you flying on this already! This is what I love about kits; its powerful but still a bike. Some branded ebikes are just too bulky, but that's just my personal taste for road bikes.

 

[bareyb]

I can see you flying on this already! This is what I love about kits; its powerful but still a bike. Some branded ebikes are just too bulky, but that's just my personal taste for road bikes.

I agree Ann. I'm really coming to appreciate the flexibility you have with a Kit like Falco. You can literally dial it in exactly the way you want it. I'm really enjoying it, and I doubt I'd find an off the rack bike that would suit my preferences as well.

My son took it out today and to my amazement he couldn't stop talking about how cool it is. He's 15 and you don't get that kind of enthusiasm out of him too often unless we're talking about League of Legends... If the 750 watt kit works out well, I'm thinking of doing a full suspension Mountain Bike version. I think something like that would be a blast, and it would be cool to be able to go on rides with my son.

 

[bareyb]

UPDATE: Upgraded to the 48V battery system and cleaned up the wiring a bit. I found some "Super Jumbo" Lizard Skin at Amazon.com and it's large enough to wrap completely around all the wiring and even the battery connector. I think it's better protected from bumps and moisture fully wrapped this way.

I really like this stuff. Here's a link if anyone is interested in trying it out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WYEHUI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[MLB]

Update 2: Unfortunately, it appears there's still a problem with my Motor that won't allow it to stay in "Cruise" mode, so every time I turn it off it reverts back to Non-Cruise mode. Rakesh is going to update the firmware next week to make sure it stays in Cruise Mode permanently. They are shipping me the USB to Serial converter as we speak.

Until then I'll need to connect up to the software and put it into cruise mode manually. So still have a couple of problems to work out, but in the mean time I have a workaround. I think we are very close to getting this worked out.

All you have to do is cycle Cruise off then on again from the console on startup. Unless you have the latest firmware update, the MOTOR reverts to Eco mode on startup, regardless of what the console (display) says. But just turning cruise off, then on again tells the motor to switch modes, and boom, 28mph. The latest firmware update also does AWAY with the clock and heart rate monitor function!! So I won't be upgrading.

 

[bareyb]

All you have to do is cycle Cruise off then on again from the console on startup. Unless you have the latest firmware update, the MOTOR reverts to Eco mode on startup, regardless of what the console (display) says. But just turning cruise off, then on again tells the motor to switch modes, and boom, 28mph. The latest firmware update also does AWAY with the clock and heart rate monitor function!! So I won't be upgrading.

Yeah, I wish it were something that easy. I had the off road console apparently, but not the off road firmware in the motor. They basically sold me a street legal version and told me it was the off road version. No amount of playing with the software or the console was going to change that.

It required a complete firmware replacement. Had to have Falco send me a special ANT+ dongle ($49.00) and a firmware upgrade cable (which they tried to charge me $129.00 for), then I had to install Parallels and Microsoft Windows on my Mac ($185.00) and then finally Falco could take control of the PC side of my Mac and install a bunch of software and then finally they could upgrade the firmware. It was quite a process. A lesser man would probably have given up.

 

[MLB]

Firmware is just for settings for the motor.
Only reason it was a big deal is because you're mac.
The dongle and wiring are to access the settings for the motor via software.
They did indeed fix it by playing with software.

I've been told 2 times I needed the firmware update to fix a problem that i"ve since learned are easy to 'fix' with proper settings.

 

[MLB]

Firmware is just for settings for the motor.
Only reason it was a big deal is because you're mac.
The dongle and wiring are to access the settings for the motor via software.
They did indeed fix it by playing with software.

I've been told 2 times I needed the firmware update to fix a problem that i"ve since learned are easy to 'fix' with proper settings.

Another guy was told he needed the latest to adjust motor performance problems when in fact the latest update has nothing to do with motor performance settings and strictly about what the display shows - locking Cruise ON always, took away heart monitor and clock displays and added something in the display that I didn't care about. ( ) ,
Some times R and the US guys are on different pages with advise.
And the ad for the latest display consoles shows heart rate monitor as a feature for both............