| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
Their website hasn't been updated in a very long time... https://www.fuell.us/products/fuell-fllow-e-motorc ycle | ||
| Hughlysses |
I see regular posts by Fuell about the Flluid E-bike on Facebook, but nada about the Fflow. | ||
| Wcbrracing |
Nottta thing from them except emails about the bicycle…I have contacted them via email a couple times…last time too them a month or more to respond… disappointed to say the least being a deposit holder… I still hope they are working on it, but looking slim it will ever make it to production.. | ||
| 86129squids |
Somehow I'd not yet looked at this thing... website's pretty impressive. I sure hope it doesn't just end up as vaporware. I'll keep watching- even used Ebikes, rare as they are, are going for big $... | ||
| Damnut |
Looks like your deposit is in the same place my Elio car deposit went.......... into someone's pocket. | ||
| Aesquire |
I have long figured that my Cyclone is the Last bike I'll own. When I can't get a leg over, it's for sale and my riding life over. ( and it's a darn near cherry low mileage example that you guys might want to encourage me to quit riding to get!) But I've been impressed with the Zero. Haven't ridden one, but there's a dealer 55 miles away, and this spring I will. It's not that I'm focused on that brand, but there are now kits available to convert a Xenos motorglider from "VW" power to electric using the Zero lower train. https://www.sonexaircraft.com/ Note that in this context "VW" actually means a highly developed aftermarket racing beetle derived engine with better cooling, reliability & power that has evolved from Dune Buggy performance aftermarket big bore engines. Sonex sells an engine kit version good for 80 hp. Which may sound wimpy! But Airplane horsepower isn't measured by a few seconds of peak power on a dyno. That's the power you can get for literally HOURS at full throttle. And typically they are run at 75% power after takeoff, until they have to land for fuel, day after day. Because of range limitations, electric power in aircraft is a fringe application. Fortunately for ME, I'm a fringe pilot, who doesn't care about flying from Rochester International to Dallas. I like to run ridges and catch thermals with the engine off, using nature and skill to stay aloft, and the range limitations are more of a challenge & a complexity that in my case actually extends the usefulness & scope of my fun. I'm used to being challenged to reach the next lift and reluctantly cutting a cross country trip short because I didn't have the reach to cross a Finger Lake. With no engine, at all. Ditto, the new E bikes. Hypothetically  I can ride on bike/horse trails hundreds of miles, but with only pedal power, my limits have shrunk with age & injuries. I would be illegal and quite rude to the others ( horse riders ) if I ran a classic off road motorcycle on those trails. But "hypothetically" I could " get away with" running electric. Oh, I Never Would Break The Law! Of Course!  So there may be another machine joining my stable this year. If only because of the upcoming Gas Crisis. | ||
| 86129squids |
Very elucidated and well stated. Noted, and thanks for sayin. | ||
| Aesquire |
The range limits have improved a lot in the last decade. We seem to be approaching the physics limits of Lithium chemistry batteries, so I expect the curve to flatten until some future date when the promising new chemistry batteries in the lab become available. Remember that nicads, nickel metal hydride, and lithium cells all took literally Decades to go from "there's a new battery!" to actually practical and available cordless tools. The speed of progress is presumably faster, today, with additive manufacturing, ( 3d printing ) new forms of materials, ( graphene, metamaterials, nano particles ) and a Tremendous Incentive to make the next Massive Profit! How much incentive is tax money and how much potential future profits is a separate argument. So it could be the next big jump in energy density will arrive in the later 2020s. But not next week, even Faster takes time. Overall, the range limitations have gone from "only practical for close urban/suburban niche" bought by "well to do" enthusiasts, ( the 1990s GM EV-1 ) to "practical for many "well to do" enthusiasts " of today's Teslas and Chevy Bombs. ( I think i got the name wrong on the Chevy ) In motorcycles, don't expect a Prius type hybrid soon, although a Gold Wing sized Hybrid seems quite possible. Personally, I don't want a thousand pound luxury touring bike, but you might. IMHO the mileage issues of motorcycles are a fairly low priority for most. The aerodynamics dominate at highway speed, and as long as the popular form is more like a Road King than a Vetter mileage contest streamliner, that's just the way it is. I find it highly amusing that my own experience with motorcycles from a '73 GT380 ( 2 stroke ) through GS750, GS1100, XS750, all got about 35mpg. While my Cyclone gets mpg into the 50s because casual back road cruising uses such a small fraction of the potential, and the Elves were freaking geniuses. So... Electric motorcycles are here! Still a bit high priced, New toys are. ( and Inflation! Priced a new bike lately? ) Whether it's for You? That's a choice based on needs, wants, and budget. That choice didn't exist not long ago, & will get better/broader. Brand loyalty/ "paying more for the name" is still going to be a thing. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://m.slashdot.org/story/396215 New materials. Future improvements. | ||
| Hughlysses |
As I've mentioned before, any of you that are interested in electric vehicles, particularly e-bikes, should follow former Cycle World writer and Buell/EBR platform manager Steve Anderson on Twitter. His Twitter handle is "@Rashomon2". He posts a lot of stuff about new battery tech, new companies, the latest stuff about vehicles (2 wheel, 4 wheel, and winged). One thing he comes back to repeatedly, is that long-distance electric road bikes aren't likely to happen any time soon. The main reason is that motorcycle aerodynamics are relatively miserable at speed which means their power demands at speed are high. Conversely, e-bikes and electric commuter/city bikes like the Fflow avoid that issue by not being intended for extended 60+ MPH travel. Steve will also occasionally throw in an extremely cool inside story about Buell or EBR, and you don't have to remind him to tell you.  | ||
| Aesquire |
Thanks for the tip. You grasp the essential, that aerodynamic drag dominates the power/speed equations as you get to highway speeds. I'm friends with a local bicycle shop owner, who is selling more & more E-bikes & doing... Conversions?... adding electric power to customer's bikes. Plug! Freewheelers on Mt. Hope Ave. Rochester NY. Roger has been around a long time, a small shop that specializes in doing setup right. They take each new bike out of the box and basically take it apart and assemble it correctly, good lubricants and tuned, straight wheels. ( I'm cleaning my Austro-Daimler Olympian, while I wait for thaw, and the front wheel spun for over 5 minutes with a one finger flick. And that's a vintage high flange Deore hub with Campangnolo ball bearings, not a modern sealed unit ) So if you're riding through, stop by and support local hard workers! Plus he's got a "not for sale" row of vintage bikes that belong in some lunatic bicycle museum. End plug. The lines between E-bike & E-motorcycle are a bit blurry at the top end. The Specialized high end is in motorcycle price ranges, and the suspension stuff is proportional to mass, darn good. Sure, the forks are smaller in diameter than a racing dirt bike, but that's on a machine you can pick up and stick in your hatchback. https://www.specialized.com/us/en/electric-bikes It's still early days and there's lots of garbage out there, but the gems are quite shiny! | ||
| 86129squids |
I stopped in my local BMW stealership and took a gander at their stuff. Unbelievable what's out there, for tech and also for large simoleons. Egad, certainly NOT for me!! This area is being gentrified too much, IMHO, by cheap/rish folk not from here. They'll buy these new status items with the money they save from Califerppia or wherever they came from. Oh well, let them. Pardon my regular digression... Patrick, I bet your old bike actually sounds cool for those 5 well balanced and meditative minutes! | ||
| 86129squids |
And... I'd 100% love to hear more about anything new relating to new Fuell products. I'll have to backtrack here a while and follow youn's threads for a while. Thanks to all here who are chasing info. |
