hello from a flykly owner in London

[automatik]

I've been a lurker on the forum for a few months, ever since I became interested in electric bikes, but having recently received and installed my fly kly, I thought I'd officially join the forum and start contributing.
I live in London and use my single speed Charge Plug 1 to commute to work. With the addition of the flykly I hope to make the process a lot less sweaty.
I'm looking at the flykly as my intro to the world of ebikes - I do plan on buying a dedicated ebike for commuting as the flykly, as interesting as it is, is still 'beta hardware'.
I've had it for a week, but already managed to twist the pins on my charger ( voiding the warranty, and ensuring I had to buy a replacement charger ), the battery drains a lot faster than the advertised range and flykly's customer service is not the best. But that's probably the growing pains of a new company with an exciting and innovative product - I realize I sound like an advertorial but I am genuinely excited about the promise of these electric wheels for the average city commuter.
Looking forward to learning more about ebikes on this forum, and sharing my experiences as I go!
Cheers.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Welcom and thanks for your contribution. This is the first real info we've had on the Flykly. To help others in their choices, it would be nice if we could get more info about performance and installation. Can we some photos too?

 

[automatik]

sure.
installation is not quite as easy as it appears on videos, but not too complex either - I took it to my local bike shop as I didn't have the right spanner, they took about 5-10 minutes to do it right.
the motor is quite silent, which I like.
like I mentioned I am not too impressed with the battery performance as I have done 9 km in total and the battery has drained from charged to 33% - way under the 25 miles + that is advertised.
I'm thinking this could be because it's first charge ( i received it charged ). so hopefully battery is better once I manage to get a full charge in. I have to wait for a replacement charger now as I managed to twist the pins quite badly ( as pictured ) and now the provided charger doesn't work. the build quality in these pins is not the best - but it could be my brute force attempt at plugging the charger in that's to blame.
I will be a lot gentler with the new $200 charger when it arrives, rest assured.
does anyone know what the connector is? a friend of mine offered to try and solder on a new connector, so I'm hoping it's not a total write off.
otherwise, like I mentioned I do think that these bike wheels, once the companies that produce these sorts of wheels get their kinks ironed out, will be quite revolutionary.
it's a light and un-fussy system, and I can put it on any bike, so that's a winner for me.
Like i mentioned though, this is only the start of the e-biking journey for me and I'm already looking of adding an extra bike to my London commute arsenal - one that is a full e-bike, with a decent range, light, stylish, and under (or about) £1500. any suggestions appreciated. Cheers.

 

[Geebee]

Your batteries should improve over the first few charges, one of mine more than doubled its range after the second charge.

Can't help with a replacement charger plug but will comment that the plug design for regular fitting and removal for charging is abysmal, small diameter plug with a large number of very small pins and obviously insufficient locating lugs to prevent rotation after contact.

 

[automatik]

good to know that battery range will improve.
completely agree that plug design is abysmal.
I'm expecting a lot more of their customers will run into trouble, and require replacement chargers. at $200 a pop, it won't come cheap.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The battery has only 160wh capacity. Normal assistance uses about 12wh per mile, so that gives a range of about 13 miles. This will always be the penalty of such a light system. The average low power ebike sold in the UK has a battery that weighs more than your entire system. For the 25 mile range quoted, you'd be down to 6.4wh/mile, which would be less than 80w average assistance. It's supposed to be a 250w motor. If you used that much power, it would empty the battery in 38 minutes or 9.6 miles at 15mph.

$200 for a charger! That's bad. You should be able to straighten the pins with some thin pliers. I've repaired some worse than that.

 

[automatik]

so what you are saying is that they knew that the range advertised is impossible to achieve with the existing battery? that sounds quite dodgy.

I've just re-checked the website and the stated range is >40Km ( >25 miles ).

very different than the 13 miles that you're saying is the top limit of that battery!

http://www.flykly.com/smart-wheel

I did try and repair the pins with the help of a sewing needle but no luck. I might try again with some thin pliers like you suggested.

to be honest, I am already thinking of getting a decent system ( like a KTM Macina or a Raleigh Motus ) as i plan on commuting everyday, and much prefer the convenience of an ebike over normal unassisted bikes.

 

[flecc]

I'm not sure from the photo whether the connector has five or six radial pins. If it's six plus a centre pin, check if it's this DIN connector at Farnell.

You can check the data sheet link next to the illustration for the dimensions to see if it's a match.
.

 

[automatik]

hi flecc

thanks for the help but it's a 5 +central pin (not 6) connector as can be seen at 0:11 here:

http://flykly.com/support/smart-wheel/maintenance/charging

I have looked high and low for this specific one but haven't managed to find one just yet.

 

[flapajack]

That is strange. A 5+1 central pins and then it is screwed on. Almost designed to be a failure.

And for $200 for a replacement charger?!

If you are as taken by ebike as you indicated, best to get out of this particular fashion stately now and get a decent Pedelecs before you sunk even more cash into a dead horse. Just IMHO of course.

 

[automatik]

don't worry, I'm not planning on spending more cash on this system, other than what i've already spent.
eyeing a KTM Macina Force 27 atm - currently looking for a London based seller that stocks it.

 

[flecc]

.
Try this one Automatik.

These are used in CB radios.
.

 

[automatik]

thanks flecc. good find!

 

[automatik]

so apparently, according to the latest marketing spiel, flykly can assist you for 60 miles.... http://www.popsci.com/ces-2015-bike-wheel-can-push-you-60-miles-video

erm....no.

 

[flecc]

That's under 2.7 Wh per mile, not in any way a true electric assist bike, more a bike capable of a very occasional and brief use of assistance.

As d8veh says, a normal e-bike level is around 12 Wh per mile, to which I'd add 8 Wh is about as low as one can go for any true classification as e-biking. And that entails a high rider input. The well regarded Giant Lafree pedelec of yesteryear could use that little, but it was only achieved by by the software enforcing the rider fully matching the motor input, at least one to one at all times.
.

 

[automatik]

right. so the flykly is severely underpowered. my only point of reference for ebiking is riding the city bikes in Copenhagen, they gave a nice ride, but were a bit heavy. the flykly does feel very underpowered, assist-wise, compared to those.
what would you reccomend for a noob looking for a decent powered e-bike to commute with, that won't attract too much attention ( as I need to park it on the street, in Shoreditch, during the day and would prefer if it weren't stolen ), but that's still somewhat stylish?
I'm doing a 5 mile commute each way, everyday.

 

[flecc]

I've no knowledge of that Vanmoof and note they are very short on numbers, other than range claims. Makers/suppliers of good e-bikes are generally not so reticent, they give battery voltage and capacity at least, enabling claims to be assessed for validity.

Your need for a thief proof e-bike is very common and often asked for. We have no full solution. If an e-bike is in any way attractive and it's parked in the same public spot ar small area daily, it will be stolen. London is arguably the bike theft capital.

That's gloomy, but it's as well to be honest about the prospects. Preferably get one indoors or into a private area and/or double lock to a structure with two top quality high resistance locks. They will inevitably be heavy and bulky, adding a few kilos and inconvenience in carrying them. Having a more conventional e-bike and taking the battery off and indoors with you helps, especially if the e-bike battery mounting makes it obvious the battery is missing. This type of rear of seatpost battery for example makes a missing battery obvious:

.

 

[automatik]

Thanks for being straightforward, I appreciate it. I have had bikes stolen in London and it's no fun. Obviously when I am considering spending some serious money on a bike, I'd like to minimize my risks.
Unfortunately, at my current job I have no choice but to park outside. I'm not too happy about this but it is what it is.
I do have a decent lock that is heavy and bulky. If I get a bike with some panniers that should be less of an issue, I can just store it there as I ride.
If there is, as you say, a decent chance it will get stolen perhaps I should look at a sub-1000 Pounds alternative.
What seems to be the consensus with the Woosh Big Bears? Yay or nay?
Any other sub-1000 pound bikes you would consider?
Thanks.

 

[flecc]

I've no experience with them, but the Woosh Big Bears seem to be highly regarded in here and they are undoubtedly good value. I can't think of anything to beat their value/features combination, but Kudos Cycles can get close, though a removed bottle battery will not be obviously missing.

Whatever you buy, use a second good lock as well and preferably take the battery off and into your destination.
.

 

[automatik]

good tips. thank you.