San Francisco startup Flux Electric Bike is surfing the e-bike zeitgeist at the moment, and their crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo has gone a bit mad, raising over $1.6m – that's over 30 times as much as they were hoping for.
Exactly why it's taken off to such an extent is probably down to the fact they look like really good value for money. Take the Roadster above, for example: you get a Bofeili 250W mid motor (not one we've tried), a 468Wh battery, decent Shimano 9-speed transmission and hydraulic disc brakes for a grand total of $1,499. That's only just over £1,000. The battery is integated into the down tube and the bike is controlled by a bar-mounted LCD display. There are five levels of assistance. One of the stretch goals in the crowdfunder was to add a USB port to the display so you can charge your phone as you go.
One of Flux's big claims that's been bandied about a lot and picked up by the mainstream media is the the bike uses the same batteries as the Tesla Model S. And indeed the cells that make up the bigger 612Wh battery (standard on the full-suspension Attack model) are the same Panasonic ones that Tesla use. There isn't anything inherently special about them though, they're just good quality Lithium-Ion cells like the Samsung ones used in the smaller battery.
Another thing that's been said a lot is that it's the most funded electric bike crowdfunder. That one isn't true: check out the $650 Sonder fat bike. That raised over $6m.
Second bike in the range is the Trail. Aside from gaining a Suntour XCR fork (not the Epixon fork pictured) and a swap of tyres, it's more or less the same bike as the roadster. It's $100 more expensive at $1,599, and comes with the same 468Wh battery.
The Attack is a full-suspension rig, using a Suntour Epixon fork and a Suntour Air shock at the rear. The bigger 612Wh battery is standard equipment which makes the bike more expensive at $2,199. Note that these are the crowdfunding prices, with the after-launch price tickets $500 more for the Roadster and Attack, and $600 more for the trail.
The bad news? They're not street legal for the UK as specced. The Flux system offers assist up to 25mph and has an independent throttle. Neither of those things are allowed in the UK: assistance must cut out at 15.5mph and the throttle can only assist when you're pedalling.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flux-electric-bikes-with-attitude#/
