Falco e-motor hub conversion

[VTAllen]

Buyer Beware!! I wanted to add an emotor to our Santana tandem, and the Falco emotor system was recommended by a tandem dealer as about the only thing that would fit the 160mm rear dropout spacing. I paid Falco $2992.99 on April 5, 2021 for one of their emotor systems. It was finally shipped on October 14, 2021. After using it for only 353 miles it suffered some sort of internal malfunction that rendered it unusable. It seemed to be a mechanical issue, not electrical. Something inside the hub is preventing it from turning properly. Over the next 11 days I left 6 voicemails at the phone number the website lists for warranty claims with no response. I have also left voicemail and a text at the phone number that I believe goes to company president Rakesh Dhawan, also with no reply. I have emailed the Falco engineer who answered questions about the original order 6 times; after no answer times 5, on the 6 try I got a message that the email account is disabled. In June 2022 the tandem dealer was able to contact Rakesh Dhawan and I got authorization to return the hub and wheel (at my expense). UPS documented that Rakesh Dhawan signed for it July 1, 2022. I have heard nothing since. So, no, I cannot recommend Falco emotors. Are they still in business??? Anyway, don't throw your money away with this company. Oh, and the hub motor, when working, had totally inadequate low end torque for Vermont hills.

 

[amberwolf]

There are a number of threads about this company and product, some good, some bad; this is the longest one about them and includes posts from the company rep (probably Rakesh, I don't recall though).
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=49849

 

[VTAllen]

Buyer Beware!! I wanted to add an emotor to our Santana tandem, and the Falco emotor system was recommended by a tandem dealer as about the only thing that would fit the 160mm rear dropout spacing. I paid Falco $2992.99 on April 5, 2021 for one of their emotor systems. It was finally shipped on October 14, 2021. After using it for only 353 miles it suffered some sort of internal malfunction that rendered it unusable. It seemed to be a mechanical issue, not electrical. Something inside the hub is preventing it from turning properly. Over the next 11 days I left 6 voicemails at the phone number the website lists for warranty claims with no response. I have also left voicemail and a text at the phone number that I believe goes to company president Rakesh Dhawan, also with no reply. I have emailed the Falco engineer who answered questions about the original order 6 times; after no answer times 5, on the 6 try I got a message that the email account is disabled. In June 2022 the tandem dealer was able to contact Rakesh Dhawan and I got authorization to return the hub and wheel (at my expense). UPS documented that Rakesh Dhawan signed for it July 1, 2022. I have heard nothing since. So, no, I cannot recommend Falco emotors. Are they still in business??? Anyway, don't throw your money away with this company. Oh, and the hub motor, when working, had totally inadequate low end torque for Vermont hills.

Update: After the intervention of the tandem dealer, Falco finally came through and sent me a functional wheel in late February, 2023. I cannot tell if it was repaired or replaced, but it works. So, it only took two years after the initial order. I put it on the bike and we tried it out on three rides totaling about 65 miles. On flat to rolling terrain, short hills, and with headwinds the motor performs adequately. On the long, steep hills that are everywhere in Vermont, the motor is useless. It simply cannot generate low end torque at slow wheel speeds. So, I am proceeding with a mid-drive conversion with the new CYC Photon motor. My report on that is in the "builds" forum.

 

[2old]

Another cautionary tale about them.