Erik Buell’s new electric transport company—sorry, make that “urban mobility brand"—has made waves for its elegant and cleverly integrated electric motorcycle design, the Fuell Flow, which is not slated for delivery until next year. But the other two-wheel product rolled out by the Fuell group—the pedal-electric bicycle (pedelec) called Fluid—is well beyond prototype stage. It’s funded, developed, and is very near production, with units expected to ship to customers as soon as next month.
If you're not familiar with Buell, he's the eternal optimist who hitched his wagon to the Harley-Davidson mothership back in 1994, ostensibly to build sportbikes, under some very challenging conditions. He broke off later to start EBR, which also didn't quite pan out. But Buell has transferred his two-wheel know-how to his new passion project, and the Fluid is a big deal. For one, it shows that Fuell is capable of producing a viable, scalable product, which is no mean feat for many startups, and two, for the fact the Fluid is actually a very cool modular design that holds the self-proclaimed title of "longest range urban ebike available." Erik Buell may not have beat his former employer to the electric motorcycle space—the LiveWire went, uh, "live" recently—but he's definitely smoked them in the e-bicycle arena with the Fluid. H-D has rolled some more concept ebikes recently (including, rumor has it, a couple of kids' electric balance bikes), but the short of it is that Fuell has a pretty big jump on The Motor Company in that part of the electric mobility segment.
Positioned as a commuter ebike, the Fluid claims a whopping 125 miles of city range if configured with the two 48-volt batteries (which pack a combined total of 1,008 WH of capacity, or 504 WH each). The bike comes in two flavors: a 20 mph base-model pedelec version simply called the 1, or the higher-powered, 28 mph Fluid-1S (U.S. only), which is classed as a speed pedelec (S-pedelec).
The Fluid’s internal motor puts out some ridiculous torque numbers as well—100 Nm, or 74 pound-feet—which is I guess what happens when two engineers from the motorsport industry spec an electric motor. Buell has teamed up with Frédéric Vasseur, the French engineer and founder of Spark Racing Technology, which develops and builds Formula E race cars, and serial entrepreneur Francois Terny, to create the Fuell group.
That also explains why the design is so sleek, integrated, and cohesive, even if some of the components aren’t necessarily top-shelf. That custom mid-drive motor is commissioned from China-based Bofeili, and produces approximately 500 watts of power, doled out in five levels of assist. Aft of that you’ll find an eight-speed Shimano Alfine internal-gear hub to take care of the shifting, with a Gates carbon belt acting as the final drive. The Fluid rolls on beefy Schwalbe tires designed to handle heavier loads, with 180mm Tektro hydraulic disc brakes fitted to slow the nearly 70-pound ebike. A 3.2-inch color screen mounted on the bar displays speed, distance, and battery charge level, as well as your chosen level of pedal assist. Bonus: It can also charge your phone via USB port.
But what’s even cooler is that the Fluid’s battery and motor can be customized (and upgraded if technology changes in the future). You can order it with one or two Samsung 504 WH batteries and, with both installed, your range extends past the 100-mile mark. And the included 4-amp fast charger can get them fully juiced in just five hours off your home outlet. The stated $3,999 retail price for the base model in pedelec form ain’t necessarily cheap, but it’s also not unreasonable.
Fans of Buell’s previous engineering efforts should be impressed by his now-greener designs, but even if you’re not a motorcycle fan, the Fluid looks like a pretty compelling product for the mobility movement. Either way, it’s kind of cool to see some motorsport influence in the electric market, and the Fluid-1’s streamlined design looks way less dorky than the majority of the current ebikes tooling around with awkwardly bolted-on battery bricks.
The Fuell Fluid is available in two versions: pedelec (with assisted speeds up to 20 mph, or 25 kph) or S-pedelec (up to 28 mph, or 45 kph) and comes in a choice of six colors. The bikes vary in price according to version and build spec; the Fluid-1 with one battery retails for $3,999, and with two, it lists for $4,399.
Breaking: On its website, Fuell says there have been supplier delays but it has begun producing frames, and almost all components are ready for the entire production run. One hundred Fluid-1 pedelecs will be produced in September to meet early Indiegogo orders, with deliveries estimated by early October. The second production run of 200 Fluids, consisting primarily of the Fluid-1S S-pedelec, will crank up in October, with delivery expected by December.
