RECALL NOTICE FOR FIIDO-X FOLDING E-BIKE
After a problem became apparent in early April, Hong Kong -based Fiido have now issued a recall notice for the Fiido X folding e-bike. The issue came to light with reports of fatigue marks in the folding area and apparently one bike broke in half.
The official recall notice states:
As of April 13, 2022, Fiido officially launches the recall and upgrade of all Fiido X folding electric bike which manufactured between September 2021 and March 2022, a total of 2,989 units. (including unit from IGG sales channel, official website sales channel and authorized distributors sales channel). Fiido official after sales service team will directly contact all affected customers advising them to make an appointment with support team, free product recall services and corresponding user protection plan will be carried out.
In practical terms Fiido say that a new replacement bike, the Fiiido X V2, will come with a beefed up frame hinge design much stronger than the original that caused the problems. It should ship in June or July of this year.
Customers who don’t want to wait that long can choose a different Fiido e-bike model of equal value, or lesser value (the latter including a refund of the difference in cost).
LANDMARK UK PROSECUTION OF COMPANY SUPPLYING UNRESTRICTED E-BIKES
Up until now, superfast e-bikes have generally gone ‘under the radar’ – that is to say they have been sold with a disclaimer by the retailer that the machine in question is for use on private land only – in fact legally speaking those going faster than 28mph are not really ebikes at all but fall into a different category of vehicle, often needing more stringent requirements like a driving licence to be allowed on the road.
The ease with which they can be bought may be about to change – in the UK at least – as Cycling Industry News reports that ‘In a legal first, DVSA has announced the successful prosecution of a UK company which illegally supplied high powered electric assisted pedal cycles (EPACS) – not approved for UK road use.’
Monsterebikes Ltd pleaded guilty at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on 4 March 2022 at a prosecution brought by DVSA for illegally supplying high powered Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPCs) that were not approved for use on the UK roads. The case, brought under The Motorcycles (Type-Approval) Regulations 2018, is the first of its kind in the UK.
The court heard that Monsterebikes Ltd were supplying “Falcon” branded EAPCs fitted with motors powered up to 8000 watts and capable of speeds over 70mph without having type approval in place to ensure that the design and construction is suitable for riding at such speeds.
DVSA presented evidence that the high-powered bikes had been marketed as capable of being ridden on roads and in public places and therefore needed to meet the safety approval standards.
The company received a criminal conviction and were ordered to pay costs and fines totalling £1209. The company have now removed the illegal bikes from future supply and have been asked to bring those already supplied into compliance.
The company’s website says ‘From April 2022 we we are updating our line of frames, batteries and motors to the RACE/COMPETITION specification! These parts/products cannot be used on any vehicle that is going to be used on any public roads.
BOSCH’S SMART SYSTEM GETS MORE SMARTPHONE FUNCTIONALITY
After last August’s launch of the new Bosch ‘Smart’ system comes the extra functionality Bosch promised, and riders who already have the system can take advantage of over-the-air updates to try out the new features for themselves.
We have already given more details on the new Smartphone mount (also compatible with the Kiox 300 unit) which we saw at Sea Otter and new software features on the Bosch eBike Flow app include:
- eBikelock. Your phone becomes an ‘electronic lock’ deactivating motor capability when you are away from the e-bike. Note the so-called ‘proximity lock’ is not designed to replace the use of a physical lock
- New, clear Ride Screen, showing mapping and rider data on one screen
- New navigation and route planning capabilities including route suggestions based on different criteria
- Ability to connect to your data on Strava and komoot apps
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