Electric Bike Fiido L2 After 6 Months

I bought my Fiido L2 electric bike February 6, 2020 and it's almost 7 months usage. Since the time I bought it, a quarantine lock down of about two months happened and life hasn't gotten back to the normal pre-pandemic phase. The lock down happened around March 14 and lasted until May 31 and life has changed for most of the world.

The pandemic pushed personal mobility forward with sales of bikes and e-scooters, including electric bikes surging because of the lack of public transportation. At present the government will push through to bring most public transportation back online. Given that the cases are still rising this may be a foolish yet necessary move to push the economy forward. Those who are smart though would still probably avoid using public transportation and use personal mobility devices.

As mentioned during my first two weeks review, I found it difficult to find real world ownership reviews of the Fiido. Now, however, the local and international Facebook group of Fiido owners seems to be consistently growing. Owners are quick to provide feedback and give pointers on their ownership experience (myself included). The Fiido L2 has even been reviewed Electrek.com on their YouTube channel. Electrek being one of the news sites that cover transition from fossil fuels to 'sustainable' electric power. Their review of the L2 is very favorable stating the price and functionality as its primary selling point. Essentially, it give great value at a low price.

The Fiido L2 even made it on the list of their top 5 full suspension bikes for summer 2020! I'm now feeling really good about my purchase.

During the quarantine period I was only able to use my L2 in our village. I made an effort to use it regularly to keep the battery healthy. I actually used it almost everyday during the lock down compared to the past month. On average the distance per charge is about 45-50km. Note though that I don't fully charge the battery most of the time. the top 2 longest distance on full charge was 60km and 68km. Also note that I'm a bit on the heavy set 200lbs (90kilos) so that should factor in on the range as well. I have now clocked about 750km on the bike using Strava. Google and Strava seems to have different reading on distance which is about 10% less on Google. I don't really know which one is more accurate.

Here are some notable stuff after 750kms of use.

- my tensioner fell of after 3 weeks and again after about 5 months. Another user in the international Facebook group experienced this as well. My suggestion is to make sure to to tighten it regularly. I though it was an isolated issue but since another person posted about this I feel owners should look out for this.

- I couldn't find the original spring of the tensioner the first time it fell off so it was replaced. Prior to that the chain seems to get easily derailed. A tighter spring was used to replace the original

- the fenders are quite flimsy, especially the rear ones look after that. When you hit bumps it might cause noise (kalampag sa tagalog), it might just be a matter of adjusting it

- the stem of the steering became wobbly towards the 3rd or 4th month. We just had to tighten the the stem of the bike

- several time I experience that there was no power when I use the throttle but it was never a long and consistent issue. So, I never found out why. One reason may be the loose wiring or I was pressing on the brake while throttling. This didn't happen often enough to be an issue

- the 22kph (based on Strava) top speed is really slow but upgrading the controller for P7,000 might not be a practical option at the moment especially since I live in the province. I'd need to take time and effort to bring my back to the city to have it modified.

The longest ride I took was 25km. On average I travel 4 - 5km per ride whether just around the village or to do errands. Sadly, finding a secure place to park the bike is an issue. I'm a little picky on where to park the bike though. Given it's an electric bike parking it outdoors is out of the question. Both the heat and rain can damage the bike. You have to talk to the guard to accommodate you and I just park it to do quick things in the store.

In the Fiido Facebook groups I see people the accessories they bought for their bikes. The bike isn't cheap so I really didn't want to spend too much to accessorize. While the lights on the bike was adequate I felt the need to purchase additional lights. I bought 2 front lights, because one only lasted about 40 minutes. The other light is a tactical flashlight which you can detach. I found this detachable light useful in case something drops at night or you are just looking for something. The other light is another rear light just to add to night visibility. I also bought an extra bar to mount the lights on. These extra light were really helpful to shine on a broader are while the stock lights focused on the immediate front of the bike.

Overall I'm very happy with the bike and it was good to have it during the pandemic for me to get out of the house almost daily. Now the are more ebikes that you can choose from in the market. If I was still looking for an ebike there are now cheaper alternatives to the Fiido L2 with comparable range. I'd probably buy those especially since one of the big chain bike shops offered one recently at P25,000 which is significantly cheaper. I can't take back time though and the comfort of the suspension and seats are something that I really appreciate with my L2. I'm just looking forward when the pandemic is over and I can go to places where I've never been.

Interesting Trivia About Toyota

I drive a 2003 Toyota Corolla Altis. It's 17 years old but it is as reliable as it is reputed to be. I got the car 2nd hand and aside from the major airconditioner which cost about 1/3 of the value of the car to fix, the car just goes. Compared to newer cars age has made the car a bit noisier with some clunks here and there but nothing that would be of a big issue in terms of the reliability and drive-ability of the car. Toyota might not be the coolest brand in the world even of it's one of the top 10 biggest. But they are considered the king in terms of reliability. Some people are afraid to buy 2nd hand cars but our family mostly buys 2nd hand. It may be a gamble to some to buy 2nd hand but if you know what you are doing you can get great value from the 2nd hand market. It does seem that older cars are more reliable than the newer ones which are packed with technology but time will tell if my perception on this will hold true. I believe that most cars built in the 90s onwards are really built to last. With a lot of TLC you can make these cars last a lifetime even as a daily driver.

Because I drive a Toyota. I'd like to reinforce my belief in their reliability by reading or watching content about how bullet proof they are. Scotty Kilmer is a Toyota believer and I've probably watched several of his videos on how reliable Toyota cars are. I was pleasantly surprised with this video which is not exactly about cars but about the brand Toyota. I found a lot of interesting bits of knowledge about the brand and the history of the company which is why I felt the need to share it. It's a bit long but I found it fascinating.

Patrick Beverly of the Clippers on How He Reached His Goals

The 2019-2020 NBA season was the first sports league that stopped due to the pandemic. After three months they are now about to play the first official game this Friday, July 31. They will be playing in a "bubble" where all personnel involved in the games will have to go through quarantine protocols and regular testing throughout the remainder of the season.

Here's and interview with LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverly where he talks about his goal setting techniques which brought him to the NBA and how he copes with the pressure of playing in the worlds greatest basketball leagues in the world. Post it notes, meditation and visualization are all part of his daily routine to do his battles. Watch below and learn from the beast!