2024 Begode Falcon - 14", Suspension, 100 V, 900 Wh, 1000 W Motor

[DavidB]

 

[Ben Kim]

So, I had the chance to try a Begode Falcon with street tire on yellow spring today, some observations: 

as a relatively old school rider who’s used to thinner tires with soft sidewalls, this thing feels like a Z10 with the fat small tire and that’s not a good thing.  It had massive gyroscopic effect and it rides like the polar oppposite of what I’m used to (I typically hate scooter tires on EUC, only exception was the Contiscoot, which was ok). If you’re used to (or prefer) that gyroscopic feeling by all means, you’ll love it!

this reaffirmed my decision to go with a knobby tire to be a good one.
 

i strongly disliked the placement of the lift/power buttons, they are tiny and in an extremely inconvenient positioning for turning on lights, etc while riding.  Considering there is space right on top with a cutout on the trolley for two buttons to clear, this decision is head-scratching. 

I also question why they went with the EX30 screen with a triple-digit speedometer when the Master screen isn’t much different in size and arguably, has cleaner presentation of data. 
 

I weigh 190 with gear, and found the yellow spring to sag a touch more than I’d like, but certainly rideable. It also feels a bit more progressive than the typical air shock Begode wheel, so that’s a positive. 
 

I am also thinking this wheel will have significant trouble hitting this 31 mph “cruising speed” as advertised on ewheels. surmise it’s more a 27-28 mph max speed wheel, although this could change with firmware updates. I will be very mindful of the beeps when I get the wheel as I use that as my barometer of wheel limits. 
 

it is, very lightweight and easy to throw into a trunk or even mount on a motorcycle for some last mile exploration. 
 

Perhaps wait for the Falcon Pro (v2)? You know it’s probably coming! 

[Ben Kim]

And just as I wrote that, ewheels boosted the price of the Falcon $100 and indicated a 28 mph top speed. Heh I knew I wasn’t crazy 

[Funky]

10 hours ago, Ben Kim said:

it is, very lightweight and easy to throw into a trunk or even mount on a motorcycle for some last mile exploration.

So what are V5/8's.. KS14D's. Teslas, etc.. Then? Very, very, very lightweight? 

Falcon isn't lightweight. It's medium. (Yes it bother me when people are calling 25kg wheel a "lightweight".)  Otherwise let's call V13, EX30, etc.. also lightweight, because compared to motorcycles they are lightweight.  

10 hours ago, Ben Kim said:

i strongly disliked the placement of the lift/power buttons, they are tiny and in an extremely inconvenient positioning for turning on lights, etc while riding.  Considering there is space right on top with a cutout on the trolley for two buttons to clear, this decision is head-scratching. 

Yup - that's just stupid and inconvenient. Needing to bend down so low and break back each time one wants to lift the thing, same for powering on/off.. What's the point of having lift button, if power button is right next to it.  Lift button needs to be right next to carry handle. Ohh i forgot it doesn't have that. 

10 hours ago, Ben Kim said:

So, I had the chance to try a Begode Falcon with street tire on yellow spring today, some observations: 

as a relatively old school rider who’s used to thinner tires with soft sidewalls, this thing feels like a Z10 with the fat small tire and that’s not a good thing.  It had massive gyroscopic effect and it rides like the polar oppposite of what I’m used to (I typically hate scooter tires on EUC, only exception was the Contiscoot, which was ok). If you’re used to (or prefer) that gyroscopic feeling by all means, you’ll love it!

Could you explain what really is gyroscopic effect?

Wheel wants to stay up, go straight? One needs to "force" it sideways to turn? At turn one will need to sway all body weight at one pedal to turn? < I think of that when i hear gyro effect.

Edited June 15 by Funky

[Asphalt]

On 6/14/2024 at 7:04 PM, Ben Kim said:

So, I had the chance to try a Begode Falcon with street tire on yellow spring today, some observations: 

Have you tried carrying it up stairs?
How would you compare it to the MCM5v2 or the MSX 100V 1230Wh?
What is your current wheel of choice?

 

[Ben Kim]

41 minutes ago, Asphalt said:

Have you tried carrying it up stairs?
How would you compare it to the MCM5v2 or the MSX 100V 1230Wh?
What is your current wheel of choice?

 

About the same as an MSX 1230Wh (I owned one) MCM5v2 would be a lot lighter (also owned this one)
 

Current wheels are a Master and mten4 (although I am selling the mten4)

[Jason McNeil]

On 6/14/2024 at 11:04 PM, Ben Kim said:

I am also thinking this wheel will have significant trouble hitting this 31 mph “cruising speed” as advertised on ewheels. surmise it’s more a 27-28 mph max speed wheel, although this could change with firmware updates. I will be very mindful of the beeps when I get the wheel as I use that as my barometer of wheel limits. 

Ronin was testing the max speed, hit slightly over 31MPH & the machine was over-powered... Lighter Riders, mainly Levi/Begode, have been testing at this speed for a while (Ronin is 208lb + gear). To have a bit more safety margin on the top end, Begode recommending not exceeding 28MPH, there's going to be a FW update with more PWM margin. 

[litewave]

1 hour ago, Jason McNeil said:

Ronin was testing the max speed, hit slightly over 31MPH & the machine was over-powered... 

Did the wheel cut-out, tilt-back, or recover once the speed dropped a bit?

 

On 6/14/2024 at 10:04 PM, Ben Kim said:

... this thing feels like a Z10 with the fat small tire and that’s not a good thing.  It had massive gyroscopic effect and it rides like the polar oppposite of what I’m used to (I typically hate scooter tires on EUC, only exception was the Contiscoot, which was ok)....

so, more or less a Z10 (same top speed) with suspension at a better price. I'm sure there will be more street tire choices for the Falcon than the Z10, which has a choice of one, unless you buy aftermarket extended pedal hangars. Also, the Falcon looks much easier to disassemble.

[Ben Kim]

1 hour ago, Jason McNeil said:

Ronin was testing the max speed, hit slightly over 31MPH & the machine was over-powered... Lighter Riders, mainly Levi/Begode, have been testing at this speed for a while (Ronin is 208lb + gear). To have a bit more safety margin on the top end, Begode recommending not exceeding 28MPH, there's going to be a FW update with more PWM margin. 

I definitely weigh less than him, but if I could touch 30 mph indicated on an MCM5 v2, (33 mph I caught a nasty pedal dip) there should be no reason this wheel can’t with higher-discharge cells and higher voltage. 
 

plus this wheel has spin speed of 42 mph which should equate to a cutout speed of ~34 mph (if past lower-powered Begode wheels are the barometer). Let’s see what the firmware holds for us!

[Ben Kim]

16 minutes ago, litewave said:

Did the wheel cut-out, tilt-back, or recover once the speed dropped a bit?

 

so, more or less a Z10 (same top speed) with suspension at a better price. I'm sure there will be more street tire choices for the Falcon than the Z10, which has a choice of one, unless you buy aftermarket extended pedal hangars. Also, the Falcon looks much easier to disassemble.

Oh god, you couldn’t get me to disassemble a Z10 for all of King Midas’ silver.  
 

The Z10 could go upwards of 35 mph on that low voltage with a firmware hack! 

[the_deeb]

Has anyone had a chance to try the knobby tire option of the Falcon?

[Oliver Gould]

I might get the falcon and swap out the *stock* street tire for a Michelin City Grip Saver 90/90-10 50J

Edited June 17 by Oliver Gould

[Funky]

1 hour ago, Oliver Gould said:

I might get the falcon and swap out the street for a Michelin City Grip Saver 90/90-10 50J

It's still a street tire.  

[Ronin]

 

[Oliver Gould]

Curse you Funky, I will have my revenge!

 

 

[Funky]

34 minutes ago, Oliver Gould said:

Curse you Funky, I will have my revenge!

 

 

Here's a better one. Your welcome.  

Spoiler

What did i do? 

 

Edited June 17 by Funky

[Ben Kim]

8 hours ago, the_deeb said:

Has anyone had a chance to try the knobby tire option of the Falcon?

Check back in tomorrow when my knobby tire Falcon comes. 

[Oliver Gould]

 

[Ben Kim]

Just got my Falcon. Cliffnotes version:

 

knobby doesn’t have gyro effect. Love it.
 

Suspension was set quite well out of the box. No adjustment required. Stock pads are great for jumping but bad for accelerating/braking. 

 

did a 1 foot drop which should account for virtually any pothole scenario in NYC and it didn’t bottom out on yellow springs. Probably won’t swap to black for 190 lb geared riding weight. 
 

27.6 mph = 83 PWM @ 95V per DarknessBot. definitely need more headroom, patiently waiting for new firmware!  Oddly wheel didn’t beep at that speed, so either the app is miscalculating or theres a bug in the firmware. 
 

5v sag @ 27.6 mph. Not bad considering it’s a 2p pack this wheel can do more it’s either a firmware limitation or the board is too weak. 

Edited June 18 by Ben Kim

[MacGyverCanada]

4 minutes ago, Ben Kim said:

27.6 mph = 83 PWM @ 95V per DarknessBot. definitely need more headroom, patiently waiting for new firmware!  Oddly wheel didn’t beep at that speed, so either the app is miscalculating or theres a bug in the firmware. 

I think Ronin was suggesting that there was a firmware bug in his video.

[Funky]

43 minutes ago, Ben Kim said:

knobby doesn’t have gyro effect. Love it.

Both same width. Is it because street tire is so smooth, rounded?

And knobby by having those knobs they don't allow gyro happen? How it's possible that one tire give that effect and other don't?

 

(Sorry, but to me it's something that i have not encountered while riding my wheel? Or maybe i have, but i simply didn't understand/notice it? What is it really???)

 

[Ben Kim]

18 minutes ago, Cam said:

Sounds to me like he just overpowered it, AFAIK Begode firmwares still dont report PWM (correct me if I'm wrong), so any number an app gives is just an estimation, even when "calibrated".

(Or was the issue that he didn't hear / there wasn't a beep / TB? If you overpower it fast enough it won't have time for that.. or it could be a bug, of course)

Oh yes they report live PWM. 
 

back when Bill was doing custom firmware (it’s sad to see he left the community) he built this web app for live PWM direct from the wheel. The apps use a calculated PWM. 
 

https://bill-kolokithas.github.io/euc-dash/begode.html

[Ben Kim]

3 minutes ago, Funky said:

Both same width. Is it because street tire is so smooth, rounded?

And knobby by having those knobs they don't allow gyro happen? How it's possible that one tire give that effect and other don't?

 

(Sorry, but to me it's something that i have not encountered while riding my wheel? Or maybe i have, but i simply didn't understand/notice it? What is it really???)

 

Knobby tires have soft sidewalls which allow it to compress when turning. So do cheap Chinese bicycle tires, whereas the street tire has a stiff sidewall which is good for cornering stability (e.g. motorcycles) but require a different technique for turning, which is opposite to how I personally expect to maneuver a wheel. 

[Funky]

4 minutes ago, Ben Kim said:

Knobby tires have soft sidewalls which allow it to compress when turning. So do cheap Chinese bicycle tires, whereas the street tire has a stiff sidewall which is good for cornering stability (e.g. motorcycles) but require a different technique for turning, which is opposite to how I personally expect to maneuver a wheel. 

To me tire = tire, i have never thought about it.. Wheel goes forwards = i'm happy.

I'm using Heidenau K66 tire on my wheel atm. And it feels same as CST-1488 did, which came originally on my wheel. (Heavy tubeless M/C tire vs cheap flimsy bicycle tire.)

Hmm... Good thing i don't like the look of street tires. I would install some kind knobby anyway - love how they look and i'm 95% asphalt ridder.  

[Ben Kim]

39 minutes ago, Funky said:

To me tire = tire, i have never thought about it.. Wheel goes forwards = i'm happy.

I'm using Heidenau K66 tire on my wheel atm. And it feels same as CST-1488 did, which came originally on my wheel. (Heavy tubeless M/C tire vs cheap flimsy bicycle tire.)

Hmm... Good thing i don't like the look of street tires. I would install some kind knobby anyway - love how they look and i'm 95% asphalt ridder.  

You’ll 100% want the knobby if you’re used to those tires.