REVIEW – Our son lives in a serious metropolis, and he’d like a motorcycle that enables him to trip to all of the locations which might be too far to stroll but too near drive. He wants one that may fold up and be saved within the trunk of his Corolla, since he lives in an residence. I’m hoping that the Leoguar Flippo is an effective bike for him.
What’s it?
The Leoguar Flippo is a commuter ebike with a variety of 60 miles, a prime pace of 20 MPG, and a 480 Wh battery. It folds in two locations and weighs 27 lbs with the battery. Leoguar is a new model based in 2023 whose title takes the “leo” from leopard with the “guar” from jaguar, thus combining the agility of the leopard with the power of a jaguar.
What’s included?
The next gadgets are included:
- Bike (largely assembled)
- Bike seat with built-in battery
- Two pedals
- Charger
- Handbook
- Hex wrenches and adjustable wrench
- Easy air pump
This bike features a kickstand, a bell, and a digital show.
Tech Specs
- Colours: Gray, crimson, blue, and yellow
- Body: 6061 Aluminum Alloy
- Rider Top: 5’3” to six’5”
- Battery: 480 Wh
- Vary: 50-60 miles (half that if utilizing the throttle)
- Motor: 350 W
- High Velocity: 20 MPH
- Payload: 232 lbs
- Bike Weight: 27 lbs with battery
- Gear: 7 speeds
- Tires: 20 x 2.15 inches
- Communication Protocol: CAN
When totally prolonged, the bike is almost 64 inches lengthy and wherever from 38 to 43 inches tall, relying upon the deal with bar peak. Leoguar graciously included an additional bundle that provides fenders, a rear rack, and head and tail lights, all of that are welcome additions; I would favor that the lights be a part of the usual bundle, as they’re so vital using in city areas.
Design and options
Like all bikes on this area, the Flippo is completely a function-over-form gadget. It’s an unattractive, squat-looking little bike with seat and head tubes that look too large and the tires too small. All that is forgiven, nevertheless, because it’s a really sensible design that folds up right into a remarkably small area. This bike was made to trip in an city atmosphere and retailer in an residence or automobile. I really like the shiny crimson paint job on the Flippo, because it properly enhances the black tires, deal with bar, and seat.
Meeting, set up, and setup
The Flippo arrived in a pair of enormous bins. The smaller one contained the seat, the pedals, the instruments, the charger, and the guide, and the bigger one contained the bike itself.
Within the bigger field the bike itself was well-protected with foam cutouts that had been wrapped round its varied elements, and every part was secured with cable ties. I reduce the ties with a pocket knife and pulled the bike out.
I skim learn by means of the guide. The primary a number of pages had been stuffed with frequent sense warnings, like “maintain the battery away from hearth” and “don’t bike whereas intoxicated,” so I skipped these pages and jumped to meeting. Total, the guide is pretty clear, but it surely does skip some steps and has just a few errors. As a lot of the bike is pre-assembled, a wholesome dose of frequent sense (and a pair further hex wrenches) is enough for most individuals to complete the meeting; prior expertise definitely helps.
Step one within the guide is to put in the handlebar. I noticed that every part can be simpler if I unfolded the bike first, locked it in place, and put down the kickstand, so I did that first.
Now that the bike was resting solely by itself two wheels, I used one of many included hex wrenches to lock the handlebars in place. The brakes, throttle, show, and bell are already connected to the handlebar. The peak of the handlebars might be adjusted, so I raised it to a greater peak for me. I seen the digital show was pointed too far downward, extra in the direction of my waist than my head. This was simple sufficient to repair with a hex wrench, however Leoguar didn’t embrace a wrench that matches for this.
The second step is to slide the seat and battery–they’re completely connected collectively–into the seat tube and lock them into place. The seat might be raised surprisingly excessive, excessive sufficient that somebody who’s 6’2”, like me, can sit comfortably.
Although the guide forgot to say this half, there are a pair extra choices for adjusting the seat. I loosened the nut beneath the seat with a hex wrench, and that allowed me to tilt the seat down a bit and slide it again away from the handlebars.
As soon as this was carried out, I plugged the ability cable into the again of the battery, which offers energy to every part. At this level, the guide says, “activate the show and start using.” Sigh. The pedals haven’t been put in but.
The ultimate step is to screw within the pedals with the included wrench, being attentive to which one was labelled “left” and which one “proper.” The pedals are low-cost and fabricated from plastic, however that is simply high-quality for a commuter bike. They don’t spin simply in any respect, so I added some WD-40 to cut back the friction. Now the bike is able to trip!
Leoguar says it’s a good suggestion to cost the bike for twelve hours earlier than using the primary time, and regular costs will solely take three to 4 hours. The bike might be charged in a storage, or the complete seat might be eliminated to cost the battery inside.
Earlier than using the bike, I turned on show. I used to be amazed by how sharp it was, a lot sharper than my image above reveals. Every worth was crisp and straightforward to learn.
There are three modes for using this bike:
- In guide mode, it’s similar to a traditional bike. The motor by no means engages, and the rider offers all the ability. As this bike is pretty mild at 27 lbs, that is very manageable. I believe this would be the default mode when in a crowded downtown atmosphere the place it’s not potential to go quick. Because the gear ratio could be very low, the rider will primarily use the primary 4 gears.
- In energy help mode, the rider units a desired pace, as represented ranges one by means of 5 within the PAS, and the motor helps the rider get to that pace. On this mode, the rider can use gears 4 to six; will the help of the motor, there’s actually no cause to make use of the decrease gears.
- In full throttle mode, the rider doesn’t must pedal in any respect; as an alternative, he units the PAS to stage 6 and cranks the throttle, which is discovered on the suitable facet of the handlebar. The motor offers all the ability, accelerating to the max pace. This mode is helpful when pace is of the utmost significance; it’s going to additionally burn up the battery far sooner than energy help mode.
I took bike out for its first take a look at relaxation, and I instantly discovered an issue. Every time the bike exceeded 8 MPH, there was a super-annoying squeaking, just like the sound of offended seagulls squawking, that got here from the entrance of the bike. I requested my buddy Chris, an avid biker who reviewed different bikes with me, to come back over and assist me diagnose the issue.
He suspected that there was an issue with the brake pads, and he was partially proper. Each the entrance and the rear brakes come poorly configured by Leoguar. After we seemed carefully, we might see that they had been rubbing on the rotor, which produces pointless drag–it’s like driving your automobile with the parking break engaged–and wears out the brake pads further quickly.
Fortunately there’s a technique to regulate the brake pads, although this characteristic will not be talked about within the guide. We inserted a hex wrench within the slot on the interior facet of the breaks and rotated it one place in the direction of out. We then gave the brakes a squeeze to heart them, and that fastened the rubbing downside. Sadly, that didn’t cease the bike from squeaking.
By spinning the tires, we remoted the sound to the realm across the axle. As finest we are able to inform, the steel items on the within of the screw (inexperienced arrow) are rubbing in opposition to the black, rubber piece across the axle (crimson arrow). There doesn’t appear to be any technique to forestall this, as you shouldn’t put lubricants on rubber items. I think that the steel will ultimately rub a groove within the rubber, and the squeaking will cease. Within the meantime, it’s simply going to need to be annoying. It is a fairly unhealthy mistake for Leoguar to make; I didn’t hear something like this within the different bikes that I’ve examined.
I took the bike downtown one morning, simply trip for some time in a commuter area. Total, the Flippo rides easily. It’s simple to speed up, swap gears, and regulate the PAS. It was loads nimble to keep away from individuals and different obstacles whereas navigating the sidewalks. I like how this bike rides.
One concern that I’ve is the situation on the throttle on the deal with. As a result of it’s constructed into the deal with bar–it’s like a motorbike throttle–and is so near the gear shifters, it may be manner too simple to by accident activate. Greater than as soon as I discovered myself capturing ahead once I didn’t imply to; this may most likely be minimized by constructing some muscle reminiscence.
The Flippo comes locked at 20 MPH max pace. It is a software program, not a {hardware}, limitation. Leoguar’s web site says this may be unlocked by sending them an electronic mail asking for the password. I despatched the e-mail, however Leoguar’s assist workforce by no means replied, which is disappointing and regarding. Evidently when you have issues with this bike, you gained’t have any assist that can assist you.
The Gadgeteer resorted to sending a request to Leoguar’s PR workforce, who replied with a really unusual request: Earlier than they’d ship me the password, I needed to signal a authorized disclaimer doc and return it to them. I’m not a lawyer, but it surely appears the gist of the disclaimer is that if I unlock the pace limitation and something goes fallacious, Leoguar will not be chargeable for something. What!? If the bike is protected to trip on the increased speeds, why do they want a disclaimer? If it’s not protected to trip, why would they provide this as an choice? For me, this can be a enormous crimson flag regarding the high quality and security of their bike. I refused to signal the shape. If there’s a defect on this bike that results in a failure that causes an accident, I need all my authorized choices open to me. To be clear, I don’t see any such defects, however you by no means know.
Because it’s a commuter bike, I anticipate my son will usually lock it up outdoors whereas he heads inside for procuring, consuming out, or no matter. Inexplicably, this bike doesn’t have any technique to lock the battery. It solely takes about two seconds for somebody to pop the discharge, slip it out, and stroll away. It is a enormous mistake on Leoguar’s half; it’s mind-boggling that they didn’t add this characteristic. Because it seems, it’s potential to lock the battery: You simply need to spend one other $90 to purchase a seat clamp with a lock. That’s not cool; the flexibility to lock the battery ought to positively be a typical characteristic on a commuter ebike.
Like all of those fold-up commuter bikes, it’s a bit awkward to fold the Flippo in half and stuff it at the back of our automobile–we’ve got a 2016 Honda CR-V–however it may be carried out! It winds up being pretty small, all issues thought-about.
The one downside that I skilled with folding up the bike is that once I put it into my automobile, the swap used to vary gears popped off and went lacking. It most likely must be secured higher, perhaps with a small bolt or some tremendous glue.
The Flippo has a push help characteristic. If our son each must push the bike for an extended distance, perhaps he has a flat, or it’s snowing outdoors, then he can maintain the underside PAS button, and the bike will slowly energy itself, making it simpler to stroll alongside it. The entrance and tail lights are activated by tapping the on/off button on the show after the show has been turned on. They’re fairly brilliant, although I’d need to add further mild, like a headlamp, if I had been using at night time.
What I like in regards to the Leoguar Flippo
- Straightforward to assemble
- Clean trip
- Crisp show
- Folds into small area
What must be improved
- Repair the squeaking downside
- Correctly configure the brakes so that they don’t rub
- Add the lights and the locking clamp as a part of the usual bundle
- Repair the errors within the guide
- Monitor your assist electronic mail
- Don’t require a authorized disclaimer
Last ideas
The Leoguard Flippo is a transportable, collapsible ebike designed for using in city environments. It has a 20 MPH prime pace and a variety of fifty miles. I like this bike. It handles properly, the PAS works properly serving to out, and the throttle offers prime pace on demand. It additionally folds up, has adjustable deal with bar and seat heights, and is straightforward to recharge.
There have been some issues with the bike. There’s no technique to lock the battery, making it simple to steal in public, except you drop one other $90 for a special seat clamp. The brakes got here misconfigured, rubbing in opposition to the pads. There’s a loud squeak coming from the entrance tires, the place one thing else is rubbing collectively. Once I despatched an electronic mail to Leoguar’s assist asking for the unlock password, they didn’t reply. After we contacted the PR workforce, Leoguar required me to signal a authorized disclaimer absolving them of all duty ought to there be an issue. I believe these are errors {that a} bike maker shouldn’t be making, so regardless that I just like the bike, I can’t suggest it. I believe that there are different bike choices on the market that might be higher.
Worth: $1399
The place to purchase: Leoguar
Supply: The pattern for this assessment was offered freed from cost by Leoguar. Leoguar didn’t have a remaining say on the assessment and didn’t preview the assessment earlier than it was revealed.
