2020 FLX Baby Maker Review

To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This in-depth review was sponsored by FLX Electric Bikes. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased with you, this video and writeup are not meant to be an endorsement of FLX products. I welcome your corrections, additions, and feedback in the comments below and the FLX electric bike forums.

Pros:

• A single speed road bike with a reliable and smooth belt drive, very aesthetically pleasing, minimalist design that hides the battery and uses a no-nonsense display, also comes in a variety of color ways to choose from
• Currently a crowd funded effort, the bike is in pre-production so some minor details may change, but the foundations are here and the company and testers seem to agree, this is the setup to go with
• Mechanically, it is operated by a single speed belt drive, it has a 64 cog ring in the front and 22 cogs in the rear, this makes the bike no only very smooth and quiet, but also means less maintenance since you don’t have to lube the belt and in addition, since it is made of rubber, it will not rust over time, overall, this is more reliable too, so a great choice
• Stopping the bike are a set of rim brakes (sometimes called ‘cantilever brakes’, ‘linear pull brakes, or ‘v brakes’), sometimes these are a listed as a con for bikes since they are a more basic technology, but on the Baby Maker, it is high-end for what it is since it makes use of a dual contact point, rather than just simple one sided brakes
• The brake levers are short and slim since they are mounted inward on the handle bar, I prefer this compared to other road bikes that put them on the outer horns, these are easier to reach in a bind and have a natural feel to them
• Since this is a road bike, it is only natural you get 700c x 28 thin road tires, these make the bike extremely efficient and quick on paved surfaces and feature a deep section rim so you have stouter, stronger spokes, I would say its not good for off-road use, but I did take it on some grass during testing and it did surprisingly well
• The handlebar section is done nicely, it has a very short stem with just a slight rise to it for active riding, the handles themselves are a bull-horn style with a 135 degree bend to them and gripped bar tape, this setup allows for a lot of different riding position possibilities and is a preferred setup for a road bike
• If the bike is too stiff for your taste, but you still want to make it work for you, they have a 30.9mm seat post, you could swap this rigid seat post out with a suspension seat post like a Kinekt suspension seat post or a SR SunTour NCX seat post
• The 36v 7ah battery is hidden in the down tube of the frame, it can be removed (with some effort) and I try to lay out some instructions in the review video if you are interested in doing so, I think with the smaller amp hour rating, you may be able to bring this bike in air travel via FAA regulations for traveling with electric bikes
• Here at Electric Bike Review, we are big fans of bottle cage bosses, so I am happy to say that they are here on this bike and that is a great addition for a lot of reasons, you can fit a number of accessories on them, not just water bottles, there are aftermarket add-ons like a GPS tracker, a folding lock, mounting points for racks, and many others that can get your bike setup just the way you want
• The display is small, minimal, and out of the way, some may wish for a larger display with more options, but I feel the compact display will match most desires the rider of a road bike like this might want, it has a 5 bar battery infographic and up and down arrow for pedal assist, I like that its one of the many ways the bike stays stealthy and doesn’t scream ‘electric’ when parked or riding
• Uses a 250 watt nominal 350 watt peak hub-drive motor from AKM, a newer motor company to me, but they have been around making motors in other industries and applications, it offers a 20mph top speed, good performance for the size, and high-resolution 12 magnet cadence based pedal assist
• The bike is comes in at just a mere 33lbs and that weight includes the battery, motor, and everything on the bike ready to ride, this is extremely lightweight for an electric bike and right where you want to be for road bike performance
• That 33lbs helps drive the bike to one of its strongest points, the way it rides, it is incredibly nimble and agile, the balance is even wonderful, you could ride no-hands very comfortably and easily, this is one of the biggest wins for the bike overall

Cons:

• After reaching your 20mph top speed (which is not hard for an active rider on a lightweight bike) you lose tension in the pedals and just start coasting, this is really easy to do in the highest level of pedal assist (level 5), so I would recommend using this mode mostly for hills and such
• The minimal display is great, but as mentioned, it may not be for everyone, it lacks an accurate battery percentage level readout in favor of a less accurate 5 bar infographic in 20% increments, some new bikes offer the percentage readout as well as smartphone integration and other readouts
• The battery is not easily removable, unless you really know what you are doing, I do not recommend taking it out at all, the video briefly shows you how if you are interested, but on average, I wouldn’t consider this a removable battery by conventional standards
• In addition to that, having the battery not easily removed means that your riding and parking may be limited in extreme hot or cold weather, for example, living here in Utah, I would shelf the bike for the winter in the garage and still try to remove the battery and store it inside to keep it healthy and functioning
• Although there are bottle cage bosses as mentioned, the bike lacks both fender provisions as well as rack provisions, so it may not be a keen commuter setup, most of what you carry around with you will have to be in a backpack of some sorts
• Make sure you know what you are getting into with the aggressive riding position and active narrow saddle, this is meant to keep most of your weight forward and keep your butt off the seat, so it is not the most comfortable bike for sitting around, more made for standing and pedaling so do be aware of that
• Similarly, the frame only comes in this high-step style, and it is quite a high-step, so not very approachable, this may not be great if this is your first electric bike or if you haven’t been on a bike in a very long time, but if it works for you, it is really great once you get on and situated
• There are no battery integrated lights here, not a big deal on some road bikes, but it is a neat feature on ebikes that you are seeing more and more of each day, great for safety and visibility and when they are wired into the battery already, you don’t have to worry about them dying out on you
• The rim brakes actually work well here as noted in one of the PRO bullet points, but I should mention that unlike some electric bikes, this lacks motor inhibitors, motor inhibitors are cut-off signals built into the brake levers that switch off the electric motor when braking to make stopping even more quick and effective, so it is a shame they are not present here