Owners of Fiido’s X e-bike might have to go back to taking the bus. The electric bike company has issued a recall of its X model after receiving a report of a faulty frame snapping right in half.
Fiido has since urged all current owners of the Fiido X to stop using them, saying there’s a risk their frames may also break in half, as first reported by Electrek. The defect looks like it has to do with the hinge in the middle of the frame that allows the electric bike to fold up. A Fiido company rep also posted in a Fiido Facebook group that they were able to confirm the faulty frame report in their R&D lab in Shenzhen, China.
The company didn’t specify exactly what was causing the frame to snap in half, but they said they’ll have recall details, user protection plans, failure cause analysis and a technical improvement plan coming out before April 12, according to an email sent out to Fiido X owners.
Crowdfunding hit —
There’s certainly a lot of Fiido Xs to recall since the Hong Kong-based e-bike maker raised more than $1.5 million from 1,426 backers last year on its Indiegogo campaign.
The latest post on its Indiegogo page showed an update from two days ago, saying that some Canadian and Singaporean customers are still waiting for their X e-bike to be delivered. It’s a shame some of the backers didn’t even get to take their Fiido X for a spin, but it may be for the best since they don’t ever have to risk ever eating pavement during their morning commute.
Before the disastrous discovery, the Fiido X was actually well received for its removable battery design that’s integrated into the seat and more affordable price point at nearly $1,600. It’s not Fiido’s first folding electric bike either, as their D series can also fold up, but not in the same way that Fiido X does.
Customer concern —
In the meantime, Fiido has been working on its Beast electric scooter that you can ride sitting or standing. There doesn’t look like there’s any foldable feature or hinges on the Beast, just an adjustable stem for when you switch riding modes.
The Beast looks like it could be an off-roading hit for Fiido, but the recent recall is definitely going to bring up some overall concerns about Fiido’s quality control. They’re going to have to make up a lot of ground to gain back customer confidence, but at least Fiido was quick to acknowledge the potentially catastrophic issue.
