Yes, it’s an electric bike, although you won’t know it just by its looks or how you lift it up a flight of stairs, as it weighs as much as a regular city bike at just 30 pounds (approx. 14 kg).
What you’re looking at is the Fiido Air, a carbon fiber e-bike from the Chinese company that I once tested on a whim just to see what a $999 direct-sale electric bike looks like. Turns out it wasn’t great, and the sequel had a habit of breaking in two.
But hey, I’m a forgiving guy and the company has made amends to those affected. And Fiido says the Air is “the lightest urban e-bike in the world” with a “super early bird” price of just $1,799 at launch (or 1,799 euros in Europe) – going down to $1,999 and later increases to $2,799 before delivery in August. This is just too tempting not to try, especially when it costs half as much as the comparable Gogoro Eeyo.
And after spending over a month with a Fiido Air as my daily driver, I have to say – I’m impressed… as long as you ignore the app and the silly smartwatch it ships with and don’t be afraid of it being low effort and Troubleshooting yourself.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Fiido Air is the battery – or the lack of any visible traces of it, as it’s integrated into the slim frame. Normally that’s a problem, but this bike, unlike VanMoofs and some Amplers, is something that many can still lug into an elevator or up a flight of stairs in an emergency due to the ample use of stiff and lightweight carbon fiber in the bike’s front frame fork, Handlebars and seat post stem.
In fact, you wouldn’t even know it was an e-bike if it weren’t for the giant ON/OFF graphic that Fiido inexplicably emblazons across the frame, as if its owner forever needed to be reminded of where this button is located. The otherwise clear design is supported by internally routed cables.
My bike arrived partially assembled in the shipping box. However, a spacer for my front axle assembly was caught in the packaging material, so I overlooked it when assembling the front wheel and handlebars. I realized something was wrong and eventually sorted it out with the help of Fiido support, but less experienced bike owners might have just had to live with the slightly noisy, slightly wobbly and potentially dangerous assembly.
My European Fiido Air is equipped with a 250W Mivice rear hub motor and a Mivice torque sensor (as you would expect in this price range) to make pedaling force feel more natural. It also has numerous off-the-shelf parts that should make maintenance easier at any local bike shop. That’s not always the case with Fiido’s cheaper e-bikes, which use parts not widely available outside of China (I once had terrible difficulty finding brake pads). The Fiido Air features Shimano BR-MT410 hydraulic brakes, a Velo saddle and a Gates Carbon Drive CDX belt drive, the latter of which rarely requires maintenance unless your bike came with a loose belt like mine.
Tightening your belt isn’t difficult, but it’s also counterintuitive. Still, it’s never nice to spend $2,000 and then find your transmission slipping with a loud noise clink when you press the crank hard to quickly cross the street against oncoming traffic. I also recently had to lubricate the bottom bracket (where the crankset attaches to the bike) after the pedals made a terrible creaking noise on every downstroke. Both repairs were relatively easy to make, but would not typically be necessary after just a few weeks of driving.
The Air is equipped with a fingerprint sensor surrounded by a colorful ring of light. To prevent someone from riding off on the e-bike after pressing the well-labeled ON/OFF button, the motor can be configured to unlock via fingerprint sensor. This worked surprisingly well in 99 percent of cases. It worked well in light rain as long as I could dry it off and shield it, but I once tried unlocking it in heavy rain and no matter how much swiping the sensor couldn’t detect my finger. That meant opening the app to unlock the engine.
The app is… terrible and should definitely be avoided. Luckily, you can ditch it for everyday use, but only after you’ve battled through the initial setup and then occasionally checking the battery level – which seems to vary by up to 20 percent – as there’s no indication of this on the bike itself. Too bad, that Fiido has not converted the colored ring around the fingerprint sensor into a kind of battery indicator.
After the fingerprint sensor has unlocked the bike, further tapping steadily increases the power assistance, with the corresponding color rings – yellow, blue, a slightly lighter blue and green – indicating the current selection. A quick double tap on the sensor switches the integrated running lights on and off. Unfortunately, the bike doesn’t remember your preferred setting when turning it on and off.
Fiido ships the e-bike with a cheap plastic Fiido Mate smartwatch, which is just ridiculously bad. It can be used to unlock the engine or as a dashboard on your wrist – but it doesn’t attach easily to the frame. After testing it once, I never used it again. I already wear an Apple Watch, but there is no app for it.
The Fiido Air places the rider in a very aggressive and sporty position, resulting in an awkward hand position that is not ideal for long commutes or occasional city rides. But it’s fun! Pedal assistance is smooth, intuitive and very quiet, but the motor’s modest 40 Nm of torque makes this single-speed e-bike best suited to mostly flat commutes. Out of the box, the Fiido Air reaches a top speed of 15.5 mph (25 km/h), which shoots up to 18.6 mph (30 km/h) with a simple (and often illegal) software setting.
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Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
Fiido says the Air can travel up to 80km (approximately 50 miles) on a single charge, which is extremely optimistic given its non-removable 209Wh battery, but may be doable on the lowest power setting (I’ve always used maximum performance tested). In my tests, pedal assistance noticeably decreased after just about 40 km (25 miles) of riding. Fiido also sells an optional screw-on range extender that you can take with you to charge using Fiido’s relatively small charging brick.
What is supposed to be an urban e-bike comes without a stand, bell or mudguards, meaning you get a rooster tail of spray on your back if you get caught in the rain. However, there are mounting points for the front and rear fenders if you decide to go that route. It also comes with Kenda 700*40C tires, which are more suitable for gravel than city roads.
Overall, I’ve really enjoyed using the Fiido Air as my main vehicle for the city over the last six weeks and variety. At $1,799, it’s a good deal for anyone looking for a well-designed and lightweight e-bike. At $1999 it’s still worth a close look, but at $2799 I’d consider other options first.
All photos by Thomas Ricker / The Verge