A recumbent bike or trike is the most comfortable way to ride. Add a Falco f7.9 to the rear wheel and it is also the easiest way to keep riding: hills flatten out, headwinds stop mattering, and a 40-mile day becomes an ordinary afternoon. This is what the conversion involves, what you get, and why owners of Bacchetta, Rans, Catrike, ICE, TerraTrike, HP Velotechnik, Greenspeed and AZUB machines choose the Falco over the factory mid-drives.
A Bacchetta Strada with the Falco wheel in the back. The battery rides on the rear rack.
One system: the Falco f7.9
We used to make several systems. Today we make one, the f7.9, and it is the same drive that powers our own Three Wheels of Magic trike. Every earlier Falco system (e5 and f7 series) is still supported with parts and service.
| Motor | 750 W five-phase direct drive in the rear hub, 45 Nm, zero freewheeling resistance, 13 lb. Controller, torque sensor and speed sensor are built in. |
| Battery | 48 V, 672 Wh (14 Ah) lithium-ion, 8 lb, with charger and holder. Charges to 75% in 4 hours, full in 6. |
| Range | Up to 100 miles at assist level 1, about 70 at level 3, on flat pavement. Regeneration on descents adds more. |
| Speed | Assist to 20 mph in the US; a 28 mph setting where legal; 15 mph in the EU. |
| Wheel sizes | 16, 20, 24, 26 inch, 650B, 700c and 29 inch, built into a complete wheel with rim, spokes, tire and tube. |
| Gears | 1 to 11 speed cassette. You keep your existing chainrings, derailleurs and shifters. |
| Frame fit | 135 mm rear drop-out, vertical or horizontal. Disc or rim brakes. |
| Controls | Thumb throttle included. Add a wired console or the all-in-one +/- control. Bluetooth to the Falco Flash app on iPhone or Android. |
| Warranty | 5 years on the motor, 2 years on the battery, 1 year on everything else. |
What is in the box
Four things. A complete built wheel with the motor inside, ready to drop into your frame. A battery with its charger and holder. A thumb throttle. And a torque-arm kit that spreads the motor's force across your drop-outs. Nothing else is required; a console or the +/- control is optional.
Will it fit my recumbent?
Measure the inside width of your rear drop-outs. If it is 135 mm, the standard on most recumbents built since the mid-1990s, the wheel fits. Tell us your wheel size and how many cogs you run and we build the wheel to match. Thru-axle frames need a drop-out conversion, which we have done many times. Older tandems (some Santanas) use 140 mm; call us before ordering. The full two-minute check, brand by brand, is on Add Falco eDrive to your trike, recumbent or tandem.
Where the battery goes
On a long-wheelbase recumbent (Rans Stratus, Easy Racers, Bacchetta Giro) the battery usually sits on the rear rack or under the seat. On a short-wheelbase bike (Bacchetta Strada and Corsa, Lightning, Cruzbike) it mounts on the main tube. On trikes it goes behind the seat, low and centred. We will tell you which holder to order, and our battery mount kits cover the awkward frames.
Installing it
Most owners do it themselves in about an hour with basic tools: take the old wheel out, drop the Falco wheel in, fit the torque arms, mount the battery holder, run one cable, plug in the throttle. The guides, manuals and videos are in the Learning Center, and we answer the phone. If you would rather have it done, our dealers and most recumbent shops can fit it.
Why the wheel and not the cranks
The factory e-assist on today's recumbents is a Bosch or Shimano mid-drive at the cranks. It pushes the motor's power through your chain and gears, takes away your front chainrings, has no throttle, and on a tandem it sits at one rider's feet. The Falco goes in the wheel: nothing extra wears your drivetrain, you keep every gear you have, you get a throttle and reverse, it is silent, and it assists both riders on a tandem equally. The full comparison has the numbers and four videos.
What owners say
David Zimmer put an f7.9 on the Rans tandem he and his wife have ridden for fifteen years in the Kentucky hills; three couples in their group now ride Falco. Bob C. is still riding his Catrike Road after seventy years of cycling. Alan Templin tried several assist systems before settling on the Falco for his HP Velotechnik. There are 54 more on the Customer Stories page.
Next step
Call 877-278-6323 or book a free consultation, tell us what you ride, and we will confirm the fit and the parts in five minutes. Or go straight to the f7.9 page to order.