Own a Catrike, TerraTrike, ICE, HP Velotechnik, Greenspeed or AZUB? A Bacchetta or Rans? A tandem? The Falco f7.9 fits them all. Call 877-278-6323 or book a free consultation and we will tell you in five minutes whether yours is a straight fit.
Keep the machine you love. Add the motor it should have had.
You do not need a new trike. The one you already own, that fits you and that you trust, can become an electric trike in an afternoon. The Falco f7.9 is a complete rear wheel with a 750 W five-phase motor, controller, torque sensor and speed sensor built into the hub. It drops into a standard 135 mm rear drop-out, keeps your gears, adds a throttle and reverse, and carries a five-year motor warranty. Owners of every major recumbent brand have done it. Their stories are below.
Will it fit? The two-minute check
Measure the inside width of your rear drop-outs (the gap the rear axle sits in). Then check these five points.
- Rear drop-out spacing of 135 mm (the mountain-bike standard). This covers most recumbent trikes and bikes built since the mid-1990s. How to measure it.
- Rear wheel size from 16 inch to 29 inch / 700c. The f7.9 is built into the size you tell us.
- Gears: any 1- to 11-speed cassette. You keep your existing chainrings, derailleurs and shifters.
- Brakes: disc or rim, either works. Regenerative braking is built in.
- Thru-axle frames (some newer Catrikes and others) need a drop-out conversion. We have done many; here is the guide.
Not sure? Send a photo of your rear drop-outs to info@falcoemotors.com with your make, model and year. We will get back to you quickly.
Trikes, by brand
Every brand below sells a factory e-assist option, and it is a Bosch or Shimano mid-drive. The Falco is different: it goes in the wheel, not the cranks, so nothing pushes through your chain and gears, you keep your front gears, you get a throttle and reverse, and the motor is silent. The full comparison is on the Falco vs Bosch page.
Catrike
Our most common conversion. Road, Villager, Dumont, Expedition and Pocket have all been fitted.
- Bob C., Catrike Road: seventy years of cycling and still riding, now with a Falco and an 11-speed AXS drivetrain.
- Randy and Kim, Catrike Dumont: forty years of riding, finally shared as a couple.
- Villager conversion guide and Dumont step by step.
- Falco vs the Catrike eCAT (Bosch) kit.
- Lisbon Rail to Trail, an Ohio Catrike dealer, fits Falco on every Catrike they electrify.
Fit note: newer Catrikes with a thru-axle rear need the drop-out conversion above. Tell us your model year.
TerraTrike
Rambler and EVO owners ride Falco, and other TerraTrike models fit the same way. TerraTrike offered the Falco as a factory option for several years; we still support every one of those trikes and fit new ones regularly.
- Weston T., TerraTrike Rambler: living with a neurological condition, he rode 150 miles from Houston to Austin on his f7.9.
- Dr. Doreen Scott, TerraTrike: given a Bosch replacement, she asked for her Falco back. We sent her a new one.
ICE Trikes
Sprint, Sprint X, Adventure and Adventure HD. ICE's own option is Shimano STEPS, a mid-drive whose motor is replaced rather than repaired when it fails. The Falco is serviceable, adds a throttle, and does not wear your chain.
- Susan, 78, ICE Sprint X: a retired veteran and climber who wanted the wind back.
- ICE Adventure HD conversion guide: fits the standard 135 mm drop-outs with no frame change.
- Why Falco for ICE trikes.
Fit note: some ICE frames use an offset rear triangle for a non-dished wheel. Tell us the model and we build the wheel to suit.
HP Velotechnik
Scorpion and Scorpion FS, 20 and 26 inch. The Scorpion FS with its rear suspension and a Falco in the rear wheel is one of the most comfortable electric trikes there is.
- Alan Templin, HP Velotechnik: a lifelong cyclist who has owned several assist systems and explains why he chose the Falco for his HP.
- Scorpion FS conversion done by Industrial Bicycles in Dearborn, Michigan.
Greenspeed
GT20, GTO, Magnum, the Anura delta and the GTT5 tandem trike. Greenspeed's 20-inch wheels suit the Falco well: the motor sits low and the trike stays planted.
- Brian Zupke, Greenspeed GT20: a four-page owner review.
- Brant and Eileen, Greenspeed GTT5 tandem trike: five years on Falco, including a cycling tour of five Japanese islands at 78 and 64.
- Dr. Roger Fischer, Greenspeed Magnum: 100 miles in a day at 78, and 91 miles on one charge at assist level 1.
Fit note: some Greenspeed frames use an offset rear triangle. Tell us the model.
AZUB
Ti-Fly 20, Ti-Fly 26, Ti-Fly X, TRIcon 20 and 26, T-Tris 26, Fat, and the Six and Max two-wheelers. AZUB owners have been fitting Falco wheels since 2018, often to replace a BionX or a mid-drive.
- AZUB's suspension trikes use interchangeable drop-outs. A 135 mm drop-out set from AZUB makes the Falco a direct fit; tell us which one you have and we will confirm.
- Pairing a Falco with a Pinion gearbox? Call us first; AZUB owners have asked, and the answer depends on the model.
- We would love to publish an AZUB owner story with photos. If that is you, write to us.
Other trikes
Sun Seeker, KMX, Trident, Steintrikes, Mooncool, Performer, Utah Trikes builds and the older WizWheelz. If it has a 135 mm rear drop-out and a wheel between 16 and 29 inches, it fits. If it does not, call us anyway; we have a conversion for most of the rest.
- Tadpole and delta trikes with Falco.
- Wally Hertler: 915 miles in 14 days on a Falco trike.
- Carlos: from brain surgery to 4,000 miles a year.
Two-wheel recumbents
Bacchetta (Giro, Strada, Corsa), Rans (Stratus, V-Rex, Rocket), Cruzbike, Lightning, Easy Racers, Barcroft, HP Velotechnik Streetmachine and Grasshopper, AZUB Six and Max. The same f7.9 wheel goes in the back. On a long-wheelbase recumbent the battery usually mounts under the seat or on the rear rack; on a short-wheelbase bike, on the main tube. We will tell you which holder to order.
- Adding electric assist to a recumbent: what is in the kit and how it goes on.
- Bacchetta owners moving to an AZUB Max or another frame: the wheel moves with you as long as the new frame is 135 mm.
Tandems
Two riders, one motor, and the mid-drives cannot do it well because they sit at one rider's cranks. A 750 W wheel assists both riders equally, and the torque sensor still responds to how hard you both pedal. Rans, Cannondale, Santana, Co-Motion, Barcroft and Greenspeed tandem owners ride Falco, some of them for many years and many thousands of miles.
- David and Rose Zimmer, Rans recumbent tandem: fifteen years of tandem riding in the Kentucky hills; three couples in their group now ride Falco.
- Kent, Rans tandem: 370 lb loaded, hills that used to be 4 mph in the granny gear, now keeping up with the group.
- Brant and Eileen, Greenspeed GTT5 tandem trike.
- Electric tandem bikes: how it works and what to expect.
Tandem notes: ask for a 40-spoke wheel build for the extra load. Older Santana and some other tandems use 140 mm spacing; call us before ordering.
Handcycles
A hand-powered trike asks a lot of the upper body. A Falco wheel with the throttle and a low assist level makes long rides and rough ground possible again.
- Dr. Bruce Howerton: a quadriplegic exploring 140 acres of farmland on a Falco-powered handcycle.
- Jim, 73: post-polio, tried three motor systems on his hand trike before the Falco.
Why the wheel, not the cranks
| Falco f7.9 (in the wheel) | Bosch / Shimano mid-drive | |
|---|---|---|
| Keep your front gears | Yes | No |
| Throttle and reverse | Yes | No |
| Power | 750 W, 48 V | 250 to 350 W, 36 V |
| Wear on chain and cassette | None from the motor | Motor drives the chain |
| Noise | Silent | Audible |
| Motor warranty | 5 years | 2 years |
| Works on a tandem | Yes, assists both riders | Poorly |
Full comparison, with videos: Falco vs Bosch.
What you get, and what it costs
The Falco f7.9 comes as a complete built wheel in your size, a 48 V 672 Wh lithium battery with charger and holder, a thumb throttle and a torque-arm kit. Add a wired console or the all-in-one +/- control, and the Falco Flash app if you want to fine-tune from your phone. Range is up to 100 miles at assist level 1 and about 70 at level 3. The current price is on the product page; it is the same kit that powers our own Three Wheels of Magic trike.
How to order
- Check the fit with the two-minute check above, or send us a photo of your drop-outs.
- Talk to us. Call 877-278-6323 or book a free consultation. We confirm the wheel size, battery holder and control for your machine.
- Order the f7.9 on the product page, or we send you a link.
- Install it yourself in about an hour with the guides in the Learning Center, or through one of our dealers.
Ready to talk it through? Call 877-278-6323, book a free consultation, or read the FAQs. More owner stories, 54 of them, are on the Customer Stories page.