2023 FUELL Flluid 2S Review

The FUELL team made waves in 2019 with the Flluid 1, and now they've raised the bar with the 2S! Engineered by the legendary Erik Buell, this premium electric bike combines high performance with top-tier utility, and looks beautiful while doing it. We were blown away by the prototypes for the fully funded IndieGOGO campaign and can't wait to see the finalized versions! Stay tuned for a full written review, and in the meantime check out our featured video exploring both 2S and 3S prototype models.

Video Review

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Written Review

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Introduction:

Ladies and Gentlemen, hold onto your helmets because we're about to take a ride into the future with the FUELL Flluid 2S! Imagine you're in a sci-fi movie, cruising the cityscape on your ultra-modern, tech-laden Ebike. No, this isn't a Star Trek episode - it's a reality with the FUELL 2S. At $4,200, it may not be the cheapest ride in the galaxy, but it's worth every penny. Let's take a warp-speed tour of this futuristic beast! Another note before we dive into it, we will be covering both the 2S and 3S in this review. If you’re interested in one or the other, you can use the chapters to jump to either bike. They are virtually identical except for the step-through frame design, and one battery on the 3S, as opposed to the mid-step frame and dual battery on the 2S. With that being said, let’s jump into it!

Motor:

The FUELL 2S is powered by the mid-drive VALEO Cycle-E motor, offering a nominal output of 750W and a torque of 130Nm. It's like having your personal warp drive, ready to teleport you to speeds up to 28 mph. The massive amount of torque and peak wattage of upwards of 1,200W here was so much fun! I see why they went with a carbon belt because this motor is a real chain snapper! Now, we were reviewing the prototypes, so not the final production version, and although the motor was a bit louder on these units, they said the final version will be much quieter and on par with other mid-drive motors in the industry.

Battery:

The FUELL 2S comes with two removable batteries with a total capacity of 2,000Wh, which is kind of insane to say out loud. Like when you read it you’re like “Oh, that’s neat!”, but when you say it out loud it’s like..oh man that’s a lot of juice! In low assist mode, you can travel up to 225 miles or approximately 212,835 smoots. In max assist mode, you can still cover a staggering 115 miles, perfect for those quick interstellar commutes. The Flluid 3S comes with exactly half the range, so 106,417 smoots for those that want scientifically accurate measurements.

Frame:

The frame is crafted from a sturdy yet lightweight aluminum alloy, reminiscent of the hull of a sleek spaceship. It is a bigger bike, with a pretty large frame. It will launch in only one size, but it will accommodate a large array of riders all the same. It looks a lot heavier than it is too! With both batteries removed it was easy to lift, and since that’s probably how you’d transport it anyways, this is still a reasonably portable bike if you have the space for it. One thing that just doesn’t come across with a video review is how stable the frame felt at high speeds. Erik Buell is known for creating some of the most stable and enjoyable Motorcycles in the world, and it’s awesome to see he brought that design philosophy over to the FUELL line of Ebikes.

Suspension:

With a front suspension offering 120mm travel, the ride is as smooth as a starship gliding through space. The larger balloon ties are Pirelli Cycl-E 27.5" tires, and they offer the kind of traction and durability you'd want when landing on an alien planet or simply cruising the city streets. They also have puncture protection and sidewall reflective stripes, which is an excellent night-time safety feature. There is plenty of space with the fenders to swap these tires out for a more aggressive, off-road tread, and since it’s a mid-drive motor, you won’t have to worry about changing out the tire for a rear hub, which as anyone who has done it before can tell you, is not a fun time. The saddle is a Fuell-branded Velo saddle, and there really wasn’t anything special about them, but they fit me well, and that’s all you can ask of a saddle.

Drivetrain:

The FUELL 2S features an integrated automatic 7-speed gearbox that makes shifting as seamless as you can imagine. There are 4 modes, Off, which gives you no assist (like the name implies), Eco (which gives you a smaller amount of assist), Turbo (which gives you the most acceleration and assistance), and Predictive, which predicts the power you need for the tye of riding you’re doing, and will automatically shift for you. The other 3 modes can also be put in manual mode, but I found the automatic shifting was pretty spot on on the 2S. The Gates Carbon Beltdrive ensures a quiet and smooth ride, just like a star cruiser on a reconnaissance mission. It has a groove down the middle to keep it on track, which lends itself to a sleeker design, since there isn’t a need for an additional pulley, or belt guide.

Brakes:

With Tektro HD-E 350 brakes and 180mm disks on both the front and rear, this bike felt super reliable in the stopping department. Definitely need hydraulic brakes on here, and glad to see they didn’t skimp in the brake department. Even bombing that hill and hitting speeds of 44 MPH, the brakes brought it to a stop very controlled and made me feel just that much more comfortable hitting those speeds, knowing I could grind to a halt if needed. Another aspect of the safe-feeling vibes is the locking grips, which are definitely the way to go on a bike like this.

Lights and Display:

The Roxim Z4E Pro lights offer 900 lumens of ultra-bright and ultra-wide illumination, which also comes with a high and low beam button on the left-hand side of the handlebars. This is definitely something you’d feel comfortable being your sole source of illumination if you wanted to do a little night riding. The 2.3-inch display provides key stats such as speed, distance, battery capacity, and more, similar to a spaceship's control panel, but it also has the ability to plug directly into your phone to get diagnostic data, similar to taking your car into Auto Zone to plug it into that fancy computer-thingy. No confusing error codes here, only actionable data that actually matters. Such a cool feature! I wish more Ebike companies started doing this. It comes with a rack and fenders, with integrated rear light, so this is an excellent choice for those seeking out a commuter Ebike.

Use Case:

There are a wide variety of use cases for the FUELL bikes, and it’s really only limited by your imagination. FUELL wants this to be a car replacement, and with features like this, it definitely seems like it could do that for a majority of your car-based activities. This is a bike that can handle some off-road terrain, and absolutely glide up steep hills, so if your commute requires you to get a bike that can tackle either of those, the FUELL bikes can definitely do that. Again, commuting is the easiest use case to point out, but there are many others that could be accomplished with this Ebike easily.

Conclusion:

In the universe of Ebikes, the FUELL Flluid 2S is the Starship Enterprise – powerful, high-tech, and ready to explore new frontiers. Whether you're commuting to work or embarking on an intergalactic adventure, this Ebike is the perfect companion. So gear up, engage warp speed, and boldly go where no rider has gone before! And while you're here, compare these Ebikes to other bikes, use our advanced compare tool, and all that jazz. Thanks for riding with us, and we’ll catch ya, on the next one.