For a few years now, my primary scooter has been the Varla Eagle One, a high-powered electric scooter from Varla. It’s been a great scooter that covers a lot of situations for me – commuting, long-distance trips, and food delivery, to name a few. The downside is that the Varla Eagle One is an expensive scooter and probably offers more power than most people need for day-to-day commuting.
The Varla Falcon, on the other hand, is a more budget-friendly scooter with specs better suited to your average rider. And while it has less power than a high-powered electric scooter, it doesn’t mean it’s a weak scooter either. This is a scooter with a surprising amount of power and importantly, sold at a much more affordable price point.
I’ve had the pleasure of riding the Varla Falcon for a while now, putting it through its paces as I run errands with it, commute around town, and do food delivery with apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats. After putting some solid miles on the Varla Falcon, I thought it’d be worth reviewing and sharing my experience with it.
In this Varla Falcon review, we’ll take a closer look at the Varla Falcon, discuss some of the things I like about it and some of the things I don’t like about it, and consider whether this is the right scooter for you.
Varla Falcon Review – Quick Overview
Here’s a brief overview of the Varla Falcon:
- Has a 500-watt rear hub motor with a max speed of approximately 22 mph.
- Has an estimated range of about 22 miles.
- The battery is a 48V 10.4Ah lithium-ion battery.
- Max load of 265 pounds. This is a reasonably beefy scooter that can hold more weight than other budget scooters.
Pros:
- Has front and rear suspension, which helps make for a smoother and more comfortable ride.
- Uses 9-inch, air-filled tires. This helps to make for an even smoother ride, especially when compared to similar scooters that use solid tires.
- The scooter has a lot of power, which makes it possible to climb steep hills.
Cons:
- Varla estimates a range of 25 miles, but I found I got far less than that in real-world use. This can be a problem depending on your commute and the power level you use when riding.
- Uses a single set of mechanical disc brakes on the rear wheel, which gives it less stopping power than I would have liked.
My Experience With The Varla Falcon
The Varla Falcon arrives in a large box and can be assembled fairly quickly. Like with most scooters, you’ll need to assemble the stem and handlebars. Varla has a video that walks you through the setup process (linked below).
One thing I did find interesting is that the Varla Falcon doesn’t come with the brake line connected. It isn’t difficult to connect the brake line to the rear caliper, but this is an extra step that I found odd, as it doesn’t seem like it would be difficult for Varla to ship the scooter with the brake fully assembled.
Riding the Varla Falcon is a pleasant experience. Unlike your typical entry-level scooter, the Varla Falcon offers a beefier frame, air-filled tires, and full suspension. This makes for a very smooth ride. It’s great for getting around a city since it can absorb a lot of the bumps and potholes you’ll deal with when city riding.
The deck of the scooter is also big, which gives you plenty of space to stand. The scooter is also a lot taller than I expected – the same height, in fact, as my high-powered electric scooters. Being higher off the ground is nice since it makes you more visible and makes it easier to see around you.
In terms of speed, the Varla Falcon offers three power levels which give you different max speeds. In the highest power level, you can expect a max speed of about 22 mph. The middle power level gives you a max speed of around 15 mph. I felt perfectly stable riding at 20 mph or so, but if you’re a less confident rider, riding at 15 mph is plenty fast too.
The range on the Varla Falcon will vary depending on riding conditions. Varla advertises a range of about 25 miles, but based on my usage, I doubt I could get that much range. I found that if I rode 10 miles or so, the battery would drop down to half-power, which leads me to believe that somewhere between 17 and 20 miles is probably a more realistic range. This is plenty of range for regular commuting, but I did find it limiting since I often like to go on longer rides. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, as similar-priced scooters will give you a similar range, but it is something worth noting.
Varla Falcon – The Things I Like About It (And Some Things I Don’t Like About It)
There are a lot of things I like about the Varla Falcon. To start, the Varla Falcon has a lot of power for a mid-priced scooter. It’s not going to hit the same speeds as a high-powered scooter, but the acceleration and top speed are definitely more than enough for most people – much more than your typical entry-level scooter, in any event.
The Varla Falcon is also a very comfortable scooter thanks to the dual suspension, air-filled tires, and wide deck. The deck gives you plenty of standing space, while the suspension and tires help it absorb bumps and road imperfections far better than typical entry-level scooters. As a city commuter, the Varla Falcon works out very well for someone who’s willing to pay a little more for a more comfortable ride.
The speed on this scooter is also excellent. The Varla Falcon has three power levels, allowing you to get yourself to a speed that works for you. You’ll get around 22 mph of max speed in power level 3, while power level 2 maxes out at around 15 mph. These are perfect speeds for me since I don’t usually feel comfortable riding much faster than these speeds on electric scooters.
Finally, in terms of looks, this is a cool-looking scooter. The scooter also has lights below the deck, helping to give you more visibility when you’re riding at night. Of all the scooters I have, this one is definitely one of my better-looking scooters.
There are also a few notable things that I don’t like about the Varla Falcon. The two main things are the brakes and the range. When it comes to the brakes, the Varla Falcon uses a single set of mechanical disc brakes on the rear wheel. The brakes are fine, but I think with the power the Varla Falcon offers, having a dual set of brakes would have been nice.
The range is also something that I wish was better. Varla advertises about 25 miles of range on a full charge, but this likely only applies if you’re riding in a low power level on flat ground. I typically ride at the highest power level and I found that if I rode about 10 miles or so, I’d drain about half the battery. At the highest power level, you can probably expect around 17 to 20 miles of range. This is fine for most commuters, but if you’re someone that expects to do longer rides, this is something you’ll need to consider. I did notice that if I kept myself to power level 2, it could significantly increase the range, so if you’re okay riding at 15 mph or so, you’ll get a lot more battery power.
Who Is The Varla Falcon For?
I think the Varla Falcon is best suited for a commuter that is looking for a comfortable ride. With the large deck, good tires, and full suspension, it makes for a comfortable ride. If you have a commute in the 3-5 mile range, the Varla Falcon is probably ideal for you.
The Varla Falcon also works well for multi-modal transport. The stem folds up easily, and while this isn’t a lightweight scooter, it is compact enough that you can put it into your car or bring it with you on a bus or train.
I usually like to use scooters for food delivery as well and while the Varla Falcon could work fine as a food delivery vehicle, the limited range could be an issue for anyone trying to do deliveries for an extended amount of time. For me, the Varla Falcon is fine for food delivery since I only deliver for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub as a side hustle. I typically only spend an hour or so doing deliveries, so the range is good enough for me. But if you anticipate needing more range, I’d probably look for a scooter that offers more range.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category.
For someone on a budget looking for a more powerful scooter, the Varla Falcon is one I’d consider looking at. There are cheaper scooters and there are more expensive scooters out there, but both come with trade-offs in terms of ride quality or price. For around $1,000, the Varla Falcon offers solid value, great power, and a lot of nice features.
Be aware that because it has air-filled tires, it will require some maintenance. If you’re looking for a similar scooter with fewer maintenance requirements, the Varla Pegasus could make sense since that scooter uses solid tires. The trade-off, however, is a harsher ride.
I hope this Varla Falcon review was helpful to those of you looking at getting a scooter. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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