TyrannosaurusTreks
Formerly known as Giantbadge
- Location
- Somerset
Picking up the bike tomorrow
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proton666
Active Member
- Location
- The California Abyss
Good luck. Third times a charm....
TyrannosaurusTreks
Formerly known as Giantbadge
- Location
- Somerset
Well got the bike this afternoon, bit surprised to see exactly the same fork in alloy as well.
Was this a keep me happy & pretend a bespoke fork was being made?.
The shop didn’t take any pictures because they were the same size & shape, they are going to try to get a spec sheet from giant on the changes?.
Took it for a quick 10 miles seemed ok.
The future of this fork hangs in the balance I suppose, if it goes again they can keep the bike but knowing my luck they will snap off & send me down the road.
Ridiculous waste of my time I feel.
proton666
Active Member
- Location
- The California Abyss
Hmmmm. Well the fact the mechanic who installed it couldn’t see anything different about it says something anyway. He has certainly seen your fork enough times now to be able to detect any obvious modifications! Thanks for the photos anyway. Hope it hangs together for you.
sheltiedoulos
Regular
Perhaps the fact that the fork has crossed the Pacific on a slow boat, it got blessed by Poseidon (or Mazu). So it is all good. 
BTW, do you guys swap out factory tires/tubes with punctual resistant tire/tube like Gator skin?
Looks like a bear to patch the tube on this bike.
BTW, do you guys swap out factory tires/tubes with punctual resistant tire/tube like Gator skin?
Looks like a bear to patch the tube on this bike.
proton666
Active Member
- Location
- The California Abyss
Not me. While I'm not looking forward to that first flat on this bike I would rather deal with an on road tube swap (something I have done hundreds of times) rather than a sealant / slime etc. (getting the disk rotor re-centered is the only real problem I can see and there is a simple trick for that). I rode Gators for a year once and they didn't do much for me. Having said that I know riders who love gator skin and others who only use sealants so I say go with what you are comfortable with.
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TyrannosaurusTreks
Formerly known as Giantbadge
- Location
- Somerset
I have just found this picture in my spam box, the mechanic took them for me, looks like they have lengthened the stem new for on the left
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proton666
Active Member
- Location
- The California Abyss
Well hmmmmm again. May just be wishful thinking but I agree. Looks like the taper at the fork end is a little longer on the new one.
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kcflyer1957
Regular
I have Schwalbe Marathons and run a wider tire because I really enjoy riding on gravel. Made it about 20 miles on gravel with the old tires before they lost it. That ride was at night in the middle of nowhere...it was a group ride called the "Lunar Kanza" and was part of the route used in the Dirty Kanza. I think the ride is excellent on asphalt as well.
TyrannosaurusTreks
Formerly known as Giantbadge
- Location
- Somerset
Thought I better get some insurance & best I could find was assetsure at £142.
Most were coming in at £220.
Most were coming in at £220.
That's quite good compared to mine, £172 i think it was in the end with no bells an whistles included (personal stuff)
Very interesting thread guys. I'm a very experienced cyclist with a lot of miles in the legs, but my 13 mile daily commute into London really doesn't agree with my knees (more specifically the start/stopping from all the traffic lights) so I'm considering going down the ebike route.
For me riding at a decent speed (up to 40km/h) is fine, but what seems to kill my knees is the constant start/stopping. On a normal commute I can have as many as 30 red lights.
I've been looking at both the E+2 Pro 2018 and the Fast Road 2018. I am concerned about spending too much on an E bike and then in for or five years not being able to replace the battery, which is why the Fast Road appeals due to being slightly cheaper, but at the same time the lower battery capacity of the FastRoad is off putting. As someone without a car my bikes are my main mode of getting around. After riding too and from work my knees are normally pretty sore (they actually hurt 24/7), so the ebike would also potentially open up other possibilities for me in the evening and on weekends.
I have spoken to some local stores and the only bike available for a test ride is last year's E+2 in a medium (I would be buying a small), so not exactly ideal. Hence my looking for any input that might help.
For day-to-day commuting (not particularly hilly, but a lot of start/stopping) what sort of range would I expect and would an ebike help in terms of taking the strain off my knees as I pull away from lights?
Also, I have seen that the 2017 Fast Road E+2 is available for a discount (and available in small). I get the impression that spec-wise it is a step down from the 2018 versions (Tiagra gears, etc), but obviously that could be a good option, although some of the comments on my thread about fork issues are worrying. I'm assuming (maybe wrongly) that the 2018 bikes are likely to be improved on that front.
For me riding at a decent speed (up to 40km/h) is fine, but what seems to kill my knees is the constant start/stopping. On a normal commute I can have as many as 30 red lights.
I've been looking at both the E+2 Pro 2018 and the Fast Road 2018. I am concerned about spending too much on an E bike and then in for or five years not being able to replace the battery, which is why the Fast Road appeals due to being slightly cheaper, but at the same time the lower battery capacity of the FastRoad is off putting. As someone without a car my bikes are my main mode of getting around. After riding too and from work my knees are normally pretty sore (they actually hurt 24/7), so the ebike would also potentially open up other possibilities for me in the evening and on weekends.
I have spoken to some local stores and the only bike available for a test ride is last year's E+2 in a medium (I would be buying a small), so not exactly ideal. Hence my looking for any input that might help.
For day-to-day commuting (not particularly hilly, but a lot of start/stopping) what sort of range would I expect and would an ebike help in terms of taking the strain off my knees as I pull away from lights?
Also, I have seen that the 2017 Fast Road E+2 is available for a discount (and available in small). I get the impression that spec-wise it is a step down from the 2018 versions (Tiagra gears, etc), but obviously that could be a good option, although some of the comments on my thread about fork issues are worrying. I'm assuming (maybe wrongly) that the 2018 bikes are likely to be improved on that front.
proton666
Active Member
- Location
- The California Abyss
First welcome. I have 45 years of competitive and recreational cycling in me and my poor legs are showing the strain too. Without the Road-E many of the rides I use to enjoy would be to painful to consider. With it, it feels like the good old days.
But to your points, the Road-e is mid drive, peddle assist so from a full stop a fair bit of leg is needed to engage to motor. But with the middle level of assist you will get a big boost simply by applying the weight of your body to the peddles. Keep in mind that the "Q factor" (the distance between the peddles also called stance width) is kinda nuts on mid drive e-bikes. My Road-e peddles are a good 3" further apart compared to my Cervelo R3. Some riders have no issues with Q factor but for me this is a big challenge because I switch between the two bikes a lot. My best advices is to find a dealer who has one in your size and take it out and do 10 or 20 stop and goes.
The Road-e is a lot of cash to lay out for a commuter (or for a good quality road bike for that matter) and the components on the bike are not at the level one would expect for the price. Having said that, I have found no issue with the components performance or durability (but to be fair it's early days). Personally I would worry less about components and more about fit and performance ( as in range, boost options, size and comfort in riding position). As a commuter I would find the drops a pain and having to shell out even more money for a rack and mud guards would make me think twice about the Road-e.
True the range of the Road-e is a strong point but your commute is short so unless you plan to use it in other ways it could be money better spent elsewhere. As you have probably read on this thread, range is a difficult thing to pin down. But I would expect to get at least four or five trips out of a charge assuming the middle level of assistance and that your commute is 13 miles round trip. But this could be either over or under optimistic depending on a lot of factors.
And have you tried to pick up the Road-e?? If you have to hop a curb or go up stairs or otherwise pick it up this bike is a beast! So give some thought to every aspect of how you will use it during a typical commute.
We are all biting our nails a bit about the fork thing but Giant has a good reputation about such things so I hope this will be resolved one way or another soon.
I have a friend who put a front wheel e-drive on his Brompton folder (a custom hack right now but I hear Brompton will be offering a very similar set-up soon). He says it gets about 35 to 45 miles to a charge, it weighs less than half of what the Road-e weighs, he can take it on the train and folds it up and takes it right into the office with him (no parking anxiety). And since this is a wheel drive, very little to no effort is needed to engage the drive.
But to your points, the Road-e is mid drive, peddle assist so from a full stop a fair bit of leg is needed to engage to motor. But with the middle level of assist you will get a big boost simply by applying the weight of your body to the peddles. Keep in mind that the "Q factor" (the distance between the peddles also called stance width) is kinda nuts on mid drive e-bikes. My Road-e peddles are a good 3" further apart compared to my Cervelo R3. Some riders have no issues with Q factor but for me this is a big challenge because I switch between the two bikes a lot. My best advices is to find a dealer who has one in your size and take it out and do 10 or 20 stop and goes.
The Road-e is a lot of cash to lay out for a commuter (or for a good quality road bike for that matter) and the components on the bike are not at the level one would expect for the price. Having said that, I have found no issue with the components performance or durability (but to be fair it's early days). Personally I would worry less about components and more about fit and performance ( as in range, boost options, size and comfort in riding position). As a commuter I would find the drops a pain and having to shell out even more money for a rack and mud guards would make me think twice about the Road-e.
True the range of the Road-e is a strong point but your commute is short so unless you plan to use it in other ways it could be money better spent elsewhere. As you have probably read on this thread, range is a difficult thing to pin down. But I would expect to get at least four or five trips out of a charge assuming the middle level of assistance and that your commute is 13 miles round trip. But this could be either over or under optimistic depending on a lot of factors.
And have you tried to pick up the Road-e?? If you have to hop a curb or go up stairs or otherwise pick it up this bike is a beast! So give some thought to every aspect of how you will use it during a typical commute.
We are all biting our nails a bit about the fork thing but Giant has a good reputation about such things so I hope this will be resolved one way or another soon.
I have a friend who put a front wheel e-drive on his Brompton folder (a custom hack right now but I hear Brompton will be offering a very similar set-up soon). He says it gets about 35 to 45 miles to a charge, it weighs less than half of what the Road-e weighs, he can take it on the train and folds it up and takes it right into the office with him (no parking anxiety). And since this is a wheel drive, very little to no effort is needed to engage the drive.
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TyrannosaurusTreks
Formerly known as Giantbadge
- Location
- Somerset
Squired.The 2017 road E+2 at £1499 has the 400 wh battery which I’m not sure how long it would last compared to a 500wh on our E+1, I have managed over 100miles on a charge using mainly eco mode on mostly flat road, but average a good 70-80 miles on mixture of elevations.
The fork issue I have had has been painful but hopefully now has been resolved
the 2018 model has carbon forks & the frame looks a little different.Regarding replacing batteries pail rider would be best to answer this.
I’ve not seen a 2017 fast road E avalible only a 2018?
Here are spec’s for all 2018 models
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/bikes-road-eplus-pro-2018
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/bikes-fastroad-eplus-2018
Regards riding, pulling away from lights is great especially if in power mode & all round riding is fun I look forward to hills knowing they won’t kill me & I still get a good work out.
The hardest part I think is the 15mph limit, it takes a bit of getting use to when you can ride faster on the flat but when approaching the hill your sort of waiting for the bike to slow down before the assist cuts in.
Hard to explain but you get use to it, try to get a test ride first.
