Giant Road E+ 1

[sheltiedoulos]

Well, kcflyer, beware of cute young mother...

There is a popular local hill here (3.5 miles, 1250 feet climb) that I go up quite frequently.
Last year (before my ebike), I managed to pass this cute young mother on the hill (for all these years, the number of times I manage to pass other bikers on this hill can be counted in one single hand). The best thing is that she looks no more than 100 pounds and she was dragging a Burley with her toddler inside which probably have a combined weight of 50 pounds. So I managed to pass her and then rode some more on the ridge. When I looped back and descended the same hill half an hour later, I met her coming up the hill the second time. It was scary.

 

[Beefcake 4000]

Hi all,

I came across this thread and decided to join up to add my own experience. I own a Giant TCR advance which I was very happy with but commuting 35 miles a day over a pretty big hill was really taking it out of me and limited my cycling to 1-2 days a week, I have a small child that I have to drop off at nursery in the morning at 8 so getting back and getting to work for 9 (especially over the pretty grim winter we've had here in UK) was hard work.

I bought the Road-E2 as it was on a massive sale (down to £1600 from £2300), I looked at 'converting' the TCR or getting another bike to electrifiy, but hub motors don't really appeal and its only really Bafang that do strap-on mid drives, plus I didn't want cable ties and duck tape holding everything together. There are exceptions out there but the majority of converted bikes look like yard sales, bits everywhere loosely connected. At its reduced price the difference in buying a Bafang mid-drive, a decent battery pack, a charger and a controller wouldn't have left me much change for a donor bike with disc brakes.

I'm using it for commuting and more importantly to make that commute as quick as possible, so the first thing I did was a dirty de-restrict. You can unbolt the sensor and cable tie it to the chain stay and put a magnet on the pedal, it works a treat, the numbers get screwed on the display but the only number I actually care about is the time it takes door to door. I've since properly derestricted it with a Speedbox 2, which is a bit of an extravagance just to get the correct speed, but at least it will record distance properly so I can monitor servicing.

Derestricted this thing is a viable alternative to a car, which is exactly what I need it to be. My 17.5 mile single way journey takes me approx. 40 minutes (its a 30 minute journey by car) nearly regardless of weather, this morning had a vicious head wind that would have made for very slow progress but the bike ploughed through it fine. On a flat piece of road I can hold 30mph, as my commuting route is mainly 30 & 40 limits on narrow single lanes, I’m less of a chicane and far less annoying to busses and Lorries that would otherwise struggle to get past me. The notable downside to my high speed pedal commute is battery burn, 17 miles consumes 70-80% of the battery, it doesn’t bother me as I can take the charger with me in my bag but it’s worth noting for anyone wanting to do a similar thing with a longer commute, the Road E-2 does also have a smaller battery pack than the 1. The other notable downside is the brakes, I’ve never been a fan of cable discs, the TRP’s are OK, but that’s about as good as it gets, the 105 calipers on my TCR give more feel and stopping power, but then the Road-E weight twice as much and I’m invariably going much faster so its not eggs for eggs. I’ll upgrade to hydro’s at some point but other than that the bike is superb for what I’m doing and how I use it.

 

[TyrannosaurusTreks]

beefcake, with the sensor turned round I managed 40 miles with an average speed of 20mph & was left with 10% battery.
It does fly along your doing well to hold 30mph, but I rarely do the switch as I do think it will kill the battery a lot sooner & at £600 I prefer the restriction.
The hydraulic brakes are good on the e+1 especially going down hill over 40mph.
I’m a weekend cyclist so luckily don’t have to worry about a commute.

 

[Beefcake 4000]

Hi Giantbadge, I wouldn't worry too much about current draw (I'm a steam and con rod guy but work with some very smart electrical guys) I've been assured that the type of cells used should be good for repeated deep draw with no memory effect. Because I'm using the bike as a commuter I have to look at it as a financial aid, its saving me a tonne of cash so I could get a new battery every 3 months and break even, so even if it last me a year I'm still up on the deal. I'm hoping by then someone much smarter than me will a failed battery and posted a clip on youtube showing how to cut the battery box and refill it with new higher capacity cells.

She does fly but the best bit is you are still working hard, anyone who thinks riding ebikes is a cop-out really needs to spend sometime with one, I probably ride harder over the entireity of my ride than I did on the TCR, plus nuking super fit weight weenies is addictive in full commuter kit with a 5 kg back pack.

 

[TyrannosaurusTreks]

As I don’t charge mine that often so yours will probably last longer than mine then.
I agree you do work harder on a ebike, it is addictive, the battery is a lump think it’s more than my defy 4.

 

[sight-pin]

On the subject of batteries, Do you remove your battery after rides or just leave it in situ? Come to that does it make any difference anyway?

 

[proton666]

Only took mine off once to fix the rattle problem. I don't think it matters really unless you plan to store the bike unused for months.

 

[OldRoadie]

I take my battery off in the winter or when the garage gets to 45 F. or below and keep it in the house to charge and store. Now that it's warming slightly, I can leave it on the bike and charge in the garage. Speaking of the battery, did any of you notice a rattle when going over bumps or rough road from the battery mount? My shop where I purchased said the demo model has a rattle and they fixed it by sticking weather stripping foam under the battery. I thought that a bit thick, so I used duct tape, 6-7 layers to build up the base a little where the battery clicks in. That seems to work. I just wanted to see if this was a prob for everybody.

 

[proton666]

Yup. Rattled from day 1. I used .125" single sided foam tape (sticky on one side only). Silent since...

 

[OldRoadie]

I used duct tape cause it's what was handy. No more noise.

 

[OldRoadie]

On another subject, online registration with Giant of the e-bike. Has anyone done it? I was wondering if I needed warranty work done (not yet!), if registration was an issue. Or do I just go back to the shop I purchased it from and they take care of it? The reason I ask, is to complete the online registration, you need the serial number of the frame located on the bottom bracket. Well, to see the serial number there, you need to remove the cover (mud guard) over the motor and that involves removing the chain rings to access the screw on the cover! This seemed like a lot of work just to see the serial number, so if Giant registration is not an issue when claiming warranty work, I'll just leave well enough alone and go back to the shop if I need work and maybe they can deal with Giant. Anyone dealt with this issue?

 

[Woolyhatcheck]

Hi all,

I came across this thread and decided to join up to add my own experience. I own a Giant TCR advance which I was very happy with but commuting 35 miles a day over a pretty big hill was really taking it out of me and limited my cycling to 1-2 days a week, I have a small child that I have to drop off at nursery in the morning at 8 so getting back and getting to work for 9 (especially over the pretty grim winter we've had here in UK) was hard work.

I bought the Road-E2 as it was on a massive sale (down to £1600 from £2300), I looked at 'converting' the TCR or getting another bike to electrifiy, but hub motors don't really appeal and its only really Bafang that do strap-on mid drives, plus I didn't want cable ties and duck tape holding everything together. There are exceptions out there but the majority of converted bikes look like yard sales, bits everywhere loosely connected. At its reduced price the difference in buying a Bafang mid-drive, a decent battery pack, a charger and a controller wouldn't have left me much change for a donor bike with disc brakes.

I'm using it for commuting and more importantly to make that commute as quick as possible, so the first thing I did was a dirty de-restrict. You can unbolt the sensor and cable tie it to the chain stay and put a magnet on the pedal, it works a treat, the numbers get screwed on the display but the only number I actually care about is the time it takes door to door. I've since properly derestricted it with a Speedbox 2, which is a bit of an extravagance just to get the correct speed, but at least it will record distance properly so I can monitor servicing.

Derestricted this thing is a viable alternative to a car, which is exactly what I need it to be. My 17.5 mile single way journey takes me approx. 40 minutes (its a 30 minute journey by car) nearly regardless of weather, this morning had a vicious head wind that would have made for very slow progress but the bike ploughed through it fine. On a flat piece of road I can hold 30mph, as my commuting route is mainly 30 & 40 limits on narrow single lanes, I’m less of a chicane and far less annoying to busses and Lorries that would otherwise struggle to get past me. The notable downside to my high speed pedal commute is battery burn, 17 miles consumes 70-80% of the battery, it doesn’t bother me as I can take the charger with me in my bag but it’s worth noting for anyone wanting to do a similar thing with a longer commute, the Road E-2 does also have a smaller battery pack than the 1. The other notable downside is the brakes, I’ve never been a fan of cable discs, the TRP’s are OK, but that’s about as good as it gets, the 105 calipers on my TCR give more feel and stopping power, but then the Road-E weight twice as much and I’m invariably going much faster so its not eggs for eggs. I’ll upgrade to hydro’s at some point but other than that the bike is superb for what I’m doing and how I use it.

 

[Woolyhatcheck]

Hi Beefcake
I too have an e + 2 and have a very hilly commute. The trp spyres were a bit uninspiring but I changed the rotors to quality floating ones and put a 180 on the front - it makes a big difference!

 

[TyrannosaurusTreks]

On the subject of batteries, Do you remove your battery after rides or just leave it in situ? Come to that does it make any difference anyway?

I only take mine off when it is really cold, I’m not allowed to have my bike in the house.

 

[TyrannosaurusTreks]

On another subject, online registration with Giant of the e-bike. Has anyone done it? I was wondering if I needed warranty work done (not yet!), if registration was an issue. Or do I just go back to the shop I purchased it from and they take care of it? The reason I ask, is to complete the online registration, you need the serial number of the frame located on the bottom bracket. Well, to see the serial number there, you need to remove the cover (mud guard) over the motor and that involves removing the chain rings to access the screw on the cover! This seemed like a lot of work just to see the serial number, so if Giant registration is not an issue when claiming warranty work, I'll just leave well enough alone and go back to the shop if I need work and maybe they can deal with Giant. Anyone dealt with this issue?

Hi oldroadie, I’ve registered mine due to early warranty problems, I’m sure I didn’t take off all that kit to see the number.
Is it on your receipt from dealer? I will have a look tomorrow just to check.