Hello all.

[Creakyknee]

I'm a 73 yr old wrinkly. I use my leccy bike mostly for shopping within a couple of miles of home. We are near the top of a hill so wherever we go some effort is required. Always enjoyed cycling, touring and racing when young, the only way to go then. Went over the Col De L'Iseran, 2770 metres high, in the 50's. Into Italy and back along the French Riviera, saw how the other half lived.
I'm now looking for advice and information. I have a Giant Twist 2 with dud batteries. I have read lots of posts but am still unsure what to do. I would like to recell but what is the best option? A 10-15 mile trip is probably all I need although more would be acceptable of course.

 

[timidtom]

You might fancy a trip to the coffee shops of Buxton and casually drop in on the JuicyBike crowd on the Colonnade ...

 

[flecc]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Your bikes uses twin batteries of course, each containing 20 x 9 Ah NiMh size D cells in series which are still available, though the quality these days is very variable. The best ones are often very expensive, around £10 each, making recelling prohibitive, so many just buy new batteries. There are cheaper sources for 9 Ah cells online through such as ebay, but quality unknown.

With NiMh in series it's important that the cells match to prevent premature self destruction if one cell fails early. I don't know the cell formation in your packs, side by side or in columns, but they are almost certainly not tagged and mounted in soldered columns, this needing the same type of untagged cells, a special double end hammer head soldering iron and a column jig to keep them in line for the soldering together in rows. If they are in columns as I suspect, I think just buying one or two new batteries through a Giant dealer is the best bet to avoid the complications of a rebuild. Your bike will run on just one battery ok, albeit with just under half the range.
.

 

[Creakyknee]

Reply and thanks to Flecc.

Hi, welcome to the forum. Your bikes uses twin batteries of course, each containing 20 x 9 Ah NiMh size D cells in series which are still available, though the quality these days is very variable. The best ones are often very expensive, around £10 each, making recelling prohibitive, so many just buy new batteries. There are cheaper sources for 9 Ah cells online through such as ebay, but quality unknown.

With NiMh in series it's important that the cells match to prevent premature self destruction if one cell fails early. I don't know the cell formation in your packs, side by side or in columns, but they are almost certainly not tagged and mounted in soldered columns, this needing the same type of untagged cells, a special double end hammer head soldering iron and a column jig to keep them in line for the soldering together in rows. If they are in columns as I suspect, I think just buying one or two new batteries through a Giant dealer is the best bet to avoid the complications of a rebuild. Your bike will run on just one battery ok, albeit with just under half the r

 

[Creakyknee]

Hi Flecc and Timidtom, Thanks for the prompt reply and information. We have a bike/motorcycle shop in the town who stock 'Giant' bikes, although I have not seen any electric bikes there. I shall make enquiries and report availability and price in due course. Buxton is a bit far for my old legs but I may well make a trip in the car one day. Thanks again.

 

[flecc]

Some Giant dealers are "hybrid" listed, handling their e-bikes. The two nearest to your post code are at 3.8 miles and 10.1 miles away:

Roy Jervis, The Bike Shop
Chapel Street
DE5 3DL Ripley
phone: 01773 743358 | fax: 01773 512062
roy.jervis@virgin.net
www.thebikeshop.co.uk
Distance: 3.8 miles

The Bike Shop
100 -102 Monk Street
DE22 3QB Derby
phone: 01332-382227 | fax: 01332-343758
bikinguk@aol.com
thebikeshopuk.co.uk
Distance: 10.1 miles

 

[kitchenman]

Hi Creakyknee and welcome to the forum. I am, as I'm sure are others, interested in you and your bike. I am currently compiling a list of members and their bikes and anything else that people find interesting (within reason!) .. I will send you a PM (Private Message) which I have been sending to other members which takes the form of a questionaire. This includes things like, When you acquired the bike, where you bought it, rough milage you have done, a one liner to describe what you think of it (when its working!), etc ...
Thanks and once again welcome.