Got my Giant Lite have a couple of questions

[Minnesota]

Hi,

I just finished my whole thread of questions, but I wasn't logged in so it wouldn't save.

Anyway, I just got my Giant Lite and I am very exciting. If the weather cooperates I am hoping to get it out this weekend. I have a couple of questions regarding the battery.

Can I overcharge the battery?

According to the instructions, when the red light on the charger changes from a blinking red light to a solid red light, the battery is 80% full. How much longer should I charge it to reach 100%? Is there a way to know from the battery when I reach 100%?

On the battery, there is a meter and a push button. What is the purpose of the push button? When the red light on the charger stops blinking, the battery meter is red. Should this ever change to green?

Do I need to worry about battery memory? I don't want to hold of on charging at work for my ride home, because I can't make it roundtrip on one charge.

From what I have read on these forums, I need to charge and discharge the battery a few times to get the battery in the best shape possible. Is there an easy way to do this? I don't want to ride and ride until I get a dead battery and end up stuck someplace with a dead battery.

Also, is there anything else you think I need to know about the Giant Lite battery or the Giant Lite in general.

Thanks for all of your help.

Neil

 

[flecc]

Hello Neil

Congratulations on your new bike. If it's a charger supplied by Giant with a new bike, you can't overcharge it, just wait until the light goes out or changes to green, then unplug.

I don't know the latest chargers being supplied, but does it have a button marked Refresh or Discharge? If it does, from time to time, say every 10 full charges or so, use the button to do a full discharge. When it's completed that it will switch back to charge and fully recharge the battery.

If you don't have one of those buttons, just experiment with your journeys intil you find out the range and from time to time use up more than three quarters of that. That's good enough as a discharge for long life.

The button on the battery is for use when out and about. Press it and the number of lights tells you the state of charge, from 5 (full) to one (nearing the end). As the battery reaches it's limit, the red light on the handlebar switch starts flashing to warn you that there's only a tiny bit left, you might make half to one mile then.

There's more advice on my Twist website
.

 

[Krow]

Congratulations, Neil!

I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my Lite. Some of this advice may be obvious to the vets here, but as a newbie, I'm still learning the obvious.

My wife was kind enough to ride the heck out of it to drop the battery down to zero. Unfortunately, she was halfway up a hill with the kid in tow when it died Didn't do a lot for her faith in the technology, but I hope it helped to condition the battery. I now try to top up every night when I know I'm not going out again that day.

I have a Panasonic charger (model no NKJ018). From your description, it sounds like yours may be different. Mine blinks red when it's done. It also has a "Refresh" button that will cycle the battery. The LED on the charger turns green during a refresh cycle.

I have to admit my first couple of rides were a little disappointing. I think I was expecting complete miracles when it came to hill climbing and I was shocked when I still had to work some

Since then, I've managed my expectations and learned a little technique. My instinct on hitting a hill was to push into the pedals harder. This seems to make the motor back off on its assistance. Shift down or even just lightening up on the pedaling seems to bring in more assist. I also have gotten better at using the hub shifter to find the right gear - remember to slacken your pedalling or stop all together for a moment while shifting. My worst hill climb was when I tried to downshift halfway up the hill and not letting the hub find the lower gear.

Also, get ready to answer a lot of questions. I've been running errands around my neighborhood and I get stopped all the time. I'm still in love with the bike and I don't mind answering the questions over and over. I think the interest in e-bikes is a lot higher than some suspect, but people need to see them working in real-life to believe they could use one. The trick is that it's not existing cyclists that are very interested. It's all the folks like me that want to be riding but are put off by hard-core cycling culture (even though I'm married to a hard-core cyclist )

Now get out there and tell us how much fun you're having!

keith.

 

[danieldrough]

Twist

Hi Krow

I've had my Twist for two weeks, and have found that I've had to radically change my riding style to get the best out of it. I think its going to take quite a while longer to be cycling at maximum efficiency, but when you're having this much fun, who cares how long it takes.

Happy cycling.

 

[alanterrill]

Congratulations to those of you that are still able to buy Giant Twists - I've just bought what was probably the last one for sale in the UK, after the motor on my previous one failed. I've just refitted the seven speed gear from my old bike, and I've just been out for a test run on the 'loop' from my house -this involves a hill which rises for 400 ft over the first two miles, then some up and downs followed by a longer steep descent and then back up the valley to my house (400ft vertical rise from the bottom to my house). A good test of the gears and brakes -this time around the brakes were silent -the first two Twists I had made horrible squealing noises and were promptly returned to the shops to have Shimano Deore brakes fitted. Maybe they've improved the spec. I've also noticed there's now a holder for a small pump in the rear rack -always a problem to fit a pump with the Twists curved frame.
Yes, I'm always getting asked about the bike whenever I'm out -the last couple of times I've been up to the local corner shop (and I mean up -its so steep a hill that anyone seeing me arrive on a bike always looks to see how I've managed such a feat -most people arrive in 4 wheel drive vehicles), I've been subject to questions . The last time a woman in her 50s stood outside talking to a elderly, rather hunched, man, in his 70s or 80s, with a dog. The woman asked if it was an electric bike and when I said yes, she turned to the man and asked if it was like his -he said no, he couldn't get hold of a Giant so he had an Ezee. He'd now stopped using it, because it drove his dog mad, so he'd given it to his Grandson and now just walks with the dog!. Always nice to have a conversation about bikes, but even better when people confound your expectations.

Alan Terrill

 

[flecc]

I've also noticed there's now a holder for a small pump in the rear rack -always a problem to fit a pump with the Twists curved frame.

Mine had these lugs on the carrier ages ago Alan, but I couldn't find a British pump that fitted. Let me know if you have better luck.

he had an Ezee. He'd now stopped using it, because it drove his dog mad, so he'd given it to his Grandson and now just walks with the dog!

On one of my regular routes past a farm, there's no trouble with the Twist, but when I'm riding either the eZee Torq or Quando, the farm dog runs out or leaps a fence, snarling and trying hard to savage me, dog inches from my heel and me kicking back like mad! The eZee motors are both quiet, but there is a high pitched component which obviously drives that dog into fury.
.

 

[Minnesota]

Thanks for the info on the battery. I think I must have the same charger as Keith. Yesterday I pressed the refresh button and it completed today.

I am hoping to sneak out of work early and get it out for my first ride.

Thanks
Neil

 

[Minnesota]

I got the bike out this weekend and it was a blast. I tackled a couple of the tough hills, and it worked great.

I did have a couple of issues related to the shipping. First my battery has a small crack on the bottom of the battery near the hold that plugs into the bike. I have informed NYCE Cycle and I am hoping they will take care of me. If not, do I need to purchase a new battery, or can I use this one with the crack?

The rear wheel is a mess in terms of alignment. As the wheel spins, certain parts of the tire rub on the brakes. My short term solution was to loosen the breaks. I am hoping the NYCE will help me get that fixed as well. I have no problem taking the bike in to a local dealer. I just don't want them to take the wheel off or mess up something on the bike.

I will let you know if NYCE takes care of me or not. They seemed very nice on the phone.

Neil

 

[flecc]

The rear wheel problem may just be a combination of the tyre poorly seated on the rim and the brake slightly out of adjustment. In addition, the wheel might be a little out of true. All three possibilities are very easily corrected by the average cycle mechanic.

On the crack in the battery case, it's perfectly ok to carry on using the battery, and you may find the advice on one of my sites useful as it carries repair information on battery cases including the Twist one. Here's the link.
.

 

[Minnesota]

Thanks Flecc,

If I can't get NYCE to replace my cracked battery, I will try the suggestions on your Twist site. I rode to work today for my first time. It is 15 miles and the Twist did great with all the hills. Unfortunately the temperature dropped 40 degrees from Monday. On Monday we broke a record in Minnesota for the warmest day on record for March 27. Today it was 40 degrees and windy. I tried to conserve on my battery in case I ran out, but ultimately I had to leave it on for a good part of the ride. When I got to work two of the five lights lights on my battery were lit. I don't know how many more miles I could have gotten, but I am glad it made the full 15.

What is the difference between On and Eco on the handle bar switch. I tried both, and I couldn't tell much of a difference between the two.


Thanks
Neil

 

[nigel]

Nigel

Hi minniesota
glad your happy with your giant twist hope it helps on all those nasty hills when i had my twistlite i would always save any remaining power left for those hills because as you know the twist is good to ride with power of as for eco mode it will give you less power or help but it will increase you distance and power on it is giving you full power and less distance.NIGEL

 

[Krow]

Congrats on the commute, Neil. It's great to know you can make the whole 15 miles with the charge.

I did my first commute on the bike yesterday, too. It's just over 5 miles each way with a 1/2 mile 8% hill coming home at night. I had three bars lit when I was done. I think that means that there's 40-60% of the charge remaining.

My strategy right now is to turn off the motor on downhill portions, use Eco mode on flats and moderate uphills and save Full mode for the big hills. It gives me a little more confidence on hills to know I can dial up the assist when I really need it.

Because of the huge traffic jams around here, my total commute time is about the same as when I'm in my car. And it's lots more fun!

cheers,

keith.