Low-budget but classy

[indalo]

Here's another ebay sale that I find intriguing.

Whether one believes the spiel accompanying the ad or not, I shouldn't think there's much wrong with this bike. I reckon it's worth watching for anyone who's interested in bikes up to around £700.


GIANT TWIST 2.0 ELECTRIC BIKE DOUBLE NIMH BATTERY | eBay


Its talents may be limited but it has classical styling and may also have potential for performance improvement. I note it's only on a short auction with a couple of days left.

Indalo

 

[flecc]

Not in this case Indalo. They originally produced this as the 36 volt Suede model at £600, which had battery and charger problems but otherwise ok. They then revamped it to go well upmarket, changing it to 24 volt twin batteries and doubling the price, but also adding regen which hardly worked but created considerable motor drag. A to B on their test said it was so slow one could die of boredom. As a result they failed in the market and dealers were selling them off cheaply for as little as £750 new,

That was long ago, and since then a further revision has removed the regen, greatly improved the motor and added one of the best torque sensors in the business. Now known as the Freedom and Express models, with a choice of one or two batteries, they are still quite expensive.

 

[indalo]

Aha! I didn't realise this example was one of those Flecc. I remember the reviews being less than flattering at the time although I seem to recall some chap in mainland Europe who contributed something on this forum. I thought he liked it?

Indalo

 

[flecc]

As the saying goes, there's always one!

If used always with power, in a flat area and one is happy to trundle along slowly, they coukd do the job and the quality was excellent. But the downsides were as said, plus a battery pair cost £500 NiMh or £600 lithium, at a time when other bikes used single large batteries costing around £250/£300.

 

[muckymits]

There is 2 of the later ones in the shop, but no one will look at them because of the styling. Which is a shame as they are a nice bike, having road tested one up the back lane. Needs a mod for the the chain guard but thats a Giant thing not e bike problem.