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New Electric Bike Gets 75-Mile Range: Video Review

popularmechanics.com — In March, we got the first look at the new Giant Twist Freedom DX bicycle, an electric bike that uses a cyborglike mix of muscle and machine power to propel riders as far as 75 miles on a single charge. At $2000, it's a pricey bike, but Giant is touting this ride as a cost-effective alternative for commuters upset about record gas prices.

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  • MattgUP, on 07/22/2008, -0/+13I think commuting via bike is a great idea, although many people complain about the distance. A bike like this opens up the commute to a lot of people.
    • endrest, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5Definitely! I think the largest group (no pun intended) that stands to benefit are those who are overweight. If the experience won't make someone too tired or sweat too much for a professional (read: suit-wearing) position, then they may go for this solution. Since it requires a modest physical contribution, the electric/muscle hybrid makes sense in the long run for people really seeking ways to get more physically fit.

      I could also see businesspersons, of any physical ability and age, using it more regarding the bike's 'sweat factor' reduction.

      We're gonna need a lot more bicycle parking (and especially bike lanes) in the near-future!
    • mk3k, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4I bike commute and mostly its finding a bike friendly route that can be hard. Once you do that it is just a much more relaxed ride.
    • Ramble, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2I used to bike commute, and I still do when I have need to go to places, I also ride just for fun rather a lot and the problem with commuting really is the getting changed thing. You need somewhere where you can put the bike, you need a spare set of clothes and that problem worsens with rain and you need to arrive early so you can get changed and get something to eat.
      • strangewill, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1For me the #1 issue is bike security, fix that and I'll ride my bike to way more places.
  • scecilio, on 07/23/2008, -4/+15$2000 isn't that pricey for a bicycle. Most carbon fiber road bikes cost more than that. Lightweight efficient bicycles are expensive anyways. It's certainly much cheaper than a car.
  • Absinthminded64, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5I'm still waiting on Revopower to release their "wheel."
  • MacBookForMe, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4and every day stealing in big cities at such a price?
    • 1hrSleep, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Here's hoping they release it as a standalone kit too. Then you could put it on a folding bike and bring your bike in with you.
      • cdubd, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2they sell a lot of kits like that. Bionix is just one such example. My friend here at work is getting an "EZ hub" setup from cycle 9, so there are a lot of options out there, but they are just very expensive at the moment. The battery technology is really what is holding the whole process up.
      • 1hrSleep, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0Yeah but 75 mile range is incredible. BionX has a 35km range. That's km. 15 miles, I think.
    • hobophobe, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Eh. Expect more offices to begin providing secure "parking" for their employees' and customers' bikes in the future.

      While I can understand the sentiment of this and similar comments when dealing with shifting behavior patterns let's keep in mind that if there's a problem the free market will probably provide a reasonably-priced solution, especially as the potential customer base grows.
  • WordsnCollision, on 07/23/2008, -0/+6They need to come up with the Lock Of The Future, now.
    • endrest, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1Well, if you're not concerned with the possibility of being monitored everywhere you go, put a low-jack chip in it and you could even disable it remotely while knowing its geographical location via GPS. Of course, this technology can't discount the fact that thieves can also damage, to the point of disrepair, your property.

      I'd never put a chip in any vehicle I own, but then again, it's personal _choice_.
  • SpaceDreamer, on 07/23/2008, -1/+5This is nothing new,
    you can buy kits to upgrade your own bike instead of buying an entire electric bike.
    So it's cheaper and you have the bike you want. (except for some foldable bike models)

    I recently tried a bike that had one of those BionX kits installed:
    http://www.bionx.ca/index.php?id=main&module=defau ...
    Same features (regenerative braking, several power assist modes...)
    plus an optional throttle in case you don't want to pedal at all.
    Was fun.
    • 1hrSleep, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Yeah but BionX gets like 35km per charge. This says 75. Then again, we don't know how Giant measures the 75 mile range. Since it's a pedal assisted system (as e-bikes usually are) then maybe they got 15 miles on the motor alone and then 60 miles through the cyclist. That's the great thing about these systems. You can pedal yourself and then when it gets to a steep hill or highway, gun it.

      No, wait... Jesus. That thing has TWO batteries. So, that's an extra 30 pounds compared to other e-bikes? I guess that's how they get the 75 mile range.

      But yeah, your comment's dead on. E-kits have been around forever. BionX is a comparable setup since the kits cost about $1k CAD plus a (decent) bike that will run you $300+. That will probably be my next upgrade after my drop bar conversion for my folding bike.
  • mrection, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1uh, wow! I gotsta get me one'a these!!
  • krnldmp, on 07/23/2008, -2/+5For 2000 dollars you can do a hell of a lot better than that noise.
  • RobotLeAwesome, on 07/23/2008, -1/+275 mile range takes electric bikes out of the "retarded and lazy" category and puts them into the "awesome" category.
  • speel, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2How about when I buy grocery's?
    • gordyf, on 07/23/2008, -1/+3I get groceries on my bike. It's not a problem.
    • DigitAl56K, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2You can probably find a small cart to attach.
    • wigginz, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4buy grocery's what?
  • aliensporebomb, on 07/23/2008, -4/+1Interesting concept but given that I'm an avid cyclist I'd rather do my own propelling of
    my bicycle.

    Oddly, it's a Giant too. A TCR road racer and a much nicer bike that "old klunky" here.
    • gordyf, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Not strictly disagreeing with you here, but electric bikes are meant to open up long-range bicycle commuting to everyone, and not just avid cyclists. You may not be in their target audience, but there are plenty of people who are.
  • ilistenisee, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Electric bikes and Scooters are very popular in China, and cheap. I know an electric scooter costs only ~400$. In fact, some cities in China have banned gasoline powered motorcycles. I think electric scooters have a huge potential market in the States, especially in big cities like NYC...
  • waldo21, on 07/23/2008, -0/+6Heck, if your going to pay that much, might as well go for a full blown electric scooter that has a bit more power. I'd like to try out the XM-3500li. - Lithium batteries, 60 MPH speed, range 75 miles.

    http://www.google.com/products?oe=UTF-8&q=XM-3500L ...
    • RobotLeAwesome, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2well, that's double the price.
    • rdupuy, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1you cannot take the scooter on bike paths. At least for me, that makes the scooter less attractive, because I have bike paths that can take me to work, and of course, no mixing it up with cars.

      I have an electric bike, I paid $250 to add an electric wheel to my existing bike, it helps with the commute, but its range is only 8 miles, and I end up pedaling the other 5...the other 5 now, on a very heavy bike laden with batteries and a hub motor offering resistance.....
  • skyshock1, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2I wonder how powerful the motor is? I'd like to see this thing shoot a 200 lb. person up a hill.
    • mike17032, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2It doesnt say, but I saw a $350 electric bike at Walmart with a 450 watt motor on it. I am sure its not nearly as well built, but 450 watts is no small number. In fact its more power than almost anyone is going to be able to sustain from their legs.
  • DrunkenSavior, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5You know what's even more environmental? Peddling your fat ass around yourself.
    • ElectricC0wb0y, on 07/23/2008, -1/+4I like to pedal home, but I can't sweat on my way to work. I'm trying to get a shower installed here, but they think it's only because I'm too cheap to pay for hot water at home... (what a convenient side effect)
    • rdupuy, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1Let them eat cake, right.

      The fact is, an obese person cannot make it to work on a bike, end of story, period. Too far, too hard, it isn't laziness at that point, the sheer impossibility of moving 300lbs up a hill on a bike with no muscles and no cardio vascular strength...

      They have to start somewhere, the fact is, if they get on an electric bike and commute to work everyday, they will still be dog tired...its quite the accomplishment if they stick too it, and the weight loss, and strength build up, will come, because most electric bikes, only offer an assist, they cannot take a 300lb person up a hill. They will get off the bike and do tons of walking.

  • studiocitizen, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2I bought one of Lee Iaccoca's 36 volt E-bikes when they first came out. I really liked it, but was always having battery problems. It wouldn't hold a charge. They replaced it under warranty but the new battery lasted about six months, and soon I was only getting five miles per charge. Then E-bike went out of business and I couldn't get parts or service, so I've got an $1800 bike I can't ride. You can't really use an electric bike as a regular bike, either. Sure, you can pedal, but they weigh 20 or 30 pounds more (there's a big electric motor in the hub of the back wheel) so they are too heavy to ride without the electric assist. I still commute to work by bicycle, but it's a standard 21 speed (Chinese) Diamondback. Until they come out with a new generation of batteries, I'm holding off on the electric bike stuff.
    • mrgarci1, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0Sealed lead acid batteries only have a useful life of about 6 months in an ebike application, and these are the type typically included with e-bike kits and cheaper e-bikes. One of the considerations to take into account when buying/building one, but something that the salesman won't tell you.
    • rdupuy, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1I have 13 miles to work. They were honest when they sold me the electric wheel. They said for a 150 lb rider, going on flats, it could go 20 miles.

      I'm a 230lb rider, going up and down hills. I rode 13 miles each way to work.
      The battery gave out after about 8 miles...after that, its pedal a remarkably heavy bike. 38 lbs of batteries and wheel...plus my weight, plus its a mountain bike, doesn't have road tires....plus it has 8 ft. pontoons on each side...I know the last bit is absurd, but its true, I have to cross a river on my commute.

      The workout was phenomenal...in fact too much, I was exhausted. 2 hours total (including river crossing)...2 hours each way!

      And I'm a lazy fat ass, because I have an electric assist, according to some cyclists.

      Well....I hope as I continue to work out that I don't become like one of those cyclists.

  • mike17032, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1If you have that far to go to work, who the ***** wants to spend half the day on a bike doing it? Yes we all know some of you CA idiots sit in traffic the whole way and a bike is faster, but for most of the US thats not the case (because we actually have road systems that work).
    • cdubd, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Wow.... a lot of hostility there. I am not sure the road systems are to blame as much as the rapid increase in population. California has no real reliable or quick public transportation, so it is very common that every last person that lives here gets a car if they can afford one. So you are then faced with the problem of a freeway full of cars that can seat 5 or more people, but they are all being used by a single person. A lot of problems are compounded due to this, but the ridiculous gas prices are causing a lot of people to resort to other means of transportation, especially biking and or riding motorcycles or mopeds.
    • mrgarci1, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0I have to go 1 mile to work. Way too far to walk in the summer (I'm in phoenix), but a great distance to ride a bike, and an even better distance to ride an electric bike. Some people choose to actually live close to their jobs and not spend ANY money on commuting every day, regardless of the state of the road systems.
      • stanley2113, on 07/25/2008, -0/+0Do those people move every time they change jobs?
  • n8f8, on 07/23/2008, -2/+1Top Speed? What is it? Who would care about range is it only goes 20MPH.
    • cdubd, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1The legal speed limit in certain areas is 20 mph in the bike lane, any faster and you would have to register it like any other vehicle.
  • gaoshan, on 07/23/2008, -3/+1Electric bikes are so common in China there are probably more of them on the roads than there are people in the U.S. (they are fun to ride, quiet and have good range). And the average model costs less than $200. Kind of makes a $2,000 bike look ridiculous.

    Like buying a diamond encrusted bottle of premium water when you can get better out of the tap.
    • rdupuy, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1don't tell me Chinese bikes are better...Chinese make garbage. They spit on their customers. They would put on a faulty brake that will kill you to save a nickel.

      I know my bike is a generic chinese, the pads rub off on the wheel, rather than stop it...well thats just the start, I had to replace the derailleur, the brakes, the seat, and the shifter, just to get it running.

      Yes, most bikes are made in China, but those $200 bikes, are not good ones.


  • zmigliozzi, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Not even worth it, get a regular gas moped or scooter just as good mpg and probably cheaper.
  • beauley, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1There have been many attempts to design an electric powered vehicle for as long as the the internal combustion engine has been around. Unfortunately, battery power was never a formidable contender to the present internal combustion engine, but it looks as though the future looks more pronising.
    http://www.gomestic.com/Consumer-Information/The-E ...
    The Electric Vehicle: is It the Answer?
  • saveafrica, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1great idea!
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