Spares
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The spares position for the crank motor and elecrical parts of the Lafree Twist series is frankly bad. The Panasonic unit was not designed to be repaired, the main circuit board encapsulated and sealed into the right hand casing, and some other parts as sealed assemblies. Coupled with that has been Giant's reluctance to supply anything other than the drive sprocket and consumer items in the past. Now that the series has been discontinued for some while, Giant both here and at the Netherlands plant appear through extremely high part prices, obstruction and lack of supply to be actively discouraging dealers from repairing these units. Here is the current position at October 2007.
Chargers. Giant dealers can supply the somewhat unreliable Panasonic unit for approximately £120, but it's better to buy the superior Powerstream unit from the USA at less than half that price as detailed on the Charger page of this site.
Batteries. Giant have dropped the briefly available 9 Ah model and have reverted to the old 6.5 Ah design, which is sold by the dealers at about £250. This is the sole source of complete batteries, but existing ones can be recelled at lower costs to indefinitely extend their life. Details on that are on the Batteries page of this site.
Motor drive sprockets. Originally at £6, these were latterly increased to £30 by Giant UK, but they now have no more. Giant Netherlands can supply them via mainland European dealers still, but their price is staggeringly high for a 14 tooth chain sprocket, 65 euros excluding VAT and P & P. UK owners can buy them from an English speaking French dealer as detailed below:
Mme Sophie Nenner contact@velo-electro.com 01 42 81 54 68
Vélo Electro
50, rue St Georges
75009 Paris
www.velo-electro.com
@ 81 euros (£56 currently) each including VAT.
And that's it as far as new spares are concerned. Otherwise the best source is parts scavenged from existing units. Well worn and failed bikes are currently on sale on ebay and the like at quite low prices. As the most worthwhile part is the fast wearing 14 tooth motor chain drive sprocket, it's best to ensure that has further life left in it if buying an old bike or unit.
An alternative approach to the motor drive sprocket is to have an engineering company cut out and weld a 14 tooth bike sprocket outer onto the splined centre of the old sprocket. As the only estimate I obtained for this job from a cycle engineering company was about £50, and they would only entertain it as an off-season winter job, it's probably not worth it while new ones can be bought.
Chargers. Giant dealers can supply the somewhat unreliable Panasonic unit for approximately £120, but it's better to buy the superior Powerstream unit from the USA at less than half that price as detailed on the Charger page of this site.
Batteries. Giant have dropped the briefly available 9 Ah model and have reverted to the old 6.5 Ah design, which is sold by the dealers at about £250. This is the sole source of complete batteries, but existing ones can be recelled at lower costs to indefinitely extend their life. Details on that are on the Batteries page of this site.
Motor drive sprockets. Originally at £6, these were latterly increased to £30 by Giant UK, but they now have no more. Giant Netherlands can supply them via mainland European dealers still, but their price is staggeringly high for a 14 tooth chain sprocket, 65 euros excluding VAT and P & P. UK owners can buy them from an English speaking French dealer as detailed below:
Mme Sophie Nenner contact@velo-electro.com 01 42 81 54 68
Vélo Electro
50, rue St Georges
75009 Paris
www.velo-electro.com
@ 81 euros (£56 currently) each including VAT.
And that's it as far as new spares are concerned. Otherwise the best source is parts scavenged from existing units. Well worn and failed bikes are currently on sale on ebay and the like at quite low prices. As the most worthwhile part is the fast wearing 14 tooth motor chain drive sprocket, it's best to ensure that has further life left in it if buying an old bike or unit.
An alternative approach to the motor drive sprocket is to have an engineering company cut out and weld a 14 tooth bike sprocket outer onto the splined centre of the old sprocket. As the only estimate I obtained for this job from a cycle engineering company was about £50, and they would only entertain it as an off-season winter job, it's probably not worth it while new ones can be bought.
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12.10.2007
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