Newbie Here

[Dakotazeb]

I've been riding e-bikes for over a year. I currently have two e-bikes by Momentum. A Transend E+ and a LaFree E+.

I have a problem with the Lafree that I hope someone on this site can help me with. I bought the bike as Demo, the dealer did not have a key for the battery and Giant/Momentum cannot provide one. I was told my only option was to drill the lock and then buy a new lock set. I have drilled the lock and can now remove the battery. However, I can't for the life of me figure out how to remove the old lock set and install the new one. Giant refuses to respond to my requests for assistance. Has anyone on this site gone through this and can provide some instructions on replacing the battery lock? Thanks for your help/

 

[RunForTheHills]

I would have taken it to a locksmith before I drilled the lock. They could have picked the lock and maybe made a key for it. You could still do that. It's possible they would have a lock cylinder that would fit. It looks like these bikes are a Giant product and the battery is still available. It is called an EnergyPak 400.

https://www.martinsbike.com/product...vFjIYizSNJYO1YSvWR8VvCaMJyMfNhO4-N7Z7yOolWe_w

 

[Dakotazeb]

Thanks for your reply. As I said, I have drilled the old lock and am able to remove the battery. I have also purchased to new lock set like the one you posted. I just don't think the instructions are specific to my bike.

 

[harryS]

Never had the pleasure of seeing a Giant LaFree, but keys are either mounted in the frame or in the battery. If this is your lock and it's in the frame, you should be able to replace it if you drilled it. There's another view where it's held in by two vertical screws.

 

[gromike]

I bought my wife at the time a LA Free in 2004. It had a 24v NiMH battery, and was a mid drive drive with a 4 speed geared hub. Much better bike than I gave it credit for. Scrapped it because a new battery was unavailable (this before I started building batteries).
Wish I would of kept it.

 

[Dakotazeb]

Here's my battery. It is not in the frame but in the rear rack.

 

[PCeBiker]

I'm just guessing, but the battery case probably needs to be opened up to get to the key cylinder from the backside to remove it.

There's probably some screws that hold the battery case together that can be accessed when the battery is removed from the carrier.

Sometimes they hide the screws under stickers or grommets or rubber/plastic plugs.

You might have a sealed battery that can't be opened, but I kinda doubt that.

 

[PCeBiker]

Here's some pictures of my broken battery bracket for reference.

You can't access the screws until the battery is removed.
(So that anyone with a screwdriver can't walk off with your battery. )

 

[Dakotazeb]

The battery is not sealed and I have it removed. I've tried taking out all the screw I can reach but can't open it up to access the locking mechanism. Please look at the picture I posted of the battery mounted on the rear rack. It's not in the frame.

 

[PCeBiker]

Keep looking for more screws underneath stickers and gromets.

The case may have "clips" molded into one half of the case with "hooks" in the other half, so it snaps together as well as being screwed?

I don't know how your battery is put together and I'm just speaking generally.

The problem with the clips is that you don't know where they are or what half of the case they're on, so you don't know where to pry on the case to release them.

It looks like you've got a sticker on the side of the battery.
Is that sticker holding the two halves of the case together?

Check along your seams for movement.

 

[PedalUma]

The lock cylinder has three numbers on it. A locksmith can not only pick the lock but can also make a new key based on those numbers. 'Oh it is a 3,6,9, let me cut you a key'. This does not need to be difficult.

 

[PCeBiker]

The lock cylinder has three numbers on it.
'. This does not need to be difficult.

Perhaps the locksmith just needs to use a bigger drill bit??

The OP needs to get the battery case opened to install a new lock cylinder.

 

[harryS]

Take the battery out. Turn it upside down and look for screws on the bottom, Might be hidden by labels/stickers or rubber plugs, The case splits in half, and you'll see the drilled out keylock screwed to one of the case halves.

Not knowing your skill level, opening a battery case can result in parts/wires jumping out, with danger of sparks flying, and prior knowledge of batteries is useful in putting it back together, BE careful.

 

[Dakotazeb]

The lock cylinder has three numbers on it. A locksmith can not only pick the lock but can also make a new key based on those numbers. 'Oh it is a 3,6,9, let me cut you a key'. This does not need to be difficult.

Sorry, but there are no numbers on the lock. I only wish it was that simple.

 

[Dakotazeb]

Take the battery out. Turn it upside down and look for screws on the bottom, Might be hidden by labels/stickers or rubber plugs, The case splits in half, and you'll see the drilled out keylock screwed to one of the case halves.

Not knowing your skill level, opening a battery case can result in parts/wires jumping out, with danger of sparks flying, and prior knowledge of batteries is useful in putting it back together, BE careful.

The lock is not in the battery.

 

[Dakotazeb]

Perhaps the locksmith just needs to use a bigger drill bit??


View attachment 206738


The OP needs to get the battery case opened to install a new lock cylinder.

The lock is drilled and I am able to open it and remove th battery with a screwdriver. No need for a locksmith to use a larger bit.

 

[Twolf1920]

If you’re still dealing with the special circle of hell that is the rear-rack battery setup on these bikes — the same one I’ve been wrestling with since 2022 — I might actually be able to help.

At this point I know damn near everything there is to know about these ridiculous contraptions, mostly because Giant apparently decided “customer support” was a fun theoretical concept rather than an actual department.

There’s a whole circus of parts involved in what you’re dealing with. You’ve got the metal mounting plate that holds the entire assembly to the rack, the plastic shroud that wraps around and hides the chaos, and then buried behind that is the lock mechanism itself — which also happens to be where the wiring harness connects to the battery.

Because apparently whoever designed this thought, “You know what would be great? Let’s make the locking system and the electrical connection dependent on the same fragile little assembly. What could possibly go wrong?”

Quite frankly, if I could get hold of whoever designed this setup and throttle them for about ten minutes (strictly for educational purposes), I probably would.

The truly maddening part is that when the bike is actually working, it rides fantastic. I genuinely love how it performs.

The problem is it only performs when the battery is making solid contact with the wiring harness — which is difficult when the rear rack has enough pivot points to qualify as a suspension bridge.

The whole assembly loves to loosen up over time, which creates just enough movement for the battery connection to start playing its favorite game: “Will I work today or will I randomly cut power and ruin your ride?”

And just to make things even more fun, there’s a computer built into the battery that needs to be flashed with firmware updates once in a while, because apparently your battery now requires software maintenance like it’s a Tesla.

So yes — as much as I love how this bike rides when it’s behaving, I can say with absolute confidence that after this experience I will probably never buy another Giant.

That said, if you’re still fighting with yours, let me know exactly where you’re stuck. I may be able to walk you through it, and depending on what you need, I might even know where to get the parts.

 

[Dakotazeb]

If you’re still dealing with the special circle of hell that is the rear-rack battery setup on these bikes — the same one I’ve been wrestling with since 2022 — I might actually be able to help.

At this point I know damn near everything there is to know about these ridiculous contraptions, mostly because Giant apparently decided “customer support” was a fun theoretical concept rather than an actual department.

There’s a whole circus of parts involved in what you’re dealing with. You’ve got the metal mounting plate that holds the entire assembly to the rack, the plastic shroud that wraps around and hides the chaos, and then buried behind that is the lock mechanism itself — which also happens to be where the wiring harness connects to the battery.

Because apparently whoever designed this thought, “You know what would be great? Let’s make the locking system and the electrical connection dependent on the same fragile little assembly. What could possibly go wrong?”

Quite frankly, if I could get hold of whoever designed this setup and throttle them for about ten minutes (strictly for educational purposes), I probably would.

The truly maddening part is that when the bike is actually working, it rides fantastic. I genuinely love how it performs.

The problem is it only performs when the battery is making solid contact with the wiring harness — which is difficult when the rear rack has enough pivot points to qualify as a suspension bridge.

The whole assembly loves to loosen up over time, which creates just enough movement for the battery connection to start playing its favorite game: “Will I work today or will I randomly cut power and ruin your ride?”

And just to make things even more fun, there’s a computer built into the battery that needs to be flashed with firmware updates once in a while, because apparently your battery now requires software maintenance like it’s a Tesla.

So yes — as much as I love how this bike rides when it’s behaving, I can say with absolute confidence that after this experience I will probably never buy another Giant.

That said, if you’re still fighting with yours, let me know exactly where you’re stuck. I may be able to walk you through it, and depending on what you need, I might even know where to get the parts.

Thanks so much for offering the assistance. My Lafree is in Arizona and I'm back in South Dakota for the summer. When I get back to Arizona I will contact you and see what can be done. I have a Momentum Transend GTS here in South Dakota. I love both bikes, how they ride and operate. The Transend has the frame mounted battery which is super easy to take out and re-install.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

The lock cylinder has three numbers on it. A locksmith can not only pick the lock but can also make a new key based on those numbers. 'Oh it is a 3,6,9, let me cut you a key'. This does not need to be difficult.

Even without numbers a good locksmith could pick it in no time. Probably make a key on the fly, the keys are basic like school locker keys. Too bad OP drilled it, no going back now.