Giant Lafree E+2 and E+1 I have owned both models!!!!

[TaraBara]

I just purchased the 2019 Lafree E + 2. I love this bike so much. After not riding a bike for 15 years I took it out yesterday. I rode 17.5 miles. The bike was amazing. I couldn't believe I could get up hills and keep up with my hubby. If anyone has questions about this electric bicycle let me know. There is very little information about the bike out there.

Just an update 7/10/22. After two seasons in 2019 and 2020.... I traded up on my Lafree E+2 to the Lafree E+1. I went with a gates belt drive. I got tired of chain drop and my upper gears constantly switching back and forth between gears. My Giant dealer told me I ride more aggressively than the bike was intended for. Since the switch to the E+1 at the end of summer in 2020 I have no issues and it has been a real dream come true to have 0 issues on a ride. I highly recommend a Gates belt drive its flawless silent maintenance free riding.

 

[XyloSesame]

My wife absolutely loves her Gates-drive E+1

 

[CSH]

Xylo,
Can you elaborate more on the La Free 1.
There is very little info out there.
My wife & I are looking into that one.

Craig

 

[TaraBara]

I own the Lafree E+2. The biggest difference between the two bikes is the belt drive. Belt drives last longer but can be more costly to repair if there is an issue. Everything else about the bikes are the same. The motor is so quiet you can't hear it. The pedal assist is smooth and it knows how much help you need based on how you pedal. On the highest pedal assist you can go 45 miles no problem. The bike goes 20 mph and the PAS will not help you beyond that. It's plenty fast for me. It breezes up hills. I've never struggled yet. The bike is beautiful and upright seat position. Wind is never a factor. The 2.5in bike tires make rail trail rides a joy. It's a very comfortable bike. You would have no complaints. I challenge anyone to find a belt drive bicycle for less money.

 

[Marci jo]

I own the Lafree E+2. The biggest difference between the two bikes is the belt drive. Belt drives last longer but can be more costly to repair if there is an issue. Everything else about the bikes are the same. The motor is so quiet you can't hear it. The pedal assist is smooth and it knows how much help you need based on how you pedal. On the highest pedal assist you can go 45 miles no problem. The bike goes 20 mph and the PAS will not help you beyond that. It's plenty fast for me. It breezes up hills. I've never struggled yet. The bike is beautiful and upright seat position. Wind is never a factor. The 2.5in bike tires make rail trail rides a joy. It's a very comfortable bike. You would have no complaints. I challenge anyone to find a belt drive bicycle for less money.

Congrats on the new bike!
And over 17 miles after not cycling for many years. Way to go!
Ebikes are so amazing. I love that I'm not exhausted after hilly, long, or windy ride. Sometimes I deliberately seek out hills just to zoom up them effortlessly.

 

[TaraBara]

Congrats on the new bike!
And over 17 miles after not cycling for many years. Way to go!
Ebikes are so amazing. I love that I'm not exhausted after hilly, long, or windy ride. Sometimes I deliberately seek out hills just to zoom up them effortlessly.

Today I rode 40 miles. My dairy aire is SORE!!! But I did it!!!! There is a spiral bike ramp that the city spent a million dollars building. It's like 4 spirals high.... I whiz up that 15 miles an hour. Makes my guy a little salty but I kinda enjoy that. Heh Heh.... LOL....

 

[CSH]

Thanx Tara for your input.............

I have been keeping a Score Card (points 1-5) for features I'm looking for in a bike.
So far the top Five bikes on my list are:

Ariel Rider C-Class
Evelo Aurora
Giant LaFree 1
Trek Verve

I'm trying very hard to not put myself into a Buyers Remorse situation. I'm studying the heck out of this, and of course, Test Riding all I can get my hands on. The only problem there is, the LBS only have a small Parking Lot to ride around, and that is NOT a good way to know how the bike will feel in my world.

I take opinions and insight like yours very seriously, Thank You.

On with the search !

Craig

 

[Marci jo]

Yes it would be nice to have a hill close by to do a test ride. Those bikes seem like good choices. I know the trek dealers say the Verve is very popular. Maybe it's price, maybe it's lighter weight.

Aside from that, I think you will enjoy you new bike, whatever you choose. Please don' t try to have buyers remorse. You could second guess yourself until the earth stops spinning on its axis and it will drive you crazy.

Enjoy your new bike! Ride the heck out of it with lots and lots of ebike smiles.

 

[XyloSesame]

My wife has had bad luck with lower-end derailleurs in the past, enough to make her anxious when riding a geared bicycle. The internally geared hub of the Lafree shifts so smoothly you hardly notice, and the entire system is incredibly simple to adjust if it ever gets out of alignment. I know this is all subjective, but the way in which the Yamaha/Giant drive system engages (and curves off at speed) was markedly different and relatively invisible to both of us; we rode everything we could find locally and the Lafree E+1 was hands down her favorite. I also purchased a Giant due to the Yamaha assist tuning.

 

[CSH]

My wife has had bad luck with lower-end derailleurs in the past, enough to make her anxious when riding a geared bicycle. The internally geared hub of the Lafree shifts so smoothly you hardly notice, and the entire system is incredibly simple to adjust if it ever gets out of alignment. I know this is all subjective, but the way in which the Yamaha/Giant drive system engages (and curves off at speed) was markedly different and relatively invisible to both of us; we rode everything we could find locally and the Lafree E+1 was hands down her favorite. I also purchased a Giant due to the Yamaha assist tuning.

Wow, you hit directly on one of our issues...... my wife also, is freaked out about chain drops.
Encouraging input.
I just need to get my LBS to bring one in so we can test ride it.

Thanks Xylo !

Craig

 

[macdude22]

Lafree is the best casual commercial e-bike on the market. The belt drive, internal hub, and yamaha motor feel incredibly smooth and natural. I swoon over the E+1 so much sometimes people ask me if Giant is paying me! No, it's just a great ride priced hundreds if not thousands of dollars cheaper than the competitors.

The E+2 is a great deal but I highly recommend the E+1 upgrade, belt drive, internal hub, and built in lights make for a very nice ride.

 

[GregGritton]

The only problem there is, the LBS only have a small Parking Lot to ride around, and that is NOT a good way to know how the bike will feel in my world.

I test rode e-bikes at 6 different places before I bought my e-bike. All of them allowed me to take the bike on a decent ride (~15 min) in the area around which always included some hills. Most of them did take a copy of my driver's license, and a couple had one of their sales people accompany my on my first ride. So, I am surprised the LBS will only let you ride around the parking lot. Even so, I rented my top two contenders for a few days each to really get the feel of the bike before buying one.

 

[TaraBara]

Lafree is the best casual commercial e-bike on the market. The belt drive, internal hub, and yamaha motor feel incredibly smooth and natural. I swoon over the E+1 so much sometimes people ask me if Giant is paying me! No, it's just a great ride priced hundreds if not thousands of dollars cheaper than the competitors.

The E+2 is a great deal but I highly recommend the E+1 upgrade, belt drive, internal hub, and built in lights make for a very nice ride.

I agree you get so much more for the price. I love my Lafree. I get service, warranty, power, long battery, reliability, and the bike is very adjustable. It has fenders and a nice bike rack. I love the wide tires. Everyone always talks about a throttle but honestly as soon as I press on the pedals I'm going 10 plus mph. I saved at least $500 purchasing the Lafree. I have the E+2 and it's a great bike. It doesn't have the belt drive but it performs flawlessly and I have well over 800 miles on the bike already in just a month or so. I recommend the upgrade as well but if you want to save $400 bucks the E+2 is an excellent choice. I used my $400 to buy a helmet, tools, tubes, a seat, seat post, a louder bell, panniers, and a bike rack for ebikes. So basically for less than $2500 I got it ALL!!!

 

[Cowlitz]

Any idea on how much the bike weighs?

 

[TaraBara]

Any idea on how much the bike weighs?

57lbs.

 

[macdude22]

Everyone always talks about a throttle but honestly as soon as I press on the pedals I'm going 10 plus mph.

I did not like any of the hub drive's with throttles I tested. Very unnatural feeling, if I wanted to ride a motorcycle I'd ride my motorcycle! The Yamaha mid-drive has instant torque. No lag. I have no issues getting a move on quick from a full stop in 3rd gear.

There is a second of lag on our cannondale with the bosch mid-drive. It's more comfortable to start from 2nd with it. I feel more nimble on the LaFree.

 

[Cowlitz]

57lbs.

57lbs.

Thanks. Darn. That's more than I wanted. Guess I could take the battery off if I had to lift the bike.

 

[TaraBara]

Thanks. Darn. That's more than I wanted. Guess I could take the battery off if I had to lift the bike.

I can lift my bike.... I've got a good back and good knees still. It's heavy but I get it in my Ebike rack all by myself. ?

 

[elainehillrider]

I love these unisex step-tru ebikes. And I owned several Giant bicycles before. I am amazed with their quality. My only issue would be rear rack. I love welded to frame type but other than that you have a wonderful ebike

 

[TaraBara]

I love these unisex step-tru ebikes. And I owned several Giant bicycles before. I am amazed with their quality. My only issue would be rear rack. I love welded to frame type but other than that you have a wonderful ebike

Thank you.... I love bike riding again. I have a really nice bike bag on my rack. I got lucky and it fits perfect.