GIANT RideControl App 2.0

[Mike_P]

Just been to the local Giant store in Norwich. They have updated the ride control from their laptop and charged £10.

A lot better then than the Giant stockist in Wetherby who said it would be £30.

 

[AndyL]

It takes the piss really, the app won’t load until it’s updated the bike but it won’t work consistently to complete it’s one task

 

[percymon]

Just been to the local Giant store in Norwich. They have updated the ride control from their laptop and charged £10. They seemed to recommend updating via a store as more reliable than the app (even the new one). Anyway, now I can open the app and see if it was worth the trip.

AndyL - thats good to know. I could connect but do nothign else when i got my Fastroad a month ago, Giant store Bristol took the bike back in without appointment and had it all updated within 30 minutes, firmware and a couple of software updates. Connected fine to the old app, and now the new one for me. How it will fare longer term with larger over the air updates only time will tell. I was somewhat disappointed that they hadn't done the updates in the pre collection set-up/build but i guess with Covid they may be a bit short staffed; at least it was resolved quickly (and in my case for free)

 

[AndyL]

Good to hear they sorted it FOC. Not very good if you don’t have a local store though...
How do you find the app compared to the old one ?

 

[QuickExpress]

Just been to the local Giant store in Norwich. They have updated the ride control from their laptop and charged £10. They seemed to recommend updating via a store as more reliable than the app (even the new one). Anyway, now I can open the app and see if it was worth the trip.

I’ve previously had to pay for an update. NOBODY should have to pay out of pocket since the bikes were advertised as having the ability to do it via phone. Giant should pay, period.

 

[percymon]

Good to hear they sorted it FOC. Not very good if you don’t have a local store though...
How do you find the app compared to the old one ?

To be honest i've little experience - i got the bike at the start of October, downloaded the old app and discovered on first connect that the bike needed an update, i couldn't do anything with the old app bar bluetooth connect to the bike, no rides, no setting adjustments.

I took the bike back to Giant Bristol (45 minutes drive each way, 30 minutes in the service bay, FOC) - after that i had full access with the old app, i was able to adjust the assist settings etc - i did two rides with the old app, and it seemed OK at a basic level (I'm not exactly avid cyclist, so Strava etc is a waste on me). The new app looks a little more fancy/colourful in layout, the assist adjustments are OK for me (although i can understand some users wanting more freedom with the ranges available in each assist level), and the 'navigation' looks like it might be something i might use in future (not sure whether you can actually plot a route plan, or just a destination ?).

So i don't exactly have high expectations - as long as it will download future updates reasonably reliably and I retain some adjustability with the assist levels it'll probably satisfy my needs.

I do have a Giant retailer in my town, i didnt buy from them so felt a little awkward asking them to fix the initial connectivity issues - they said they'd do it, would need the bike for a few days to fit it in between other work; they didn;t mention any charge (although i'd have been happy to pay 30 minutes labour for their trouble). I just wanted it fixed and Giant Bristol just said drop in at your leisure and we'll get it sorted asap while you have a coffee.

 

[startupped]

I finally got the 2.0 app installed, created my new account. Linked successfully with my 2019 Road E. It wanted to update, so I did that to 4/4. I would do a minor swipe once in a while on the phone to make sure it did not go to lock screen. Other than that the update went successfully without any issues to 100%.

Sadly, it did not reset my maintenance reminder. It still pops up that I need service, which I have been ignoring since Covid since all bike shops are too swamped. I do see there is a new data point in the app (Distance since last service), which is neat. Been a long time.

App shows total mileage as 17911mi, bike shows 11122mi on the ODO. Someone else commented on this discrepancy, must be bug.

This update nor any other past one fixed the issue of one of the earlier updates adding 1,160 miles to my ODO that I never rode. I know exactly the mileage on the bike because I have kept track in another equipment tracker. Oh well, I just live with it, but would be nice if it could be fixed.

 

[percymon]

Yes that app mileage looks to still be kilometres despite the imperial settings

 

[416dude]

I like the new app. I have a 2019 explore e3, which doesn’t have a display on the bike. It’s nice to see the lifetime millege in the bike

 

[Coolbob]

I used the old app when I rode last Sunday. The app worked fine but would not upload my ride.

I just updated my iPhone 11 Pro to OS-14.2, launched the new app again and tried to update the bike’s firmware. The 2/3 firmware failed at 15%, as it has every time I’ve tried it.

Tried running old app and it displays a message saying the old app is no longer supported and has link to download new app.

Deleted new app, redownloaded it and tried again...no bueno.

I sure hope Giant gets the new app fixed soon, I’m not driving 120-miles round trip to have bike updated at nearest dealership.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm really not happy with the new app. It only helps me doing the same what I could achieve with the old app, that is, manipulate the assistance levels. Important fields do not update after the ride has been paused, export to Strava not working, even the clock doesn't display on the Evo screen... I wonder who in the Giant Sales Company makes the decisions regarding the app... Is it so hard to write a decent e-bike app?!

 

[AndyL]

I'm really not happy with the new app. It only helps me doing the same what I could achieve with the old app, that is, manipulate the assistance levels. Important fields do not update after the ride has been paused, export to Strava not working, even the clock doesn't display on the Evo screen... I wonder who in the Giant Sales Company makes the decisions regarding the app... Is it so hard to write a decent e-bike app?!

Agreed, seems like a poor effort for a company as massive as Giant. I quite liked that the old app could be used as a nav device and put the directions onto the screen with reasonable info available. Kept the handlebars uncluttered. That has all gone. Strava works for me but not sure the info recorded for rides is accurate as the screen grab below may show ?

 

[Alan111S]

Agreed, seems like a poor effort for a company as massive as Giant. I quite liked that the old app could be used as a nav device and put the directions onto the screen with reasonable info available. Kept the handlebars uncluttered. That has all gone. Strava works for me but not sure the info recorded for rides is accurate as the screen grab below may show ?

That's what I call riding "as the crow flies"

 

[startupped]

Is there a way to link a HR monitor to the new Ride Control App 2.0? Am I missing something? I can't figure out if it is there.

 

[alavelle]

Hello, I have a 2019 QUick-e I tried the new app and the error it gives me is an "unknown MCU." I have not modified it but I did try to update the firmware with the old app. Anyone else have this trouble?

 

[Don T]

2020 Fastroad EX

I successfully performed an update using the old app. As occurred with others, upon invoking app 1.0, I got the message to update
to the new app. I dutifully (if misguidedly) deleted old app, installed new. Now, when I invoke new app, I get informed that a firmware
update is available. Start the download, get to 4%, get error message. Have repeated this sequence multiple times.

One hopes that someone in a position of responsibility at Giant reads these messages.

 

[QuickExpress]

One hopes that someone in a position of responsibility at Giant reads these messages.

Don’t hold your breath. After over a year dealing with Giant’s software, I’m done recommending Giant. It’s a shame too, I have loved my Defy for years and have told so many people just how I’ve thought it’s the best bike ever made. Giant really dropped the ball on their ebike software integration.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Hi All. I recently purchased a Giant trance E+1 (my first venture into the world of E-biking, and loving it).
For the first week, I used the the old RideControl app and to honest, it wasn't that bad. I added a heart rate monitor, it recorded the rides and even pushed them up to strava all with no issues.

After I "upgraded" to version 2.0, which took several tries and a lot of cursing, I found that I can no longer add a heart rate monitor and most annoyingly, the app crashes every time I stop and it loses all my ride data (I think the auto pause feature doesn't work).
I've given up on it and installed the free Wahoo app, added my bikes sensors and my HRM to it and haven't looked back - works like a charm.
I still fiddle with the bikes tuning etc through RideControl, but nothing more.

I read elsewhere that Giant had failed to renew their contract with the company that developed version 1 so this second ver is a bit of a rush job. I don't know how true this is, but it would explain why the new version is so much worse than the first? Has anyone else heard something similar?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I can only congratulate you your purchase of the Trance E+ 1!
I think we all should spend not much time on the RC except two capabilities: tuning the assistance levels and having the speed/battery level display. The latter at least works in RC2 unless we pause the ride

 

[Stefan Mikes]

so this second ver is a bit of a rush job

We Poles use a saying: "It was written on the knee" Meaning, you had your writing/programming pad supported on your knee making the script rather poor