Known Issues & Problems with Giant Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

[GAF722]

Sorry to hear you are having this problem. There appears to be a number of reasons for this "sudden off" issue and solutions range from simply reseating the battery through to replacing the RideControl One switch module or motor. I've collated some info and questions from a few posts related to this which may help as some analysis of the problem may help determine what is at fault:

1. If it is related to high temperature or a high current demand and is possibly a battery issue then try and let it sit after it has occurred let the battery cool for a period and see if switches off again, when you restart, if it is all OK and only occurs after riding hard then this adds to the picture.

2. Creating a picture of the pattern of occurrence may help. Does it happen only after a period or from the beginning of a ride for example? If this happens and you switch it on and it switches off again say every 10 seconds, then it is hardly related to battery contacts. Does it switch off without moving or after you started riding again? Motor or RideControl One likely then. If it was after pedalling again then the problem is possibly the battery controller. If you were not pedaling, then yes, it can be related to battery contacts or battery movement.

3. If the fault is related to battery position or contact then the it is likely that the fault would occur particularly when riding on rough terrain. There are numerous posts on forums for battery tightness in the frame or alignment of the contacts. Giant have a shim for the battery contact plate that may be worth fitting if this is an issue and there are a number of posts on adjusting the lock latch to provide a tighter fit and improved alignment. Have you cleaned the battery contacts, a number of OP's who have suffered this issue report that cleaning the contacts on the frame and battery and applying a electrical enhancer fixes the issue.

4. A software issue, when this occurs have you removed and then refitted the battery, effectively completely reseting the bikes power. When this occurs do you get any error codes?

If the bike is out of warranty then you will need to do some of the leg work yourself, can you swap the battery with a friend? RideControl One modules are available and not too expensive, again can you swap with a friend.

I hope this helps, come back with any other information you have.

I had the same problem qith my Giant ebike. I had 4 of them. My Giant Explore E+2 continued to have the power shut off problem from the second day I purchased the bike. I had everything replaced except the motor. I had it back to the dealer 7 times. I loved my bike, but had enough. I spent over 1 year with the problem. Giant finally agree to take the bike back last week. I loved my bike when I could ride it. It was great. I just didn't like the problem with the intermittent failures. I have no problems with any other of my Giant bikes except maintenance. I bought a Gazelle Ultimate 10+, but still ride my Giants.

 

[GAF722]

We are having a similar problem with my wife's 2021 Revolt E+ Pro. We got caught out on a ride and after repeatedly turning it back on, it eventually wouldn't power on at all. I took it to the bike shop and as luck would have it, it powered up just fine at the shop. They kept it a few weeks (yes weeks) and were unable to recreate the problem. They did update to the latest firmware and opened a case with Giant. It happened again this past weekend, but this time the control pad (button panel) middle horizontal LED flashed red when she tried to power it back on. Fortunately it came back on and remained so for the duration of the ride. I called the shop to inform them that now the control pad LED is flashing red during the problem, but I don't hold out much hope this will help. It's a shame as the bikes fit our needs, and they weren't inexpensive by my standards. Honestly I am losing confidence in Giant and my local bike shop.

 

[GAF722]

I had a similar issue with my 2021 Stance E+2.
Giant replaced it and all is well after 1500kms

They did not have a replacement, but did refund my money last week.

 

[bstaggs]

Update: LBS worked with giant and after replacing the "wiring harness" all seems to be working again. Have only been on a few short rides due to weather and schedule, but so far, so good.

 

[RandallS]

Update: LBS worked with giant and after replacing the "wiring harness" all seems to be working again. Have only been on a few short rides due to weather and schedule, but so far, so good.

I've heard of a number of others who've had the same repair done. In all cases it seems to have fixed the issue.

 

[drustan]

Wow. Are the motor bolts tight when you do that ?

I changed my motor bolts and nuts to titanium ones with 2 washers and a lock washer and the motor is nice and snug. I found the original bolts got rusty and the Allen heads started to round off little when loosening the bolts.

What size are the bolts? Can you post a link? I'd like to replace mine. Thanks

 

[GAF722]

I received my money from Giant and bought a Gazelle Ultimate 10+. I love it. I still have my 3 other Giant ebikes and have had 0 problems with them. Not sure why the Explore E+2 was bad, but problem solved for me. It took a long time and 7 trips to the shop to get this resolved.

 

[TonyTT]

My wife and I bought two new Giant Ebikes in the summer of 2021. My wife bought the Roam E+ stagger frame and I chose the Giant Explore E+2.
The first problem we had was with the Roam. I managed to derail the chain off the front chainring whilst messing around with a lock. The chain dropped at the back of the chainring and steadfastly jammed itself between the chainring and the plastic motor cover. With your conventional bike you would just back pedal and feed the chain out. With an electric bike, back pedalling doesn't drive the chain. So the only option with a jam like this is to pedal forward, in effect jamming in the chain harder before it starts to lift out. During this process some damage is caused to the plastic cover.
Also, the problem here is you really need to place the bike on a workshop stand so you can drive the crank forward whilst lifting the chain out. Imagine this situation out on a ride, how on earth do you rectify it? A derailed chain off the chainring is rare in my experience, and more often occurs when a front mech is present (which is not the case on the Roam E+ or on my Explore E+2).
The lack of drive on back pedalling makes lubricating the chain tricky too, I just drive the chain by turning the chainwheel in reverse by hand.
My wife had her motor cover replaced and is happy leaving her bike in stock setup, but I was concerned about the jamming chain issue so I prevented any possibilty of it happening on my bike by switching the chainring and the chain guard. It's easily done, you don't even have to remove the crank.
See picture.
The chain can of course now potentially drop the other way toward the pedal but you have a much better chance of recovering this out on a ride. Again, I've never seen this happen outside of a poorly adjusted front mech. I've ridden many miles and my new arrangement has been flawless. Why doesn't Giant put a chain guard on the back of the chainring? Or pins on the chainring so a derailed chain can be just lifted out? I notice that you can buy a chain guide to prevent derailing which fits to the seat tube, mainly for mountain bikes that are hitting rough terrain and throwing the chain around. This only works for the forward rotation of the chain.
'Ah' you say, 'the pedals don't turn the chain backwards so there is no problem in reverse'. But there could be because the crank is driven backwards when you wheel your bike in reverse, like when manouevering on foot. Who knows, you could drop the chain.
My solution solves all the potential problems.

 

[TonyTT]

My Giant Explore E+2 was bought in the summer of 2021 and started giving me the power shutdown cutout problem. Powering up again normally got things running again but did not give any assurance the power would not shut down a few miles further down the road.
I returned the bike to the dealer on more than one occasion and each time they just updated the firmware as they were eunable to reproduce the fault. The difficulty was how intermittent and unpredictable the power cutout was. Some rides the bike was perfect, and on one particular ride the bike was unusable (as a powered bike anyway).
I finally got so fed up I took the bike to the dealer and told them I didn't want to see it again until it was fixed. They had it a while. The battery contacts were cleaned, and perhaps more importantly the battery was returned to Giant for a firmware update. That's right, this bike has firmware and the battery also has firmware!
The bike's firmware can be updated by me using the Ride Control app (obtained from the Play Store). The battery is a different matter, not even the dealer can update this firmware, it has to be done by Giant.
I am told the firmware in the battery holds a time period for a power disconnection, upon which the system is shut down. This time period is for fractions of a second. So if there is a less than perfect contact in the system, vibration can cause a disconnect measuring a fraction of a second triggering a power shut down.
The firmware update simply lengthens the disconnection time period before a power shutdown occurs.
My (uneducated) guess is that for those of you who have had a wiring loom replaced to fix the problem, you have simply eliminated a connection somewhere that momentarily goes open circuit, the wiring loom being otherwise perfect. You have probably still got a short time period programmed into the battery firmware (which is fine whilst no momentary disconnect occurs).
If you suffer the power cut out issues, get your dealer to send the battery to Giant for a firmware update.

 

[jabberwocky]

Just put an allen wrench against the crank arm (into the spoke of the chainring). Then you can spin it backwards. I do it all the time when cleaning the chain. Flip the bike upside down if you need to. Don't pedal forward and further jam it in. Worst case, pull the chainring off to get it unstuck.

My revolt has a little chainguide thing that keeps the chain on. Most MTBs have gone to a narrow-wide chain/chainring and higher tension derailleur to solve chain drops. I run a K-Edge chain catcher on my non electric gravel bike (which is a 2x with a front derailleur). All these solutions work.

 

[conix67]

My wife and I bought two new Giant Ebikes in the summer of 2021. My wife bought the Roam E+ stagger frame and I chose the Giant Explore E+2.
The first problem we had was with the Roam. I managed to derail the chain off the front chainring whilst messing around with a lock. The chain dropped at the back of the chainring and steadfastly jammed itself between the chainring and the plastic motor cover. With your conventional bike you would just back pedal and feed the chain out. With an electric bike, back pedalling doesn't drive the chain. So the only option with a jam like this is to pedal forward, in effect jamming in the chain harder before it starts to lift out. During this process some damage is caused to the plastic cover.
Also, the problem here is you really need to place the bike on a workshop stand so you can drive the crank forward whilst lifting the chain out. Imagine this situation out on a ride, how on earth do you rectify it? A derailed chain off the chainring is rare in my experience, and more often occurs when a front mech is present (which is not the case on the Roam E+ or on my Explore E+2).
The lack of drive on back pedalling makes lubricating the chain tricky too, I just drive the chain by turning the chainwheel in reverse by hand.
My wife had her motor cover replaced and is happy leaving her bike in stock setup, but I was concerned about the jamming chain issue so I prevented any possibilty of it happening on my bike by switching the chainring and the chain guard. It's easily done, you don't even have to remove the crank.
See picture.
The chain can of course now potentially drop the other way toward the pedal but you have a much better chance of recovering this out on a ride. Again, I've never seen this happen outside of a poorly adjusted front mech. I've ridden many miles and my new arrangement has been flawless. Why doesn't Giant put a chain guard on the back of the chainring? Or pins on the chainring so a derailed chain can be just lifted out? I notice that you can buy a chain guide to prevent derailing which fits to the seat tube, mainly for mountain bikes that are hitting rough terrain and throwing the chain around. This only works for the forward rotation of the chain.
'Ah' you say, 'the pedals don't turn the chain backwards so there is no problem in reverse'. But there could be because the crank is driven backwards when you wheel your bike in reverse, like when manouevering on foot. Who knows, you could drop the chain.
My solution solves all the potential problems.

Same problem here, with frequent chain drop issue and this, I was very upset. I simply pulled the chain out with brute force when it's stuck. Eventually installed the chain guide. Contacted Giant, they simply send you to local dealer who will not do anything, says it is *normal*, I disagree.

 

[jabberwocky]

Its... not abnormal. Bike drivetrains can be finicky. Chain drops have been a thing to deal with for as long as I've been cycling (20+ years). Bikes designed for rougher riding (mountain bikes and to a lesser extent gravel bikes) generally come equipped to mitigate it somewhat, and technique can help some too. My Giant Revolt came with a little guide like the one you pictured. Bikes oriented towards pavement generally don't come with any sort of retention mechanism. But they are cheap to add if you find you need it.

Is it dropping in a consistent way (like, always in certain gears at one end of the cassette, or over rough ground, or while shifting, etc)? Wonder whats causing it.

 

[conix67]

Its... not abnormal. Bike drivetrains can be finicky. Chain drops have been a thing to deal with for as long as I've been cycling (20+ years). Bikes designed for rougher riding (mountain bikes and to a lesser extent gravel bikes) generally come equipped to mitigate it somewhat, and technique can help some too. My Giant Revolt came with a little guide like the one you pictured. Bikes oriented towards pavement generally don't come with any sort of retention mechanism. But they are cheap to add if you find you need it.

Is it dropping in a consistent way (like, always in certain gears at one end of the cassette, or over rough ground, or while shifting, etc)? Wonder whats causing it.

It is very predictable and consistent. It does happen at tall gears more such as speed 8 and 9, rarely happens on speed 7 and below. Could be the tension or orientation.

I understand it can happen but definitely not normal. It was happening on my commute rides on paved bike lanes. It happens when I come off side walk, or hit a speed bump (at low speed of course) or pot hole, where it causes bit of chain slap.

There's a thread another owner had this issue right from the beginning and he was able to return it for full refund. Unfortuantely, there's no refund policy in Canada.

 

[DaveMatthews]

It is very predictable and consistent. It does happen at tall gears more such as speed 8 and 9, rarely happens on speed 7 and below. Could be the tension or orientation.

I understand it can happen but definitely not normal. It was happening on my commute rides on paved bike lanes. It happens when I come off side walk, or hit a speed bump (at low speed of course) or pot hole, where it causes bit of chain slap.

There's a thread another owner had this issue right from the beginning and he was able to return it for full refund. Unfortuantely, there's no refund policy in Canada.

Installing the chain guide was the right thing to do. Too bad it didn't come stock.

 

[conix67]

Installing the chain guide was the right thing to do. Too bad it didn't come stock.

Right. I wished Giant would acknowledge the issue and provide the custom chain guide to fix the issue. Revolt E+ comes with it and it's obvious why it's there.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Right. I wished Giant would acknowledge the issue and provide the custom chain guide to fix the issue. Revolt E+ comes with it and it's obvious why it's there.

Yup. A one or two dollar part vs negative experience. Hmmm...

 

[jabberwocky]

It is very predictable and consistent. It does happen at tall gears more such as speed 8 and 9, rarely happens on speed 7 and below. Could be the tension or orientation.

I understand it can happen but definitely not normal. It was happening on my commute rides on paved bike lanes. It happens when I come off side walk, or hit a speed bump (at low speed of course) or pot hole, where it causes bit of chain slap.

There's a thread another owner had this issue right from the beginning and he was able to return it for full refund. Unfortuantely, there's no refund policy in Canada.

If its only in the low range of the cassette, its probably a chain angle issue. Especially if its mainly when the chain gets bouncing. Was a common problem on mountainbikes in the early 2000s, and then again in the early 2010s as 1x drivetrains started becoming popular. The technique solution is to coast when you go through something really bumpy or hop curbs (the top of the chain shouldn't move much and if you aren't pedaling it won't derail in the moments its bouncing). Its definitely more of a thing on electric bikes because you want to pedal all the time.

I get its frustrating, but its a simple inexpensive fix. We can roll our eyes at Giant for not including a guide of some sort, but I have no idea why someone would go through the hassle of returning a multi-thousand dollar bike when a solution costs 20 bucks and takes 2 minutes to install. Personally, I assume I'm going to spend some money on any complete bike I purchase to get it where I want it.

 

[conix67]

If its only in the low range of the cassette, its probably a chain angle issue. Especially if its mainly when the chain gets bouncing. Was a common problem on mountainbikes in the early 2000s, and then again in the early 2010s as 1x drivetrains started becoming popular. The technique solution is to coast when you go through something really bumpy or hop curbs (the top of the chain shouldn't move much and if you aren't pedaling it won't derail in the moments its bouncing). Its definitely more of a thing on electric bikes because you want to pedal all the time.

I get its frustrating, but its a simple inexpensive fix. We can roll our eyes at Giant for not including a guide of some sort, but I have no idea why someone would go through the hassle of returning a multi-thousand dollar bike when a solution costs 20 bucks and takes 2 minutes to install. Personally, I assume I'm going to spend some money on any complete bike I purchase to get it where I want it.

It took me a great effort to find something that worked for me. This isn't like something that's readily available even at Giant's store. I took my bike in a few times for this issue already since they wanted to take a look, every time they said it's taken care of, I was able to take the chain off minutes later just by going over the speed bump in their parking lot. I showed them how it happens, they wouldn't care. All they claim is it's normal. How is it normal if I cannot ride the bike without the chain coming off almost every ride?

If there *was* a simple and cheap solution readily available, I would've been very happy.

 

[jabberwocky]

Sounds like your shop kinda sucks, because thats an easy fix. Clamp on/braze on chain guides (which is all that came on my Revolt and what you ended up installing) are available from several mfgs and a 2 minute install. The Giant one is probably a rebranded problem solvers or something.

 

[conix67]

Sounds like your shop kinda sucks, because thats an easy fix. Clamp on/braze on chain guides (which is all that came on my Revolt and what you ended up installing) are available from several mfgs and a 2 minute install. The Giant one is probably a rebranded problem solvers or something.

It is an easy fix if ready made parts are available for it. The one that's installed on Revolt is braze on like you said, which means there should be screw holes for mounting in precise location on the bike and my Roam E+ doesn't have it.

The one I installed is a universal one that required several adjustment attempt to make it fit well without rubbing against things too much. It works, but it's not an ideal solution either.

I was going to purchase a road bike from Giant but after my experience with Roam E+, I went with something else.

Anyway, I'm much happier that my bike is mostly trouble free now - from mechanical standpoint. Besides the chain drops, the stock tires were prone to punctures - ended up replacing them with Schwalbees.