Ride Control Firmware

[pmcdonald]

I'm not sure what sort of Faustian bargain @Browneye has struck to have not one but four communicating bikes, but when the obituary for this app rolls around it won't be kind! Does a dodgy app impact on the ride? Not really - the bike does it's thing regardless. Does it take a little of the sheen off an otherwise polished and reliable product? Yeah, a little. Bring on App 2.0

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Giant should employ the Italian guy named Paolo Dozio as the head of Ride Control department.
Wait... Specialized should be the highest bidder and get him first! All in all, Paolo wrote BLEvo...

 

[Browneye]

Do all advertised features work for you? Iphone or Android? Perhaps I’m doing something wrong.

We have iPhones, so far a 6plus, 6Splus, and a new XR, all have worked flawlessly, with 4 different bikes - 3 we have owned for an extended period (sold my Explore), and one I borrowed from my dealer. All of them have required updates, all did them without issues, all functions work on all of them.

Frankly it's more than a bit of a quandary to me why there are so many having difficulties. When things don't work as expected it can surely be frustrating, I get that. We have also heard from several here that got their dealer to fix their app issues as well. I have no idea what they did for a fix.

 

[iskjone]

My biggest issue with Giant revolves around the much hyped and marketed AUTO mode. I agree a primary benefit of eBikes is the pedal assist that make you believe that everything is by your own power. It's the thrill of effortless storming up a hill in AUTO. The "ride home" has a whole different meaning. By using torque, angle and other sensors riding a eBike is all about the illusion that you are NOT riding a eBike . It's the Walter Mitty effect . Now I know many forum members don't use AUTO mode and that's fine but my favorite AUTO mode usage was in RideControl version 1.4.2. There are rear hub driven, throttle bikes for those that want to go from point A to B but I also want to believe that "hey, I'm not in too bad of shape for a person my age."

 

[QuickExpress]

So many people have to take their bikes to a shop for updates even though Giant’s advertising says you can do it wirelessly. The wrench icon appears randomly and needs to be dealer reset as if it is a planned ongoing revenue stream. Dealers are charging for this. I don’t fault them as their time is money. However Giant should be the one reimbursing them since all this is advertised as being able to do from your phone.

Entering navigation routes is ridiculously (like 1995 era) cumbersome. I would also love to see a picture showing a phone call or text appearing on screen. I am yet to ever see this. Do I need this feature? No but it’s an advertised feature that made the Giant appear better than some competitors. I personally can’t wait for app2.0. I don’t fault Giant for selecting an inexperienced partner originally. Hopefully they are now beyond that and working with a better team.

Don’t get me wrong, the bikes are great. The Yamaha motors are great. Giant just really had a very steep learning curve with both software and tech support. I fully expect it can only get better and am looking forward to it. Bring it on.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

don’t fault Giant for selecting an inexperienced partner originally. Hopefully they are now beyond that and working with a better team.

I just need to remind anyone in this thread of the Specialized blunder of 2016-2019: the infamous BLOKS display on Turbo Vado and Como. Not going into much detail, Specialized (who already had their beautiful but display-free Levos and Kenevos that worked with Mission Control app) needed to have a display on their commuter/city e-bikes. So they selected inexperienced company BLOKS as their partner. BLOKS was just a disaster, and it could not work with the Specialized Mission Control app as promised. 2019 was marked by BLOKS bankruptcy that left Specialized with the entire Vado/Como fleet not meeting the spec or promises.

One thing that can be said about Specialized: they have been able to handle it well. Any Vado/Como user was entitled to free (based on the warranty) overhaul of existing Vado or Como with the new TCD-W display. Not only that meant a large expense for Spesh but also overhauling each e-bike meant disassembling and re-assembling half of the bike.

In comparison, the only failure of Giant has been the Ride Control app. The Giant hardware is OK. So let us patiently wait for the RC 2.

 

[pmcdonald]

Entering navigation routes is ridiculously (like 1995 era) cumbersome. I would also love to see a picture showing a phone call or text appearing on screen. I am yet to ever see this.

Do you mean on the EVO screen? When I can be bothered to perform the elaborate phone-bike pairing mating ritual (connect, disconnect, reboot, connect) I get turn by turn navigation, SMS and phone alerts on the screen. The latter two appear as an icon, rather than number or message readouts. I've used the feature once or twice when riding to respond to an urgent-ish call.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

An owner of the BLOKS display would dream to own an EVO...
(Could not resist myself!)
Think of the Bosch Purion users... I don't think Intuvia is any better.

 

[Alvin1957]

That's my experience as well. I certainly get pedal assist levels 1 and 2 but not sure if I get assist level 3 or not. But when required You can pop into levels 3, 4 or 5 for those short, steep hills and then pop back to auto. I need to test that a bit more.

Hello Oscar56:
Smart Assist on my 2020 Explore E+4 went from smooth, flawless operation to being 'surgy' and having a terrible delay in activation of the assist. Sometimes goes for several seconds when on a near level stretch. Now usually at about 0.6 second delay. The original on-line literature cited about 0.2 second delay. Before website went dark(recent) the number had been changed to 0.6 seconds. My LBS is unable to restore to original settings. I have wondered if this was an intentional attempt to keep unwary riders from having their bike lurch forward at a red light or stop sign. I can't explain the long, long delays except that perhaps the sensors and software keep resetting the 'application' of the assist before the new 0.6 seconds has elapsed, hence the lag just gets incredibly long. Might even play into the 'surgy' behavior. Do you know of anyone that has found a solution to this? Please feel free to share my post.

Many thanks, Alvin1957

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Do you know of anyone that has found a solution to this?

Riding in manual modes.

 

[Ofarrell]

Hello Oscar56:
Smart Assist on my 2020 Explore E+4 went from smooth, flawless operation to being 'surgy' and having a terrible delay in activation of the assist. Sometimes goes for several seconds when on a near level stretch. Now usually at about 0.6 second delay. The original on-line literature cited about 0.2 second delay. Before website went dark(recent) the number had been changed to 0.6 seconds. My LBS is unable to restore to original settings. I have wondered if this was an intentional attempt to keep unwary riders from having their bike lurch forward at a red light or stop sign. I can't explain the long, long delays except that perhaps the sensors and software keep resetting the 'application' of the assist before the new 0.6 seconds has elapsed, hence the lag just gets incredibly long. Might even play into the 'surgy' behavior. Do you know of anyone that has found a solution to this? Please feel free to share my post.

Many thanks, Alvin1957

Hi Alvin1957,
Is auto/smart assist mode the same with the new app/firmware that came out a few weeks ago? Ive avoided upgrading from 1.4.2 because I really like auto and heard so many bad things about after that version.

 

[Alvin1957]

Riding in manual modes.

Hello Stefan:
Thanks! That is what I have been doing for several weeks. It is serviceable. I can tell the difference in the 'how the auto assist used to be' and any of the manual modes. Normally, I would instantly agree with you. The auto assist really made it much easier on my knees (getting old, I guess). If I must do manual, then fate has had its say. I'm hoping for a shot at returning my ride to its previous state. Admittedly, I am bummed out by having spent the money for the feature/benefit and being stuck. In any case, I appreciate the thought. I have done most of my experimenting with the mid-range selection and the one just above. If you think another is better choice or perhaps a tuning of another, I would love to hear about it.

Have a great day.

 

[Alvin1957]

Hi Alvin1957,
Is auto/smart assist mode the same with the new app/firmware that came out a few weeks ago? Ive avoided upgrading from 1.4.2 because I really like auto and heard so many bad things about after that version.

Hello Ofarrell:
The smart assist is now different from the originally supplied format. I think this is what just came out a few weeks ago. I had the upgrade done in October. Now you use the down button and down below the lowest power setting and then hold the key down for a couple of seconds. You will love this...My wife has the Liv version and has never had an upgrade. It continues to work perfectly. We have decided that it may never go into the LBS. I will go have to be diligent and get the software version numbers in front of me before a ask these kinds of questions.

Thanks, Alvin

 

[iskjone]

Hi Alvin1957,
Is auto/smart assist mode the same with the new app/firmware that came out a few weeks ago? Ive avoided upgrading from 1.4.2 because I really like auto and heard so many bad things about after that version.

Yes version 1.4.2 was the best auto mode. I wish I could downgrade to it but not possible. I'm now on the newest version but other than a very short ride I don't have experience with it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

If you think another is better choice or perhaps a tuning of another, I would love to hear about it.

I have found setting the Level 2 (BASIC on some Giant bikes, ECO on other) to 150% makes riding a Giant e-bike very easy. Mind you, my legs are not in very good shape.

 

[Alvin1957]

I have found setting the Level 2 (BASIC on some Giant bikes, ECO on other) to 150% makes riding a Giant e-bike very easy. Mind you, my legs are not in very good shape.

Thanks! I will tinker around a bit more. Perhaps 50 km per setting and see how my knees hold up. Temperature about to go to 0degC here so that ruins riding in my lightweight gear. Thanks again, Alvin

 

[DaveMatthews]

New Android update. Haven't tested yet

 

[Alvin1957]

New Android update. Haven't tested yet

Thanks! I upgraded to the new app (android) but am having trouble with activation/password. Apparently, I must have a second computer receive the code and then type into the phone. When I try to go from the app to my email in order to retrieve the code the app closes down and the whole process starts over. Could be wrong with my explanation but this what seems to fit observations. I will explore the app and may come back to you with questions. Thanks, Alvin

 

[Alvin1957]

Thanks! I upgraded to the new app (android) but am having trouble with activation/password. Apparently, I must have a second computer receive the code and then type into the phone. When I try to go from the app to my email in order to retrieve the code the app closes down and the whole process starts over. Could be wrong with my explanation but this what seems to fit observations. I will explore the app and may come back to you with questions. Thanks, Alvin

Hello Dave,
I did get the APP to work and communicate with my bike. Just for confirmation, I have moved the settings around and returned them to the default values. Now a stupid question...
Do you know if there is any difference in the response times or power distribution curves for the different modes (ie. sport vs sport+) when set at the same output values? If you have seen a posting somewhere it would be appreciated. I have not seen anything.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Hello Dave,
I did get the APP to work and communicate with my bike. Just for confirmation, I have moved the settings around and returned them to the default values. Now a stupid question...
Do you know if there is any difference in the response times or power distribution curves for the different modes (ie. sport vs sport+) when set at the same output values? If you have seen a posting somewhere it would be appreciated. I have not seen anything.

Hi Alvin,
No, I haven't had time to try this out yet. Today is heavy rain and 50mph wind gust, so maybe tomorrow if I'm lucky.
Glad you got connected!