I own an eGO and love it...but it has been usurped by my wife, so I have to try to keep up with her using my pedal-pusher bicycle. I have an opportunity to buy an LA Free electric bicycle from a mechanic friend. I see that Giant does not make them any longer. Does anyone have experience with this bike and an opinion? I guess he will be asking about $300 for it.
Thanks.
Art
Here in the UK it is widely regarded as the best electric bike you can buy. Unfortunately its been discontinued. You might want to check with Giant US if their are parts available. What are your requirements? If your mechanically minded there are some fairly simple mods to make it go faster. If I had one available for $300 I would probably find the cash from somewhere to buy it. Good models on ebay often sell for as much as £600 over here!
Thanks for the reply. If the owner can get it working (he is an auto mechanic, so I have full faith he can be successful) I will buy it. Can you give me the tips for the simple mods to increase its speed?
Art
Basically more amps and more volts. I think its a brushed motor so you have to be careful not allow too much current or the motor will be damaged. I'm not sure whether the exising controller be able to take adding another battery to reach 36 volts. If not there are many scooter controllers and throttles available. This will likely mean losing the 'pedelec' function in favour of a throttle. There was someone on the old forum who modified their lafree to run at 36 volts 35 amps and said the performance was amazing. I think that kind of current may be too much, but its the kind of thing that can be determined through experimentation.
Another upgrade would be to replace the battery pack with a more advanced chemistry, but it may be wise to experiment with lead first until your happy with the performance.