LaFree Electrik vpc Giant bike

[MichaelPalazzolo]

I won a brand new electric bike on a radio show approximately 18 years ago. I never rode it, and in fact, it has been up on it's kick-stand , untouched with a blanket over it, in my garage all this time. I just plugged it in to recharge it. I was told upon the original delivery that it was worth about $1,000.00. It's in pristine condition!

Does anyone know what it might be worth today? Also, is there a mark on the bike that enables me to know what year it was manufactured (like a car has)?

Thank you kindly,

Michael

LaFree Electril vpc Giant (Bright Yellow)

 

[cassschr1]

Unplug it. the batteries are toast.You would need to replace the lead acid batteries in it. Probably 2- 12v 12amp hr batteries.
Trying to charge these may burn out your charger. I wouldn't try.

 

[cal3thousand]

With standard straight-line depreciation, it's worth a couple hundred bucks.

(If you can, save it for another 18 years and it will at least double in price )

 

[dogman dan]

Unless you find a fan that collects them, I tend to agree. $200, if you put new batteries in it. You'll need new rubber too, so could easily spend more on it than you get back.

Post it on ebay or craigslist at about $200 as is, and hope for the best. Take $100 if offered. It depends on your market though, where you are. Here where I live, it would sell for less than $50 as is. In Seattle, you might get a LOT more.

 

[dogman dan]

Here is a link to a pic that might be a 2000 lafree. In this article the lafree looks a lot like my Think bike, which is also pictured.

http://machinedesign.com/archive/bicycling-boost

My think is so obsolete it's nuts, with a brushed motor. My think is worth close to zero, but I was such a sucker I paid 40 bucks for it, with the blown controller gone. It quickly blew a new controller I put on it. HMMM.

But while I was looking at the old vintage bikes, I remembered how another now defunct ebike could be disassembled, and THEN the parts sold for big bucks to folks who loved their bikes for years.

So your motor, controller, throttles, etc could end up selling for quite a bit more than $200 total.

 

[dnmun]

what i don't understand is why you would accept it if you never intended to use it. why not just pass and let someone else have it if you never intended to use it? or donate it so you could then avoid the tax consequences of winning it?

 

[Hillhater]

Dont sell it too cheap.
The Lafree wasnt a bad bike at all... 400W mid drive motor ( Giant even admitted to 1000W max) , driving through the 7 speed cassette . Like most bikes of that era, its biggest fault was its SLA batteries.
Replace those with some decent modern tech Li cells and it would be a nice ride for someone.
I say advertise it for $500 OBO and see what happens !

 

[cassschr1]

If you're familiar with lipo, lots of 6s turnigy fit in the battery box, very nicely, I tried The person who has the bike was afraid of lipo. If iirc I think 6 packs fit in there. Thats 30 amp hr compared to about 7 useful from sla batteries. Plus its a mid-drive set-up. Thats about a 25 mile range, no BS.

 

[dogman dan]

It would be a great bike with a brushless motor. Maybe it's just me, my very similar think bike is just noisy as hell, and rides so jerky to me since I'm used to hub motors. The brushed motor on my think bike kills controllers. It killed the factory one so fast the tires still had the nubs on them. Then the bike sat for a decade, broken in some garage.

But yeah, it's still good as new if you put some batteries in it. It's just that used one day old is worth 50% of what it was. Then add whatever 18 years does to price. I just don't see $500 likely even with brand new lead batteries. Not in MY market. You may have people with money nearby. My town has nobody with money pretty much. Those that would pay for a bike buy carbon bikes to pedal.

But again, parts could be mailed easy, to some guy who loved his Lafree dearly, but needs the throttle or a controller.

 

[cal3thousand]

2 being sold for $450... or $250 each. Only 1 working battery between the two bikes, but you get the idea.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/4328189435.html

EDIT:

apparently everyone is digging up their garages and dumping these things:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/4336419942.html $390

 

[wineboyrider]

It would be a great bike with a brushless motor. Maybe it's just me, my very similar think bike is just noisy as hell, and rides so jerky to me since I'm used to hub motors. The brushed motor on my think bike kills controllers. It killed the factory one so fast the tires still had the nubs on them. Then the bike sat for a decade, broken in some garage.

But yeah, it's still good as new if you put some batteries in it. It's just that used one day old is worth 50% of what it was. Then add whatever 18 years does to price. I just don't see $500 likely even with brand new lead batteries. Not in MY market. You may have people with money nearby. My town has nobody with money pretty much. Those that would pay for a bike buy carbon bikes to pedal.

But again, parts could be mailed easy, to some guy who loved his Lafree dearly, but needs the throttle or a controller.

Hey Dogman thanks for the donor bike..... Do you think the frying controllers has something to do with the controller being mounted on top of the motor. I opened it up today and that is a honking motor....bigger than my Izip 750 scooter motor and I ran it with my yi yun at 12s lipo and it flew...This must be a sign that the motor is pretty stout, because if it's frying controllers? I must search for a controller for this bicycle, because it's a cool format..