Giant's new e-MTB range boasts the new Yamaha SyncDrive motor for up to 360 percent assistance when pedalling, a quick response time and a battery that recharges to 60 percent in one hour.
The popular Stance, Trance and Trance SX get the e-bike treatment, giving a range of e-mountain bikes that cover everything from a 120mm intro bike for exploring, to a beefier 140mm trail machine.
Giant has worked with Yamaha over the years on its SyncDrive motor and this has seen updates for 2019 with two models: the Pro and the Sport.
The updated motor gets two battery options, with 500Wh or 400Wh capacities. These new motors have found their way in to three mountain bike model families, with 150mm, 140mm and 120mm of rear wheel travel, covering a range of price points.
Giant's new SyncDrive motor and EnergyPak batteries
SyncDrive Pro and SyncDrive Sport motors
The Pro gives up to 360 percent assistance (within the 250W limit), and up to 80Nm of torque — these torque figures are about as high as any e-bike motor gets.
This power is provided to the cranks fully up to 120rpm in the three higher power modes, while it's provided up to 110rpm in the two lower modes.
The Pro motor also reportedly benefits from a very quick response time, 190 milliseconds, to crank inputs. So, in theory the motor shouldn't have much discernable lag when riding up technical climbs.
The clutch mechanism inside and the internal ratchet have been improved as well, to help with the reactivity of the motor, while the 168mm Q-factor (distance between the cranks) is pretty low. Giant claims the motor weighs 3.1kg
The Sport motor is built for cheaper bikes. As such, it weighs a touch more at 3.48kg and has a slightly slower reaction time to crank inputs thanks to a longer clutch engagement time.
It still provides up to 250W of assistance, with up to 80Nm of torque, though that's only available up to a pedalling cadence of 110rpm. The crank/bottom bracket interface is square taper.
The motors react thanks to 'PedalPlus' technology, which uses torque sensors (for pedal inputs), speed sensors (not linked to the crank's rotations), as well as motor and pedal rotation sensors to make sure the motor reacts properly to the rider's inputs for a natural, efficient and immediate assistance — according to Giant.
EnergyPak battery
The accompanying battery is better integrated into Giant's frames, mounting lower down in the down tube for better weight distribution.
There is a two-lock system, which Giant says makes life easier, while there's also smart charging, allowing recharging up to 60 percent of full capacity in one hour. Increased space between battery cells means the battery should heat up less too.
With the 500Wh battery, Giant is claiming up to 150km of range in Eco mode with the less-powerful Sport motor and 110km with the Pro motor. In the top 'Power' mode this drops to 50km and 45km respectively. The 400Wh battery option obviously provides correspondingly lower ranges.
Giant Trance SX E Pro
The Trance SX E Pro is a 140mm trail and enduro bike, coming equipped with 160mm of front suspension. Giant says that this is for advanced and aggressive riders looking to ride more technical terrain with greater ease.
The rear suspension utilises Giant's long-used Maestro linkage to deliver the 140mm of travel to the aluminium frame. The bikes come with 27.5in wheels and are specced with 2.6in rubber.
A size Large bike will have a reach of 452mm, 469.5mm chainstays, a 66-degree head angle, 73.5-degree seat angle and 1,233mm wheelbase.
Both models of the Trance SX E Pro (the '1' at €5,999 and the '2' at €4,599) will get the SyncDrive Pro motor and 500wh EnergyPak.
Giant Trance SX E 1 Pro specification
- Giant SyncDrive Pro motor, 500Wh EnergyPak
- Fox 36 Factory 160mm e-bike fork
- Fox DHX2 Coil shock
- Giant Connect SL cockpit and finishing kit
- SRAM X01 Eagle shifter and mech, GX chain, NX Cassette (11-50)
- SRAM Code R brakes
- Giant AM wheels, Maxxis Minion DHF / DHRII 2.6in tyres
- €5,999
Giant Trance SX E 2 Pro specification
- Giant SyncDrive Pro motor, 500Wh EnergyPak
- Fox 36 Performance 160mm e-bike fork
- Fox Performance Elite DHX2 Coil shock
- Giant Connect SL cockpit and finishing kit
- Shimano SLX / XT drivetrain
- Shimano MT520 four-pot brakes
- Giant AM wheels, Maxxis Minion DHF / DHRII 2.6in tyres
- €4,599
Giant Trance E Pro
Giant pitches the Trance E Pro as an all-round trail bike, built for better climbing and longer days in the mountains. The bikes will come with 140mm of rear wheel travel, via the Maestro suspension system, and 150mm of fork travel.
A Large Trance E Pro will have a reach of 460mm, 469.5mm chainstays, a 66.5-degree head angle, 74-degree seat tube angle and a wheelbase of 1,231mm.
There will be four models of the Trance E Pro, from the top-level '0' at €5,499 to the '3' at €3,799. They all get the SyncDrive Pro motor and the 500Wh EnergyPak.
The motor's weight is low in the bike
Giant Trance E Pro 0 specification
- Giant SyncDrive Pro motor, 500Wh EnergyPak
- Fox 36 Factory 150mm e-bike fork
- Fox DPX2 Factory shock
- Giant Connect SL cockpit and finishing kit
- Shimano XTR 12-speed groupset
- Shimano XTR Trail four-pot brakes
- Giant AM wheels, Maxxis Minion DHF / Rekon 2.6in tyres
- €5,499
Giant Trance E Pro 3 specification
- Giant SyncDrive Pro motor, 500Wh EnergyPak
- Suntour Aion 35 Air 150mm fork
- Fox Float DPS Performance shock
- Giant Connect SL cockpit and finishing kit
- Shimano Deore / SLX drivetrain
- Tektro Orion four-pot brakes
- Giant AM wheels, Maxxis Minion DHF / Rekon 2.6in tyres
- €3,799
Giant Stance E
The Stance E is aimed at slightly more recreationally focussed mountain bikers; those looking to get in to e-MTBs as a starting point or those whose position on the bike favours a less aggressive style of machine.
Giant uses a linkage-driven single pivot suspension for the Stance E , rather than the Maestro suspension found elsewhere. These aluminium bikes will have 120mm of frame travel and 130mm of fork travel.
All four Stance E models will use the SyncDrive Sport motor, and the top three models (the '0', '1', and '2 Power') get the 500Wh EnergyPak. The entry level '2' model gets a 400Wh version of the battery.
Giant Stance E+ 0 specification
- Giant SyncDrive Sport motor, 500Wh EnergyPak
- Fox 34 Performance 130mm e-bike fork
- Fox Float DPS Performance shock
- Giant Connect cockpit and finishing kit
- Shimano SLX / XT drivetrain
- Shimano M520 four-pot brakes
- Giant AM+ wheels, Maxxis Rekon 2.6in tyres
- €3,999
Giant Stance E+ 2 specification
- Giant SyncDrive Sport motor, 400Wh EnergyPak
- SR Suntour XCR 34 130mm fork
- RockShox Monarch R shock
- Giant Connect cockpit and finishing kit
- Shimano Deore / SLX drivetrain
- Tektro M735 four/two-pot brakes
- Giant AM+ wheels, Maxxis Rekon 2.6in tyres
- €3,099
