Lighter weight and more connectivity underscore the brand's renewal of electric mountain bikes that focus on off-roading

This game is now over

Giant’s latest electric mountain bike 2022 Trance X Advanced E+ has received updated geometry and a new Yamaha SyncDrive motor.

The new geometry is inspired by the stronger stable partner of Trance X Advanced E+. We claim that the updated 2022 Giant Reign E+ may be one of the best electric mountain bikes to date, with a longer, looser and lower geometry. .

The stroke is the same as the upcoming Trance X Advanced E+, with a 140 mm Maestro rear suspension. The front fork has 150 mm. It can still roll on 29-inch wheels front and rear, but it now has a 625Wh battery pack.

The SyncDrive Pro motor manufactured by Yamaha is used in 2022 bicycles. It is lighter, more compact, has more torque and is said to be less noisy.

Trance X E+ 2 Advanced starts at 5,999 GBP/6,800 USD, while the top Trance X E+ 0 starts at 7,999 GBP/9,300 USD/12,799 AUD.

Giant stated that its latest Trance X Advanced E+ is made of high-performance raw material carbon material and has an impressive stiffness-to-weight ratio.

In order to achieve the desired balance of performance, it is said that the front triangle is layered and formed into a single carbon part in a process called "modified monocoque structure". The rear end is also made of carbon fiber, as is the rocker link on the Maestro suspension.

Maestro shock absorbers-used on most of Giant's full suspension bicycles and Trance X Advanced E+-have a travel of 140 mm. According to Giant, it has two co-rotating links to provide virtual pivot placement, thereby creating "the most active, efficient and independent suspension system on the track."

The suspension system is similar in theory and practice to other dual-link systems on the market, including Dave Weagle's DW-Link, Santa Cruz's VPP and Intense's JS Tuned system. The pivot position allows brands to adjust attributes such as anti-squat, advancement, leverage, and anti-rising.

However, for the new Trance X Advanced E+, Giant did not disclose any details of the specific kinematics of the system.

The core of the new bike is Yamaha's SyncDrive Pro motor, which can now provide up to 85Nm of torque-an increase from 80Nm-and weighs 2.7kg, which is lighter than the upcoming version. Obviously, the motor is more compact than the old version, and Giant claims that it reduces the noise level.

The motor is paired with a 625Wh battery pack, but it is also compatible with Giant's EnergyPak Plus, which is a 250Wh range extender external battery.

The bicycle is equipped with a new handlebar remote control, which has three buttons, called RideControl Ergo 3, which can be installed on the left or right side of the handlebar, and can be combined with a second remote control with user-programmable controls. The device is paired in the RideControl smartphone app.

The app connects to the bicycle wirelessly and allows the connected smartphone to be used as a real-time cycling data display, and system updates can be performed.

The main on/off button-called RideControl Go-is integrated in the upper tube of the bike and can also be used to change the assist level.

The 2022 Giant Trance X Advanced E+ geometry has undergone longer, lower and looser modifications.

Thanks to the flip chip located in the lower shock mount, its geometry can also be adjusted between high and low positions. This will change the height of the bottom bracket, the angle of the head tube, and the angle of the seat tube.

The headline numbers include a head tube angle of 65.8 degrees, a seat tube angle of 76 degrees, and range from 439 mm (small bicycles) to 517 mm (super large bicycles).

Although these numbers are not as extreme as some bikes on the market, they do represent a major leap forward for Giant's electric mountain bikes for forest roads, and we suspect that they will open up a world of performance potential for Trance X Advanced E+ riders.

The main products of this series are the 2022 Giant Trance X Advanced E+ 0, equipped with Fox’s Live Valve fork and Float X Factory shock absorber, and Shimano’s XT M8100 drive train and brakes, priced at £7,999 / US$9,300 / 12,799 Australian dollar.

Although adding Fox's Live Valve to any bike is a dream come true of technology enthusiasts, the exact benefits of the suspension of an electric mountain bike locking itself to improve pedaling efficiency is a bit lost for me.

By adding a motor with a torque of 85Nm, the need for an ultra-efficient suspension platform is reduced. Why, precisely, the need for further measures is unclear.

In other words, Fox’s Live Valve works well, as technical editor Rob Weaver discovered on the standard-driven Giant Trance X Advanced Pro 29 0, so it shouldn’t affect performance, even if the enhancements are trivial.

The rear wheel travel of Trance X Advanced E+ is 140 mm, which is at the low end of the e-bike travel.

The closest we have tested recently is the 2022 Specialized Turbo Levo, which has a squeeze of 150 mm, but it is equipped with Fox 38 instead of Fox 36 on Trance.

The geometry is also not a perfect match, and it can be said that-although the Turbo Levo is described as an off-road vehicle-it is more impactful than the Trance X E+. Canyon's Spectral:ON CF is close in geometry and stroke, but slightly squeezed at 150mm.

But don't be fooled by the travel data-Trance X E+ looks like it should be the best off-road electric mountain bike.

Alex Evans is BikeRadar's Mountain Bike Technical Editor. He started downhill racing at the age of 11 and then continued to participate in competitions across Europe. At the age of 19, Alex moved to Morzine in the French Alps to work as a bicycle tramp and did a lot of cycling. For eight years, he rode those famous tracks day after day, and he broke more bikes than he remembered. Alex then moved back to the UK, where he took full advantage of his extensive knowledge of mountain biking by working as a feature editor for MBUK magazine. Since working for MBUK, Alex's focus has shifted to bicycle technology. He is one of BikeRadar's chief testers, knows how to push bicycles and products to the limit, and hopes to find the best value-for-money equipment. Alex is also a frequent visitor to BikeRadar Youtube channel and BikeRadar podcast.

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