Review // Blake Nielsen Pics // Matt Staggs
Giant have always done a great job with their carbon fibre frames and this particular bike certainly appears to continue that tradition. What is the finish detail like of the Trance X Advanced E+ Elite up close?
That’s right, these guys are masters at crafting carbon frames. The key reason why is that Giant’s ‘Advanced’ carbon fibre framesets are made in Giant’s own factory which means they have complete control over every part of the process, from choosing the providers of the raw materials all the way through the laying and curing processes, down to the paint and finishing. The fit and finish of the individual frame components is fantastic as well as the actual paint quality (and colour!). Giant do a great job when it comes to the smaller details for such a mass production company.
What are some of the key ‘numbers’ that Giant have built the bike around?
The Trance X Elite comes exclusively as a mullet setup with a flip chip housed within the back of the upper Maestro link. Said Maestro linkage system takes care of the 140mm of rear travel, coupled with a 150mm fork. I have spent most of my saddle time in the Low setting, so we will touch on those geometry numbers. With a 65.8* headtube angle and a 76* seat tube angle the Trance X Elite sits nicely within the trailbike realm. The reach on my medium is 457mm, chain stay length of 447mm and stack of 611mm, the length of the bike overall feels comfortable, while changing to and from other bikes though, I felt the front end is definitely on the lower side which can lead to an uneasy feeling in rougher sections.
Let’s dive right into how the bike rides! The ‘Elite’ comes out swinging with the claim of being the lightest (weight) full powered e-Bike on the planet. Did it feel as punchy as you were expecting when you cranked the power right up?
Punchy is only half of it! The power to weight ratio of the Elite is a real smack in the face, in a good way, when you first jump on it! The idea of a full powered e-MTB with an SL battery might seem a little strange, and it’s not until the first ride that you see the full potential of that seemingly odd combination. Being a ‘middle weight’ I found myself with the same range anxiety early on in the same way that I did when the early SL e-MTB’s were coming out. To be honest it can be quite easy to drain more battery than intended when getting excited with the higher power levels. On the flip side to that, I did find myself utilising other power modes a lot more which was refreshing.
Of course, that power delivery is produced by an all-new motor from Yamaha called the Sync Drive Pro2. How did you find the feel and performance of the motor throughout your review?
Loved it! I have been a fan of the Yamaha manufactured motor since my first experience. With 85Nm of chain stretching power delivered smoothly via Giant’s selection of power modes. The take-up of the power after initiating your pedal strokes feels a little slower than other motors on the market, which can feel a little strange and take some getting used to. Aside from that, the delivery of the assistance is super solid and punchy.
In terms of range did the bike’s stock 400Wh battery seem like it had enough ‘juice’ for what you and the majority of the riders wanted to do, or did you find yourself wanting to reach for one of those after market range extenders that Giant offer for this model?
I actually discovered with this bike, for my local trails that suit the 140mm trail shredder, the 400Wh battery was more than enough. I can certainly see for certain people where it wouldn’t be enough, naturally there are a lot of factors that come into play when calculating range. As with the full SL bikes, the assistance mode needs to be used carefully compared to the full size battery bikes along side the actual gear selection of your drivetrain to truly get the most out of the torque of the motor and not drain those precious watt hours! The option of the range extender opens up a great deal more doors though, as far as long range riding capabilities go!
The Trance X Advanced E+ Elite is offered exclusively as a mullet / mixed wheel size bike. Do you think that plays to the strength in terms of the way it rides and handles out on the trail?
Without a doubt. For more aggressive riding, Giant’s will always thrive when setup with a 27.5″ rear wheel. The characteristics of the Maestro linkage system require it to have quite a long lower link compared to other similar linkage systems, so when combined with a 29″ rear wheel it stretches the rear end quite a lot, which can have its positives on one hand, but most Aussie trails need to take more of an aggressive approach. The nimble feel makes the bike “feel” even lighter on the trail too!
This bike also features adjustable frame geometry. Tell us a bit about how that works and what sort of a difference you noticed whilst riding the various settings?
Giant’s flip chip design is housed on the inside of the upper Maestro link, the aspects of the geometry that are changed are the standard head tube angle, seat tube angle, reach, stack, standover height, top tube length, trail and wheelbase.
As you touched on earlier the bike sports 150mm of travel up front and 140mm in the rear, did you find that the bike felt like it had just the right amount of travel for the type of riding that it’s intended for?
Giant hit the nail on the head as far as travel and geo numbers go for the trail bike category, with its lower feeling front end and nimble back end it leads you towards wanting to ride aggressively and attack the trail. Flowing single track is where the Trance X Elite thrives, with plenty of traction thanks to the supple Maestro linkage and the stock, sticky Maxxis rubber. The overall seated riding position is super comfortable yet efficient, coupled with plenty of assistance power makes for a rapid ride! With that being said, the aggressive feel almost leads you into a false sense of security and I found myself almost getting into trouble on the odd occasion in the rougher sections of trail that are a little over the head of the 140mm of travel.
A notable design feature of this bike is that it boasts much greater trail clearance than any Giant e-MTB that we’ve seen to date which is thanks largely to the compact design of the new Sync Drive Pro2 motor by Yamaha. You’ve obviously ridden quite a few Giant e-MTB’s over the years, was the extra ground clearance of this bike noticeable?
The positioning of the Sync Drive Pro2 motor in the Elite series defiantly gives more breathing room as far as trail clearance goes. I can definitely remember snagging the engine casing on rocks and chundery sections numerus times back when I test rode the older Trance E+ and Reign E+, but there was none of that with this bike. I even just popped out to the shred just then to double check to see if there were any scruff marks on the motor casing from snags that I hadn’t noticed whilst riding, but there were none to be seen.
The mode controller on this bike looks to be neatly integrated into the end of the left hand grip. What’s the execution like and what was it like to use?
I am a huge fan of Giant’s Ridecontrol Ergo 3 controller! It is one of the sleekest units available on the market, with very positive “clicks” when going through the modes. Not a fault of Giant’s, but when coupled with Shimano brake levers it does restrict the options for positioning somewhat from what I’ve experienced from the last few times I’ve had them, this could catch some people out with some desired setups. All in all though I love the feel and performance.
One of the things that have always set Yamaha’s motors apart is their awesome connectivity via the Giant RideControl app which then allows the rider to access a heap of features as well as easily customise the ‘mapping’ of each of the bikes pre-set power modes.
I’d have to agree with that for sure. Giant’s Ride Control App is for sure one of the better e-MTB apps on the market. With its ease of use/setup and reliable connection it has some great features such as automatic upload of your rides to Strava, negating the need to have a Garmin or anything similar. Giant do a great job of their pre-set power/assistance modes, these are fully customizable within the app too, which is great fun, especially for dialling in on the smaller battery bike to get the most out of your range.
Now that you’ve spent quite a bit of time riding this bike and discovering its personality, what sort of rider do you think it’s going to suit the most?
It’s going to suit a wide range of riders given that the bike is so versatile. Maybe at the very top of the list I’d say that the Trace Advanced Elite series will suit those that spend most of their time at trail centres chasing those KOM’s. With its aggressive feel, masses of power and lighter weight it loves to attack the trail at top speed. With enough travel to be smooth yet efficient over choppy trails it has all that you could want, without anything that you don’t need. I was a little unsure myself before riding it as to who the target rider was, but it is just another option in the mix of the fantastic world of e-MTB’s that handles itself very well.
Specs
Frame: Carbon front end, rear end and rocker. Featuring a Maestro suspension design and adjustable frame geo.
Frame sizing: S, M, L, XL
Travel: 150mm front, 140mm rear.
Wheels: ‘Mullet’ 29”/27.5” specific
Motor: Giant SyncDrive Pro2 (made by Yamaha) 85Nm
Battery: 400Wh (aftermarket range extender battery available)
Parts: Fox 36 Float Performance Elite fork, Fox DPS Performance rear shock, Shimano SLX brakes and drivetrain. TranzX dropper post, Maxxis Minion DHF/Maxxis Dissector tyres!
Price: RRP: $9999.00
Browse: www.giant-bicycles.com/au