First impressions: Giant Trance Advanced E+ Elite makes lighweight eMTBs exciting

When Giant invited us to the desert to try a new eMTB, they didn’t say what to exactly expect. The press camp coincided with the launch of several new lightweight eMTB last fall, though, so we were expecting some kind of response from Giant. I’m not sure anyone was expecting what the new Trance X Advanced E+ Elite delivers, though.

With a full powered motor capable of delivering 85Nm of torque and a low, 18.8-kg weight (Size medium) that is competitive with the lightest eMTB trail bikes available right now, the Trance X E+ Elite is a different, and exciting take on the lightweight electric mountain bike category.

After riding the top-end Trance X E+ Elite 0 on Utah’s Slickrock, we’re impressed with the direction Giant’s taking eMTB. The new approach does come with some trade-offs, of course.

What’s the big idea? Giant Trance X Advanced E+ Elite

Giant’s goal with the bike is to take the compromise out of lightweight eMTB category. Or, at least, change the balance. Giant is claiming this is the world’s lightest full-power eMTB. Most other eMTB rely on a smaller motor drawing energy at a lower rate, allowing a lighter overall weight but also a lower max torque. Giant’s SyncDrive Pro still delivers up to 85Nm of torque, on par with the most powerful eMTBs out there, but at a much lighter weight.

How? With a lighter motor and the first eMTB-specific battery, which Giant developed with Panasonic. The 400Wh battery weighs just 2.3kg. The carbon fibre frame also helps here.

Why? So that it actually feels like the Trance X trail bike it’s modeled off of. Most eMTB are way too heavy to be fun on mellower or rolling trails. The Trance X E+ Elite is light enough that it is exciting to ride. To keep that lively feel and quick cornering, Giant moves to a 27.5″ rear wheel with the 29″ front so that it can get shorter, 447mm chainstays. All of this rides on 140-mm of Maestro rear suspension with a 150-mm Fox 36 fork.

Giant Trance X Advanced E+ Elite 0

We had the chance to ride the top-of-the-line Trace X Advanced E+ Elite 0 for a weekend in Utah. Like the long name, there is a whole lot to take in with this bike. Giant integrates a Fox Live Valve system into the Elite 0 (and Elite 1) frame, saving weight and allowing it to be powered by the main battery. The SyncDrive Pro motor is powered by Giant’s new EnergyPak Smart 400 and RideControl system.

The Elite 0 gets Factory-level Fox 36 and Float Live Valve suspension, SRAM’s wireless XO AXS Eagle shifting (but with a Praxis crankset) and Fox Transfer Factory dropper post. SRAM Code RSC brakes use massive 220mm front and 200mm rear rotors to slow down.

The standout components are the upgrade to Zipp 3Moto wheels with integrated Quarq TireWiz gadgets. These come wrapped in 2.4″ Maxxis Dissector and Rekon tires, though Giant set our test bikes up with a burlier Maxxis Minion DHF / Dissector combo for the tough Utah rocks.

Finally, Giant’s Contact SLR Trail integrated bar-stem allows riders to adjust stem length by 10-mm and +/- 3-degrees of bar roll.

Moab mobbing: Giant Trance Advanced E+ Elite 0 ride impressions

Riding the Trance X E+ Elite is, as you might expect when adding a whole bunch of power to a light bike, an exciting experience. The SyncDrive Pro motor is capable of delivering so much power to the Trance X that it accelerates like an absolute rocket, even up the steepest pitches.

It is, honestly, enough power that I spent most of the time on the trails in the lower settings. These were set at roughly 40 and 60Nm for our test rides, though the Ride Control app allows you to tune your own settings to set max support, max torque and how fast the bike gets to those max settings. Still, having that extra boost was appreciated when getting up longer, steeper sections (our test ride devolved into an absurdly challenging hill-climb challenge at one point). It would also be hugely helpful for keeping up with friends on full-size eMTB on short road climbs between sections of trail, where other lightweight eMTB are left in the dust.

Still a Trance X

As for how the bike feels, not just the motor, the Trance X Elite feels much like its namesake. Especially with the addition of a 27.5″ rear wheel, the Elite 0 is exceptionally light and nimble on the trail for an eMTB. Having a size Large test bike instead of my usual XL definitely added to this feeling, but it’s mostly the weight and mixed wheels that make this a really playful bike to ride.

Interestingly, Live Valve actually suited the Maestro suspension better on an eMTB. I haven’t been a huge fan of the system on analog bikes. But, on an eMTB, it prevents you from sagging into the suspension as much when you load and power into more technical climbs. This makes timing (of crank placement, etc) much closer to what you’d expect on a normal mountain bike. That means there’s less adjustment to your technique switching between e and “me” power. Other than the motor, of course.

The motor itself is quieter than some systems, though not as silent as the (less powerful) TQ system. The sound is a quieter version of the eMTB “whine.”

We’re here for a good time, not a long time

The big question with lightweight eMTB is always one of range, and range anxiety. Just how far can you ride the Trance X Elite series? That’s one aspect of this bike that we, unfortunately, did not get a full picture of. But, with a 400Wh battery and the potential to put out 85Nm, it’s obviously less than what riders have come to expect from huge, 650-800Wh batteries that full-size bikes now come with. That’s not to say it’s too little, just less.

Our second day of riding was the closest we came to fully draining the battery. That was 23km of technical riding with 750m of elevation gain thrown in. Even with a conservative approach to power modes (mostly staying in the lower end of the available support modes, not the 60 or 85Nm modes) for the first half of the ride, that left me with solidly under 40 per cent remaining. As we got closer to home, I did start using the second-highest support mode much more but I wouldn’t have been able to do that the whole ride.

This brings me to one big complaint with the Trance X. Having just give battery lights, indicating roughly 20 per cent intervals of battery life, is not enough. Especially when the motor is capable of burning through the limited 400Wh supply so quickly in full-power mode. When you’re trying to make sure you’re going to get home, knowing exactly how much battery you have, and how fast you’re burning through it, is crucial to staving off “Range Anxiety.”

Twiddling thumbs

My second complaint is the Ride Control Ergo 3 remote. While I like the idea of a remote so minimalist you barely notice it on the bars, in practice, I could barely find it. There wasn’t enough purchase for my thumb to easily find the correct remote buttons, especially while bouncing out of a descent into a climb. It resulted in shifting support modes in the wrong direction with some frequency, even after trying several different positions with the remote.

One last thought on the battery-power combo on the Trance. Pairing a full-power motor with a 400Wh battery definitely changes how you ride the Trance. This is not a bike you’re going to be self-shuttling laps at the local DH trails with. That’s also not at all what it’s designed for. But you can easily get in a good, long ride without worrying about draining the battery. Whether that’s enough will depend on how you, personally, like to ride. If you’re banging out 20-40km days with less than 1,500m elevation – which is, I would guess, as much as most people ride most of the time – the Trance should be fine. If you’re planning on riding longer than that regularly, it could be borderline.

What’s most important, I think, is that Giant’s balance of a range of power levels and a solid battery suit the Trance’s trail bike design. This bike is designed to be really fun on singletrack, not blasting fire roads. It’s great that it has that high end to keep up with more powerful bikes, and take the sting out of the steepest pitches, but that’s not the primary goal of the Trance X.

Short-term review: Giant Trance Advanced E+ Elite

Giant has succeeded in creating a lightweight eMTB that is really fun to ride. It is light and nimble enough that fast, flowing trails and tight technical singletrack are exciting to ride. But it was also quite at home on the rougher, rocky chunder and bigger rock rolls I encountered in Utah.

Adding the full-power, 85Nm motor to the mix makes this a bike that can keep up with other, full-size eMTB, if not for as long. With an awareness of battery constraints, though, you can have a really good time on the Trance X Elite. You can also manage the battery, or assist settings, to ride with friends that aren’t on eMTB or to massage longer adventures out of the Trance X Elite.

The Trance X Advanced E+ Elite 0 we tested does come with a staggering $17,500 price tag. That is both less than some other top-end eMTB and a serious amount of money. Personally, I would be happy cutting $8,800 off of that price and losing the Live Valve system, but the array of top-end parts the Elite 0 comes with are impressive.

As a platform, though, the Trance X E+ Elite is an impressive one and a great way for Giant to ring in its 50th anniversary as a bike brand. It is exciting to ride, and in a wide range of trail conditions. In adding full-power to a lightweight platform, Giant might change the direction of lightweight eMTB design going forward.