2021 EXPLORE E+ 2 GTS , 20 or 28mph ?
- Thread starter e-boy
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
What about the battery size in both e-bikes?
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
The U.S. Giant website quotes the SyncDrive Life motor for Explore E+ 2 (2021). It is all confusing -- is it really a Class 3 e-bike?
Fastroad E+ EX Pro has the SyncDrive Pro motor, and it is already the factor making a better e-bike of the two.
And yes, the Fastroad is promised to be able to carry the range extender while the Explore doesn't. If I lived in the U.S. and wanted a Giant e-bike, the Fastroad would be a no-brainer for me, even if it comes with a rigid fork.
Fastroad E+ EX Pro has the SyncDrive Pro motor, and it is already the factor making a better e-bike of the two.
And yes, the Fastroad is promised to be able to carry the range extender while the Explore doesn't. If I lived in the U.S. and wanted a Giant e-bike, the Fastroad would be a no-brainer for me, even if it comes with a rigid fork.
pmcdonald
Well-Known Member
I'm so confused as to how Giant spec up their models in each country. Does the local product manager just pick their specs from a dropdown list? In Australia for example the '21 Explore - virtually unchanged from the '20 apart from a different front fork - comes with the Sport motor, 500Wh battery and 20 spd Deore. It's also dark grey, rather than that sexy navy you get in the US. Why the difference? Who knows.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Giant delivers different e-bikes to different world regions. For instance, you won't buy the Fastroad E+ in Europe. It seems the company is not willing to take the cost and effort to provide their S-Pedelecs to the EU. Of the Big Three it was Specialized and Trek that took such effort.
Spec sheets for the MY21 explore series all list that they are now compatible with the range extender battery option. The Roam which looks like it uses the previous Explore frame is not.
From what I see the Explore e+2 is Blue, Explore e+1 is Grey and Explore e+ 1 Pro is Rosewood.
From Giant USA website , customer review of 2021 Explore E+2 :
I bought this bike under the belief that it would have a Giant Pro Motor as shown me by the dealer. I then received literature that said it had the Sport Motor. I was fine with that, but surprise, surprise. It has the lowest end motor, Life. I am the owner of 5 eBikes and 4 are Giant. I would stay away from this Bike. It is a beautiful bike without enough torque. It is sadly disappointing.
And Giant merchant response :
Thank you for your review. The SyncDrive Life is for daily transportation or recreaction. It is an extremely comfortable and natural E-bike riding experience. SyncDrive Life offers a very quiet performance while still delivering power. We understand that this is not what you expected and we will work to have improved communication.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/explore-eplus-2-gts-2021
I bought this bike under the belief that it would have a Giant Pro Motor as shown me by the dealer. I then received literature that said it had the Sport Motor. I was fine with that, but surprise, surprise. It has the lowest end motor, Life. I am the owner of 5 eBikes and 4 are Giant. I would stay away from this Bike. It is a beautiful bike without enough torque. It is sadly disappointing.
And Giant merchant response :
Thank you for your review. The SyncDrive Life is for daily transportation or recreaction. It is an extremely comfortable and natural E-bike riding experience. SyncDrive Life offers a very quiet performance while still delivering power. We understand that this is not what you expected and we will work to have improved communication.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/explore-eplus-2-gts-2021
pmcdonald
Well-Known Member
So weird.. why would they downgrade the motor from '20 to' 21? Dumb move - the sport is and was a great pairing for a bike like the Explore. I lean into the full torque on mine every morning on a steep hill at the end of my ride. I wonder what the price difference between the part is for Giant?
Yamaha CrossConnect $2999
PWSeries SE
Center mount
Square taper spindle
Triple Sensor System with integrated speed sensor as part of rear hub
Weight: 7.71lb
Rated power: 250W (Nominal), 500W (Max)
Max torque: 70Nm
Max cadence support: 110rpm
Max speed support: 20mph
Support modes: ECO+, ECO, STANDARD, HIGH
https://www.yamahabicycles.com/bikes/crossconnect/
PWSeries SE
Center mount
Square taper spindle
Triple Sensor System with integrated speed sensor as part of rear hub
Weight: 7.71lb
Rated power: 250W (Nominal), 500W (Max)
Max torque: 70Nm
Max cadence support: 110rpm
Max speed support: 20mph
Support modes: ECO+, ECO, STANDARD, HIGH
https://www.yamahabicycles.com/bikes/crossconnect/
SyncDrive Sport is a great drive and great pairing on the "All Road"2020 Explore E+4 .
Maybe the switch was market driven , with the typical consumer preferring a pavement commuter with rack , fender , and lights at that price point .
Maybe the Life drive delivers a quieter more natural ride with better battery life .
While still delivering "enough" power .
60Nm isn't 70 , but it's also not 50 .
I'll reserve final judgement till I've test ridden the bike .
"At Yamaha Motor, we have a long-standing exclusive development ideal called Jin-Ki Kanno.
Technology born from Jin-Ki Kanno seeks to deliver users the seductive exhilaration felt when they truly become one with their machine.
Quantifying and fine-tuning this kind of exciting performance, which we call Kanno Seino, and then building it into our products is a solid part of our Yamaha Monozukuri framework, and this development style permeates all of our workplaces."
https://global.yamaha-motor.com/design_technology/technology/jin-ki-kanno/
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GAF722
New Member
I am the one who bought the Giant E+2 GTS. The literature that I was sent a link to all said that it was the Sport Motor. I rode my bike over the same bridge yesterday and I could definitely tell the difference between the Life Motor and Sport. I am also having problems with the battery. It discharges erratically. Yesterday it dropped from 97% to 14% to 3 on a 12 mile ride. My other bikes would typically only use 28-30%. None of my other 3 Giant E-Bikes have had this issue. I also think Giant should compensate for the incorrect info.
st0ut
Member
- Region
- USA
"Yesterday it dropped from 97% to 14% to 3 on a 12 mile ride. My other bikes would typically only use 28-30%"
Was this resolved or is it still an issue?
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Feebs
New Member
- Region
- Europe
I was looking for some reviews for the bike i bought my wife and stumbled upon this thread.
I currently live in the Netherlands and bought a Explore E+ 2 Stagger for my wife, just waiting on it to be delivered to the bike shop.
On the Giant Webpage for the Netherlands it shows the motor as being the giant sport motor but directly above it shows the mileage for the giant syncdrive life motor. When you scroll up it talks about a 300% boost for the core motor and 350% for the sport motor but no mention of the life motor.
You would think that what is essentially the star component of the bike, a Giant company would be able to get their advertising right. Especially months and months and months after it was first posted.
I currently live in the Netherlands and bought a Explore E+ 2 Stagger for my wife, just waiting on it to be delivered to the bike shop.
On the Giant Webpage for the Netherlands it shows the motor as being the giant sport motor but directly above it shows the mileage for the giant syncdrive life motor. When you scroll up it talks about a 300% boost for the core motor and 350% for the sport motor but no mention of the life motor.
You would think that what is essentially the star component of the bike, a Giant company would be able to get their advertising right. Especially months and months and months after it was first posted.
Juan Tumani
New Member
- Region
- USA
My wife and I each bought an Explore E+ 2 back in August. She has the step-through (STA) and I have the GTS. We absolutely LOVE these bikes! We ride distances of 20 to 30 miles several times a week, almost always in smart assist mode and typically have around 30% of battery capacity left at the end. A few weeks ago, we took off on what we thought was a 33 mile round trip, but we had somehow confused the mileage and it was really 40. When we were about 12 miles into the ride, I realized our mistake and we dialed the assist way down. We turned the assist off completely going down long hills. Went a lot slower and got a lot more exercise, but it was still fun. On the way back, we still had plenty of juice left to crank the assist all the way back up again for the long, steep hill a couple miles from our house. Got home with around 10% charge remaining. So, you can extend your range a lot if you're willing to forego some of the kick.
My younger brother, who is much more of a bike nut than I am, has a Yamaha Cross Connect just like the one pictured in the post above, and that was the first ebike I tried. I was sold! We originally tried to buy two of them, but then it turned out they really weren't available. We felt pretty lucky to get the Giants. I was not aware of the power output difference between the Cross Connect and the '21 Explore E+ before, but it sure doesn't seem to me like the Explore has much if any less power than the Yamaha. As it's a Class 3, 28 mph ebike, it'll also get you going close to 8 mph faster than the Cross Connect will with assist. One other difference I noticed with the Cross Connect was that the drive is quite a bit louder than the Explore's.
My younger brother, who is much more of a bike nut than I am, has a Yamaha Cross Connect just like the one pictured in the post above, and that was the first ebike I tried. I was sold! We originally tried to buy two of them, but then it turned out they really weren't available. We felt pretty lucky to get the Giants. I was not aware of the power output difference between the Cross Connect and the '21 Explore E+ before, but it sure doesn't seem to me like the Explore has much if any less power than the Yamaha. As it's a Class 3, 28 mph ebike, it'll also get you going close to 8 mph faster than the Cross Connect will with assist. One other difference I noticed with the Cross Connect was that the drive is quite a bit louder than the Explore's.
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