Giant fat ebike?

[Chazmo]

Hi Giant fans,

I was wondering if Giant ever made a fat-tire (4”) ebike. I was looking at Giant bikes after watching @RabH put crazy mileage and ride time on his Road E, and I got curious. Is/was there such a thing?

I notice the Stormguard bikes ( https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/stormguard-eplus-3 ), and I think they’re equipped with 2.5” mountain bike tires, but they look pretty beefy and was wondering if they can accommodate 3” or even 4” wide tires. Other than the (rather ugly) rack on those, they appear to follow the typical fatty riding geometry formula, which I really like and find very comfortable. And, I especially like that these are full-suspension bikes (not at all common on fatties).

While we’re at it, does Giant make its own mid-drive, or is this “Giant SyncDrive” re-branded? And, the bike is advertised as “class 1”… Can it be “unlocked” to provide more assist?

Best wishes from central Massachusetts!

 

[Chargeride]

Its only running standard axle widths, so you would need the wheels building into fat rims, I doubt 80mm rims and 4.0 tires would fit, maybe 65s with a squeeze.
But why, do you have a particular need?

 

[Chazmo]

No particular need, Chris, but curiosity about what might be my next bike in a couple of years. I’ve been super impressed with what RabH has done on his Giant road bike, and the reality is that there are no “really good” options out there to eventually replace my Juiced RipCurrent S. I’m trying to squeeze at least another year (maybe 1000 miles since I’ve got 2000 on it) out of that bike, but I’m likely to run out of the ability to replace parts after that since Juiced is dead. The company itself is being revived, but I’m pessimistic about my ability to keep the RCS going regardless.

 

[Chargeride]

All my friends who love spending money have gone from fat tires to 29x3 with carbon wheels.

 

[jabberwocky]

I don't think they ever made a fat ebike for the US market. There is a Yukon E+ that appears to be for Canada? I'm not sure why you feel the need for fat tires though. Full suspension kinda solves all the same problems, just more effectively. Unless you ride in snow or sand a lot and need the low pressure float.

I'd guess the 2.6s on the Stormguard are probably near the top of its clearance. Going above ~2.8" generally requires wider hubs and a wider bottom bracket so your heel doesn't hit the tire while pedaling, in addition to the frame/fork redesign.

Giants motors are (mostly) made by Yamaha. There have been a few scattered models that use Shimano. I'm not aware of easy ways to unlock them.

 

[Chazmo]

There is a Yukon E+ that appears to be for Canada?

Interesting. You’re right, it appears to be for sale only in Canada!

Looking at it carefully and comparing it to the Stormguard, I think the latter would suit me better. Not sure… But, if/when the time comes, I now have a couple of possibilities to explore!

Oh, as for 4” tires… I really got comfortable riding through some pretty sloppy road/trail conditions this winter in New England on the fat tires. I know that my mountain bike was both uncomfortable and not really adequate for these conditions in the past. And, in good conditions, I’m really happy so far with the fatty… Anyway, I guess we’ll see down the road.

 

[DaveMatthews]

I was lazily cruising through Watershed Park (dirt trails) a couple of weeks ago on my Stance, and some guy blew past me on a Stormguard. Good lookin' bike!
I'm pretty happy with my Stance though... goes anywhere/everywhere and comfy AF...

 

[jabberwocky]

Oh, as for 4” tires… I really got comfortable riding through some pretty sloppy road/trail conditions this winter in New England on the fat tires. I know that my mountain bike was both uncomfortable and not really adequate for these conditions in the past. And, in good conditions, I’m really happy so far with the fatty… Anyway, I guess we’ll see down the road.

What mountainbike? What sort of terrain?

IMO companies like Juiced used fat tires to compensate for crappy suspension forks and rigid frames. Nothing wrong with them, but proper suspension is always going to outperform balloon tires for comfort and control. They do have advantages where you need that light footprint (sand and snow, mainly). But if they float your boat, nothing wrong with that. The big companies mainly do fat bikes for snow and sand type riding though.

 

[Chazmo]

What mountainbike? What sort of terrain?

IMO companies like Juiced used fat tires to compensate for crappy suspension forks and rigid frames. Nothing wrong with them, but proper suspension is always going to outperform balloon tires for comfort and control. They do have advantages where you need that light footprint (sand and snow, mainly). But if they float your boat, nothing wrong with that. The big companies mainly do fat bikes for snow and sand type riding though.

Hi, Jabberwocky,

Oh, I used to ride mountain bike(s) exclusively for many, many years. I built out this wonderful Merlin in 2003, and rode it pretty hard for a few years. It had been about 5 years (maybe more) since I put any serious ride time though as I found the bike to be uncomfortable (geometry) as an older guy and not very capable in the bad weather. The riding experience was enough to put me off. I tried a handlebar riser last year and it still isn’t comfortable for me. All I can say is that I’ve really enjoyed the fat tire experience and I’m putting in major hours (well not compared to some of you guys!) on the fat bike! That’s my whole goal.

This Merlin (forgive the winter-dirty garage!) has 26” x 2.1” MTB tires. Anyway, here’s a little mountain bike porn for you guys...

I ride on mostly gravel trails, jabberwocky. I much prefer off-road to on-road, but road cannot be avoided in the dead of winter as the trails become unrideable at times. No amount of tire is gonna’ fix that.

As for the suspension vs. tire debate, to each his own, right? As a hardtail rider for close to 40 years, I never really felt any strong desire to have rear suspension. But, given the amount of seat time I’m putting in on the fatty, I would love to try one someday.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Chazmo I can't really understand your fascination with fat bikes. The fact your Juiced is a fat bike, and the U.S. has been flooded with the crappy type does not mean the fatty is a proper bicycle (big brands have realized it a long time ago). Fat bike is for deep snow, deep sand and morass, period. (Now I can see @jabberwocky wrote essentially the same).

Now, you wrote:

I ride on mostly gravel trails, jabberwocky.

Gravel bikes start at 38 mm and usually do not get beyond 55 mm (2.2").

I much prefer off-road to on-road

I don't think you are riding gnarly singletracks, are you. Good full suspension e-MTBs end at 2.6" tyres.

but road cannot be avoided in the dead of winter as the trails become unrideable at times. No amount of tire is gonna’ fix that.

No amount of tyre can compensate that but studded tyres can handle ice. You would crash on ice even on 4 or 5" fat tyres. You would not crash on ice even on 35 mm studded tyres. Do you really ride deep snow in the winter?

The best piece of advice I could give you is to explore a normal e-bike types with e-MTBs as the maximum you would ever need. FYI, I ride gravel a lot and also ride all year long here in Poland.

 

[Chazmo]

@Chazmo I can't really understand your fascination with fat bikes. The fact your Juiced is a fat bike, and the U.S. has been flooded with the crappy type does not mean the fatty is a proper bicycle (big brands have realized it a long time ago). Fat bike is for deep snow, deep sand and morass, period. (Now I can see @jabberwocky wrote essentially the same).

Now, you wrote:

Gravel bikes start at 38 mm and usually do not get beyond 55 mm (2.2").

I don't think you are riding gnarly singletracks, are you. Good full suspension e-MTBs end at 2.6" tyres.


No amount of tyre can compensate that but studded tyres can handle ice. You would crash on ice even on 4 or 5" fat tyres. You would not crash on ice even on 35 mm studded tyres. Do you really ride deep snow in the winter?

The best piece of advice I could give you is to explore a normal e-bike types with e-MTBs as the maximum you would ever need. FYI, I ride gravel a lot and also ride all year long here in Poland.

Yeah, well, it’s not for everyone, Stefan! I get that. My own experience is that I’m loving riding the bike in all conditions, and I was able to ride through the winter comfortably and frequently, which is not something I was ever able to do before.

I do occasionally tackle some technical single-tracks, but that’s a pretty small part of my riding. Oh, and I was riding through about 3” of fresh snow just fine with the fatty, Stefan. Once the ice set in, though...

I might look into studded tires next winter, Stefan!!!! That’s been on my mind, and I’m glad you mentoned it. The downside of doing that is that changing fat tires — and especially removing the rear wheel — are not particularly easy operations. Certainly not something I’d want to be doing in the cold with my hands freezing.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Apparently you need to keep Juiced for the short period of heavy winter and own a proper e-bike for the most of the year

 

[jabberwocky]

This Merlin (forgive the winter-dirty garage!) has 26” x 2.1” MTB tires. Anyway, here’s a little mountain bike porn for you guys...

Oh man, that was a beautiful bike for its day, but I can definitely see it being uncomfortable. I'm sure it has (by todays standards) very racy geometry, given the era and the fact that it has a sid on it! If you want a more comfortable ride, pretty much any modern emtb is going to be worlds better than that.

I'd try and test ride some modern full suspension e-mountainbikes. The norm now is a much more relaxed riding position (more upright, shorter stem, slacker head angle). They'll also have much better brakes than early-2000s vintage v brakes and clearance for modern 27.5/29" MTB tires. Though those Nevegals were great trail tires for their time! I ran them (in 2.35" form) for a bit on my Turner 5-Spot of roughly the same vintage.