Giant Full E+1 Initial thoughts and quick review

[ahkim]

I haven't seen much info about this bike so I thought I'd post my initial impressions after my ride today.

First, I've actually ordered the Trek Powerfly FS 8 and I'm waiting to receive it within the week. Before I bought the Trek, the local giant dealer had the Full E but it was unavailable. Yesterday, I got a call saying that I could take the bike for the weekend and demo it even though I told the dealer I already ordered the Trek. Well, it's good salesmanship on their part, I really liked the Giant. I rode the Trek (large size) on some very short and flat single track around the shop but nothing like riding it for 10 miles on the technical trails with slope.

Here are my initial thoughts:

• Love the look. The battery is well integrated into the frame, much better than Trek.
• I rode the Medium which is the correct size for me at 5'7". I have NO standover height clearance but it wasn't really an issue.
• Brakes are excellent. Great stopping power and the 2 finger levers feel nice.
• The 2.6" + tires were fine. I tested a 3" tire the week before and the ride was so plush and stable.
• Battery life seems to be impressive. I started with 94% and rode 10 miles mostly in ECO and ended with 80%.
• I was able to ride a few mins without any power to see how difficult it was. You can tell it's a 50lbs bike but it's very manageable without E assist.
• Suspension was good. It just works. It was planted.
• The Yamaha motor was great. It's really hard to compare to the Bosch since it wasn't side by side. There is some motor noise but it's not bad. The display and motor controller work well and are simple. There are only three settings for power which is fine. I used the lowest setting (ECO) for most of the ride and found it to work well. I'm still riding for fitness so ECO is a good mix of having fun while still getting a workout. The Power mode has some major kick! It's crazy fast and probably not usable for anything technical, it has too much kick. It's makes quick work of any hill.
• The only downside for me was the shifting and drivetrain. Since I'm coming for a 15 year old Rocky Mountain Element with 3 rings up front, I thought the 2 rings up front with the Giant would be ok but I now realize that I'm a BIG fan of the 1x up front. I found a few times when I wasn't sure what gear I was in up front or I could hear the chain rubbing since I didn’t have the gears right. Also, I noticed that when I would start pedaling, there is a very slight delay where you could feel and hear something in the gears catching and it would make a slight clunk noise. Not sure if it's normal or not, or maybe I'm being picky.

I would love to convert the Giant to a 1x up front, or even better, swap to the XT Di2 electric shifting. For a 1x, would I need a new cassette or chainring?

Also, can I swap to a 2.8" tire?

Bottom line: it's a great bike and now I'm not sure if I'll buy the Giant or Trek. Thoughts?

 

[ahkim]

Here's some of the gopro video from the ride.

 

[ahkim]

Just wanted to post an update that I ended up buying the Full E+1. I've been on three rides now (10+ miles each) and it's been great; all on the same battery charge. My initial impressions are still true. My last ride had some large drops and the bike handled like a champ - utilizing the full amount of travel.

I'll be dropping it off at the shop this week to have it converted to a XT Di2 electric shifting and going to a 1x Raceface Narrow-Wide 38T on the front. I'll post again after I've had the chance to ride with the new shifting.

Let me know if you have any questions about the bike!

 

[ahkim]

Had the bike in the shop for a few days, more info to come but here's a teaser:

3.0 Nobby Nic on the front.

XT Di2 Electric Shifting

Di2 XT Rear Derailleur and 2.8" Rocket Ron

2.8" Rocket Ron (tubeless) running 17 Psi but I haven't had the chance to ride it yet.

 

[ahkim]

Been too busy enjoying the ride to post my thoughts on the Di2, new tires, etc. But it's been awesome! I just picked up a Feiyu WG 3-Wearable Gimbal for GoPro and the video is so smooth.