I love it - TBH I have not had a higher quality bike before so the components on this bike are so much nicer than anything I've ridden. Shifting is just so crisp and clean compared to what I was used to and the disk brakes have a ton of power. I did defeat the speed limiter (eek) as I found I was bouncing off the 32 kph limit too often and it's kind of annoying. So far, I have been using the bike exclusively for my 18.5 km commute (each way) and even with lots of assist, I get a heck of a workout (HR upto 160 for much of the ride) … I find as I dial the assist up, I just end up riding faster, I still get my heart pumping fast.
The grips are like a cork / rubber composite (not sure if its real cork) - but I find them very comfortable. I did need to play with the up-down rotation of the handle bar to get an angle which didn't cock my wrists too much that I was getting numb - but it was a dead simple adjustment to make and its been good since.
I added a suspension seat post which made a heck of a difference on the roads I ride. The only negative I found is the front forks were losing air for the first few rides - but this seems to have stabilized now - maybe the seals were starved of oil. But I do suggest you get a high pressure air pump so you can adjust the front forks if you aren't really close to your LBS.
Good stuff!!!! Thanks for the review. I'd borrowed an E+ 3 for a day and did my commute with it (total 60+ km) and I thought it was great. I did the ride in using ECO+ mode only, and used Normal and Sport on the way back and I'd only used about 60% of the battery. And the E+ 3 only has a 400w battery! I'm sure I'm going to love the E+ 1 GTS!
I also did hit the 32 kph limit a couple of times with the E+ 1, particularly when going downhill and then I felt a sudden drag on the pedals. Do you know what I'm talking about? Should I have turned the assist to the OFF position for that, so that I could pedal faster without the drag? My LBS didn't know what I was talking about.
Does defeating the speed limiter involve something other than moving the magnet from the rear wheel? I hope there's another way because I'd like to keep the RideControl EVO reporting distance and speed correctly.
My current commuting bike has no suspension at all, and I'm managing just fine. But cycling always was my sport when I was younger (I'm 67 now). My mountain bike has full front and rear suspension. So I doubt very much if I'll want to add a suspension seat post. But the front suspension is very nice. I'll keep an eye on the air pressure. Thanks for the heads up.
As far as being close to my LBS (you mentioned for adjusting the air in the suspension), I'm afraid that's not going to be the case for me. I'm a big fan of supporting the LBS and all things being equal I would have loved to have bought from him. But he's a generic bike shop, carrying several brands, including Giant. He has been unable to get me any info so far on the 2020 models. I had to get that from official Giant (only) dealers and the web. And when it came to buying my bike, there was not a single one with small frame available anywhere within a day or two of car driving distance. I ended up buying my bike 3,650 km away (according to Google Maps) because it was one of the only two left anywhere in Canada. It was either buy that and have it shipped, or place an order for a 2020 and wait until spring. Our riding season ends pretty early here in Montreal and the genuine Giant dealers were telling me mid to late October for a FastRoad E+ EX Pro (which I wasn't crazy about because of the smaller wheels/tires, lack of front suspension and much smaller 375w battery), and the best Explore model for Canada for 2020 is the E+ 2, with lower quality components than the 2019 E+ 1. So I had to buy from a dealer so far away.
Now I'm going to be reluctant to go to the LBS for anything about the new bike.
I guess I'll have the new bike in about 10 days or so. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!
