Larry Ganz
Active Member
I really like the Bosche drive, and would go for the 4lb lighter Trek with better standover, and then just fit the bike to your body by changing out the handlebar stem with a shorter and steeper riser to get the more upright riding position (I changed mine out).
If you run out of battery power you're going to appreciate having a lighter bike, which would probably handle better as well. That's why I got the Powerfly 7 hardtail which is another 4 lbs lighter than the 8FS+ (At 46.5lb vs 50.7lbs). I also like that the Trek doesn't look bad without a battery installed.
Also, the Bosche drive system can give you assist pretty quickly, without taking off from under you if you accidentally lean on a pedal while standing over the bike (same as with the Giant). And power delivery when climbing slow bumpy technical sections on the trail is pretty smooth. My understanding is that the Bosche supports a wider range of cadence than the Yamaha (120 vs 100).
I like that you can charge the Bosche on or off the bike, but I can't see that the Giant allows charging without removing the battery. It looks like the Giant display has a larger USB port, while I have to use a $5 adapter from Amazon to turn my micro USB charging port to a normal USB-A port. The Powerfly also has walk assist like the giant,
The Giant has a nicer battery gauge, but only 3 levels of assist vs 55%, 120%, 210%, and 300% of the Bosche. I also can't tell if the Giant display can be removed for safekeeping. When the Bosche display is removed it still works to let you view your ride stats like miles ridden, time, avg speed, and max speed.
On level ground I will frequently turn off pedal assist with no problem, but with a 46lb bike you pretty much need a low levels of assist for more than a 1-2% grade, to make the weight disappear. The 50.5lb of the 8FS+ would make it harder to climb anything without assist, but with my 11 speed cassette (like the 8FS+) it really makes riding without assist possible. You can crawl along very slow in 1st gear and keep up your cadence to get power to the wheels, and still hit 25+ mph without assist on flat ground in 11th gear. It hurts to think about trying this with a bike that's another 5 lbs heavier than the 8FS+.
I treat my assist level buttons on the left side of the handlebar as if they were a front crank derailleur, and it would be confusing to me to have to deal with a 2x up front left as well. Nevertheless, the Giant looks like a sweet ride and I'd be very happy with one, and maybe the weight for one in medium to fit me wouldn't be so bad?
If you run out of battery power you're going to appreciate having a lighter bike, which would probably handle better as well. That's why I got the Powerfly 7 hardtail which is another 4 lbs lighter than the 8FS+ (At 46.5lb vs 50.7lbs). I also like that the Trek doesn't look bad without a battery installed.
Also, the Bosche drive system can give you assist pretty quickly, without taking off from under you if you accidentally lean on a pedal while standing over the bike (same as with the Giant). And power delivery when climbing slow bumpy technical sections on the trail is pretty smooth. My understanding is that the Bosche supports a wider range of cadence than the Yamaha (120 vs 100).
I like that you can charge the Bosche on or off the bike, but I can't see that the Giant allows charging without removing the battery. It looks like the Giant display has a larger USB port, while I have to use a $5 adapter from Amazon to turn my micro USB charging port to a normal USB-A port. The Powerfly also has walk assist like the giant,
The Giant has a nicer battery gauge, but only 3 levels of assist vs 55%, 120%, 210%, and 300% of the Bosche. I also can't tell if the Giant display can be removed for safekeeping. When the Bosche display is removed it still works to let you view your ride stats like miles ridden, time, avg speed, and max speed.
On level ground I will frequently turn off pedal assist with no problem, but with a 46lb bike you pretty much need a low levels of assist for more than a 1-2% grade, to make the weight disappear. The 50.5lb of the 8FS+ would make it harder to climb anything without assist, but with my 11 speed cassette (like the 8FS+) it really makes riding without assist possible. You can crawl along very slow in 1st gear and keep up your cadence to get power to the wheels, and still hit 25+ mph without assist on flat ground in 11th gear. It hurts to think about trying this with a bike that's another 5 lbs heavier than the 8FS+.
I treat my assist level buttons on the left side of the handlebar as if they were a front crank derailleur, and it would be confusing to me to have to deal with a 2x up front left as well. Nevertheless, the Giant looks like a sweet ride and I'd be very happy with one, and maybe the weight for one in medium to fit me wouldn't be so bad?
