Table of Contents
What I Liked
- It had much more torque and battery range
- The suspension system was very smooth
- The cockpit was simple and easy to reach
Potential Improvements
- The grips could have been more ergonomic
- There was no charging port for a smartphone
- The space for a water bottle was tight
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Motor assistance
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Battery range
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Weight
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Responsiveness & Comfort
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Quality of Components
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Controller & Display
Is the Giant Trance X E+ 3 Full Suspension E-MTB Good Enough to Sort Out Rough Trails?
The X E+ 3 was the latest improvement of the Trance series.
The geometries, suspension set, and quality of the motor and battery were just the right combination for a high-performance ride when doing mountain biking.
Trance X E+ 3 Specs Summary (basic)
| E-BIKE YEAR: 2023
MOTOR & TOP SPEED
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BATTERY
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RANGE (based on a full battery)
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CONTROLLER, RIDING MODES & DISPLAY
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FRAME
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DRIVETRAIN SYSTEM
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BRAKING SYSTEM
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GIANT TRANCE X E+ 3 WEIGHT
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TIRES & SUSPENSION
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SENSORS
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FEATURES
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What Was to Ride the Giant Trance X E+ 3 E-MTB?
Overall comfort
The E+ 3 was crafted with ALUXX SL-grade aluminum, which is good because it adds stiffness when landing after a jump.
Reaching the handlebar was easy; my body felt relaxed. However, the grips were too rounded for my liking to hold my body weight when braking.
Another part I liked was the high tube design, with its smooth curve, which gave me more clearance when standing.
Another thing to highlight is the available frame sizes, which range from XS—155cm (61″) to XL—198cm (78″). A more petite frame might require smaller tires – a variation seen in the Trek Powerfly 5 Gen 4.
What was offered by the full suspension?
The RockShox 35 Gold RL front suspension (150 mm compression) was incredible. When I compared my experience to the Focus Thron2 6.8 eMTB, 20 mm of additional compression made a difference.
I’ve seen that some front suspension models are usually soft, thinking this may improve the riding experience. This was not entirely the case. The Gold RL was stiffer. I believe it resulted from the DebonAir™ technology, which is meant to offer a more consistent compression when loaded.
In addition to the above, the motion control damper (MCD) responded a bit smoother, which gave me extra control.
The rear suspension is the other piece of the suspension puzzle for improved comfort and control. The Giant Trance X E+ 3 was fitted with the Fox Float DPS Trunnion (140 mm compression).
I noticed three (3) settings: open, medium, and locked. The open (more traction) and locked (for flat terrains) modes will operate the same way as the front suspension does, but the advantage of the medium setting is that you can have more support and performance when climbing.
As far as I have reviewed other e-MTBs, few have presented this system.
Tires and rims performance
Regarding the tires (27″ x 2.6″), it was interesting to see the front and rear tires have different carvings.
The brand probably knew that the performance of the front and rear tires needed to be different for an e-MTB.
The front tire is a Maxxis Minion DHF, which was designed to provide traction when taking corners and, best of all, enhance motor performance.
The rear tire is also Maxxis. In this case, it was fitted with the High Roller II reference.
Why not have the same reference for both tires?
You could’ve used the same reference for the front and rear tires, but I liked that the brand was thoughtful about improving the traction.
Lastly, one of the most important factors regarding the rims is that they were tubeless-ready, which increased my chances of arriving at my destination.
Yamaha SyncDrive motor
Choosing an e-bike motor for a mountain bike makes a massive difference. This version was custom-tuned, which took Giant to a new level.
The 85Nm of torque was quite potent. One noticeable thing was its noise, which may not be suitable for people wanting a quiet system, and its sensitivity; the tuning was precise.
This e-bike is classified as a pedal-assist —Class 2. Interestingly, the motor cuts off at 25km/h (15 miles/h). In this case, it will be legal to use in many countries, including the European Union and Australia.
Read More: Is my electric bike legal to ride?
The EnergyPack chemistry
The EnergyPak Smart system is a Li-ion technology with 36v and 750Wh, which is on the high chemistry side.
I noticed the range was variable depending on the assistance mode I selected, but I doubt it was super accurate as my riding style is unique compared to that of other riders. In saying this, I calculated a minimum of 50 km and around 100 km tops.
It is not bad for a 22kg e-MTB.
Now, charging the battery was another story. It charged between 1.45 hrs (60%) to almost 4 hrs to reach 100%.
If you want to learn more about BMS, please read our battery guide.
The double-locking system
One of the things that Giants has always ensured is the rider’s safety and protection of the vital elements.
If I’m honest, when I saw the battery sitting on the downtube, my first thought was, “Could the battery fall off the frame when landing after several jumps?”
To fulfill the above, the battery was designed with a double locking system – use the master key followed by pressing the silver inner hook.
This is awesome since it gave me confidence the battery will stay in place.
RideControl tech
As with every e-bike, the controller was central to its performance.
The minimalist RideControl Ergo 3 (one of the upgrades I saw from the RideControl One) made it easy to adjust any setting on the go.
Here is where I felt the best of the motor and the battery. The system was built to deliver five (5) modes: Eco, basic, active, sport, and power.
- Eco: 50 to 100%. This mode is commonly used when cruising on flat terrain.
- Basic: 125 to 175%.
- Active: 175 to 250%.
- Sport: 200 to 300%.
- Power: 300 to 360%. It is mainly used when climbing uphill.
In addition to the five (5) modes above, this smart system also offered the Walk-Assist mode, which was less intuitive to operate at first.
About the Giant e-bike App
The Giant enables a smartphone app to access some of the stats and, more importantly, to function as a display.
I found the following:
– Adjust the motor power (level of support per mode). I needed to ride a few more km to understand what would’ve worked better for me.
– Read stats such as distance traveled and battery remaining range.
– Access stats from different trails already tackled, and last but not least,
– Run diagnostics on the motor and battery condition, which I believe is very cool; not many other brands offer this feature.
The app looks great, but based on my experiences with other devices, I found it a bit troublesome when navigating between screens.
Would I Buy It?
I know a high-performance e-MTB would have an outstanding set of elements to give peace of mind, and I saw this with the motor and battery selected.
The full suspension and tires also made a huge difference when riding off-road. My primary experience was the smoothness of the system; I loved it.
Nothing is perfect, though. For one, it is not a lightweight e-bike. Thankfully, the battery can be removed. Secondly, it is not the cheapest. Regardless, the price tag is more than fair considering what was used to build this beauty.
Including the above and with its upgraded YAMAHA SyncDrive motor, the Giant Trance X E+ 3 e-MTB would be on my radar whenever I have the budget.
Images courtesy of Giant.
