2019 Trance E+1 Pro ordered

[markd65]

Ordered my first ebike today. After having time trialled, road raced, MtB'd, triathlon'd over last 35 years or so decided the next N +1 needed to be an e bike. I'm predicting this one will produce the biggest smiles! Looking forward to that big box and knock on the door!

 

[DrStupid]

I love mine. Just went to the Dr. for a physical... it was the first time he has seen me since I started riding my cheater Trance ebike . I've lost 25 lbs. in 3 months! The Doc said I might need to stop riding the dam thing so much, and start weight lifting or something. Ok Doc...whatever you say... I went for ride as soon as I got home.

 

[Peaky Rider]

I love mine. Just went to the Dr. for a physical... it was the first time he has seen me since I started riding my cheater Trance ebike . I've lost 25 lbs. in 3 months! The Doc said I might need to stop riding the dam thing so much, and start weight lifting or something. Ok Doc...whatever you say... I went for ride as soon as I got home.

I'm sick of hearing about guys like you enjoying yourselves on your e-mtbs whilst my Focus has been with the dealer for a fortnight and my mate's Trance is also stuck at the dealers awaiting a new motor.

Don't you know that your only supposed to use forums to moan and bitch?

 

[Pukmeister]

What happened with mateys Trance? Was it total failure, weird noises, rough feeling bearings etc ?

I hope you are both back on two wheels ASAP.

 

[Peaky Rider]

What happened with mateys Trance? Was it total failure, weird noises, rough feeling bearings etc ?

I hope you are both back on two wheels ASAP.

It suddenly started making a noise like a high powered jet wash.
The dealer hasn't said what was wrong with it, just that the motor was buggered.
He thinks he had done around 1200 miles on it

 

[Pukmeister]

markd65, I hope you enjoy your new Trance as much as I enjoy mine. They are great bikes, especially for the money.

 

[DrStupid]

I'm sick of hearing about guys like you enjoying yourselves on your e-mtbs whilst my Focus has been with the dealer for a fortnight and my mate's Trance is also stuck at the dealers awaiting a new motor.

Don't you know that your only supposed to use forums to moan and bitch?

You never know with this stuff. Maybe next week. I will be heart broken however if it fails. For this reason I found it absolutely compulsory that the wife and the boy both got emtbs.?

 

[markd65]

markd65, I hope you enjoy your new Trance as much as I enjoy mine. They are great bikes, especially for the money.

Cheers, sure I will. As you say they are good value for money and good spec for price. Spent a long time choosing and everybodies opinion is different but sure I've made the right choice for me.

 

[Bilko]

Picking mine up tomorrow can't wait.

 

[markd65]

Picking mine up tomorrow can't wait.

Fantastic. Pics and initial impressions required please as I wait for my dispatch and delivery ??

 

[Bilko]

No pics yet sorry, only picked it up today. Initial impressions are the steering is very aggressive compared to my Dirt-E but that could be the tyres. I've only done 20 miles so far and had 2 slight pedal strikes which i never got on the Dirt-E on the same ride. This might be because i was concentrating on the aggressive steering and not on pedal position. I'm not a fan of the Sram shifter but a slight adjustment might help.

The brakes are better than the Dirt-E and the dropper lever is better being on the left and a better type lever (feels more natural to operate)
I did 20.76 miles and have 64% battery left the ride was 60% cyclepaths / promenades and the rest dirt and gravel with 650ft of short climbs done mainly in eco with a squirt of active for the climbs.

I thought i'd miss the Giant display screen and all the info it provides but i didn't, I was too busy hanging on and smiling, didn't bother with ride control either.

Overall i'm chuffed to bits with it and got a mega deal on it. A few little tweaks and adjustments and it should be perfect for my needs.

 

[DrStupid]

Congratulations!

You likely know way more about bikes than I did when I picked up mine so I hope not to bore you to tears with this... I had to set the end stops, and I found a 1/2 turn on the b-screw adjustment made a pretty big difference in shifting. The Eagle is touchy to get right, but since finding the setup, it has stayed spot on.

My local dealer sold me some 165mm cranks (OEM on size small) and these shorter cranks along with slightly less than 20% sag at the rear shock, has all but eliminated peddle strikes. It doesn't take much apparently on this bike. I was gonna try the 160mm cranks but see no reason at this point.

 

[markd65]

No pics yet sorry, only picked it up today. Initial impressions are the steering is very aggressive compared to my Dirt-E but that could be the tyres. I've only done 20 miles so far and had 2 slight pedal strikes which i never got on the Dirt-E on the same ride. This might be because i was concentrating on the aggressive steering and not on pedal position. I'm not a fan of the Sram shifter but a slight adjustment might help.

The brakes are better than the Dirt-E and the dropper lever is better being on the left and a better type lever (feels more natural to operate)
I did 20.76 miles and have 64% battery left the ride was 60% cyclepaths / promenades and the rest dirt and gravel with 650ft of short climbs done mainly in eco with a squirt of active for the climbs.

I thought i'd miss the Giant display screen and all the info it provides but i didn't, I was too busy hanging on and smiling, didn't bother with ride control either.

Overall i'm chuffed to bits with it and got a mega deal on it. A few little tweaks and adjustments and it should be perfect for my needs.

Great stuff. Hoping mine is here for a weekend ride

 

[Bilko]

Congratulations!

You likely know way more about bikes than I did when I picked up mine so I hope not to bore you to tears with this... I had to set the end stops, and I found a 1/2 turn on the b-screw adjustment made a pretty big difference in shifting. The Eagle is touchy to get right, but since finding the setup, it has stayed spot on.

My local dealer sold me some 165mm cranks (OEM on size small) and these shorter cranks along with slightly less than 20% sag at the rear shock, has all but eliminated peddle strikes. It doesn't take much apparently on this bike. I was gonna try the 160mm cranks but see no reason at this point.

The shifting is fine, i just prefer the feel of the Shimano ones on the Dirt -E as they are press to shift up and pull to shift down where the Sram is press for both. Also you can go up several cogs at a time on the Shimano but not on the Sram.

 

[DrStupid]

The shifting is fine, i just prefer the feel of the Shimano ones on the Dirt -E as they are press to shift up and pull to shift down where the Sram is press for both. Also you can go up several cogs at a time on the Shimano but not on the Sram.

10-4. Enjoy your new ride.

 

[Mike__]

First time sram user , I still prefer the shimano shifter but have gotten used to the sram. 12spd gx deraileur is too big / low eats sticks and seems to catch on anything

I fitted taller bars , fizik Gobi seat (nice and long ) in most rear position , run the front on the firmer side and rear soft and It rips now. Just be aware of the low motor height !! Not much they could have done due to the maestro setup

Enjoy your new rides boys , these things are addictive. Also recommend the badass box

Mike

 

[Pukmeister]

A guy on a fast road bike came past us from the A32 on Sundays ride at the foot of Old Winchester Hill with a "coming through" shout. About 30 seconds later, he got a "coming through" shout right back at him as a 70 year old and 53 year old came past him climbing the hill on a pair of Trance E+2's on assistance level 4. He was a good sort and didn't take it badly, he just laughed out loud and shook his head.

One of those memorable e-biking moments.

 

[Bilko]

Enjoy your new rides boys , these things are addictive. Also recommend the badass box

Mike

What about your warranty? or don't you care?

 

[Mike__]

What about your warranty? or don't you care?

It clips on and off to the speed sensor in seconds. Contactless. half’s the signal after 18kmhr. If one were considering a derestriction i don’t know why a hard wired dongle would even considered.

I’ve had the bike into the dealer for warranty repairs and A service.
There’s no raised power levels nor additional load on the drive unit

 

[markd65]

Ordered my first ebike today. After having time trialled, road raced, MtB'd, triathlon'd over last 35 years or so decided the next N +1 needed to be an e bike. I'm predicting this one will produce the biggest smiles! Looking forward to that big box and knock on the door!

Due to be delivered tomorrow. Feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. Will be normal road bike chain gang on Saturday then the new steed and I will be heading to Sherwood Pines on Sunday!

 

[markd65]

Ordered my first ebike today. After having time trialled, road raced, MtB'd, triathlon'd over last 35 years or so decided the next N +1 needed to be an e bike. I'm predicting this one will produce the biggest smiles! Looking forward to that big box and knock on the door!

Just had maiden trip on bike. Jeez, what an absolute hoot. 2 laps of Sherwood Pines red run and grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Bike awesome just flowing over stuff without me having to do much more than point it. 2nd lap felt confident to push it on a bit. Did first 1.5 laps in lowest power setting (100%) then last half lap in 2nd setting (175%). No need for anything higher. Showing 60% battery remaining after total 17 miles. Not sure what climb is, probably 1500ft for 2 laps?
One thing, I'm always used to riding being clipped in on all other bikes. Noticed I was getting a few pedal strikes today so I'll be putting clip ins on as more narrow and less to strike.
What a machine!!

 

[Pukmeister]

Glad you like it, great bikes.

Get used to pedal strikes, even with clipless.

 

[skyfree]

One thing I did to mine recently which has improved things was to put a 38t chain ring on. This is the largest you can fit on the bike. I felt like the bike is geared way too low and I was spending 95% of my time in the top 6 gears, and probably 75% in the top 3. I couldn't even imagine using the lowest gear. The assist cutoff here is 20mph and that's about at my comfortable pedaling speed limit in top gear. The 38t gives me a little more top end to pedal down gentle hills above 20mph and puts my normal gear usage more toward the center of the cassette. It's only a 5% difference, which is about half a gear on a 12 speed if I have the math right.

 

[Bilko]

One thing I did to mine recently which has improved things was to put a 38t chain ring on. This is the largest you can fit on the bike. I felt like the bike is geared way too low and I was spending 95% of my time in the top 6 gears, and probably 75% in the top 3. I couldn't even imagine using the lowest gear. The assist cutoff here is 20mph and that's about at my comfortable pedaling speed limit in top gear. The 38t gives me a little more top end to pedal down gentle hills above 20mph and puts my normal gear usage more toward the center of the cassette. It's only a 5% difference, which is about half a gear on a 12 speed if I have the math right.

If you take the MRP chain guide off you can go bigger on the front if you need. I did some rough calculations and think a 44t would go on safely. Obviously you would need to lengthen the chain.

 

[MinusPrevious]

Alright congrats. looks great

Question: When you note pedal strikes, is that due to a low bottom brkt height or are you referring to the width of the BB? Read your notes but just want to confirm

Also, ive noticed the gearing issue right off. Asked my LBS dealer who noted the gearing is paired directly to the Yamaha motor & that the gearing is not to be changed. Im running the Speedbox so im not that guy worried about warranty issues, but certainly dont want to load up the motor more than its designed range

Cheers

 

[Bilko]

Alright congrats. looks great

Question: When you note pedal strikes, is that due to a low bottom brkt height or are you referring to the width of the BB? Read your notes but just want to confirm

Also, ive noticed the gearing issue right off. Asked my LBS dealer who noted the gearing is paired directly to the Yamaha motor & that the gearing is not to be changed. Im running the Speedbox so im not that guy worried about warranty issues, but certainly dont want to load up the motor more than its designed range

Cheers

Thats strange, my dealer was quite happy to change the front chainring on my Dirt-E and thats the same motor. He did say that i've got the wrong type of bike if i want to go fast though
I've just looked at the racing road ebike spec which again uses the same motor and that has a 50t up front.

 

[markd65]

Alright congrats. looks great

Question: When you note pedal strikes, is that due to a low bottom brkt height or are you referring to the width of the BB? Read your notes but just want to confirm

Also, ive noticed the gearing issue right off. Asked my LBS dealer who noted the gearing is paired directly to the Yamaha motor & that the gearing is not to be changed. Im running the Speedbox so im not that guy worried about warranty issues, but certainly dont want to load up the motor more than its designed range

Cheers

re pedal strikes some were grounding and others side hits. The side hits are just me getting used to it in narrow chutes and not BB width issue. My sag was at the slacker end of the range so I've put a few more psi in which should make it a little less likely to strike whilst still in correct range. I think I was having that much fun not really looking at any raised slabs, stones that I hit and that will change!!

 

[skyfree]

Also, ive noticed the gearing issue right off. Asked my LBS dealer who noted the gearing is paired directly to the Yamaha motor & that the gearing is not to be changed. Im running the Speedbox so im not that guy worried about warranty issues, but certainly dont want to load up the motor more than its designed range

I've heard that about other brands as well. There was a discussion about it on a Levo thread. Everyone was scratching their heads over that one. If someone can come up with a plausible technical reason why I'd love to hear it.

The SRAM Eagle X Sync 2 12-speed chainring can only be had up to 38T, which is why I stopped there. The drive train is clearly designed to work with a 38T chainring since the chain guide has markings for the 38T position. I wanted to stick with the chain guide and matched GX/NX chainring/cassette/derailleur. I did not have to lengthen the chain and 1st gear shifts are clean.

I would say that it's true that the 36T is well matched to the motor in that you hit the 20mph limit right at a high cadence in top gear. I do some commuting on this bike with a complete commuting wheel set with road tires and I just don't want to maintain that cadence for 28 miles. 90% of that ride is in top gear because it's absolutely flat.

 

[DrStupid]

Based on my own short experience...the gearing issue seems odd, but I guess can be boiled down to leg strength, or preferred cadence, or weight of rider, or type of terrain... did I mis anything? Anywho, I find myself using first gear often on technically difficult climbs and wouldn't dare gear it up? Go figure.

 

[Bilko]

What wheels and tyres are you using for commuting? something i need to look in to.