Giant Reign E+1 hub engagement

[Le_fabulero75]

I love my reign E+1 20022 model, big burly bike i can pretty much throw at anything. Only thing is the noise generated by the rear end - i think combo of super stiff wheelset ( I need to add an insert ) and the sloppy freehub engagement. Can you rebuild these Giant brand hubs with a quick engagement pawl set? I think this would decrease the drivetrtain clank significantly.

 

[VWsurfbum]

I love my reign E+1 20022 model, big burly bike i can pretty much throw at anything. Only thing is the noise generated by the rear end - i think combo of super stiff wheelset ( I need to add an insert ) and the sloppy freehub engagement. Can you rebuild these Giant brand hubs with a quick engagement pawl set? I think this would decrease the drivetrtain clank significantly.

On my daughters Giant it had rebranded DT Swiss hubs, so depends what model it has weather or not you could upgrade.
If not, hub swap.

 

[big_scot_nanny]

I love my reign E+1 20022 model, big burly bike i can pretty much throw at anything. Only thing is the noise generated by the rear end - i think combo of super stiff wheelset ( I need to add an insert ) and the sloppy freehub engagement. Can you rebuild these Giant brand hubs with a quick engagement pawl set? I think this would decrease the drivetrtain clank significantly.

I have the same bike, bike shop tells me they are rebranded DT swiss 370 hubs. I believe they are not convertible to ratchet which would give you faster engagement, whereas the 350 hubs are. So, as above, hub swap needed.

However, before you do that... I ride using both original wheels, and also a second rear wheel with a 102t ratchet and very fast engagement. On a normal bike, this is extremely noticeable to me and I love the faster pick up, esp in slow speed tech uphill sections.

However, on the Reign E+ I find it pointless, as the pickup from the motor freewheel is slower than the rear hub. So there is no benefit.

Hope I explained that well, interested to hear if anyone else shares the same experience.

 

[Bear-uk]

I have a DT Swiss 370 hybrid rear wheel that has the ratchet freewheel in steel for ebikes. It only has about 24 teeth for strength. It works fine pickup wise. So you should be able to get a conversion kit.

 

[Rando_12345]

I have nice wheels on my Giant and the engagement is still pretty average and there is a lot of noise back there. As others have said the chainring freewheel up front has quite a high angle of engagement. I would say you are better off just getting used to the noise/engagement, or upgrade to a higher end wheels to improve bike ride quality (stock giant alu ones are quite heavy yet not too tough).

 

[Le_fabulero75]

I have the same bike, bike shop tells me they are rebranded DT swiss 370 hubs. I believe they are not convertible to ratchet which would give you faster engagement, whereas the 350 hubs are. So, as above, hub swap needed.

However, before you do that... I ride using both original wheels, and also a second rear wheel with a 102t ratchet and very fast engagement. On a normal bike, this is extremely noticeable to me and I love the faster pick up, esp in slow speed tech uphill sections.

However, on the Reign E+ I find it pointless, as the pickup from the motor freewheel is slower than the rear hub. So there is no benefit.

Hope I explained that well, interested to hear if anyone else shares the same experience.

Thanks for the info. Am i alone in having a bikes thats a bit noisy? I do agree with the motor engaagemnet as well, and think its the combo of evereything thats is making the noise. Ive been spoilt with my other bike being an almost silent Nukeproof reactor. Also, Did repack the grease in the freewheeel body and under cassette and that made a small amount of difference.

 

[Rando_12345]

Thanks for the info. Am i alone in having a bikes thats a bit noisy? I do agree with the motor engaagemnet as well, and think its the combo of evereything thats is making the noise. Ive been spoilt with my other bike being an almost silent Nukeproof reactor. Also, Did repack the grease in the freewheeel body and under cassette and that made a small amount of difference.

I run dt swiss wheels, if you are referring to the hub making loud buzzing: not on my bike

If you are referring to the rear end randomly making horrendous clangs: yes, worse than previous bikes despite same wheels and drivetrain. I think it is a combination of freewheel at the front allowing extra slack and thus force of movement of chain, + the bike resonating noise and vibrations more than other bikes.

 

[SteveTTT]

I love my reign E+1 20022 model, big burly bike i can pretty much throw at anything. Only thing is the noise generated by the rear end - i think combo of super stiff wheelset ( I need to add an insert ) and the sloppy freehub engagement. Can you rebuild these Giant brand hubs with a quick engagement pawl set? I think this would decrease the drivetrtain clank significantly.

I had a lot of slack in the hub on my Trance Ex Adv E+2, and a loud “clack” noise on bumps/rough ground, regardless of any load on the drivetrain. I thought the hub had gone but LBS said it was simply the cassette needed tightening, and that sorted it.

 

[dimitrin]

I love my reign E+1 20022 model, big burly bike i can pretty much throw at anything. Only thing is the noise generated by the rear end - i think combo of super stiff wheelset ( I need to add an insert ) and the sloppy freehub engagement. Can you rebuild these Giant brand hubs with a quick engagement pawl set? I think this would decrease the drivetrtain clank significantly.

The issue with the yamaha motors on Giant bikes is they have a ratcheting engagement system that has 52 points of engagement.
This means that even if you have instant engagement silent hubs (I have Onyx hubs on my '23 Reign e+) the best you can obtain is 52 points of engagement and the ratchet noise equivalent to a 52 poi hub. Fwiw the dt swiss upgrade is 54 poi.
But in this case that would be 52 poi of the crankset compounded with the 54 poi of the hub... which I don't have any idea of how to calculate the sloppy engagement created by this.
The best engagement hubs on the market can't correct the inherent janky crank sloppiness of this drive system.
I enjoy my reign e+, but this is a huge shortcoming from Giant that I am surprised nobody talks about.
And I have yet to see any other brand that has this engagement shortcoming.

 

[Mikerb]

Are you sure these noises are caused by freehub engagement? An alternative cause could be the kinematics of the rear end and could be completely or partially improved with rear shock settings...or replacement rear shock. As mentioned a bove the majority of motors determine the "feel" of freewheel engagement rather than the freehub.

 

[Le_fabulero75]

The issue with the yamaha motors on Giant bikes is they have a ratcheting engagement system that has 52 points of engagement.
This means that even if you have instant engagement silent hubs (I have Onyx hubs on my '23 Reign e+) the best you can obtain is 52 points of engagement and the ratchet noise equivalent to a 52 poi hub. Fwiw the dt swiss upgrade is 54 poi.
But in this case that would be 52 poi of the crankset compounded with the 54 poi of the hub... which I don't have any idea of how to calculate the sloppy engagement created by this.
The best engagement hubs on the market can't correct the inherent janky crank sloppiness of this drive system.
I enjoy my reign e+, but this is a huge shortcoming from Giant that I am surprised nobody talks about.
And I have yet to see any other brand that has this engagement shortcoming.

Intersting - yeah its very strange. I ride my mates Brose and Shimano motors and the insant smoothness difference is quite apparent. Great motor no doubt, especially at lower speeds and lots of torque but could do with some tweaking to clutch/ sideplay and top speed power output.

 

[dimitrin]

The Bosch motors have a similar 52 pt. engagement as the Yamaha motor.

 

[Le_fabulero75]

The Bosch motors have a similar 52 pt. engagement as the Yamaha motor.

Yeah ok - never ridden one.
Even the newest CX version 5? Funny have spent years making my Analog bike quite and then e bikes are just noisy all the time