BMC Speedfox Amp 3 vs Giant E Trance Pro 2

[Larsey]

I have ridden both on pavement. Both medium both fit good.

They are both priced at a killer deal from local shops that I like

2019 Giant has a scratch from shipping on top tube and of course alloy with Yamaha motor/Fox 150mm 140mm

2018 BMC Speedfox 3 is $300 more and has Carbon mainframe with Shimano Steps 8000/RockShox 130mm 130mm

I like the Fox Suspension on the Giant and like the Shimano motor and Carbon mainframe on BMC

Thoughts?

Stock photos

 

[DrStupid]

Larsey,
I'm a total newbie and will post in the Newbies Hangout next, but I own both of these bikes and thought I could help out... maybe.

Keep in mind, I haven't owned a MTB for about 25 years, and just recently got the e-MTB bug.

My LBS first sold me the Trance e+ Pro1 (size M), and then gave me a killer deal on the Speedfox AMP3 for my wife (Size M).

I imagine the Trance Pro 1and Pro 2 are very close to each other "on the trail" performance wise.

Before I give you my impressions of both bikes, I will state what little changes I have made.

TRANCE: I have cut the bars 1" on the Trance, because my woods riding dirt-bike experience told me they were too wide. This was a mistake after the fact, as the bike feels a little narrow now that I am getting some speed. I also Put a 30mm stem on it, because I read somewhere that this will make it easier to lift the front. This is not true, that I can tell, and the stock 50mm stem will likely go back on soon, as I try to figure out what I like best.

SPEEDFOX: My wife likes a more laid back feel, so I bought her some Soma Dreamriser bars. These are tall, wide, and sweep back like 25 degrees. I love them and she don't. go figure. I tried to order a pair for my Trance but discovered that the dreamrisers are out of stock everywhere I looked.

The Trance is like a dead blow hammer on the trail. It is so smooth and stable, that it begs to be ridden fast, and wants to hit things hard. I have some decent downhill sections on my farm in KY from Dirt-bike riding. These are rough, and full of rocks, roots, washouts, and tractor tracks. These are not groomed trails and the Trance eats them up! The faster you can go, the more lively the bikes starts to feel, but the speed scares me a little, so I tone it down a bit. I'm 50 years old and don't need a concussion. LOL. The Giant Tuned Yamaha is superior to the Shimano IMHO, which may change tomorrow. But being a dirt-bike guy, I like the zero cadence instant power. I find the Yamaha gives ultra consistent output to my input, and it's instantaneous no lie. The Trance is also a good climber when the trail gets ugly. The long chain stays seem to keep the thing planted at both ends. On the downside, the Trance is hard to lift the front wheel over things, and is the opposite of playful when the trail is slow.

The Speedfox is more fun, and seems to actually speak to me. When my cadence is good and the power is flowing out of the Shimano, the front wheel is light and lively. The bike begs to hop and dart around, demanding that I take new and interesting lines over and around roots and rocks, logs and washouts. Surprisingly though it turns just as well, maybe even better than the Trance, on flat hardpack sweepers. It's like the Speedfox just casters through the corners in a relaxed style (the bars), where the Trance will start to push the front. On fast, rough downhill stuff, the fox is at home just fine, but at some point, starts to feel like I might be nearing the limit of the suspension. The Trance suspension feels like a bottomless pit to me, where the fox starts feel just a little bit busy. The Shimano E8000 is no where near as consistent as the Yamaha at lower cadence, but finds its sweet spot easy enough as the peddles start flowing. My only gripe with the Shimano motor, is that once in a while, when I want the power to lift the front end, all of sudden its not there. This might have more to due with my lack of cadence and skill than anything else.

I am impressed with both bikes, and feel blessed to be able to pick one, or the other, depending on my mood. They definitely are two very distinct bikes, but both ultimately get the same job done. I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

Oh yea. the Speedfox didn't have a dropper, and I needed to install one. I managed to do it easy enough even with the internal routing. I used the Giant Contact Dropper with a shim. It works perfectly.

The Shimano Motor on the Speedfox has a great little display, that I never seem to look at when riding.

If you have any specific questions, by all means let me know.

 

[DrStupid]

Long term follow up:
I've somewhat outgrown the speedfox's playfulness and am beginning to see some limitations. Either the bottom bracket drop is too much, or the suspension is not progressive enough, or ... add nausium. I've shortened the cranks, pumped up the shock, run higher tire pressures, even lost 25 pounds... lol... true. Yet peddle strikes are a constant worry whenever trying to find the limit of this bikes speed. It's not that I have peddle strikes, I've pretty much learned to avoid them, but this is the single biggest problem I have trying to go faster on the bike in rough terrain. I have to stop peddling more than I would like. The playfulness is still cool if I'm just plucking around.

Meanwhile, I'm actually growing into the Trance. The more fit I become, the more I seem to find buried inside this thing. At no point do I feel I could override the Trance.

This is one man's opinion, having owned them both most of the summer, after a couple 20 minute rides today. My opinions change with the weather though.

 

[DrStupid]

LMAO.. for all of my opinionated, speculative, bullshit. I just did two more rides with this new strava thingy running, and all of my seat of the pants feelings appear to be useless.

I was faster, and quicker on the speedfox. Obviously two samples does not qualify as data, but I thought I'd be several seconds faster on the Trance, and at least have a better top speed...2 seconds quicker on speedfox and 1 mph faster top speed. Go figure?

 

[fstshrk]

Just wanted to chime in here as a new member of the forum. I just got a 2021 Speedfox AMP3. Love it. Came from a 2020 Canyon Neuron CF 8.0 (non-motor) and I love the stability of the Speedfox especially when climbing. It was this thread that even made me want to test ride the BMC and I am glad I did.