REVIEW ROUNDUP: TRANCE X ADVANCED E+ ELITE SETS NEW STANDARD!

Posted by Eric Roque on April 14, 2023

THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2023

Following its launch last month, Giant’s most advanced E-MTB to date has earned near unanimous praise from the global cycling media.

Cycling publications around the world have published feature stories, videos and full reviews of the new Trance X Advanced E+ Elite, the latest groundbreaking E-MTB from Giant. Powered by an all-new EnergyPak battery system, it shaves a full 4kg (9 pounds) off the previous generation, making it the lightest full-power E-MTB in the world.

This lighter overall weight, combined with a full power SyncDrive Pro motor system that delivers 85Nm of pedaling support, means riders can attack the most challenging climbs and technical terrain with greater agility, control and confidence.

This industry leading power-to-weight ratio was the focus of Vital MTB’s extensive First Look feature, which noted that “the Trance X Advanced E+ Elite is a first-of-its-kind e-bike, creating new expectations for eMTBs with small batteries.”

Drilling down on the bike’s impressively low weight, Vital MTB editors wrote: “At 41.4 pounds (18.8 kg), the Trance X Advanced E+ Elite is not the lightest e-bike out there. However, it is the lightest e-bike compared to models with 85Nm motors, giving riders a power-to-weight ratio that no other e-bike has achieved… It truly blurs the line between existing e-bike categories, offering riders a bike with unfiltered power at a manageable weight.”

[R]evolution MTB posted a feature video and in-depth review to its website, claiming that "Giant have just released the world's lightest full-power E-MTB." After detailing all the new technology, editors described the bike's performance on the trail. "The bike's overall low weight was immediately noticeable as soon as I had to hop out of the saddle to navigate the bike up the first technical bit of trail. It took far less effort than I'd expected. The most notable thing of all though is the insane amount of power. When you couple all that power with a significantly lighter bike it feels crazy powerful."

Mountain Bike Action focused on the bike's advanced motor tuning options, which allows riders to extend their range while maintaining maximum power when it's needed most. “Giant’s progression in technology with the Trance X Advanced E+ Elite is noticeable in one particular way after only 2 days of riding. It pushes past some of the expected limitations of pairing a lighter battery with a full-power motor with surprising results. At the end of each of our rides, we noticed we still had plenty of battery power left to do another, slightly smaller, loop – note we didn’t go easy on the battery in any way.”

Meanwhile, Pinkbike gave accolades to the bike’s LiveValve-equipped suspension set-up: “From the very first pedal stroke, climbing up very technical trails with giant rocks steps was a breeze. The shock opened up to absorb the initial impact from the wheel, but then held up under my pedal inputs, helping to keep the cranks from touching down…The Live Valve crucially controls the low-speed inputs from the rider as well, so lunging up and over obstacles didn’t sap speed. At the same time, it doesn’t feel like the climb switch was accidentally left in the “on” position. The threshold, unsurprisingly, holds you up when you need it, and is gone in the blink of an eye - actually, one-hundred times faster than that.”

Canadian MTB simply loved the way the bike rode, writing: “Most eMTBs are way too heavy to be fun on mellower or rolling trails… Giant has succeeded in creating a lightweight eMTB that is really fun to ride. It is light and nimble enough that fast, flowing trails and tight technical singletrack are exciting to ride. But it was also quite at home on the rougher, rocky chunder and bigger rock rolls.”

For more insights and ride reviews, check out these links below.

And for more on the new Trance X Advanced E+ Elite, including all the technical details, click here.