Total Weight:
44 lbs (19.95 kg)
Battery Weight:
7.5 lbs (3.4 kg)
Motor Weight:
7.6 lbs (3.44 kg)
Frame Material:
ALUXX SL-Grade Aluminum
Frame Sizes:
17 in (43.18 cm)19 in (48.26 cm)21 in (53.34 cm)23 in (58.42 cm)Geometry Measurements:
Medium: 19" Seat Tube, 21.5" Reach, 30" Stand Over Height, 69" Length
Frame Types:
High-Step
Frame Colors:
Matte Black with Blue and Neon Yellow Accents
Frame Fork Details:
Rigid ALUXX SL-Grade Aluminum, OverDrive, 9 mm Skewer with Bolts
Frame Rear Details:
9 mm Skewer with Bolts
Attachment Points:
Fender Eyelets, Rear Kickstand Mount, Bottle Cage Bosses
Gearing Details:
22
Speed 2x11 Shimano Ultegra Rear Derailleur 11-32T, Shimano 105 Front Derailleur 34/50TShifter Details:
Shimano RS685 Paddles on Left and Right
Cranks:
Custom Forged, 170 mm Length
Pedals:
Wellgo M-20, Alloy Platform Cage
Headset:
Tapered 1-1/8" to 1-1/2"
Stem:
Giant Connect, Alloy, 90 mm Length, 8° Angle, Three 5 mm Stacks, One 10 mm Stack
Handlebar:
Giant Contact, Alloy Drop Bar, 31.8 Clamp Diameter, 17.5" Width
Brake Details:
Shimano RS785 Hydraulic Disc with 160 mm Rotors, Heat Sinc on Calipers, Shimano RS685 Levers
Grips:
Black Tape, Rubber Hoods
Saddle:
Giant Contact SL Neutral, SST Tubular Rails
Seat Post:
Giant Contact, Aluminum Alloy
Seat Post Length:
300 mm
Seat Post Diameter:
30.9 mm
Rims:
Giant PR-2 Disc Alloy, Double Wall, 28 Hole, Giant Performance Tracker Road Disc Hubs
Spokes:
Stainless Steel, 14 Gauge, Black with Silver Nipples
Tire Brand:
Schwalbe Durano, 700 x 32 (28" x 1.25")
Wheel Sizes:
28 in (71.12cm)Tire Details:
RaceGuard Dual Compound, 55 to 95 PSI
Tube Details:
Presta Valve
Other:
Locking Removable Battery Pack, 1.8 lb 3 Amp Charger
Joe Bernard
8 years agoNice bike, but handling that battery is going to be an issue. Even with the handle on my Haibike’s battery, I’ve found that it’s easy to muck up the stick-on graphics. With the Giant battery you’re pretty much forced to grab it right where the decals are.
ReplyCourt Rye
8 years agoGood point Joe, I hadn’t thought as much about sticker placement and fingerprints, thanks for the feedback!
ReplyHiruy
8 years agoHi Court, As always, another great review. I bought this bike in February as soon as they released it for sale in US. I use it for my daily commute to work and put on about 500 miles on it. I really love this bike. It has very impressive handling, amazing range and fun to ride. I am about 195 lbs with additional cargo of 10-15 lbs and am getting about 60 miles in a single charge even though my commute includes several hills with a couple of really steep ones. On my other 2015 Diamondback Trace EXC, I can only get about 20 miles in a single charge. The Road E+ have the same feel as riding a normal road bike so you will feel the road bumps. To help with the road bumps, I changed the factory saddle which is too firm for me with the Serfas Variant 2 which enables you to adjust the firmness of the saddle. I also like the fact that it does not cut-off the motor immediately. When I am ready to shift gears, I stop peddling momentarily and immediately shift gears so that the momentum of the motor before it cuts off is just enough to make the shifting very smooth then continue peddling. A couple of things you mentioned are different on my bike:
- The seat post my bike came with is a carbon fiber, but you indicated that it is aluminum on your review. The Giant website have it listed as “Giant Contact Composite 30.9 mm
- My charger plug to the battery pack is plastic, but you show a metal end
ReplyCourt Rye
8 years agoInteresting, thanks for sharing your feedback about the seat post and charger Hiruy! I enjoyed reading about your experience with range and comparisons to the Diamondback Trace. Sounds like you’re a seasoned electric cyclist at this point! Keep riding safe and thanks again for your positive feedback on the site :)
ReplyJoe Bernard
8 years agoThe Yamaha motor on my Haibike Sduro Trekking has that slight over-rev feature, too. FYI, I found that stopping pedaling was too disruptive to my rhythm, so I’ve gone back to the standard practice of slightly backing off pedal pressure for shifts. I suppose this could wear out my chain faster, but I’ll take the cost hit for it.
Soren Thomsen
7 years agoHi, thanks for the review. Can you estimate what the RPM limitation is? Does it simply stop to contribute at a certain RPM or what happens there? Thanks, Soren
ReplyCourt Rye
7 years agoHi Soren, in my experience the Yamaha motor used on the bike reviewed here and some other Haibikes has a 100 RPM limit vs. Bosch and Brose which reach 120 RPM. So in practice, that means that when you are spinning and reach a certain pedal rotation speed, the motor sort of eases back and won’t help anymore… so you can either work harder on your own if you prefer higher RPM riding or you can switch to a lower gear which will slow your RPM but allow the motor to help out again. In practice, at least for me, this results in more frequent shifting and a ride style that is less enjoyable… because I like to spin due to a sensitive knee and a desire for a faster “cardio” type ride vs. slow and powerful. Does that make sense?
ReplySoren Thomsen
7 years agoThanks for your comprehensive answer. That does indeed make a lot of sense.
Dwight
7 years agoJust got this bike and rode two straight days at Horsey Hundred on the rolling hills around Lexington KY. Am about 185 lbs. Did 61 miles and 3,000 ft of climbing, and averaged 17 mph for rise. Still had 24% battery life left. Second day was nearly the same. Very natural feel and quiet. NOTE- the small frame does not have frame mounts for bottle.
Replycourt
7 years agoAwesome! Thanks for the wonderful feedback about your weight, range, and the type of terrain… you really got excellent range there Dwight :D and yeah, the point about the small frame not having bottle cage bosses is a good one. I hope the bike continues working well and you have many more safe rides this summer ;)
ReplyByron Mucke
6 years agoHi Court, since this was a road e-bike review I thought I would see if you are going to have the opportunity to review the 2018 /2019 line of road e-bikes. This seems to be a strong trend including the Bianchi Aria e-Road and Orbea Gain using the EBikemotion X35 system. This is the same system as the Desiknio you reviewed. didn’t the IGo road bike that you talked about on one of your trade show videos had the X35. Or the Pinarello Nytro and similar that use the Fazua system. I believe I read that Pinarello also has or is replacing the Nytro with the Dyado (?) that uses the X35. There seems to be a lot of controversy with these bikes because they are on the edge of that red line separating the road bike purists from the masses. Just as the MTB crowd resolved their issues I believe the road contingent will see the value in a little assist for those longer rides or that last ascent. It would be great to get your feedback and opinion on these new bikes and there viability in the e-bike market.
ReplyCourt
6 years agoGreat question and background info, Byron. Yes, I’ll be seeking out Giant and some of the others who are doing road bikes. It was neat to see the prototype road bike (that I called the Ghost) from iGo on the last visit. None of the plans are set in stone yet, I’m traveling in Seattle right now for reviews and then spending time with family for Christmas but I’ll be jumping right back in when January arrives. Keep an eye out and stay in touch! I’d love to chat with you sometime about Hill Topper, feel free to email me with the contact form here :)
ReplyByron Mucke
6 years agoHi Court,
Welcome to rainy Seattle.
Along with the ever growing number of e-bike devotees, we at Hilltopper Electric Bike Company appreciate your enthusiasm and in-depth coverage of the e-bike market, and look forward to sharing our products and experience in 2019.
Have a Happy Holidays from all of us at Hilltopper!
ReplySean
5 years agoHi there, I’m very interested in this bike, especially with your review. Are there any competitors for 2020? And are there any new updates to this bike since your review? So far this is the only bike I can see that fits the bill for long range of 60+ miles and a top speed of 28mph. I have a weekend commute to see my significant other 50 miles away from me, and I’d love to ditch the car and bus for an electric bike. Thanks
ReplyCourt
5 years agoHi Sean! Giant offers good value and has designed a really beautiful product here, with the custom battery pack and efficient Yamaha mid-drive motor. That said, we’re seeing more and more Class 3 (speed pedelec) road style ebikes. Here’s a full list of what I consider to be “road” and you can look for the Class 3 tag as you scroll through. I really enjoyed the BULLS DESERT FALCON EVO with Bosch Speed motor and the Specialized Creo models with proprietary SL motors (super light, offers a second battery pack range extender that looks like a water bottle). I hope this helps you and I’d love to hear what you finally decide on, and how you like it ;)
ReplyTed
4 years agoI bought a 500w battery for greater distance. I see the battery cover plate should slide off once the end screw has been removed. I can’t get mine to move at all.
ReplyCourt
4 years agoHmm, that’s interesting… Do you have a Giant dealer nearby, Ted? Perhaps they have a special tool, or maybe the screw was secured with Loctite or something for extra protection. I haven’t done a lot of experimentation with battery cover removal. Maybe there’s someone in the Giant forums who can help out?
ReplyFred
3 years agoI’ve had my Road E+1 for just over a year and 2500 miles. It’s been to the dealer 4 times and still isn’t working properly. It randomly shuts off, the battery rarely charges to 100% and the display doesn’t work properly. Range has dropped off to less than 45 miles. The root cause was that the battery was loose and vibrated in the frame. Giant is well aware of the problem but chooses to approach it as though they know nothing. Support from them is poor at best. They don’t return my emails and are slow to respond to the dealer. Definitely my last Giant bicycle.
ReplyCourt
3 years agoThat’s really frustrating… Thanks for sharing your experience here to help others. I haven’t engaged very much with Giant, although I have reached out and requested details and access to bikes. They seem a bit more hands off. Sorry Fred :(
Reply