Giant have launched a two-bike range of electric road bikes to complement their mountain bike and city bike offerings. The Road E comes in two builds and will be available from Giant dealers soon.
There's not many manufacturers making a road-bike-styled e-bike; Haibike have a couple in their range (including the top-dollar XDuro Race S Pro) but mostly it's niche manufacturers making drop-barred e-bikes, including companies like Vivax Assist who aim to completely hide the electrics. For Giant to step into the market is a sign that it's a sector that's likely to grow considerably.
Giant are using the same SyncDrive technology that powers their mountain bikes, with a Yamaha X94 motor generating 80Nm of torque. There's a integrated battery pack and a RideControl LCD head unit. The Road E +1 (pictured above) has a 500Wh battery pack, Shimano Ultegra/105 trasmission and Ultegra-level hydraulic brakes and levers. It's interesting that Giant have kept with a double chainring and a front derailleur; with single-chainring systems gaining in popularity across the biking spectrum a 1x11 setup would be an obvious choice for a bike like this. The Road E +2 will retail for £2,749.
The Road E +2 has a smaller, 400Wh capacity battery but the rest of the power system is the same. Instead of the hydraulic discs you get TRP Spyre mechanical discs, and the transmission is Shimano Tiagra 10-speed. The payoff for that is a £450 saving: the Road E +2 will sell for £2,299.
Giant are expecting the bikes to be available from around early May. For more details of the two bikes head over to the Giant website.
