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The Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 2: Perfect for long tours with its powerful 400 Wh battery. Despite plenty of power, the question remains: How does the e-road bike perform in the practical test?
The full-range supplier from Taiwan also offers almost all types of bike with a motor, including the Defy endurance racing bike. With its hub motor, it also looks very elegant as a pedelec and has harmonious proportions. Because Giant has opted for sufficient range rather than a particularly lightweight system, the bike is much heavier than it looks: the carbon racer with the large 400 Wh battery weighs 14.4 kilograms. This makes it all the more astonishing how unobtrusively it rides even without assistance - at least as long as it is flat.
Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 2: The concept in check
The geometry of the carbon frame is exactly the same as its classic sister model. However, because a different stem is fitted to the E+, it sits much more sportily and with a little more weight on the front wheel, which offsets the rear-heavy weight distribution of the bike. On hills and when starting off, the motor pushes quite vehemently, especially in the upper stages. The already powerful Eco mode of the rear motor is usually sufficient to keep you going on moderate climbs or short ramps. Due to the rather rough start and a short delay of the motor - it takes about half a turn of the pedal to get going - the ride sometimes feels unharmonious.
Where does the engine have weaknesses?
At the 25 km/h limit, where the electronics repeatedly switch on and off, other systems ride more smoothly. The responsiveness can be adjusted manually via the app, but the mid-motors in particular feel more natural ex works. The motor revealed a real weakness on extreme inclines: If it lacks speed because the gradient slows down to more than 10 km/h, even the highest level switched on can no longer do much.
Suitable mudguards and lights are available for the Defy, and the four equipment variants (6,499 to 10,499 euros) also include an all-road version with slightly wider 35-millimetre tyres.
The Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 2 in detail
- Price: 6,499 Euro >> available here
- Weight of complete wheel: 14.4 kilos
- Max. system weight: 130 kilos
- Frame sizes: S, M, M/L, L, XL
Geometry
- Seat/top/head tube: 515/560/167 millimetres
- Stack/Reach/STR: 571/387 millimetres/1.48
- Stack+/Reach+/STR+: 635/576 millimetres/1.10
- Wheelbase/caster: 1,006/59 millimetres
Equipment
- Drive/gear shift: Sram Rival AXS/Praxis (2x12; 46/33, 10-36 t.)
- Brakes: Sram Rival (160/160 mm)
- Tyres: Giant Gavia Fondo 0 (32 mm)
- Impellers: Giant P-R2
- Impeller weights: 1,431/3,494 grams (f./h.)
Engine
- Model: Giant SyncDrive Move Plus (hub motor)
- Top performance: 500 watts
- Maximum torque: 30 Nm
- Battery capacity: 400 Wh (+200 Wh range extender)
- Support levels: 5
Advantages and disadvantages of the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 2
- Plus: Powerful motor, large battery, elegant appearance
- Minus: heavy, noisy drive, weaknesses on extreme inclines
Jens Klötzer
Editor
