Giant Reign E+ 2022: New motor and up to 750 Wh battery capacity

Product News / E-MTB: News from Giant! The E-Enduro Reign E+ gets a new frame and a new motor for the 2022 model year. Batteries with a capacity of up to 750 Wh can now also be accommodated in the down tube.

New frame with mullet mix

Even if the Reign E is a completely renewed E-MTB - optically as well as technically - it still keeps the name of its direct predecessor. This already shows that the basic concept and orientation will not change for the 2022 model year either. With 170 mm of travel at the front and 160 mm at the rear, we are still dealing with a classy enduro bike that should also be able to handle high speeds and technical terrain very well.

In order to get the last bit of performance out of the new bike, they worked very closely with Josh Carlson during development. The Australian used to be a pro for the in-house racing team on tracks around the world and has been concentrating on E-MTB racing for about a year.

One factor that makes the Reign a few tenths faster and a touch more potent on the trail is the wheel size. While the predecessor only and consistently relied on the small 27,5 inch wheels, the Giant Reign E+ 2022 now comes with a mullet mix: Large 29er wheel at the front, small 650b wheel at the rear. Numerous current E-MTBs rely on this trick, which has been established in motocross for many years – with good reason. In this way you can reconcile the better rollover behavior of the large wheels with the agility of the smaller ones.

Variable geometry with lots of ground clearance

The geometry probably has the greatest influence on the handling and alignment of every modern (E-)MTB. Here, Giant has tweaked a few things on the new Reign E+ – it is much more modern: longer main frame, slacker steering angle, steeper seat angle. It's also nice that the extremely long chainstays of the predecessor are a thing of the past - that promises more agility on the trail. A real innovation is also a flip chip in the frame, with which the geometry can be adjusted in two stages to one's own preferences and the requirements of the terrain.

Particular value was also placed on as much ground clearance as possible. On an E-MTB, however, this can only be read to a limited extent from the bare geometry data, because this is usually simply the offset of the bottom bracket to the wheel axles. But if the engine protrudes far down, touchdown is inevitable. Thanks to the new SyncDrive Pro2 motor, you don't have to worry about this on the Giant... but its compact dimensions are just one of the many special features of the new Giant drive.

SyncDrive Pro2 - 85 Nm, up to 750 Wh and low weight

There is also news for the drive. As before, Giant relies on the in-house SyncDrive, which is being developed in cooperation with Yamaha - but now in the new Pro2 variant. The heart is a new Yamaha motor (PW-X3?), which is not only significantly smaller than its predecessor, but also a few hundred grams lighter at 2,8 kg. Nevertheless, there is plenty of power: it should provide up to 85 Nm of maximum torque. The new motor is combined either with the well-known 625 Wh battery or with a new variant with a full 750 Wh. The Smart Assist mode, which dynamically adjusts the motor power to the needs via numerous sensors on the wheel - analogous to the Trail mode, is retained Shimano or the E-MTB mode at Bosch.

Minimalist operating concept without a display

In addition to the drive and battery, Giant has also completely revised the operating concept. True to the motto "less is more", the already minimalistic RideControl ONE control unit of the predecessor has been further reduced: Colored LEDs in the top tube now provide information about the support level and charge level of the battery, operation is carried out via a visually extremely inconspicuous control unit with three buttons that attaches directly to the clamp of the handle.

Giant Reign E+ 2022: models and trim levels

The new models of the Giant Reign E+ will already be on the market at the end of August. At the start you will be able to choose between four different equipment variants between 4.799 euros and 7.399 euros; they all have the new Giant SyncDrive Pro2 motor and frame in common, albeit in different colors. In addition to the add-on parts, there are also differences in the battery: In the two cheaper equipment variants, Giant installs the well-known battery with "only" 625 Wh.

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www.giant-bicycles.com