The Giant Reign E+ first arrived on the scene back in 2019 as Giant’s biggest electric mountain bike to date. We tested the Giant Reign E+ 1 last year, and came away impressed with its freight train descending qualities, the unshakeable build kit and ultra-sensitive motor performance. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest e-MTB though, and the bulgy motor meant we were regularly smacking rocks and roots on the trail. The 500Wh battery was also unfashionably small, and the enormously long chainstays meant it preferred being wedded to terra firma most of the time.
It would appear that Giant has been listening closely however. The new 2022 Giant Reign E+ has just launched, and with its new motor, bigger battery and shorter back end, it appears to have addressed all of our existing criticisms. On top of that, it looks a helluva lot better, and there are some exciting new features to boot.
Giant Reign E+ overview
The Giant Reign E+ continues to carry the mantle as the brand’s electric enduro bike, with big suspension, slacked-out geometry, powerful brakes and aggressive rubber to suit warp-speed descending over gnarly terrain. It’s the bike of choice for Aussie e-Frother Josh Carlson, who will be charging hard in the upcoming EWS-E series.
Suspension travel on the new Giant Reign E+ remains the same, with a 170mm travel fork and 160mm of rear travel courtesy of the Maestro dual-link platform.
Whereas the old bike features dual 27.5in wheels however, the new Giant Reign E+ adopts a mixed wheelsize setup with a 29in front wheel and a 27.5in rear wheel. As with the latest Merida eOne-Sixty and Specialized Levo, the concept here is to improve stability, traction and rollover up front, while maintaining a short and agile back end.
The motor is smaller, lighter & more powerful
Powering the 2022 Giant Reign E+ is a new SyncDrive Pro motor – a result of Giant’s ongoing partnership with Yamaha.
The new SyncDrive Pro motor is slightly more powerful, with its maximum torque output lifting from 80Nm to 85Nm. That brings it in-line with the latest Shimano EP8 and Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 motors, while only being 5Nm short of the Specialized Levo.
It’s really the reduction in size that is the biggest talking point here though. Giant claims the new SyncDrive Pro drive unit is lighter than its predecessor, coming in at just 2.7kg. It is noticeably less bulgy, with an extra 37mm of ground clearance over the old bike.
The overall structure has been optimised specifically for Giant’s Maestro suspension linkage, which has allowed Giant to shorten the chainstays significantly on the Reign E+.
RideControl Go interface
Up at the Giant Reign E+ cockpit there’s a brand new user interface built into the top tube. Giant calls this RideControl Go, and it features a button to change the support mode, along with coloured LEDs that display the battery level and chosen support mode.
The design is very clearly a nod to Specialized’s TCU interface, though that’s no bad thing at all. The execution is neat, with no need for a bulky external display like you’ll find on a Shimano or Bosch system.
You can still change the motor’s assistance mode remotely via the RideControl Ergo 3 controller, which mounts directly to the lock-on grips. It is far more discreet compared to the old controller, and it’s possible to be mounted on either the left or right side of the bars. You can even reconfigure the buttons via the RideControl App.
There’s a bigger 750Wh battery option
Providing extra juice for the more powerful motor, the new Giant Reign E+ is now available with a huge 750Wh battery.
The EnergyPak 750 battery is integrated into the downtube of the frame, though it’s still easily removable so you can charge it separately if needed.
The top-end model, the Reign E+ 0, will come fitted with the 750Wh battery. Meanwhile the Reign E+1 and Reign E+ 2 will come with a smaller 625Wh battery to help bring the price down. Whichever bike you go for, you’ll be able to purchase batteries separately.
Adjustable geometry
Following in the footsteps of the Trance X 29 and Trance X E+ 29, the new Giant Reign E+ integrates a two position flip chip into the rocker link. This delivers ‘High’ and ‘Low’ geometry settings, altering the bottom bracket height by 10mm and changing the head and seat angles by 0.8°.
The geometry isn’t all that different to the old bike – the head angle is a bit slacker, the seat tube is a bit steeper, and the reach is slightly longer across all four frame sizes.
What is significantly different though is the length of the chainstays. The old bike had gargantuan 470mm chainstays, whereas the new frame has shortened that right back to 454mm. It isn’t as short as the Trek Rail (448mm), or the Specialized Levo (442mm) or the Polygon Mt Bromo (435mm), but it is shorter than the latest Norco Range VLT (462mm).
And compared to the old Reign E+, the shorter back end on the new bike should deliver a much more agile character.
Giant Reign E+ price & availability
There will be three Giant Reign E+ models coming into Australia this year, all of which are built around the same alloy frame and SyncDrive Pro motor. Up front you’ll get a 170mm travel Fox 38 or RockShox ZEB, and you’ll find a piggyback shock on every model. You also get the same Maxxis tyre combo on each bike, with a 2.6in Minion DHF EXO+ on the front and a 2.5in High Roller II DoubleDown on the rear.
Stock is due to hit our shores in November, and we are very eager to get our hands to see how all of those changes play out on the trail. In the meantime, read on for the detailed specs and pricing of the 2022 Giant Reign E+ lineup.
2022 Giant Reign E+ 0
- Frame | Aluxx SL Alloy, Maestro Suspension Design, 160mm Travel
- Fork | Fox 38 Float, Factory Series, GRIP2 Damper, 44mm Offset, 170mm Travel
- Shock | Fox Float X2, Factory Series, 205×62.5mm
- Drive Unit | SyncDrive Pro, 85Nm
- Battery | EnergyPak Smart 750Wh
- Wheels | Giant e-TRX, Carbon Rims, 30mm Inner Width
- Tyres | Maxxis Minion DHF EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra 2.6in Front & High Roller II DoubleDown 3C MaxxTerra 2.5in Rear
- Drivetrain | SRAM X01 Eagle 1×12 w/Praxis e-Carbon 36T Alloy Crankset & 11-50T Cassette
- Brakes | SRAM Code RSC 4-Piston w/220mm Front & 200mm Rear Rotors
- Bar | Giant Contact Trail SL, 800mm Width
- Stem | Giant Contact SL, 40mm Length
- Seatpost | Giant Contact Switch Dropper, 30.9mm Diameter, Travel: 125mm (S), 150mm (M), 170mm (L-XL)
- RRP | $10,999 AUD
2022 Giant Reign E+ 1
- Frame | Aluxx SL Alloy, Maestro Suspension Design, 160mm Travel
- Fork | Fox 38 Float, Performance Elite, GRIP2 Damper, 44mm Offset, 170mm Travel
- Shock | Fox Float X2, Performance Elite, 205×62.5mm
- Drive Unit | SyncDrive Pro, 85Nm
- Battery | EnergyPak Smart 625Wh
- Wheels | Giant e-TR1, Alloy Rims, 30mm Inner Width
- Tyres | Maxxis Minion DHF EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra 2.6in Front & High Roller II DoubleDown 3C MaxxTerra 2.5in Rear
- Drivetrain | Shimano XT 1×12 w/Praxis e-Cadet+ 36T Alloy Crankset & 10-51T Cassette
- Brakes | Shimano XT 4-Piston w/203mm Rotors
- Bar | Giant Contact Trail SL, 800mm Width
- Stem | Giant Contact SL, 40mm Length
- Seatpost | Giant Contact Switch Dropper, 30.9mm Diameter, Travel: 125mm (S), 150mm (M), 170mm (L-XL)
- RRP | $9,499 AUD
2022 Giant Reign E+ 2
- Frame | Aluxx SL Alloy, Maestro Suspension Design, 160mm Travel
- Fork | RockShox ZEB Select, Charger RC Damper, 44mm Offset, 170mm Travel
- Shock | Fox Float DPX2, Performance Elite, 205×62.5mm
- Drive Unit | SyncDrive Pro, 85Nm
- Battery | EnergyPak Smart 625Wh
- Wheels | Giant AM, Alloy Rims, 30mm Inner Width
- Tyres | Maxxis Minion DHF EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra 2.6in Front & High Roller II DoubleDown 3C MaxxTerra 2.5in Rear
- Drivetrain | SRAM NX/GX Eagle 1×12 w/Praxis e-Cadet+ 36T Alloy Crankset & 11-50T Cassette
- Brakes | SRAM Code R 4-Piston w/220mm Front & 200mm Rear Rotors
- Bar | Giant Contact Trail SL, 800mm Width
- Stem | Giant Contact SL, 40mm Length
- Seatpost | Giant Contact Switch Dropper, 30.9mm Diameter, Travel: 125mm (S), 150mm (M), 170mm (L-XL)
- RRP | $8,499 AUD
