Flow reviews the 2023 Giant Stance E+ 2

If you’re looking to get your first electric mountain bike at a reasonable price, there’s a very good chance you’ll have eyed up the Giant Stance E+ 2. Totally redesigned for this year, the new Stance E+ is the cheapest full suspension e-MTB that Giant offers. It draws a lot from the popular Trance X E+, though it features a simpler suspension design and a budget-oriented parts package that manages to bring the price down by almost two thousand bucks. That makes it a more accessible bike for a wider range of riders, but have there been any deal-breaking compromises to achieve that price? And who exactly is this bike for? We got our hands on the new Giant Stance E+ 2 to find out!

An overview of the Giant Stance E+ 2

The Giant Stance E+ 1 is an entry-level full suspension e-MTB that’s designed to handle everything from commuting and rail trail exploring, through to proper off-road mountain biking.

It features a new alloy frame that’s been built around the updated SyncDrive Sport 2 motor. With up to 75Nm of peak torque it offers more power, a substantial reduction in size and quieter performance compared to the previous version.

Giant has also upgraded the new Stance E+ 2 with a bigger 625Wh battery. There’s a plug point on the frame for charging the battery while it’s mounted, though you can also remove the battery to charge it separately. If you’re looking for even more range, it’s possible to purchase an EnergyPak Plus 250Wh battery that will increase the total capacity to a whopping 875Wh.

Up at the handlebar, you’ll find the new RideControl Dash display. This houses an integrated colour screen that displays your riding speed and trip distance, and it also has buttons for adjusting the motor’s power levels.

The new Stance E+ 2 still features 29in wheels front and rear, but the suspension travel has increased in order to boost overall comfort and traction. The updated FlexPoint design delivers 125mm of rear travel, and that’s paired to a 140mm travel fork.

There are plenty of structural improvements too. The rear dropouts upgrade to a sturdier thru-axle to increase lateral rigidity, while the head tube is now a huge 1.8in tapered number that gives the front of the bike a beefier look. The headset also swallows the cables, electrical wires and rear brake hose to keep things quite neat and tidy, though a port on the side of the head tube provides you with an alternative for routing the control lines.

Giant Stance E+ 2 geometry & sizing

There are also some big improvements to the geometry on the 2023 Giant Stance E+ 2.

The head angle has slackened out to 65.5° and the BB sits 20mm lower than the old bike. The reach has also increased by a lot, with the size Large jumping from 444mm to 480mm. Those changes combined should make the new Stance E+ more stable at cruising speeds, and help to inspire greater confidence on the descents.

Giant has also steepened the seat angle to 76°, which helps to counteract the longer reach and place the rider in a more comfortable and upright position on the climbs.

The chainstays have gotten a bit shorter on the new bike, but they’re still very long at 468mm. This does give the bike a big wheelbase for plenty of stability, but it will potentially come at the expense of agility, especially for shorter riders on the Small and Medium size frames.

2023 Giant Stance E+ 2 price & specs

The Giant Stance E+ 2 is the only model from the Stance E+ range that comes into Australia. Notable highlights include the air-sprung suspension, 4-piston brakes with proper 203mm rotors, and a quality Maxxis Minion/Dissector tyre combo.

• Frame | ALLUX SL Alloy, FlexPoint Suspension Design, 125mm Travel
• Fork | SR Suntour XCR 34 LO-R, 140mm Travel
• Shock | SR Suntour Raidon R, 190x45mm
• Motor | SyncDrive Sport 2, 75Nm
• Battery | EnergyPak Smart 625Wh
• Wheels | Giant eTracker Hubs & AM Alloy Rims, 30mm Inner Rim Width
• Tyres | Maxxis Minion DHF EXO 2.5in Front & Dissector EXO 2.4in Rear
• Drivetrain | Shimano LinkGlide 1×10 w/FSA Comet 36T Crankset & 11-43T Cassette
• Brakes | Tektro HD-M745 4-Piston w/203mm Rotors
• Handlebar | Giant Connect TR Riser
• Stem | Giant Contact, Length: 40mm (S-M), 50mm (L-XL)
• Seatpost | Giant Alloy, 30.9mm Diameter
• Saddle | Giant Sport
• RRP | $6,299 AUD

Giant Stance E+ 2 weight

Our Giant Stance E+2 test bike came in at a weight of 25.86kg without pedals.

It’s worth noting that while the tyres do come fitted with conventional inner tubes, it would be relatively straightforward to upgrade to a tubeless setup. That’s because both the tyres and rims are tubeless compatible, which means you’d only need tubeless-compatible valves and sealant. This would drop a bit of rotational weight, but more importantly it would allow you to run lower pressures for improved grip and comfort, while also having better puncture resistance.

What do we dig about the Giant Stance E+ 2?

During our first ride on the Giant Stance E+ 2, we were immediately impressed by its comfortable and cruisy demeanour. It offers quite an upright riding position so you don’t have to stretch too much just to reach the grips. This is great for commuting through the city, as you get great visibility with less strain on your shoulders when turning your head to check for traffic. It’s also proved to make for a pleasant experience on longer rides on rail trails and fire roads.

Contributing to the comfortable ride quality, the suspension delivers a surprisingly smooth performance. We’ve not had the best experience with entry-level SR Suntour suspension in the past, but the fork and shock on the Stance E+ 2 work well for the intended application. The heavier mass of the bike actually helps to ease the suspension into its travel, making it feel smoother and more reactive compared to a lighter non-motorised bike.

With both ends being air-sprung, all you need is a shock pump to adjust the pressure to suit your weight. You can also adjust the rebound damping to slow it down for a calmer ride, or speed it up for more pop.

Once dialled in, we found the Stance E+ 2 was capable of absorbing a good range of impacts on rough trails. That’s complemented by the excellent Maxxis tyres, which offer fantastic grip on loose, dusty and rocky trails. Combined with the bike’s long wheelbase and reasonably slack head angle, the Stance E+ is nicely planted on the descents. Despite it being a ‘budget’ e-MTB, we found it was quite stable and calm at speed, with a good amount of grip on tap when pushing through turns.

Plenty of power and range

One of the biggest highlights of the Giant Stance E+ 2 is its SyncDrive Sport motor, which offers loads of power, a responsive feel at the pedals and relatively quiet performance on the trail.

There are five assist modes to choose from, which you can toggle through via the RideControl Dash display. You can also select the Walk mode that helps the motor push the bike up a steep incline if you’ve had to dismount partway up.

We preferred riding the Stance E+ 2 with the motor set to the middle Active setting, which still provides good support without being too overzealous through tighter corners. Whatever mode you choose to ride in, we found riding technical singletrack was best approached in a slightly lower gear as the motor responds better when you’re spinning at a faster RPM.

Using the Active setting, we were able to get a solid amount of riding in from the 625Wh battery. On several two hour test rides, we always came home with plenty of juice in the tank.

There are obviously quite a few factors that will contribute to how much range you can get out of the Stance E+. Rider weight is the main one, but how much elevation gain you’re racking up on a ride also has a massive impact on your battery usage. Giant claims you can get up to 190km in ‘ideal’ conditions, but we reckon that’s highly unlikely in the real world. If you’re using the lower assist modes and riding flat rail trails, then 100km probably isn’t out of the question. If you’re riding technical singletrack with a lot of big climbs, the range will be closer to 50km.

As mentioned earlier, it is possible to purchase a separate EnergyPak Plus battery. This range extender takes the position of the bottle cage, so you’ll have to carry water another way. Its 250Wh capacity will boost your total range by up to 40% however, which could be handy for heavier riders and those tackling much longer all-day adventures.

What could be improved?

Our biggest disappointment with the Giant Stance E+ 2 has been its lack of a dropper post. Adding a dropper wouldn’t just be beneficial for more experienced riders, it would also help to inspire greater confidence for beginners when descending. For recreational riders, being able to raise and lower the saddle at the flick of a lever is mighty handy when mounting and dismounting the bike, and for putting your feet flat on the ground while waiting at a set of traffic lights.

Of course you can manually adjust the saddle height by using the quick-release lever, which is useful if you know you’re going to be riding a long and steep descent. It’s far more of a hassle to do on undulating terrain though, which is where a dropper post is really handy.

Giant offers its own Control Switch dropper post for $230 AUD, and that would be a great upgrade for any Stance E+ 2 owner since this is quite a capable bike off-road. However, we’d really like to see one fitted as standard, even if it lifted the retail price.

One other point worth mentioning is the long rear end on the Stance E+ 2. The long chainstays do contribute to the overall stability of the bike, and they make it incredibly planted on steep climbs. And on the Large size frame, the long chainstays offer a nice front-to-rear balance that suited our 182cm tall tester well. However, it may be an issue for shorter riders on the smaller frame sizes, where the long rear end is likely to make the Stance E+ 2 feel a bit lethargic on tighter and more technical singletrack.

In an ideal world, we’d like to see a mullet setup on the smaller frame sizes with a 27.5in rear wheel and shorter chainstays like Giant has done on the Trance X E+ Elite. That being said, it’s the current geometry and dual 29in wheel setup that gives the Stance E+ its calm and stable ride quality. As it stands, it’s a great match for those who are using the Stance E+ 2 as a recreational bike for less technical riding.

Component highs & lows

With its quality frame, powerful motor and decent-sized battery, the Giant Stance E+ 2 is a solid package for the money.

The Shimano Linkglide drivetrain is brilliant, with the 10-speed cassette offering sufficient range and bulletproof shifting. Thicker sprockets are claimed to offer three times the durability of Shimano’s 12-speed drivetrains, meaning better durability and cheaper service costs in the long run.

We have few complaints from the Tektro brakes, which offer a solid bite point and good power thanks to 4-piston callipers and proper 203mm diameter rotors. The levers are quite long, which will suit those who like to use two or three fingers to activate the brakes. It is possible to adjust the clamps further inboard on the handlebar to set them up for one-finger braking, which we’d recommend to get maximum leverage while allowing you to maintain a more consistent hold on the grips.

As mentioned earlier, the SR Suntour suspension has performed well throughout testing. The fork’s thru-axle is a bit fiddly, and it takes some practice to get it working properly when removing the front wheel.

Of course you’re not getting the same level of plushness and control compared to higher-end suspension from Fox and RockShox. This is less of a concern for recreational riding, but if your skills are progressing and you’re looking to take the Stance E+ on more technical terrain, you’ll likely start to find the limits of the stock suspension. You could certainly upgrade the fork and shock, but at that point it may be worth looking at spending the extra money on the next model up. Which brings us to our next point.

Giant Stance E+ vs Trance X E+

In the Giant e-MTB lineup, the next model up from the Stance E+ 2 is the Trance X E+ 3. It costs quite a bit more, coming in at $7,999 AUD at the time of writing.

The Trance X E+ 3 also features an alloy frame, but it’s built around the more complex Maestro suspension design. It’s equipped with 10mm more travel at each end, with a RockShox 35 Gold RL fork and a Deluxe Select R shock.

Giant also specs the Trance X E+ 3 with a more powerful SyncDrive Pro motor that produces a higher peak torque of 85Nm. That’s paired to a bigger 750Wh battery, making it possible to take on longer rides with more elevation gain.

As for components, the Trance X E+ 3 comes standard with a dropper post along with a Shimano 12-speed drivetrain and 4-piston brakes. All of those upgrades combined are no doubt worth the $1,700 AUD price increase, but really only for those who are doing more off-road riding. If you’re a recreational rider, the Stance E+ 2 is likely to give you everything you need, making it harder to justify the extra cost of going up to the Trance X E+ 3.

What about the competition?

As e-MTBs continue to improve and grow in popularity, there’s a greater range of choice in the entry-level end of the market. For a snapshot at what the competition looks like for the Giant Stance E+ 2, here’s a list of some of the more well-known bikes around a similar price point;

• Polygon Siskiu T6E – $5,499 AUD
• Giant Stance E+ 2 – $6,299 AUD
• Marin Rift Zone E – $6,499 AUD
• Merida eOne-Forty 400 – $6,499 AUD
• Norco Fluid VLT A2 – $7,499 AUD
• Trek Rail 5 – $7,499 AUD
• Giant Trance X E+ 3 – $7,999 AUD
• Specialized Levo Alloy – $8,400 AUD

While we haven’t reviewed all of those specific models before, we have tested many of the same platforms over the years. Each brand approaches things differently, not just in terms of the suspension package and geometry, but also with the motor, battery and user interface. If you’re keen to get a lay of the land, check out our e-MTB reviews section to see what options are out there.

Flow’s Verdict

Thanks to a suite of updates, the 2023 Giant Stance E+ 2 is an impressively capable e-MTB for the money. The alloy frame is well-made, the motor offers plenty of power, and the 625Wh battery delivers increased range over the old bike. Along with its boosted travel and updated geometry, the Stance E+ 2 provides a calm and comfortable ride quality that makes it a solid option for those who are looking to get their first full suspension e-MTB.