Giant Revolt E+ review

The Revolt E+ is Giant’s entry into the fast-growing electric gravel bike category.

The new Giant's spec should see it compete with bikes such as Cairn’s value-packed Brave, Cannondale’s tech-laden Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty and the Canyon Grail:ON.

Giant has stepped away from its collaboration with Yamaha for the motor system and gone with Shimano’s mountain-bike derived EP8 motor for the Revolt E+.

Giant Revolt E+ specifications and details

Rather than just add in Shimano’s full motor system as Cairn did on the Brave, Giant has taken things a step further.

For starters, it has integrated the controller, called ‘RideControl Go’ into the top tube, with a series of five LEDs representing battery level sitting parallel to five lights showing the power level you’re running.

Shimano also provides the gravel-specific GRX Di2 1x drivetrain for the Revolt E+.

Cleverly, the motor and drivetrain both use the 500Wh EnergyPak internal battery as their power source. That also means you can use the GRX’s hidden control buttons on the side of the hoods to switch power modes on the motor so you don’t have to take your hands from the bars to shift modes. This is most welcome when you’re climbing up tricky off-road terrain with low levels of grip.

Giant Revolt E+ geometry

While the Revolt E+ may share a name with our newly crowned 2022 Bike of the Year, in geometry at least it’s quite a different beast. Up front, for instance, it’s a little more relaxed in its head angle (71 degrees). It also has a longer wheelbase by nearly 20mm (1,070mm).

It has the same stack and reach, though, at 615mm and 387mm respectively on my size-large test bike. This helps the ride position feel pretty sporty, and the Revolt E+ certainly brings a big fun element to any off-road excursion.

Giant Revolt E+ motor and battery details

Adding a big motor and battery to a gravel bike does somewhat change the dynamics of the ride and, at 18.17kg, the Revolt E+ isn’t exactly a lightweight, especially when you compare it to bikes such as 3T’s Exploro Boost or GT’s eGrade.

That said, the huge power and 85Nm of torque the EP8 motor can produce makes the Revolt E+ a bike capable of going much further than your average bike.

The five power levels may be more than you need, though. For 99 per cent of my testing, I never got beyond level three.

For double-digit inclines, however, you simply step up to level five by slickly shifting the Di2 into the 42-tooth cog, sitting in and powering up the slope. It’s like a mountain goat.

The range of the Revolt E+ is obviously dependent on factors such as how much you’re carrying and your own weight. Then add in elevation changes, terrain, surface, temperature and even tyre pressures to affect the potential range even more.

My testing of a size large E+, carrying a bottle and bar bag alongside my 90kg frame, led to an impressive maximum range of 73.73 miles/118.65km with 6,676.6ft/2,035m of climbing.

The testing was all on warm spring days and around 95 per cent of the riding was off-road on a mixture of towpaths, singletracks, byways and gravel roads.

If you need to ride longer distances, you can add a range extender to give another 250Wh of energy for around £400. Even when I’d depleted the battery to nigh-on empty, the system kept enough in reserve to power the Di2 drivetrain, so you’ll never be left without power to the gears.

Giant Revolt E+ ride impressions

The ride of the E+ is, as you’d expect for an 18kg bike, quite firm, but Giant takes care of you with great contact points, such as the D-Fuse handlebar with its slightly backswept shape and flared drops, all wrapped in tacky, thick shock-cushioning tape.

Out back, the vibration-killing D-Fuse carbon post works superbly and the Approach saddle is a pleasant place to be seated for a few hours.

The 40mm-wide Maxxis gravel tyres are set up tubeless, so you have plenty of scope to play with tyre pressures, and the tyres aren't so wide as to become a hindrance on tarmac.

I’d even be tempted to try out a wider tyre because the E+ has such potential off-road and the frame and fork allow for a massive 53mm maximum tyre width.

Despite the added weight of the motor system, the Revolt E+ feels surprisingly nimble when it comes to riding twisty singletrack trails, and the low-slung weight that’s also centred on the bike adds a huge feeling of stability when it comes to descending quickly, especially in the corners, both on and off-road.

Giant Revolt E+ bottom line

Along with working well on commuter bikes, I think ebike systems function best on gravel bikes because the extra boost of power can help overcome grip problems.

On the Giant Revolt E+, the integration of the motor system is excellent, the ride quality is superb, and the power and range are more than ample.

The result of all this is a hugely impressive electric gravel bike, although the price is high.