2023 Giant Trance X2 with CYC Photon motor

[Kiwiscoot]

OK Here are some photos of my build using my 2023 Giant Trance X2.
Motor is the 1200W 110nm Cyc Photon - https://www.cycmotor.com/photon
Battery is a 48V 25Ah (1200wh) battery with Samsung 21700 50e cells in a leather frame bag. Some waterproofing and securing of main battery connector still needs to be done.

I have done 700kms on the motor with a 36V battery. I have an 2021 Giant Trance E+ 3 Pro for comparison and this build is lighter and feels more like an analogue bike than an ebike. The Trance E+ 3 Pro feels quite heavy on the trials in comparison. The Cyc motor is not as smooth at the start as the Giant Syncdrive Pro but once going it feels pretty much the same.

The build is pretty straight forward. I run a 34 tooth chainring with the standard cassette and can reach a speed of 42kph in Race mode (1200w) before I spin out. Most of the time I run it in Street mode (250W) which is plenty of power. All data from the motor is available on the control panel e.g. controller temp, motor temp, watts motor is running at, motor rpm, rider rpm, rider watts, etc. The phone app Cyc Control is very good and most parameters of the motor can be changed, like assist start delay, amount of assist, etc.

All in all a pretty good if somewhat pricey option to convert that old analogue bike to an emb.

Disclaimer - I have no affiliation with CYC, just a customer who bought this with his own money and sharing his experience.

 

[jezhumphrey75]

very nice, was the battery from cyc aswell?

 

[Kiwiscoot]

No battery was from Venture Scooters

48volt 25ahr custom battery & bag. | Venture Scooters

venturescooters.co.nz

 

[Guitarfink]

Hi, looks a very nice set up. I have the same frame and am considering fitting a photon. The shape of the frame does not look as if you can rotate the motor forward very far, I wondered if you could advise how much clearance you have to the ground from the bottom of the motor? Have you found clearance ok for trails? Many thanks

 

[Kiwiscoot]

Hi, looks a very nice set up. I have the same frame and am considering fitting a photon. The shape of the frame does not look as if you can rotate the motor forward very far, I wondered if you could advise how much clearance you have to the ground from the bottom of the motor? Have you found clearance ok for trails? Many thanks

The bottom of the 34t chainring is actually slightly lower to the ground than the Photon. The Photon will hit first but then the chainring will too, so even if the Photon could sit higher you will have issues hitting an object that high.

One thing I'd change in my setup if I were to do it again, I'll get the shortest crankarms that they sell with the Photon. I will change mine as I get a lot of pedal strikes. Redoing the suspension setup running higher back shock pressure after the conversion did fix that to an extent.

The battery setup is great - 65% battery capacity left after 130km with 1000m elevation gain riding mostly level 1 and 2 on Street mode (Canada mode - 5 levels set)and the occasional level 3 on the very steep bits.

This setup was built to do the Great rides of New Zealand

Find Your Ride

Ngā Haerenga New Zealand Cycle Trail’s 23 Great Rides offer off-road cycling and mountain biking through the country’s most amazing landscapes.

www.nzcycletrail.com

 

[Guitarfink]

Hi thanks very much for the info much appreciated. I will probably stick with the longer crack arm as its the same size as the current one fitted. Battery use sounds very good. Frustratingly the Photons are Currently out of stock in China and no date as to when they will be back. So will have to wait a while before upgrading!