Trance E Freehub issues

[DarkBlueSheep]

hi
thats exactly how it started i thought there was something wrong with the rear mech at first but it got worse really quickly, thankfull i was quite close to home, i noticed that if i was freewheeling down a hil when i started to pedal the cranks would rotate a couple of times before the motor engaged then shortly after that i got a horrible loud knocking even when i was pushing the bike.
The noises are all coming from the freehub area, now im not technically minded however it was to loud a noise to ignore.
the bike hasnt lost drive im lucky i was close to home and not miles from nowhere.
bikes booked in saturday morning and ill obviously keep every one updated regarding the direction Giant takes, must say though they have been very proactive and positive since i emailed them with small video and information

Great! I was hoping I was going to get lucky and not have the issue. Good to know everyone is getting it fixed under warranty though, I will get in touch with my LBS tomorrow and see what they want to do. Hopefully they can be proactive about getting it sorted rather than waiting for a complete failure. I will show them this thread if they don't want to do anything about it.

 

[Lee67]

600 miles in and no hub problems apart from having the cones adjusted as they had loosened’..

 

[Mat_Ron]

Question for you guys who have had this issue...

On my E+1 I have started to notice that when I'm in the hardest, or second hardest gear and I'm putting a fair amount of power through the drive train, usually when starting from a stationary position, I get a clunk, similar to the feeling you get when changing gear. It kind of feels like the chain is slipping. I keep my chain clean and lubed and I can't see any damage to the gears or chain.

Did you experience any symptoms before your hub let go?

I'm going to take it in to my LBS as soon as I get a chance but just wondering if it's a sign of the hub starting to fail.

Yes, that is exactly the issue that I was experiencing. LBS replaced the freehub and all is well now. Supposedly, only one of the three pawls were engaging due to too thick of grease having been used and pawls unable to fully extend out and grab. Makes sense to me. If only one pawl is extending out, the free hub skips, especially when applying a lot of torque. I looked at the old freehub body and sure enough, two of the pawls would not spring back up when pushed down. Also, they did not apply grease to the new freehub pawls , only light oil. I have had bike out on two rides since and problem solved. Hopefully for good.

 

[minty15389]

Great! I was hoping I was going to get lucky and not have the issue. Good to know everyone is getting it fixed under warranty though, I will get in touch with my LBS tomorrow and see what they want to do. Hopefully they can be proactive about getting it sorted rather than waiting for a complete failure. I will show them this thread if they don't want to do anything about it.

i think thats the best way to go iv sent a link to the forums so the shop can read the reviews, i think it would be good for giant to know how customers are feeling! love the bike wouldnt want any other however they need to sort this problem asap

 

[DarkBlueSheep]

i think thats the best way to go iv sent a link to the forums so the shop can read the reviews, i think it would be good for giant to know how customers are feeling! love the bike wouldnt want any other however they need to sort this problem asap

Agreed. I really love everything about the bike. Hopefully I don't have to catch the bus to work for to long while they get it sorted ?

 

[friartuckshop]

Question for you guys who have had this issue...

On my E+1 I have started to notice that when I'm in the hardest, or second hardest gear and I'm putting a fair amount of power through the drive train, usually when starting from a stationary position, I get a clunk, similar to the feeling you get when changing gear. It kind of feels like the chain is slipping. I keep my chain clean and lubed and I can't see any damage to the gears or chain.

Did you experience any symptoms before your hub let go?

I'm going to take it in to my LBS as soon as I get a chance but just wondering if it's a sign of the hub starting to fail.

Not that sure if its the free hub in that situation, but definitely not the best thing to be doing to the drive line. I snap a chain on a Giant full E doing the same thing last year, so i would expect the chain to give up before the freehub. The clunk could be the cassette moving on the hub body, or because its only a 3 pawl system, the slight bit of rotation of the freehub before it engages the ratchets.
If you are mechanically minded, you can easily remove the free hub to inspect the pawls and ratchet for damage, just be careful not to lose the pawl springs. Lots of videos on YT showing you how.

 

[StevenM]

Agreed. I really love everything about the bike. Hopefully I don't have to catch the bus to work for to long while they get it sorted ?

Any feed back from FTR mate or you havent taken bike in yet?

 

[DarkBlueSheep]

Any feed back from FTR mate or you havent taken bike in yet?

Not taken it in yet, I have family staying with me at the moment so soonest i will be able to get there will be next weekend. I will post an update once i have spoken to them, was going to try give them a call this afternoon if i get a chance.

 

[DarkBlueSheep]

Not that sure if its the free hub in that situation, but definitely not the best thing to be doing to the drive line. I snap a chain on a Giant full E doing the same thing last year, so i would expect the chain to give up before the freehub. The clunk could be the cassette moving on the hub body, or because its only a 3 pawl system, the slight bit of rotation of the freehub before it engages the ratchets.
If you are mechanically minded, you can easily remove the free hub to inspect the pawls and ratchet for damage, just be careful not to lose the pawl springs. Lots of videos on YT showing you how.

That's interesting, maybe its a quick fix then. I am sure my bike shop will want to look at it all before making a decision anyway so i will just let them take it apart rather than touching it myself right now as I dont want to accept any blame for the issue.

 

[Noddy]

After 1100km mine went this afternoon. Off to the bike shop monday morning to see what they say. At what kilometres did everyone elses fail?

 

[Henry#40]

After 1100km mine went this afternoon. Off to the bike shop monday morning to see what they say. At what kilometres did everyone elses fail?

Mine went at 950km.

 

[Dorismorris]

Well I’m not taking the risk my DT Swiss h 1700 wheels should be here tomorrow ?

 

[friartuckshop]

After 1100km mine went this afternoon. Off to the bike shop monday morning to see what they say. At what kilometres did everyone elses fail?

mine went at less than 300km

 

[minty15389]

Agreed. I really love everything about the bike. Hopefully I don't have to catch the bus to work for to long while they get it sorted ?

Well the bike went in yesterday and it looks like it’s in for a while, Giant Newcastle have told me what I thought had happened, the free hub is bolloxed! Prob not the way they put it! Any way the are contacting Giant and are awaiting a response, they have said that the repairs will be covered on the warranty! Will be interesting to see if they install like for like or will it be an updated product.

 

[DarkBlueSheep]

Thanks for the update minty, I should be able to get my bike to my LBS next weekend so will see what they say and post an update.

It would be nice if Giant did some sort of recall on the E Trance range and offered an updated hub but I don't see that happening.

 

[khorn]

Thanks for the update minty, I should be able to get my bike to my LBS next weekend so will see what they say and post an update.

It would be nice if Giant did some sort of recall on the E Trance range and offered an updated hub but I don't see that happening.

I think that all of you ETrance owners collectively should contact Giant and claim “Not fit for purpose” with reference to this thread. It seems evident that all rear hubs will explode sooner or later. Even if I did not have an issue yet I would immediately demand an upgrade or new rear wheel.

Karsten

 

[friartuckshop]

I think that all of you ETrance owners collectively should contact Giant and claim “Not fit for purpose” with reference to this thread. It seems evident that all rear hubs will explode sooner or later. Even if I did not have an issue yet I would immediately demand an upgrade or new rear wheel.

Karsten

Hey Karsten,
You are right there, the issue is most users are forced to go through there LBS for warranty claims, although i have been able to communicate directly with Giant NZ, i dont believe its an option for a lot of users. But i am starting to think that replacing the rear wheel with new fit for purpose hubs, this is the only way for giant to sort this problem because, its no longer a matter of if it will fail, but when it will fail. Win back a bit of trust with their brand. Rode a KTM yesterday that had the H1900 wheels, and they were a dream, also was a damn nice bike to ride. So maybe Giant i may return this bike as not fit for purpose and buy the KTM instead

 

[DarkBlueSheep]

So I took my bike in to For The Riders on the weekend, they had a look at the hub and said everything looked fine. They think my "clunk" may be drive train related but they will have a proper look on Wednesday.

The wait begins... Hopefully it's not serious.

 

[friartuckshop]

So I took my bike in to For The Riders on the weekend, they had a look at the hub and said everything looked fine. They think my "clunk" may be drive train related but they will have a proper look on Wednesday.

The wait begins... Hopefully it's not serious.

FTR should have any issues sorted for you, always had great service from them when i was in brissy.
I am still waiting on giant NZ to supply a new hub, but it appears that they have been buying DT hybrid hubs and having the wheels rebuilt with these in some instances. if i dont get something concrete from them by the end of the week, i will request that the do this for mine. I am still riding on old LIV wheel that the supplied as a temp

 

[rob_NZ]

If Giant NZ are now replacing hubs with the dt 350's at no cost , ill be expecting a check in the mail

 

[friartuckshop]

If Giant NZ are now replacing hubs with the dt 350's at no cost , ill be expecting a check in the mail

That was the gist of the conversation i had. If you have already had the wheel repaired i am not sure that they will replace it. but i think they are struggling to get parts either from aus or Taiwan. would be worth contacting Giant directly to see where you stand

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

Finally got the new wheel rock n rolling. Also replaced the 1x12 system with a sram gx 1x11 and new px1 chain. Thought the smaller gearing would equal less torque on the hub in low gear. The new shifter also allows for 5 clicks in single push. I hated the single click.
Also running a maxxis DHRII same as the SX

 

[friartuckshop]

Finally got the new wheel rock n rolling. Also replaced the 1x12 system with a sram gx 1x11 and new px1 chain. Thought the smaller gearing would equal less torque on the hub in low gear. The new shifter also allows for 5 clicks in single push. I hated the single click.
Also running a maxxis DHRII same as the SX
View attachment 10971

How does it ride? Fast engagement I bet. Also the orange is a pretty good match,looks good

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

How does it ride? Fast engagement I bet. Also the orange is a pretty good match,looks good

Only went up and the street for a test run haha which went well
hub feels crisp, fast engagement and the hub has a loud sharp sound....which I like
Also the lateral wheel flex was considerably less than the giant

Went to ride it this morning and noticed the rear tire was flat
Still figuring this tubeless thing out.
Will rebed the value this evening and ride:

 

[DarkBlueSheep]

Any feed back from FTR mate or you havent taken bike in yet?

I got a call from FTR today and they have told me that my ''clunk'' was coming from a worn out cassette, specifically the two hardest gears, so the chain was slipping when I was applying pressure to the peddles. They have said the hub looks fine.

So they have replaced the cassette with a like-for-like Sram replacement - to the tune of $(AU)150 + $40 labour.

They have said that I have done 1000 Km's on the bike since November, a lot of this would have been my 36km round trip commute. Usually on my commute I am in the hardest or second hardest gear the whole way, expect for a few steep hills, so it makes sense that these gears would get the most wear. They have suggested that I use more of the gears when commuting to share the load across the cassette but this will be very annoying as it will effect my speed significantly.

I am not really sure how to approach this issue moving forward as I don't want to be replacing my cassette every 4 months! However I still want to use the bike for commuting. Would my best option be to invest in a ''stronger'' cassette? If so, what should I be looking at as a replacement when this new cassette is worn out? Or is the answer just to take it easy on my commute? I might put a post up in the general forum to get an idea from the entire group as not everyone will read this post.

 

[friartuckshop]

I got a call from FTR today and they have told me that my ''clunk'' was coming from a worn out cassette, specifically the two hardest gears, so the chain was slipping when I was applying pressure to the peddles. They have said the hub looks fine.

So they have replaced the cassette with a like-for-like Sram replacement - to the tune of $(AU)150 + $40 labour.

They have said that I have done 1000 Km's on the bike since November, a lot of this would have been my 36km round trip commute. Usually on my commute I am in the hardest or second hardest gear the whole way, expect for a few steep hills, so it makes sense that these gears would get the most wear. They have suggested that I use more of the gears when commuting to share the load across the cassette but this will be very annoying as it will effect my speed significantly.

I am not really sure how to approach this issue moving forward as I don't want to be replacing my cassette every 4 months! However I still want to use the bike for commuting. Would my best option be to invest in a ''stronger'' cassette? If so, what should I be looking at as a replacement when this new cassette is worn out? Or is the answer just to take it easy on my commute? I might put a post up in the general forum to get an idea from the entire group as not everyone will read this post.

You could always go to a 38-40 tooth front ring, help use a bit more of the cassette range, but i guess that it would make your off-road riding a bit more challenging when tackling the steep stuff

 

[StevenM]

I got a call from FTR today and they have told me that my ''clunk'' was coming from a worn out cassette, specifically the two hardest gears, so the chain was slipping when I was applying pressure to the peddles. They have said the hub looks fine.

So they have replaced the cassette with a like-for-like Sram replacement - to the tune of $(AU)150 + $40 labour.

They have said that I have done 1000 Km's on the bike since November, a lot of this would have been my 36km round trip commute. Usually on my commute I am in the hardest or second hardest gear the whole way, expect for a few steep hills, so it makes sense that these gears would get the most wear. They have suggested that I use more of the gears when commuting to share the load across the cassette but this will be very annoying as it will effect my speed significantly.

I am not really sure how to approach this issue moving forward as I don't want to be replacing my cassette every 4 months! However I still want to use the bike for commuting. Would my best option be to invest in a ''stronger'' cassette? If so, what should I be looking at as a replacement when this new cassette is worn out? Or is the answer just to take it easy on my commute? I might put a post up in the general forum to get an idea from the entire group as not everyone will read this post.

Interesting

Let us know how the clunk goes on your next ride.

 

[Pdoz]

I got a call from FTR today and they have told me that my ''clunk'' was coming from a worn out cassette, specifically the two hardest gears, so the chain was slipping when I was applying pressure to the peddles. They have said the hub looks fine.

So they have replaced the cassette with a like-for-like Sram replacement - to the tune of $(AU)150 + $40 labour.

They have said that I have done 1000 Km's on the bike since November, a lot of this would have been my 36km round trip commute. Usually on my commute I am in the hardest or second hardest gear the whole way, expect for a few steep hills, so it makes sense that these gears would get the most wear. They have suggested that I use more of the gears when commuting to share the load across the cassette but this will be very annoying as it will effect my speed significantly.

I am not really sure how to approach this issue moving forward as I don't want to be replacing my cassette every 4 months! However I still want to use the bike for commuting. Would my best option be to invest in a ''stronger'' cassette? If so, what should I be looking at as a replacement when this new cassette is worn out? Or is the answer just to take it easy on my commute? I might put a post up in the general forum to get an idea from the entire group as not everyone will read this post.

Ironically, you could go to a 2x front set up ( like the full e pro had standard) - high gear for commuting, low for the fun. BUT - stay away from the original sprockets ( mine snapped) - ps I still have the shifters etc, I have gone 1 x - where in oz ate you?

 

[DarkBlueSheep]

Ironically, you could go to a 2x front set up ( like the full e pro had standard) - high gear for commuting, low for the fun. BUT - stay away from the original sprockets ( mine snapped) - ps I still have the shifters etc, I have gone 1 x - where in oz ate you?

It's not a bad idea tbf, not sure if it would have any effect on the motor by changing the front gearing though. I'm based in Brisbane.

 

[friartuckshop]

It wont have much effect, but may affect the slack in the chain on the smaller chain ring. As you will need a longer chain if you run the 12 speed with a 2x system (big cog). I would probably drop back to the 10/11 speed cassette if going 2x