Giant is one of the first e-bike manufacturers to present a new battery with 22,700 cells from Panasonic. The new battery offers a capacity of 800 watt hours, is compatible with the six-amp fast charger thanks to smart electronics and could also be an exciting retrofit option. Thanks to its compact design, the energy source also fits into many older e-bikes from model year 2019 (see below). It is therefore an additional option to the existing 500, 625 and 750 batteries that are currently installed in Giant mountain bikes.
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Giant Energy Pak Smart 800 battery: Technical data at a glance
- Capacity: 811 watt hours (factory specification)
- Cell type: Li-Ion 22700
- Dimensions: 44 x 8.5 x 7.8 centimetres
- Weight: 4347 grams (EMTB measurement)
- Weather protection rating: IPX6 (protected against short-term submersion)
- Price: 1099.90 euros (RRP)
Giant Energy Pak Smart 800: Not much heavier than a 625 Wh e-bike battery
The main disadvantage: at €1099.90 RRP and street prices starting at €900, the new bike battery is not exactly cheap. However, for e-bikes currently still running on 500 or 625 watt hours, the upgrade could be worthwhile in terms of range, especially as the additional weight is surprisingly manageable compared to smaller batteries. The new Giant battery weighed 4365 grams in our test lab - less than 400 grams more than the Giant battery with 625 watt hours (3987 grams - EMTB measurement). At 4260 grams, the Giant battery with 750 watt hours is also only marginally lighter than the new 800.
This means that the new Giant Energy Pak Smart 800 offers a much better weight-to-watt-hour ratio than its smaller brothers. The 625 in particular is significantly lower in this respect with 6.4 grams/watt hour compared to the 5.45 grams/watt hour of the new battery. If the new 800 battery had the same capacity-to-weight ratio as the old 625, it would have to weigh well over five kilograms!
The range of the 800 Wh battery in the test: Giant gets closer to Bosch
The exciting question: What about the range? Can the Giants Energy Pak Smart 800 also shine here with a clear advantage over its predecessors? According to the manufacturer, the capacity of the new 800 battery is 28 per cent higher than that of the 625 watt-hour bike battery and can convert this advantage almost one-to-one into range. In our standardised range tests in turbo mode, with a 90-kilo rider and 150 watts of pedalling power, the 625 Wh battery climbed 1417 metres in altitude. The new 800 Wh battery achieves 1827 metres in altitude with identical parameters and thus meets our expectations very precisely due to the increased capacity.
However, the new 800 Giant battery behaves slightly differently to older batteries from the manufacturer: It pushes smoothly almost to the end and only falls into an emergency mode with reduced power shortly before it is completely discharged. With older Giant batteries, this emergency mode is much longer and hardly delivers any thrust. Although a few more metres in altitude are possible with an almost empty battery, due to the low motor support, these are mainly the responsibility of the rider, who still moves the bike forwards primarily under their own power.
Interesting: In terms of both weight and range, the new 800 Giant battery is very close to the 75o battery in the Bosch Smart System. With 100 grams less weight and an often slightly better range, the Bosch battery is still ahead, but only slightly. However, this is also reflected in a greater charging effort of regularly over 850 watt hours. However, the Bosch also has a decisive disadvantage: it cannot be retrofitted to older bikes, as the new Smart system is no longer compatible with older Bosch systems.
EMTB measured values Giant batteries at a glance:
- Energy Pak Smart 800: 4365 grams, 1827 (+66) vertical metres @12.7 km/h, charging power: 810 Wh
- Energy Pak Smart 750: 4260 grams, 1657 (+224) vertical metres @13.7 km/h, charging power: 798 Wh
- Energy Pak Smart 625: 3987 grams, 1417 (+145) vertical metres @12.5 km/h, charging power: 659 Wh
- z. Cf.: Bosch Powertube 750: approx. 4320 grams, 1750 - 1950 metres in altitude, charging power 850 to 900 Wh
Compatibility: Giant Trance from model year 2019, Reign and Stance from 2020
The Energy Pak Smart 800 e-bike battery pack fits into the 2022 Giant Reign and Trance models. The Giant Fullys Reign and Stance are compatible with the new battery from model year 2020, the Trance even from model year 2019. However, all these e-bikes require a new battery cover, which costs around 40 euros extra.
All information on compatibility and the matching additional covers can be found on the Giant website.
Conclusion Adrian Kaether - Editor EMTB
With the heavy and short-range 625 battery, Giant had fallen somewhat behind the competition. The new 800 is a significant step forward and is back on a par with the competition in terms of both watt hours per kilogramme and absolute range. Nice: The new battery is compatible with many older models and can therefore also make sense as an - albeit expensive - upgrade. Especially those who want to enjoy their bike for a long time to come and don't always need the latest technology might find this interesting.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
