[Closed] Giant Trance 29

I bought one in Aug 2018.

Great for XC mile-eating but fun and poppy it ain't.

Have replaced the SRAM drivetrain and brakes with Shimano after the rear mech exploded on the Lairig Ghru. Rear freehub also died mid-ride and the dropper is too small. Back wheel is cheese- my son dings the back wheel every time he borrows it. Also weighs  a bloody ton: 15kg! Will be selling in the summer to buy something else.

What was the question?

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Oof.

I was thinking of one instead of the Occam. Glad I didn't now

Why not look at the Trance X 29er. First stock is due into the country in Feb and its a brand new bike with a complete overhaul in terms of geometry.

The trance 29 is a superb bike and can handle a lot of abuse, but any bike between the £2000 - £2500 marker will have cheaper wheels and kit on it and will be more susceptible to the bits being more fragile.

Oof indeed.

Was looking at the trance 2, so Shimano SLX drivetrain. I'd be tempted to put my brakes on it (XT 2-Pots).

Trance X looks a beast - I'd prefer something with c.120mm travel ish. 135 (and the 150mm front) is just too much for where I'm riding. Or certainly the way I ride 😂

15kg - Blimey - reviews I've been reading had them around 14kg ish.

Other option was the Whyte S-120 - possibly the Ali version - but I'd almost certainly bet that'd be over 15kg (as a former Whyte owner...)

Cheers

Rich

The standard Trance 29 is a great bike for general XC trail riding. I'd personally try and track down an alloy "2" version from last year or the year before with a decent discount and budget for a decent set of wheels for it (DT Swiss XM 1501 or similar).

The stock wheels on Giant bikes are where they save the money IMHO. Heavy, not that well built and not particularly well sealed from water ingress.

I got one s/h about a couple of months back - finding it ridiculously good on the descents when I've taken it to the Peak, like Cavedale felt borderline easy. But I am coming from an anthem 29er, and the last big bike I had was an older 26er jekyll so I've not really owned a modern trail bike before.

I'd be less keen on taking it on longer all dayers, but that's just because I'm more of an anthem man really, it would be absolutely fine to cruise around. People ride tanks round the Peak it seems to me, so I prob have a minority view here. Actually wanted another anthem but stock was hard to come by this year and spoke to too many whoppers on fb marketplace. Guy selling the trance was the first steady lad I'd encountered so decided to give it a whirl for something a bit different.

So overall I'm really impressed, but coming at it from more of an XC direction.

ETA The wheels are bobbins but you can't expect too much here. Stock wheels on bicycles are shite, really, unless you're shopping top end. I replaced with some DTswiss from the Polish chap at fitwheels.

A mate has one. I think it's a great XC-Trail crossover bike. Similar bike to my Norco Fluid, his has Fox 34. Like me he stuck Shimano and Hunt wheels on. Lighter now so poppier and, as has been said, great for XC. These short travel 29ers with 66 and 76ish angles can handle bigger stuff, but also don't iron out more mellow trails like bigger bikes do.

Pressfit BB though, that's a NO for me personally.

I had the 27.5 Trance for a couple of years. Really rated it. Sold it because I needed the cash at the time and also, at 6'4" wanted a 29er with a bit of travel (currently building a mega 290).

Thing to bear in mind is that Giant's Maestro suspension system is essentially the same as the DW-Link that is used by Turner, Ibis and Pivot (amongst others). Giant actually hired Dave Weagle to design it before firing him and releasing it anyway. He sued and they settled. I've owned two Turners and imho the Trance has a similarly brilliant rear suspension.

So you're getting 'boutique superbike' suspension for £1000s less. However, as mentioned above, use some of the money saved to buy decent wheels as the stock ones are bobbins!

Main thing I’m not 100% sure on is the Reach and ETT – I’d be coming from a hardtail (albeit 27.5) with best part of 490mm reach and 650mm ETT. The Trance is a fair bit shorter with both (something like 460 and 630. Will be a longer (50mm) stem though – currently using a 35mm).

It feels like a retrograde step to go back a decade or so in geometry terms TBH.

Especially when there are so many on-point bikes around now.

If you are already used to a bike with 490mm reach, you should be looking at the XL. You wont like the long stem after being on a short one for so long.

Also be aware that there is quite a gap between the effective and actual seat angles, so if you run the seatpost high, you'll be hanging off the back of the bike. Giant have the top rocker pivot in the middle of the seat tube on the Trance, on the X they've moved it forward so they have more room for the seatpost.

Nothing wrong with pressfit, Hope PF41 is fit and forget (had a Reign and Trance, 7000miles between them with no creaks), if they come with sram dub cranks, there are adapters.

Thing to bear in mind is that Giant’s Maestro suspension system is essentially the same as the DW-Link that is used by Turner, Ibis and Pivot (amongst others).

Just to add to that, Giant's Maestro suspension is incredible. I'd only owned horst link bikes previous to my current Anthem 27.5 and after owning this current one for three years I don't think I could ride any other suspension platform.

It's there when you need it and disappears into the background when you don't. The newer trunnion mount versions with the top bearing mount feels bottomless / like a magic carpet but then firms up to almost hardtail like efficiency when you are hammering the pedals.

The bearings are really easy to change as well with the £80 Giant bearing press kit. No other tools needed apart from an allen key and wrench.

Garry

Cavedale felt borderline easy.

Did you notice that the step on Cavedale has gone?

I recall that at the constriction there used to be a drop of about 40cm, but it wasn't there last week. Was quite surprised. Still didn't do the descent dabless though...

I didn't notice as it's been a few years since I was last there. I took one dab myself but the whole thing just felt controlled, whereas on the anthem it was always more seat of the pants.

Just the stream down it, over limestone, that adds that extra level. It's quite easy to lose your line and you start fighting the rocks in stead of gliding over them.

Again - Cheers. Appreciate the input from everyone.

I'm likely going to swing a leg over one tomorrow to check it out. The seat tube on the XL is just shy of 500mm - that would drop me down to a 125mm max dropper I should imagine. Not an absolute killer (bearing in mind I'm not rocking a huge amount of steep stuff around here), but would be another compromise...

Anyone had any experience with the Whyte S-120? Forgot about the Norco Fluid - anyone other than Evans sell those?

Cheers,

Rich

whereas on the anthem it was always more seat of the pants.

I gave up and pushed down CD when I did it on the Anthem 29er last year. Just wasn't going to happen, especially with the seat at max XC height.

I bought this Occam in the hope that it would be the perfect compromise.... capable of 100km XC days but also capable of cleaning Cavedale. It definitely does the latter, but the prospect of doing big XC days on it fills me with dread. Currently thinking if swapping out the DHF/R tyres for something fat and bald like a Bontrager XR4. Would be hellish skittery, but less draggy on XC

Rode the S120 last year and was impressed. Felt similar to my T130 but held speed a touch easier. The weight was felt though accelerating, but they are bombproof, the paint is very solid and the bearings last years without being touched. For the money it would be towards the top of my list, you'd have to spend a lot more to get lighter without losing the capability it brings.

Cheers Tom,

Guessing that was a Carbon S120? Looks like there's an Ali one out/coming out, but imagine it would be rather hefty.

Obvs - what I really want is a Spur 😀

Rich, yes it's only Evans that do Norco. Fluid is a bit longer than the Trance, with a shorter seat tube. I run mine 120/140 (Revs now with Charger 2.1) and 2.6" Minions F+R on i35/40 rims, I bloody love it still. 150 dropper but want to try 170+ but not sure if it'll fit.

A few paint chips, that's my only gripe, except for heavy wheels which I changed straight away.

Yeah it was the C RS, was about £3.5k at the time I think. The alloy one I imagine will be around 14kg, so not super heavy, but super light either. But it will be solid, reliable and more than up to some rowdy riding, despite the 120mm travel.

The Spur is insane, but obviously a lot more money! Shame they don't do an NX build around the £4k mark like they do on the Sentinel and Scout. It'd still be light and lighter on the wallet!

If you're now looking at 120FS's I'll give a shout out for the Cotic Flaremax.

And just ignore those that talk about weight - like-for-like its a 1lb heavier than alloy/carbon, and slightly more if you go for the CC shock options.

Ah - cheers. Hadn't considered the FlareMax - though is edging into the very spendy bracket for me. Had an X-Fusion fork in the past and it wasn't great (on a Solaris, no less). Was quite a while ago now, so there's the chance they've moved on.

Always liked the look of the Norco - just seems there's none about at the moment, and only available through Evans isn't going to help.

All the best,

Rich