[Closed] Trance SX 2014 or Bossnut EVO (is on deal btw)

Is he giving you mates rates? And would your friendship survive you cracking it within a few weeks? (there is always this outside risk, even if it is slight).

Yeah he’a giving it for £500 🤔 I think Giant has lifetime warranty on their frame?

Yeah actually they do.

Well go for it then, I reckon the Giant is the better bike. Could use the change to put towards riding or a Pike/Mattoc further down the road. Not sure of the geo though, but Anthems ride sweet. You can even long shock them and get more travel out of the bike.

See what others have to say first. Have you rode the Calibre?

I have a 2015 Trance SX and it is a brilliant bike; I wouldn't swap it for a bossnut, let's put it that way.

Regarding Giants lifetime warranty I think that's a bit of a myth, or it was when I tried to get them to sort me out.

If it was me, I'd go for the Giant and think of it as £500 worth of used parts that will depreciate at £10 per week. Any bits that survive more than a year should be considered a bonus.

It's a nice dilemma to have op!

I think I would go on price difference myself, so the Trance.

Leaves a fair chunk of change left to get the bike just as you want it as someone else said. Or leave as is and just enjoy a great £500 bike. This is based on the Trance being in good nick of course.

Either bike is going to be great though, so like I said, nice dilemma to have.👍

@ogden
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/lifetime-warranty it states on their website, excecpt DH bikes or misused of the bike.

Yeah there are good reviews on caliber as well but not a proper consumer review :/.

@raybanwomble
Here's the trance sx spec on US site, the trance I posted now have XT 1-11 drive train. I think the only stock components on that trance are wheels, suspensions and dropper post, possibly the brakes too.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/trance-sx-27dot5-2014

I'm on my second Giant Trance and IMO there great and properly sorted bikes.

The Calibre is a great price but it would still need a dropper, I'd go for the Trance, be harder if the price was closer but for £500 it would be an easy decision for me.

GF has a 2016 Trance SX.

Good bike with very supple suspension. Relatively slack HA, too, at 66°.

Only changes from stock is a bar with more rise and a 30mm stem to help on steep descents (we live in the alps, kinda). Oh and the brakes, but that's not important.

Only worry with 2014 bikes is that the forks they came with were overdrive, but if the fork had been replaced since new that should not be a problem. If not replaced you may have trouble finding a new stem.

@alpin
Yeah the forks is still stock and yes it's overdrive which is a pain, but the stem had been changed to 40mm with 780mm (I think) bar. I have the same setup on my Hardtail, I find it stable but I find it a bit wide at the same time.

Regarding the overdrive bit, is there a way around it if I want to change the stem with different brand?

I'll be viewing the bike again this weekend.

I'd go with the Giant too.

Regarding the warranty, I have had a roadie frame replaced under warranty without issue. One thing to note is it is a lifetime frame warranty while the orgional owner has the bike. That's fine if buying from a mate as they can process it if needed but not if you buy on ebay etc.

@hooli
Do they require any paper when claiming or that's already been registered when the original owner purchased the bike? I'm sure he'll help in case something happen to the frame or original parts.

@hooli
Do they require any paper when claiming or that’s already been registered when the original owner purchased the bike? I’m sure he’ll help in case something happen to the frame or original parts.

I did it through my LBS and had to show my receipt but I am fairly sure they could have looked it up if I didn't have it. Not sure the receipt shows who the first owner was anyway? Perhaps there were some checks done behind the scenes.

Overdrive is 'standard' 1 1/2" to 1 1/8" taper.

Overdrive 2 is/was 1 1/2" to 1 1/4" taper.

The headtube dimensions are the same though so you can change from an Overdrive 2 fork to a normal tapered fork by changing the upper headset and stem.

Have the Bossnut V2. The Bossnut is one of three mountain bikes which I use right now.
The Bossnut pre-assembly is crappy and the paint is crappy. The parts are of good quality - only the Formula hubs are real shit.
Upgraded the bike with: new 30 mm i.d. wheelset (with DT370 hubs) and 150mm Fox Fit4 fork. Old fork was o.k. but CRC had this crazy deal with the Fit4 forks last summer.
To get the balance right with the 150 mm fork I moved the saddle all to the front and use a 60 mm stem instead of the original 45 mm (and no spacers under the stem).
The 2x10 Deore drivetrain is still original (the chain not of course).

The bike is a real,real fun bike. Great, great trail bike. Calibre got the geo right and the frame appears to be quite sturdy. All suspension bearings are still o.k. - and I do a lot of mud biking with the Bossnut...
The overall design is spot on. Only crap: the Formula hubs.

I have a 2015 trance with a mattoc, so pretty much speced like an sx and it's ace. No way I'd swap it for a calibre

I bought a 2014 SX, bike is ok but I'd budget for a new fork. That Fox one is woeful, very harsh or blows through travel if the pressure isn't high enough. Bit of a bad period for Fox.

Was going to say Fox Evolution series was absolute garbage even back then. Definitely budget for a new fork, same for rear shock if it’s an evo series. Can’t imagine they have gotten any better with age.

No way I’d swap it for a calibre

Guess that's not the question here.

5 year old Trance: yes - maybe 500 GBP are o.k.. And then you have to fix and upgrade stuff. You might end up at 1 k?

new Bossnut, in my case: was searching for a better fork (the original RockShox is fine - but not great) and had issues with the hubs. Replaced the wheels after a year of harsh biking.
Means my Bossnut is now a 1.5 k bike.

And yes - bikers often think that the Bossnut is faulty. Because it's low budget.
But it's spot on.