If you had seen my post about a month ago, I bought a cheap full sus frame from ebay and couldn’t find a way to tell the wife!
After a little story of ‘borrowing’ it from a mate’s brother and selling parts to pay for it and getting the question ‘Is it want you REALLY want?’ I decided it was time to build it up.

So using parts from my exsisting SS hardtail, I have built up this Giant Trance 4 frame with my Fox 120s, XT brakes, XTR cranks, GD seatpost, FSA stem, Hope Pro IIs with ZTR 355 rims and I have added a super short Sram 10 spd Rival rear mech mixed with an X7 10 spd shifter, 105 cassette, Superstar chain device and treated myself to some Renthal bars.

I am running 32 x 11-28 gearing with the Superstar plasma chain device. TBH the Superstar chain device doesn’t sit perfectly with the XTR cranks but seems to OK for now.

I also used some ‘Mud Lovers’ cables which for £17 (crc) for the set seem really good. Oh and I bought some sticky velcro to use as a chainstay protector as it’s supposed to help keep the chain quiet and went a bit mad putting it on in lots of places.

My overall plan is to keep the SS frame and when I fancy just swap the key parts over, leaving the mech, shifter, chain device, BB and headset on this frame and having the same BB and compatible headset on the SS frame.

Anywhere here are the pictures:
Exsisting bike:

DSCF6591 by Jackass123456789, on Flickr

Trance:

DSCF6597 by Jackass123456789, on Flickr

DSCF6598 by Jackass123456789, on Flickr

DSCF6599 by Jackass123456789, on Flickr

DSCF6600 by Jackass123456789, on Flickr

great frames, those 😀

My wife does not in any way bat an eyelid if I buy myself new bikey stuff.

I say ‘my’ wife. She isn’t actually mine, I just borrowed her. Easier that way; just send her back when I’m bored.

Cheaper, too.

Sweet ride, GD FTW!

I had a Giant Reign of the same year before and loved that so hoping this will be a smaller (travel) version of that.

That’s really nice, well worth the wrath had there been any.

I am in the market for a new bike hmmmmm

My overall plan is to keep the SS frame and when I fancy just swap the key parts over

Ha Ha…..

Been there done that, its amazing how that will turn into two complete bikes before long!

Bet you’ll be scanning the classified’s again before long for teh “missing” parts.

Nice bike(s) BTW 😉

So the road rear mech works fine with the mtb shifter?

So the road rear mech works fine with the mtb shifter?

Yep as it’s a SRAM Mech and shifter.

Shimano road and Shimano MTB in 10 Spd is a no no apparently.

Shimano and SRAM won’t work, 1:1 and 2:1 cable pull.

SRAM and SRAM works fine, even some of their bumpf says you can mix X7, X9, X0, XX with the road stuff (for flat bar commuters).

Wish I’d have known that. Cancelled a drop bar mtb project cus some incorrect know it all on here told me it wouldn’t work. I thought it would but didn’t want to shell out £200 on shifters if they didnt.

very nice bike 😀 i have an anthem x2 (10 model) cannot rate it highly enough 😀

XTR looks fine with the device

The Trance looks great. Very nice wall and tidy gravel by the way. 😉

I went to a friends two year olds birthday party, went to look at his dads new bike in the garage and came out a Trance 4 frame, 9 spd shifters, cassette, cranks and new bb, race face stem and Easton flat bars… All for £150! Luckily the wife didn’t bat an eye lid.. It rides great!

My mate rides the same model of trance and it’s absolutely ragged.

Rides like a mini downhill bike.
Brilliant things.

That looks very nice, good colour, good choice of location for photos, good work 😉

I had one and ran it with a short stem and 140mm coil pikes – it **** flew

I like the look of the giant but think I prefer the dialled. Good going on getting hert o ‘allow’ you to keep both!