Ok guys whats the better bike please as ill be buying one of these 2 next week i think!

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/pitch-fsr-pro-2011-mountain-bike-ec024977?query=arte

or

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b4s1p2848

Orange Five. Can’t go wrong. Ask anyone on here. 😉

Depends a bit on what sort of riding you will be doing, the Pitch will be a bit burlier better for the downs, the Trance a bit better for singletrack. Although in saying that both are decent all rounders so you wont be getting a bad bike either way.

2 very different bikes. Pitch is a burly, chuck it down a mountain and some big rocks bike. It’ll do XC, but you’ll be wasting it if that’s all you do and more than one person has bought one and then sold it becasue it’s too much bike for them.

The Trance is a better XC bike, and possibly a bit more versitile. But not as tough……

The Trance probably has a better spec too, being last years model.

A lot of people put 140mm forks on their Trance so its not entirely lacking in versatility itself!

+1 for Hop a long Poddy, I have a Pitch three of the guys I ride with have Trances’. Pitch much better at the downs, not great up.

Or buy my pitch for much less and it’s better kitted 😉

Trance like a few Giantsa has quite a long head tube and this raises up the cockpit and some folks don’t get on with it.

Other than travel, geometry is a big difference with the Pitch being much slacker.

My neighbour has just got a 2010 Trance and it looks nice and weighs a fair bit less than my Pitch. The handling is sort of neutral, if it was a motorbike it would be a Honda

I love my Pitch and it climbs mountain passes as well as I can muster. Its a far better bike than my 2007 Reign. However, I ride with friends on Trek EX8s, Orange 5s, Yetis, Marins etc and we all ride up and down the same things. So ultimately the question has to be which one do you like the look of most 😉

That Pitch Comp in the classfieds is a steal at £600.

I can only talk about the Trance here as I’ve not ridden a Pitch. I have a 2009 Trance X which I’ve been upgrading over time. It came with Recon forks which didn’t feel up to the job so I replaced them with Pikes which made the bike feel twice as good at least. I can wind them out to 140mm for downhill and the bike will handle anything I’ve been able to point it down. Obviously it’s not a downhill bike but it’s very capable and very versatile.

It feels very safe, predictable and sure footed but I’m guessing it’s probably not as exciting as some bikes. I use it for everything but it’s probably most at home going down fast trails that aren’t overly rocky. One thing it doesn’t do is gobble up big rock gardens at speed but that could just be my bad riding (I don’t really have anything to compare it to).

i have ridden both, both very good bikes, trance is more of an all rounder especially if you fit longer forks (140mm revs on mine)
i doubt you would be disappointed with either.
the pitch pro i tried had a non motion control fork on it that spiked badly, no idea what the coil sektor fork is like?

Great guys, thanks for the info 🙂

I have a week to decide still so if anymore of you have ridden both or what you personally think is better and why, then please comment.

The Trance x2 is a 2010 model and the Pitch Pro would be a 2011 model.
The Pitch has got better front and rear shocks though so thats making me think that might be better for trails with my mates and also a bit of downhill rough stuff.

Only thing is, would i be able to keep up with my mates on a normal trail with the Pitch Pro? (and yes, one of my mates has got an Orange 5)

I wana make sure im making the right decision 🙂

No prob. I think a lot of it will come down to your own skillz really. I struggle to keep up with friends who have much heavier more downhill orientated bikes because they are fitter and have been riding a lot longer than me. They all use spd’s too and I use flats which is probably a factor. On paper you might be faster on a certain bike but in reality maybe not. I suppose it’s down to what you’re going to have most fun on. The Pitch might be more fun downhill but people say it’s heavy which would be a concern for me for longer rides.

Hmmm ive just realised that the Pitch has only 18 gears yet the Trance X2 has 27 gears…

That means the Trance would be a lot quicker on normal trails wouldnt it? I think id struggle to keep up with my mates now tbh ;/
My fitness is very good though!!

Not necessarily, cos you don’t often use the outer ring on a triple when riding off road. There will be some overlap as the outer ring on the Specialized will be bigger than the middle ring on the Trance.

I used my Pitch for everything and never felt under or over biked, i loved 2×9 so much when i built my new bike i put the same setup on, the Pitch kept up with Remedy’s and carbon hardtails alike.

What you got now then Godzilla?

Trance … Honda

As an owner of a Giant Trance and 2 Honda cars, I think that is a very well-observed remark!

Off the shelf, the TranceX is quite a good bike for pedalling and all round trail riding. Because they come with quite low BBs, you can put a longer fork on without messing the ride up too badly. Like a lot of owners, I beefed mine up to make it more like a Reign – still pedals OK but feel more confident on technical trails.

The head tubes on the 2011 models is shorter than before, and now tapered too. They come with a stack of headset spacers, so if you run a longer fork, you can chuck these away to keep the bars reasonably low.

Is it reasonable to say that the Pitch and Reign are comparable?

From what i gather, the Reign weighs quite a bit more than the Trance.
The reign has more travel than the Pitch also and the geometry pushes it more into the DH catergory imo over the Pitch.
I could be wrong though being a total noob and being out of the DH seen for 6 years 🙁

What you got now then Godzilla?

A Heckler, look in my forum activity there are some pics of it, it was a hard decision as i rate the Pitch highly, the Pitch feels awesome when you pump it. The bike rarely if ever gets a bad review.

Is the Heckler much better as its nearly the same price… ?

Hmmm ive just realised that the Pitch has only 18 gears yet the Trance X2 has 27 gears…

I think this would be a selling point to a lot of people.

One of the first things I did with my Trance was to remove the big ring and replace it with a bash guard. I was bashing it on rocks and logs far more than I got to use it. I don’t know many serious off roaders that still have their big ring.

Off the shelf the spec the Heckler is not a patch on the Pitch Pro, the Heckler just felt right for me, I havent had enough time on it to properly compare.

“ultimately the question has to be which one do you like the look of most”
They’re quite different though aren’t they?
PP seemed to sum it up well?
As a generalisation, having ridden only a few (niether being a Trance X or pitch) of them I’d guess:
Giant Anthem X ~= Specialized Epic (~= Trek Top Fuel)
Giant Trance X ~= Specialized Camber (~= Trek Fuel EX)
Giant Reign ~= Specialized Pitch (~= Trek Remedy)
Giant Reign X ~= Specialized SX Trail (~= Trek Scratch)

with the (140mm) Stumpjumper sitting between the Camber/Pitch, and (160mm) Enduro between the Pitch/SX Trail

“the Reign weighs quite a bit more than the Trance”
The pitch will weigh more than the Trance too?

“The reign has more travel than the Pitch also and the geometry pushes it more into the DH catergory imo over the Pitch”
Erm, aren’t they both 150/152mm travel, 150mm forks and about 67deg HA?
Or are you referring to the Reign X(160/170mm, F/R) rather than the Reign?

Both great bikes but ask yourself this…

Would you rather ride a sub 28lb bike that’s capable of going up, down, along and through most terrain very competently, or would you rather endure a 34lb bike up the hills and on the flats for the little bit extra descending ability it would give you?

Personally, if it’s going to be an only bike, get the Trance X (and a 140mm fork as I said on your last post). If you’ve already got a lighter XC bike (perhaps a hardtail) that you’re planning on keeping and riding too, then get the Pitch.

34lb? For the brief moment it was stock my 2010 pitch weighed bang on 30lb on the shops digital scales (with pedals.)

What about a Camber? I love mine, best bike i have owned in a long time 🙂

Standard Pitch = 30lb, maybe a tad more with coil Pikes.

My Pitch = 34lb…. Lyriks, beefier wheels, High Rollers etc
Which us the way it should be IMO. 🙂

I had a Pitch, which I really enjoyed on the hilly, techy descents, and found very sure footed at climbing (if not quick at it). I sold it though because most of the riding I do doesn’t make the most of it’s talents, and so most of the time I found it a rather heavy, blunt instrument. I’d compare the Trance to my 2008 Stumpjumper which was a much more sensible bike for someone who wants a single bike rather than a different tool for every occasion. As others have said, it has to come down to how you plan to use it.

Well… i went for a Trance X2 in the end 🙂 bought it today 🙂

you won,t be disappointed mate.
stick some 20mm 140,s on the front though.
totally changes the bike.rev,s or pikes do the job well 😉

Ok, well ive just spent a fair bit on the bike atm so is it really worth me upgrading the forks straight away you reckon?

If i took the forks off, how much and where would i sell them and how fast would they go?

I take it these are the shox that you would put on it? http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/rockshox-revelation-race-item147805.html

Wont it mess up the Geometry though?

no. a lot of people have fitted 140’s to trance/x’s
here’s mine, pro2/flows air 2009 rev’s have since fitted lo-rise bars to make up for the increased height at the front

I’ve had a Trance X0 for 2.5 years & love it, does everything I need pretty well … also just bought a Zesty & gotta say, I love it a bit more.

MrSmith … looks like a Stealth Bomber … cool!

Much better than the current straight top tube X’s

Pitch is the one, if you are worried about keeping up with your mates it will be your fitness not the bike!

compkiller..No it doesn,t screw the geometry up.
The trance x0 comes with 140 fox talas as standard.
believe me this frame cries out for a 140 front end.
take a look at this lot.
About 30 pages of builds there. 😉

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=365449

Ah thanks Rob 🙂

Congrats. 140 mm forks will make it better in every way and won’t upset the geometry. If you’re worried about that get something like Pikes like I did as they’re adjustable travel. The maxle on the pikes stiffens everything up and gives you more control too but you need the right hub. There are other nice upgrades you can make too. I got an enduro needle bearing kit for the top pivot on my shock which made things even plusher than ever. Keep an eye out for wear on the bushings and top caps. Yours might be ok but the ones I had with the giant own brand shock were pretty pants.

MrSmith – Member

They should have made them all in black that looks awesome. I could only afford the X5 (red and silver) but it’s a much higher spec now. I do like the look of the new ones too with the straight top tube.

Not even a debate, Trance hands down. After reading all the great reviews I purchased a 2008 giant trance x and then a yr later started working at Specialized. I sold the trance out of loyalty to the brand and got a 2009 S-works Epic, 2010 Stumpy pro Carbon, and a 2011 Stumpy pro carbon. I also rode the camber (waste of time, feels like a heavy 4 inch) and I can tell you that the 7 yr old Specialized FSR suspension is no where close to the Giants Maestro suspension and its the reason why they need the brain to make it more effective. The trance handles and climbs way better than the Stumpy and is a much more comfortable bike to ride. The only thing that I liked about the stumpy better is the front wheel really stayed planted when climbing. The Trance front end likes to lift and drift from time to time but its not that big of a deal and the light front end actually helps with step ups and lifting up your front end over obstacles while climbing.

Also understand that Specialized, like most of the bikes out there were once made by Giant, Merida purchased a portion of Specialized so now they are made by Merida. So, if Giant makes all these bikes for everyone else you would have to understand the competitions technology which would give you a lot of insight and the ability to out design the competition. Which is exactly what they did with the Maestro suspension, its the most efficient hassle free suspension i’ve ever used.

After doing the specialized thing I’m back on my Trance, got a 2011 Trance advanced SL1 and I’m one happy SOB!!!