Correction: we’ve spoken to Giant and need to clarify that this isn’t actually a new ‘standard’. You’ll be able to use everything except a 1.5″ (or 1″…) steerer tube in the Overdrive 2 headtube. It’s also only going to be appearing on seven of Giant’s mountain bike models next year, not 57, as stated below, although that’s what Chipps was told originally.
OK, time to sit down and get the pen and paper out… Giant Bicycles has a new headset standard for you to get your head round.
This is the premise: OK, so with everyone getting wider and wider bars, there’s a lot more sideways force going through your stem and steerer – a 1 1/8th inch steerer that harks back to the days of quill stems. So what Giant proposes is that everyone adopts a new size for stems and steerers. They call it ‘Overdrive 2’
So, what’s Overdrive 2? Well, it uses a ‘normal’ tapered head tube (Giant has been doing tapered since about 2008) – but the fork steerer tapers from 1.5in at the bottom – which is the normal size for tapered steerers these days – to 1.25in at the top. Yes, that’s an inch and a ‘didn’t Gary Fisher do that size, ages ago’ quarter.
Giant’s own testing reckons that it makes the steering stiffness 30% stiffer. Obviously you need a 1.25in stem, but these are already being made by Giant, Ritchey and Truvative.
And how does Giant squeezed that big steerer in? It has developed a new, skinny top bearing with FSA that, presumably is 0.0625in thinner (if our rusty fraction arithmetic is correct). Giant reckons that the new system weighs no more than the current tapered system (that we’ve had for only a couple of years.)
Giant is touting Overdrive 2 as an open standard and expects many other companies to hop aboard next year in having, we’ll call them ‘shallow taper’ (or chunky stemmed) front ends. To show its commitment, Giant will have 57 models next year with Overdrive 2.
Comments by the Singletrackworld.com massive are, as always, welcome and expected…
got to sell the coolaid
Hopefully will get ignored, like Deda’s 35 mm diameter bars.
I won’t be buying one so I’m not that bothered. As others have said it’s a way to get money out of something that doesnt need to be changed, money for nothing. Save your £’s and purchase a frame from another manufacture that have kept things basic.
1.5″ is the way to go, then just buy whatever forks suit. Easy.
This is another case of solving a problem that isn’t there.
just f*** off.
consumers, shop keepers and no bloody one needs yet another effin “standard”. Its not standard its a non-standard, and I shall mock and toss custard creams at anyone who comes in my shop with this nonsense.
1 1/8″ or taper… done. That is enough.
Plus it looks like someone fisted your headtube.
quote ‘Plus it looks like someone fisted your headtube’
Thanks for that brightened my day. Perhaps we could suggested giant use the slogan
‘Giants new ‘fisted’ headtube…’
Anyone else like the colour of the Reign X in the pics?
Methinks next years work bikes will be on our Kona account not Giant if they try to do this to the HT bikes we buy….
So, if I read that right, its just a normal tapered headtube with a different sized headset then?
So whats the big fuss about, if you don’t like it, you can just fit a standard tapered headset.
“the current tapered system (that we’ve had for only a couple of years.)”
Its been around for at least 4 years?
(2008 Spesh Stunpjumper FSR S-works?)
“As has been said above, let’s just stick to 1.5″ and be done with it, FFS”
+1
“if I read that right, its just a normal tapered headtube with a different sized headset then?”
I don’t think so, hence the need for a 1.25″ (rather than 1.125″) stem?
Whatever headset is plumbed into it… that Reign SX looks flippin’ ACE. Need to ride that one ASAP.
Does this mean I’ll have to stop riding my 1997 Merlin? It only has a standard 11/8″ headset and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stand the social stigma of being 4 headset “standards” out of date. Oh the shame…
I read this yesterday whilst, er, at work, so avoided any comments and was looking forward to seeing some responses. Excellent all you Interbob surfers, the wait was worth it 😉
Hold up!
Have i missed something? surely if you need a new stem, you must need a whole new steerer/crown assembly or fork?
“As has been said above, let’s just stick to 1.5″ and be done with it, FFS”
I personally hate the fat look of the 1.5″ head tubes 🙁 can we not stick with good old 1,1/8″?
Giant have identified a major flaw in bike designs that warrant’s a new standard (about time, i’m sure the extra 0.005mm flex through my now out of date set up is ruining my rides)
or the marketing department have come up with some exciting new research showing 78.7% of bikers are gullible **** and will buy into this sort of utter clap!
Fixing a problem that just isn’t there is the path to product improvment, we are continually told but this one just takes the piss. There are so many other ways to stiffen your front end using existing umpteen ‘standards’.
What a load of guff, hope it goes the way of silly handlebar diameters (scott pilot/tioga cube, anyone?)
“I don’t think so, hence the need for a 1.25″ (rather than 1.125″) stem?”
The fork steerer will be different, but the headtube of the bike looks and sounds like standard tapered, just with a smaller top bearing fitted.
… and we all know what happens to smaller bearings. Isis BB bearing anyone?
What a load of crap…
I’ve got a ’94 Yeti Pro Fro sat in the garage with a 1 1/4″ headset. No, it’s not tapered, but who cares and really – who would notice any difference when riding?
These companies are going round in circles trying sell us something ‘new’ every year!
Giant have no idea what we want, do they?
Don’t put countless thousands into the R&D of pointless ideas, save this money & offer us more affordable deals, hey presto, more customers…
How much more expensive are forks going to have to be to recoup the additional tooling costs for a fourth new “standard”?
“Whatever headset is plumbed into it… that Reign SX looks flippin’ ACE. Need to ride that one ASAP.”
That one ^ ?? The one in the pictures above? The one with the sort of pale minty green and matt black paint job cleverly matched to the sky blue cables?
If you say so…
can manufacturers please drop the inches and go metric!
Like my 21:9 Philips TV, it’s a great idea that works better in the real world, and only upsets people who bought 16:9 TVs. You upgraded too early!
Nice backtrack Giant.
No, I still won’t be buying any of your products anytime soon.
shoot – best upgrade or I’ll be left behind.