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I'm tempted by one of the nukeproof giga frames on CRC. They look great but it would it would be my only mtb, so will get ridden on roads and canal paths to and from trails, and will take it bike packing.
Are there any giga owners who can share their experiences? Or people who have a big bike as their only bike?
I think it depends on what your friends are riding too.
I’ve spent the last couple of years on bigger bikes (140/140 then 150/160) than most of my riding buddies. The problem is that stuff that’s exciting on a smaller bike can get a bit tedious on a bigger bike, especially things like rolling traverses etc.
For example my buddies all love the bridleways around the Dales Bike Centre, on my bikes I’ve always found it a bit pedestrian and tedious.
I’d suggest that if you’re only going to have one bike, then choose one that’s suited for the majority of the riding that you’re currently doing. From what you’ve described a Nukeproof Giga would be decidedly overbiked for that.
I couldn't imagine anything worse than riding a burly bike on anything you have described unless you are literally riding to the top of a mountain on the canal paths......but i heard that water doesn't work like that
Build a Giga, buy a gravel bike
I'm generally riding on my own so what other people ride is not really a factor.
The overbiked notion is an interesting one. I quite often feel underconfidenced on a bike and have to work hard to overcome that. Having a bigger bike lessens that, so being overbiked cancels out being underconfidenced. In recent times I've risen a hardtail and a 150mm full sus. I found the hardtail intense and exhilarating, mostly in a good way but sometimes not. I like a little adrenaline, but not too much.
The full sus lessened that intensity so perhaps wasn't as enjoyable as the hardtail in terms of the pure thrill of riding. However it instead offered more of a slow burn enjoyment and opened up new riding lines to me and was less punishing of mistakes, and on the body. So I'm actually OK with being overbiked - being underbiked would be much more alarming. I'm more worried about whether something like the giga would be horrible to ride for long miles on the flat.
I’m more worried about whether something like the giga would be horrible to ride for long miles on the flat.<br />
That’s pretty much what being overbiked means, when it makes the riding that you’re doing less fun?
Yes a Giga would be a grind to ride for long miles on the flat IMO.
It would be terribad - although it depends a bit on your frame of reference. I picked up a mega in the crc sale and one xc ride in tells me that it's intolerable for general riding (not news and not a problem - I bought it for an uplift bike). But there are fat lads riding megas all round the Peak who will honestly tell you they climb great.
So in principle it depends on where you sit on the prefer to be under / over biked spectrum. But tapping flat miles out on a giga is actually ridiculous. Don't do that - the reactor as mentioned or any other bike in that category will be miles better for a one bike solution.
As an only bike I'd avoid the Giga and go for a mega, a little overbiked for trails, definitely overbiked for XC but it's there when needed for a bit of gnarlier stuff, the shocks got a climb switch if it's too bouncy going uphill and just dial in more compression on the fork. Reactor is ideal but if you need the confidence boost get a Mega or similar.
My recentish full suss history went 160/150 to 150/130 qnd now 170/170. Each bike had a similar build so weightwise there wasn't a huge difference but the 170/170 went from Pikes to Lyriks and CC inline to Kitsuma so it gained a bit.
They all pedal well and all feel very similar up and along (where I suspect tyres make the biggest difference) but the longer travel = more confidence as the speed picks up and things get chunkier. The climb switch on the Kitsuma is very effective at firming the rear end up or locking it out for long smooth sections.
So for me, unless I was to go for a downcountry bike like a Spur, I'm not sure it matters. Most of my rides, long or short have the emphasis on fun.
For proper long rides and bikepacking/gravel I have a Canyon Dude on Jumbo Jims though which never fails to make me happy 🙂
I’m generally riding on my own so what other people ride is not really a factor.
Then ride whatever you want then as long as you are enjoying it that is all that matters. It will be slower and harder work in places and faster and more fun in other places.
I ride a fixed bike with 25c tyres off-road/gravel/on road and love it but I am riding on my own. If I was riding with a group of people on XC bikes it would soon get stupid and I would be going faster up gravel hills and they would be going faster pretty much everywhere else, if riding in a group on the road I would be faster up the hills and slower everywhere else and so on and probably regretting my choice of bike.
a giga is obviously more bike than needed for a canal path, as is pretty much everything this side of a hybrid, but it won't be terrible - the tyres might be a little more draggy and the suspension more bobby, but if you're not having "fun" on the canal path before, you're not missing "fun" after.
Not sure if the shocks can be locked out, it'll help a lot if they can.
A mate mostly rides toe paths. Occasionally, 4 times a year, rides single track and trail centers which he finds scary.
He bought a 160/160mm bike his for only MTB.
It's not made the trail stuff any less scary for him. He still goes out 4 ISH times a week so lack of familiarity still makes the trails scary.
The weight of the big bike really works against him building fitness up. Specifically the aggasi front and rear tyres.
I've told him all this he has politely ignored me.
I used mine as pretty much my only bike for a year. Wasn't getting on with my 'trail' 140/130 bike, and once ground dried up switched to the Giga from my HT.
Most of that riding was in the spicier (but not the full on mad) parts of the Fod and Yat. Most of my friends have similar bikes - and although I really bought it for away trips (Basque, Molini, etc), I ended up using it for long 50km/1000m+ days including 20km on the road to the trails and back. On 2.6 tyres
Mine's built heavy as well. At least 35lb. It's slow on road/climbs compared to other bikes, but steep seat tube angle etc it climbs brilliantly. And if you have the legs, it'll get up some stuff other bikes wouldn't. The Giga seems to generate a lot of grip. DH it's amazing, just stupidly comically good. Saved my a$se a few times both here and abroad. It's also a fun bike to ride, yeah it's big etc but it doesn't feel wasted on easier trails.
There was a good STW on line review (andy I think?) in 2021 when I bought mine. He was using it for all day rides - might be worth checking that out.
TLDR; it's a big bike, it's slower than a smaller bike everywhere but DH. It will be more tiring to ride. It is also fab and way more than an uplift bike.
In Molini, waiting for uplift truck
Riding mine. They aren't that 'big' really. That's a L and I'm 5ft11
for full disclosure, I bought a 2nd hand RipMo this summer, and I've pretty much exclusively ridden that where I used to ride the Giga. It's 95% as good DH (and way better than me) for the stuff we ride and a bit better everywhere else (esp on last draggy climb of the day)
I took my Giga back out on local trails this week and it reminded me what an awesome bike it is. After riding my HT for two months, I was shocked how comfy, composed and fast it was.
The biggest thing you can do to make a Giga feel better for bike packing or canal paths is to put some faster rolling tyres on and pump up the suspension a bit.
If you only have one bike to cover all eventualities then it's going to often not be the best tool for the job but if you don't mind the compromise then it doesn't matter.
If you're running Maxx Grip DH casing Assegai's then it's going to feel awful on the road but you'll feel like a hero on something gnarly. If you're on semi slicks then it will be vice versa.
I know 2 guys with them and they both like them.
1 is a mate who has a fleet & bought it to replace his DH Bike that had similar geo.
The other I don't know as well but I think its his only bike, he's based in south Wales for work and does a lot of uplifts, he also rides it on our local stuff which is winch and plummet and he rides it with others with slightly less travel with no problems.
My only bike is a Mega 290 - not a great all rounder and can only think the Giga will be less than that.
It's rubbish on the road - struggled massively on the last MTB marathon as the first few miles were on roads.
Might have been better with more XC oriented tyres, so possibly consider a second wheelset.
As above though you're probably better of with a Reactor or Giga & gravel bike.....
Mega/Giga are great bikes though - but great at being a big bike.
I also own a mega and it’s brilliant when in it’s intended use environment. As most of my riding is I the Peak District I’m looking for something much shorter travel to use on 90% of the time. Sure I can and do ride it I the peas but it’s not as much fun as a shorter bike
@chrismac that's what I've found with my old Jeffsy 29 and my current Stumpjumper Evo. Both great bikes, but for the majority of UK riding, ie Wales, trail centres, The Peaks, they are far too much.
Funnily enough it's only when I built up my Marley hardtail that I realised just how much they took the fun out of stuff.
One thing about feeling under confident and using a big bike is that using a big bike for easy slow stuff is actually harder and will make you feel less confident. Big bikes ride best fast, if you feel uncomfident on tricky slow stuff then having a bike bike can be worse as they are harder and heavier to move about
Most of the slowness of a big bike comes from the tyres - run quicker trail ones and change the pressure for different situations and it makes a massive difference. Firming up the suspension can help but there’s only a fairly small window of pressure/sag before the bike ends up feeling too high.
Possibly a bigger issue is front wheel grip on tamer trails - as the front centre gets longer (from increased reach, and slacker head angle plus longer fork), the weight distribution shifts rearwards (longer chainstays help a bit but not enough). As soon as you point downhill the front wheel gets weighted more, and the steeper it is, the more this happens. But if you’re riding less steep natural trails with flat corners then you have to actively weight the front or it’s liable to wash out.
I notice this between my two bikes because the full-sus has 20mm less reach but 20mm more chainstay, but otherwise the angles and wheelbases are near identical. On the full-sus I can stay centered at almost any speed, on the hardtail I have to get onto the bars more and ride more positively (or slow down and chill out).
Personally, I don't get the whole overbiked stuff, especially for riding in the Peak.
I've had times where my only bike (that I was taking out regularly) has been a Spesh Enduro, or a YT Capra. I've had just as much fun on them as any other bike.
Currently have a 180mm ebike and a hardtail. Equal amounts of fun on both. Take the motor out of the equation and the travel of the FS doesn't ruin anything, it just makes it faster downhill.
I guess if I was mincing around all day on smooth undulating trails it would be overkill and there will be plenty of people that are more skilled and faster on a 140mm DC bike even on the rough stuff.
The majority of people I ride with will generally be on a big bike too
On the flip side Matlock Cycling club - the ones that have migrated from road to off road, will generally be on short travel bikes. I'm sure they have fun, but their type of rides aren't for me.
Guess it all comes down to what YOU want from a bike
An e bike negates a lot of the issues with long travel IMV.
The main issue with being overbiked is the lack of acceleration on flatter or uphill surfaces. A motor massively compensates for that whenever I've ridden an e-bike.
I'm currently on a Sommet which I guess is pretty similar with 170mm front/160mm rear travel. Wanted this sort of bike for the confidence it can inspire when you're pushing out of your comfort zone. I thought it'd be fine but it just feels sluggish to me and takes a lot of effort to jump and pump etc. I think it's the combo of long travel and more modern geometry as I don't ever remember my old bikes feeling this slow. It comes alive when you're pushing it down bigger/steeper stuff but that's not really what I ride!
Been trying to trade the frame for something more "trail" for a while but had no luck. Almost considering selling and going back to a hardtail.
It will feel like a tractor on a motorway when riding on flat smooth surfaces.
And for my money they're not reduced enough to be interesting. I'd prefer something like a Propain with proper warranty backup.
I notice this between my two bikes because the full-sus has 20mm less reach but 20mm more chainstay, but otherwise the angles and wheelbases are near identical. On the full-sus I can stay centered at almost any speed, on the hardtail I have to get onto the bars more and ride more positively (or slow down and chill out).
Generally steeper seat angles negate this when seated/climbing.
As for cornering the full sus will feel more planted & forgiving as it will track the ground better.
I'd also say correct cornering technique will also negate some of this with weighing outside pedal and inside bar to engage side knobs.
It will feel like a tractor on a motorway when riding on flat smooth surfaces.
Mine doesn't. It's smooth and buttery for sure (esp with that coil). but it's still fun to ride. Sure if that's all you were doing, it's pointless having the bike bike but transitioning between more interesting bits on flat trails is not a chore.
I also tried to improve (from a very low base!) my pumping skills on that kind of trail.
Again IME the angles/geo don't make it super aggressive in terms of having to ride it over the front. It is more engaging if you're really trying to weight the front, but it's also pretty forgiving.
An e bike negates a lot of the issues with long travel IMV.
Yes of course it does in most areas
But as I mentioned in my post, I've been riding 'enduro style' bikes for the majority of my riding since around 2006, as have most of my mates. But then we are generally doing 2-3hr rides, not all day epics.
I'm happy to sacrifice a degree of peddling efficiency for extra downhill capability. Others might not
“Generally steeper seat angles negate this when seated/climbing.”
I’m not talking about seated/climbing, I’m talking about riding twisty natural trails at speed that don’t have a lot of downward gradient.
“As for cornering the full sus will feel more planted & forgiving as it will track the ground better.”
The full-sus and hardtail both have the same 160mm fork, and very similar tyres so the grip the front tyre finds is much the same, if weighted equally. The rear tyre finds grip more erratically on the hardtail, for obvious reasons.
“I’d also say correct cornering technique will also negate some of this with weighing outside pedal and inside bar to engage side knobs.”
And the correct cornering technique on bikes with longer front centres is to add extra pressure onto the bars, as well as the usual inside hand and outside foot.
Thanks for all the thoughts. I do appreciate everyone chipping in. It's been really interesting to hear the range of views.
For what it's worth that giga has sold out now so it's no longer an option. I'm still curious about the idea though, but I think I actually need to try a bike with that much travel and gauge it for myself, as it sounds like whether or not it'll work depends on expectations, preferences and tolerance.