Advice sought – trail & downcountry

After some advice on whether the following two bike setup would work together.

I currently have a Giant Trance X29 (150mm Fox 36 front and 120mm rear). Bike is a fantastic all round trail bike but is 15.2kgs and running 2.4inch tyres (Maxis dissector 2.4 rear and Nobby Nick 2.4 front). I “think” I want something to compliment this bike for longer XC rides. I previously ran the Trance and a Ragley Big Al, but sold that recently as it was as the XL was a bit small and quite knackering on longer riders (60-90mile rides). So… I have an idea of getting the new Specialized Chisel FS. base model and fitting a 130mm Fox 34 fork. Do you think the Trance and the Chisel would be to near each other to make a good 2 bike set up?

Current Trance:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/trance-x-29-2-2021

Specialized Chisel FS:

https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/chisel-shimano/p/4274029?color=5427874-4274029&searchText=93825-5004&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%20Shopping_UK_Bikes_LowAOV_ROI&utm_id=17857133989&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4_K0BhBsEiwAfVVZ_3gcMRZoE1KwR9J82_9BPkPOSPPPjz22F99cr37MGAyMrbuENpq-UBoCajwQAvD_BwE

Initially I though they would be a great combo, the Trance for trail centres and big mountain days and the Chisel for long XC rides etc…. but I’m starting to wonder if they would be a bit too close.

My riding is a mixed bag of BPW, A147, Surrey Hills, Glentress, Sustrans routes, Long 3-4 day tours in Scotland, light woodland trails etc

They are a bit close, yes… But I can see what you’re getting at.

Another big problem is, as is the case with pretty much any Specialized these days, you’re getting a good frame but many components you’re going to want to upgrade immediately, which kinda defeats the point here…

Personally I’d just get a 2nd set of lighter/faster wheels and tyres for the Trance, and maybe do some upgrades to knock a bit of weight off too…

Or go for something genuinely lighter and higher spec than the Chisel…

Thanks mboy, good advice. Plan B was a lighter set of wheels/tyres for the Trance. I agree regarding the Chisel,  the real draw is the frame, the rest are fairly low specification and heavy parts. I believe the XL Chisel is around 14.6kgs, which is heavy for what Specialized are marketing it for, essentially it’s a good quality light frame but let down a bit by low end heavy components.

Personally I’d just get a 2nd set of lighter/faster wheels and tyres for the Trance, and maybe do some upgrades to knock a bit of weight off too

This makes a load of sense. I used to have a Spec Enduro and an Anthem, which were too far to their respective extremes to be useful. I could easily do 100km on the Anthem but would hate anything techie.  I could easily do techie on the Enduro but would hate anything above 50km.

In the end I did what the missus said and. Spent a fortune on a decent Occam. And bought some bling carbon wheels. Now I always have the right bike with me. Iirc it is 13.7kg setup light, , but with alloy wheels, Insert and 2.6″ Minions it is a joy for a full 4km day at Antur or a big Cairngorms day.

I keep thinking about a Slash for the Alps, but TBH it does that ok too.

Why would you overfork the Chisel in that situation?

You’d just be making it closer to the Trance X.

Also, weren’t you asking similar questions about the last Epic Evo?

If I was going to choose a FS to compliment a trail bike then it would be XC.

Why would you overfork the Chisel in that situation?

I got a Fox 34 – 130mm for £300 brand new. This could be part of the problem in a way. The base Chisel comes with a 120mm Recon, that would be swapped on day one, but putting a 130mm fork brings it closer to the 150mm Trance… hence having doubts that these two bike would work very well together.

Were you posting on the thread when the Chisel came out?

The consensus there was that buying frame only and building it up was the smart way to go.

So do that and it’ll make a great sidekick to your Trance IMO.

wouldnt be much difference, is the giant a keeper long term,  i’ve been aiming  to get a lightweight full sus, 140/130front_120 rear and an enduro bike 170mm/160mm

you thought about a gravel bike :0) with front suspension, its always my go to over a hardtail short travel MTB.

was round hebden saturday and wharnie yesterday all i saw was 40% eMTB/40% gravel and the odd mtb

My riding is a mixed bag of BPW, A147, Surrey Hills, Glentress,

Trail bike

Sustrans routes, Long 3-4 day tours in Scotland, light woodland trails etc

Gravel bike

That’s a better two bike garage to cover all bases IMHO. I can never really see the point of an XC bike if you’re not competing to be honest.

130mm forked hardtail would be my stablemate for that bike.

Plan B was a lighter set of wheels/tyres for the Trance.

I’d do that first and see how you get on.

And maybe consider a gravel bike that’s at the more off-roady end of the spectrum – Sonder Camino, SC Stigmata, both 69˚ head angle, fit 45mm or 50mm tyres and dropper and it’ll do most moderate off-road stuff quite happily and roll nice and fast.

To counter the above argument – I really reckon my epic evo (120/110) built up lightweight beats a gravel bike on pretty much any tearrain! People are riding gravel bikes with 2″ tyres nowadays… and a downcountry bike is just SOOO capable, comfy, and fast.

Even if you’re not racing a bike like the epic evo (or new epic 8) jsut makes so much sense for most people!

DrP

I’m with DrP on this. The Epic Evo with lightweight wheels and fast rolling tyres is as good as, if not better than, a gravel bike.

I say that as someone who’s had a few gravel bikes and never really got on too well with them. I ride the Epic with mates when they’re doing either gravel or MTB rides and don’t have too many issues keeping up. Obviously if I were riding with a load of roadies doing their chaingang-like gravel rides then they’d lose me on the road bits but that’s not the case with the guys I ride with.

I have a gravel bike that I really enjoy riding on trails that I used to do on MTB.

I’d agree it’s slower and less comfortable most of the time, and it’s terrifying when I get carried away and pin it across a load of roots.

But that’s fine as I’m doing a gravel ride and it puts me in a different mindset.

Anyway, to try to bring it back on topic – there’s no point telling OP to get a gravel bike if they want to do mountain bike rides. And I’d 100% get the Chisel FS over a hardtail for the extra versatility.

Maybe think about something more XC than down country. Things have moved on a lot so they are capable.

Ones I see out and about are the Canyon lux or lux trail (which I have). The Scott spark or specialised Epic.

My lux trail is fine on all of the marked XC trails at GT. Even some of the off piste. My friend takes his down Golfie but is a better rider than me. On xc tyres it is a race bike. Give it a bit more volume and grip and I find it great downhill. These are 100-120mm.

I’ve paid mine up with a 150/150 trail bike that will tackle anything I’m brave enough to point it down but involves some long slow climbs.

Maybe think about something more XC than down country.

The Chisel FS is an XC bike.

And I’d 100% get the Chisel FS over a hardtail for the extra versatility.

The Comp spec is meant to be under 13kg. I haven’t managed to work out a ‘package’ of parts needed, if going frame only, that is cheaper than the Comp. I’m basing it on having no donor parts, and obvs my searching-fu is weaker than others. (laugh emoji)

Thanks mboy, good advice. Plan B was a lighter set of wheels/tyres for the Trance.

I would just start by putting some XC tyres on the Trance and seeing how it goes.

You can have two bikes with similar travel and very different feel and intent.

I have a Scott Spark with 130mm front and 120mm rear, 65 degree head angle. This is my XC bike to live with my Evil Calling which is 140mm front and 130mm rear, 63 degrees head angle. They’re similar in travel but not much else. The Scott is 6lb lighter and much quicker uphill and across country. But if I took it down some of the descents the Evil thrives on it’d be terrifying.

They compliment each other very well. I could see a light and efficient down or cross country bike being a good companion to the Trance but the Chisel ain’t it. They’re not light by any stretch of the imagination. You’ve been asking about these bikes for a long time and I think you know the right answer is a reduced Epic. There’s a lot of cheap Sparks about too.

“munrobiker” has likely called it right. Lots of good advice, much appreciated. Gravel bike is not an option, just not for me. Will experiment this weekend by putting some racing Ralph’s on the Trance and see how it rides. The Trance is super comfy, so with light wheels/tyre combo it might prove a great solution.