[Closed] Giant Trance 29 opinions please - good or cack?

Dropped you a line. Trance 29 owner here (2021 version). Any specifics you want to know about?

In my opinion - really decent bike. Fine uphill, actually good on the flat and undulating terrain, and can be properly rapid downhill. It’s surprised me a few times with how quick I ended up going.

Paging @continuity . (Though his is very top end) he seemed happy on Whiteless Pike and Grizedale Pike in the Lakes.

Bought my son a trance 2 29er last year. Seems like a pretty good bike to me, though you don't seem to get very high end bits for £2600 these days.

I'd consider one if the need arose.

Cheers @thegeneralist.

It doesn't roll as well as my old intense, carry speed as well as my following, power through chop as well as the sb130 not is it probably light enough to race xc. But it's annoying competent at everything - I don't think you need much more bike for anything but racing xc, Enduro or dh. If your plans never include that, you'll be fine. The wheelbase / balance / geometry is just perfectly balanced. Only downside is quite a high standover and seat tube so at 6ft on a large I can only get a 150mm dropper in and giant now seems to be offering pretty poverty spec for your £3k.

If I was dropping 3k and had to spend new, it'd be hard to turn down a full fox factory front/rear vitus escarpe or rapide.

Is it the short travel (130mm fork / 115mm out back) you are contemplating?

If so, they're pretty fun. The geometry isn't the most modern but the Maestro suspension design is great and they (used to) be great value.

The longer travel version is a different beast. Very heavy and a bit meh.

Thanks all. Yes, the short travel version.

They’re current £2.5k and compared to other stuff on the market appear decent value right now - Slx and decent fork & shock whereas other at that price are on Deore etc.

The Vitus Rapide looks tempting. At £2.5k it’s not Fox factory territory - that seems to be a over £3k which isn’t an option. Neither that nor the Escarpe in stock though so it’s a bit acedemic.

A frame only purchase is tempting - move all the bits from Scandal V3 over. Will work out how that compares to buying a Trance and selling the Scandal - suspect about the same.

Or just do nothing, spend nothing and continue thrashing the Scandal around. I do find hardtails fun. Plus more £££ for coke and hookers etc.

I've a couple of mates with these and they are properly fast on them, up and down. One has the top model with AXS everything. Weighs 9/10 of bugger all, the other has a lower model, but with two wheelsets, carbon AM and XC. Even with the AM wheelset he'll knock out a 100km ride on it without drama. He absolutely loves it.

Mate has one, I have a Norco Fluid. V. Similar. Only downside to the Trance imho is the poxy press fit BB.

Was speaking to a chap at Antur Styniog, who was using one. He seemed to rate it highly, even on that stuff.

Was speaking to a chap at Antur Styniog, who was using one. He seemed to rate it highly, even on that stuff.

Yeah, it was one of the first of the new crop of 29er "downcountry" bikes. Punches well above its travel category.

The Vitus Rapide looks tempting.

I'm not sure what the warranty is on the Vitus but the Giant will have a lifetime frame warranty. Giant are awesome with warranty issues. I'd rather have a lifetime warrantied frame with slightly lower spec components that I can upgrade over time than higher end components but a lesser frame to bolt them to.

Yeah, it was one of the first of the new crop of 29er “downcountry” bikes.

Arguably, yeah, or one of the handful of bikes that copied the Transition Smuggler of a few years ago.

Either way, I would suspect it's due an update sooner rather than later - and personally I'd look for something with more up-to-date geometry.

It's just been updated - though doesn't seem to be in the UK yet.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/int/trance-29-1-2022

120mm rear now - which you get with the (my) previous gen by removing the 2.5mm travel reducer in the DPS.

Bit longer (10mm in L), teeny bit slacker - no lower. Seat tube is steeper, but I've really not noticed the difference when I went from ~77 degree SA to the 74.5.

Some positive changes there but the seat tube is still bizarrely long.

Fine if you're long-legged, and probably if you're normal - but a dealbreaker for short-leg-long-body riders like me.

Superb bikes. I love it but am also selling mine to get something a wee bit different. It's an XL if it's of interest to you OP? At 6'1.5" with a 34" inside leg Ive managed a 170mm dropper in it no problem. Both shocks serviced by TF Tuned two weeks ago and unridden since. Ideally I'd be looking to split it as I want to keep parts of it for my new build. Drop me a PM if you are interested.

FWIW - I'm a shade over 6ft and have a 170mm dropper in. 84cm inseam. (Lol at the mixing of SI and Imperial units...)

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if youy can stop the buildup of crap at the rear linkage it`ll be great.

I`ve not looked at giants for years but, bloody hell, that looks mint! perfect UK bike.

if i was buying a new bike id defo buy that one. Just the right amount of travel to take the edge off but not so XC id snap it. I`d bung a 275 rear wheel in it though.

Done. Ordered via Cyclescheme - with the “last years bike” discount plus tax savings it’s less than second hand price so pretty low risk to try, even if I don’t get on with it for some reason.

Thanks all!

You won't regret it.

I went for a ride on my trance again today. I think the issue I have with it is that it's neither here nor there.

It isn't light enough to race (carbon 0 frame, 1500g wheels, x01, dvo,lots of ti) but there are bikes now light enough to race that can also do nearly everything that the trance can (eg a RM Element, Excie or Spur). It also doesn't carry speed quite well enough to race Enduro or get you out of trouble when you hit a rocky line of technical descent (let's say, some of the more interesting bits of a lake District ridge).

It just sort of does everything really competently. I think if you never have any interest in putting on a race number, you don't need any more bike in the UK.

I'm a bit of a Giant fan, current stable is a 2019 trance advanced 1 (carbon frame, carbon rims, fox 36s performance elite, fox dpx2 rear, sram gx 12 speed eagle) 2017 trance 1 (alu frame, carbon wheels, top spec fox 34 performance elite, xt 1 x 11) and a 2015 Reign 2.

As mentioned above, the trance is just good at everything, and value for money I don't think they can be beaten.

I know people look down on Giant as they are quite popular and not as boutique or cool as some other brands.

I never really get the obsessing over head angles/ linkage lengths etc on mountain bikes.

If you are a good rider you will be fast on any bike, regardless of a slightly shorter stem or 0.2 degree head angle difference!

Which in the all mountain category that the trance sits in, the bikes are all very similar geometry wise.

Sorry to hijack but is there anything better than the Trance 29 1 for £2k around at the minute?