News of Giant’s wholehearted jump into the 650b (27.5)
wheel size
movement earlier in 2013 took many people by surprise. While most
brands were dabbling with a model or two in their lineups, Giant
announced a
full range
of the mid-sized wheeled bikes, across nearly their entire lineup.
While a number of 29” wheeled bikes remained, all 26” wheeled bikes,
save for the downhill Glory and freeride ReignX, went out the door.
After spending 2 seasons on Giant’s stalwart Reign, I was curious about how their commitment to the
mid size
would pan out, and was more than happy to answer the call of the test
bike. With its low-key all black style, aesthetics alone push the
carbon-framed Trance Advanced SX toward the front of the class. Giant
has a proven formula of smartly spec’d bikes at the right price points,
and when combined with second-to-none warranty service they are hard to
overlook.
Black on black labeling and internally routed cables contribute to the
bike’s
sleek aesthetic. The OverDrive2 headtube is proprietary and beefed up
compared to other brands, Giant claims a 15% increase in torsional
steering stiffness, although I’m not sure I really notice a difference.
The Trance SX sports the new SRAM X01 drivetrain for those looking to
stay with the hot trends. But Giant also pays attention to the details:
the direct mount
front derailleur
tab provides the option of multiple front rings for those who so
choose,and the cover on the direct mount keeps things looking clean. The
integrated chainstay wrap is also a nice touch, even though clutch
derailleurs have significantly reduced chain slap. Look closely and
you’ll also notice ISCG-05 chainguide tabs. Versatility is the name of
the game when it comes to customizing the bike to suit whatever your
drivetrain needs dictate. Unfortunately the crank finish already shows
signs of wear after only a handful of rides.
The Maestro suspension benefis greatly with the addition of the 142x12mm through
axle wheel
on the rear and the Fox Float X rear shock. The bump up to the wider
wheel spacing and through axle drastically improves rear end stiffness
compared to my previous generation Reign. The new Float X shock offers
more compression damping throughout the range of its adjustments,
providing more support early in the travel, helping improve climbing and
pedalling performance, while also seeming to help resist the harsh
bottom out that was oh so common on the Reign on big hits.
It’s no secret that Fox’s 2013 34 CTD forks were not their
best effort.
The revamped internals do the trick, however, and the fork exceeded
expectations. Adjustments provide a noticeable difference in
performance, and the fork dive that was so common in the 2013 line is
absent. Giant has taken advantage of the TALAS-5 platform to give us a
160mm fork that lowers just 20mm to 140 in the low setting, matching the
140mm rear travel.
At only 100mm of travel, Giant’s Contact remote adjustable seatpost
performs fairly reliably, even if it feels a bit lacking in total height
adjustment when the trail turns down and steep. The offset post also
puts you back on the bike. Personally I prefer something with less
offset to help keep the front of the bike down on steep climbs when
running shorter stems. The Fi’zi:k Gobi XM saddle isn’t the most
comfortable saddle I’ve ever been on, but it’s better than many OEM
offerings and quietly goes about its duties.
The dual bolt clamp on the seatpost binder is a head scratcher – it
makes simple quick adjustments a thing of the past, and instead you get
to fiddle around with two bolts. Totally unnecessary, and actually kind
of annoying.
Slowing down is handled by Avid’s 4-piston Elixir 9 Trail brakes. With
both pad contact and reach adjustment, getting the brakes dialed to suit
your tastes is easy. I’ve had no problems with stopping power on the
steepest of trails so far.
Giant has implemented a direct post mount for the rear brake, which has potential to become an industry norm.
Random notes; Giant finally got the memo and spec’d a decently short
70mm stem and 730mm wide bar, Giant’s house-branded products that are
more than adequate until you decide to upgrade. Receiving the bike
mid-November, I was also pleasantly surprised to find the standard Rock
Razor tire on the back end replaced with a Hans Dampf. Riding in plently
of wet and slimy late fall conditions, it was a welcome upgrade to help
me maintain rear wheel traction.
While the remote Contact seatpost is stealth routed, it does have the
trait of extending back to full height whenever you grab the bike by
the seat for a hike a bike or similar, this means a bit of extra up and
down if you’re on and off your bike. The remote for the post is however
extremely minimal and easy to use perched beside the grip. A water
bottle mount, in a normal on top of the down tube location is also very
welcome by this tester; they even included a carbon bottle cage for me,
kudos!
Black
with a splash of Kashima, the Trance SX is low on flash and high on
stealth. Coming in at $5699 CDN, with a carbon mainframe, Fox CTD
suspension featuring a 140-160mm 34 fork and Float X rear damper, the
highly coveted SRAM X01 drivetrain, and a stealth remote adjustable
seatpost, Giant takes the value game to another level.
So far the
Trance SX
has been easy to adjust to coming off the Reign and I’ve been enjoying
putting it through the paces on the Shore, Squamish, and Pemberton. The
improved shock tune and bump up in wheel size produce a noticeable
improvement in climbing performance on technical terrain. Similarly
improved suspension in conjunction with the stiffer frame and swingarm
combine for a fast rolling and quick handling descender that loves to be
pushed hard in rough and tumble terrain. Stay tuned for a complete ride
and performance review coming soon.
source: http://www.nsmb.com/2014-giant-trance-advanced-sx-27-5/