thezula

Err. I think you are completely misinformed. Reference from wikipedia for you : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-country_cycling "Riding or racing is also only deemed cross-country if the technical complexity of the trails is easy or moderate. Trails nearly impossible even to experienced riders are more often dubbed "all-mountain", "freeride", or "downhill". Cross-country racing emphasizes endurance above technical prowess, and races vary from 30 minutes to 24 hours in length. Additionally, many mountain bike races are divided up into stages so as to span several days. Races can be either point-to-point or lap-based. " Owned.

Perhaps there is some confusion over the term XC From Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-country_mountain_biking Cross-country racing emphasizes endurance above technical prowess, and races vary from 30 minutes to 24 hours in length. Additionally, many mountain bike races are divided up into stages so as to span several days. Riding or racing is also only deemed cross-country if the technical complexity of the trails is easy or moderate. Trails nearly impossible even to experienced riders are more often dubbed "all-mountain", "freeride", or "downhill". Guys, without getting techincal - if the speed at which you do laps and or overall distance you travel is more important than the singletrack downhill part, you are XC. if you're doing any type of timed event, or are training for a multi day race or are into those you are cross country. Cape Epic is not XC cause of the distance, but because of the multi day event which is timed! Even if you don't do timed events, but wear tights and ride a hardtail with all the latest kit and gadgets, and slowcoach your way down the singletrack but race up on the double track, you are XC. (You sure as *&* are notAll mountain or downhill!) XC is a style of riding - ie. race orientated. Most people are XC. A few are trail / all mountain orientated (focus on single tracks) and the more hardcore I suppose are downhillers although they pretty much the same just more extreme. Enough said, now get back to the bike comparison. I know there's a lot of 29er owners out here who laid out some hard cash and won't admit the fact that their new bikes are probably a bit of a dog on the single tracks. Yes they float over stuff. Like a bus floats. If you turn they drift. I guess if you are XC that sort of thing is cool with you. Personally, for me, I like my bike to perform well, handle quick, turn on a dime, be able to bunny hop it etc. For example, how many guys have you seen on 29ers doing jumps. How many guys on 29ers have you seen screaming down a single track? Yes the wheels might roll faster on a straight but no way a 29er keeps up with a 26er on a technical single track, there's just no way.

no offence but just messing around on a few peoples bikes and riding 2 bikes back to back over a trail is not the same. Any 2 bikes in a straight line will feel more or less the same. Just like pulling away in a BMW 328 will feel more or less the same as pulling away in a merc 280. Diff is how they handle on the road. ie. single track and or through the mountain pass. Sorry but no ways does a Anthem 26er feel the same as a Anthem 29er. One is slow like a dog the other one is a completely different bike. Take 2 of them back to back on a trail you will see. A simple test. Take your BMX for a spin around the track. Then your 26" MTB around the same track. What do you feel? You can pump your BMX much more. It accelerates much better. Much more direct feeling. BMX much easier to do tricks, jump, etc. More control. Slower. 26" faster but a lot less than all of the other stuff. Same goes for 26" vs 29" as 26" vs BMX. If you tell me any different you are either not riding the bikes the right way or riding them in a straight line.

XC = Cape Epic. XC = dude at tokai on 29er that races to top on dual dirt track then comes down the same track instead of single track, training for some race. XC = enduro race or even MTB leg of iron man. XC = time trials etc. XC = dude at tokai in full cycling clothing kit top to bottom, 29er, epic jersey. XC = dude ramming on brakes down the single track going at super slow pace down single track, destroying single track for rest of trail riders. XC = guy going fast up mountain on prob 29er bike and epic jersey. XC = guy with all the latest gadgets on his bike - GPS, computers, everything. Trail = freestyle, trail, single track riding. Trail = guy wearing normal clothes when MTBing at tokai. Trail = guy going slow up mountain Trail = guy screaming down single track having a blast, fast, not braking. Trail = no computers on bike.

we are comparing the handling of a 26" with a 29" If anything (and according to my actual experience) a full suspension 29" is going to be less responsive and less direct and less nippy than a 29" hardtail.

we are comparing the handling of a 26" with a 29". A full suspension 29" will be even more sluggish (less direct) 29" HT even more of a dog on the trails. Suspension or not it won't change the fact that 29ers are slower, less direct and sluggish compared to 26" bikes. Suspensions don't improve the responsiveness of a bike - anyone having ridden a bike and HT form and in FS form will agree the hardtail is more direct and responsive. So to get back to your question. I compared a 26" FS (the less direct version of a HT) to a 29" HT (as direct as they get). Yes a Full Suspension will handle the gnarly bits better of course. But that's not what I pointed out here - I pointed out handling - turning, direct feel, responsiveness etc. For what it's worth have been a long time owner of a 26" HT too and have tried 20" full suspension, and let me tell you it is less direct than the 29" HT.

Anthem is more cross country. It's 4" travel as apposed to 5", and the Trance is just more geared toward trail riding whereas the Anthem is more geared towards XC. I don't think you could really go wrong with either - depends on your needs. If you still do XC and trails Anthem could be a better choice. PS Maestro system on Giants are the best dual suspensions IMO. I know this as I tried every single competitor to the Giant Trance before buying. I couldn't believe how hard (non existent) the Merida dual suspensions are. It's like "look I have a dual suspension it looks cool but doesn't do anything". The end result was I chose a lower spec component Giant over a higher spec Merida cause the ride and handling of the bike is more important to me than what shifters and gears I have on the bike.

I own a 2011 Giant Trance X and a 2011 Giant XTC 29er 1 - both excellent bikes in their own right. I bought the XTC 29er for an upcoming long distance solo tour - and for cross country touring (ie. mixture of flat and hilly tar and gravel roads) a 29er is a good choice. I expected to use the 29er for 90% of my riding expecting it to be more than adequate on the single tracks. However, after recently buying a Trance X I find the 29er stays behind 90% of the time and is only used for the odd commute to work and or cross country style riding. (Which to be honest doesn't happen all too much). After riding both bikes my experience is that on the single tracks (Tokai, Contermans etc.) the 29er is far and I mean really far inferior to any 26er. If you ride a 26er full suspension the full suspension will leave the 29er hardtail even further in the dust on single tracks. I recently took the opportunity to go to Tokai with my 29er and a friend who has the exact same 2011 Trance X bike as me so that we can ride both bikes and compare back to back - doing the same section on the 29er then on the 26er. 29er pros : - Everyday cruising it's great. - Quite a bit faster on the flats than my 26er - Excellent for cross country or XC events. - Quite good for climbing moderate hills. - If you're an epic rider this must be a top choice. 29er cons : - I don't like the fact that everything has a delayed reaction - Big and slow like a bus, everything feels indirect - even on one of the most resposive 29ers currently avail ...the XTC 29er - Toe overlap - Not good for bunny hops or any kind of tricks - Much slower than 26er on technical single tracks - 29er a fair bit more expensive than equivalent 26er - Slow accelaration - Heavy wheels - Wheels tend to buckle easier, especially on the single tracks, so be prepared to fork out 5k for a custom all mountain wheelset if you are a regular on the single tracks. A further note : 29er is not better for taller people - it has bigger wheels yes but the standover height remains the same. Don't buy a 29er if you think you're tall - it won't make a difference. There's plenty of short girls racing competitively on 29ers. Buy a 29er if what you do is cross country, not for other reasons. 26er pros : - Excellent direct feel. Nippy. Handles much much better. THe difference between a sports car (26er) and a bus (29er). - Much faster on single tracks. 29er simply cannot keep up on anything twisty. Period. - No toe overlap. Turn and you go. - Same spec bike in 26er a fair bit cheaper than equivalent 29er. 26er cons : - A bit slower on the straights - A bit more effort to climb (but then again I have 27 speed with a dual suspension on my Trance vs a 29er hardtail without dual suspension) Conclusion. Contrary to all the hype and magazine reviews and forum reviews of 29er owners who state that 29ers are the way forward, my experience has been somewhat different. 29ers are great for the epic riders. They're good for those thos XC time trial events cause they're a bit faster. And for those who like to race, but to whom single track performance aren't really important. You know ... the cross country types dressed in full cycling kit who race to the top of tokai and race back on the double tracks instead of the single tracks. ;-) However, if you're not a XC style rider who trains for 2 hours on double land dirt roads for next year's epic, or who spends his weekends doing XC style events, then think hard before you buy a 29er. I like to ride single tracks on weekends. I like to use a mountain bike like a mountain bike should be used (off road on single tracks, gunning down and having fun.) I also like my bike to be responsive and able to perform well on single tracks. Doing bunny hops and mixing it up on the 29er feels downright awkward (ever tried to bunny hop a road bike?)- it's just so much easier on a 26er. The biggest drawback for me of all is the fact that 29ers feel less responsive and so slow compared to a 29er. Most people try a 29er on it's own without comparing it back to back to a 26er. When they first get on it they think it's not that bad, eventually getting used to the slow responses and getting used to it. It's also for this reason that I wouldn't likely consider a 29er full suspension. A full suspension would take away even more of the little direct feeling that is left in a Hardtail 29er. So if you want a real slow coach, go for a 29er Full suspension. For most types of riding - single tracks, All mountain, trails etc 26ers in HT and more so 26er Full suspension are much better suited than 29ers in HT or full suspension. This is not a HT to full suspension comparison, but a 29" to 26" comparison - the responsiveness, steering, overall handling etc. If anything I compared the less responsive 26" (full suspension) to the most responsive 29" (a HT) I know there's a lot of hype out there around 29ers at the moment. Yes, 29ers are a little bit better for racing, But how many of us purely do racing, and how important is it for you to be a minute faster over a 2 hour event. Which do you do more - racing or having fun at your local single track? I'm not saying 29ers are bad. I'm saying they're great for racing and err... they pretty much suck for everything else. 26ers are better in just about every other respect. My 2c based on actual experience and owning a 2011 29er and a 2011 Full suspension 26er.

Here's the review of the 2011 Giant XTC 29er from What Mountain Bike Jan 2011 : "Giant has only slightly tweaked its already good 29er package for 2011 but the results are outstanding. Whatever handling, control, confidence or speed criteria you're scoring it on, the XTC is the best shop-ready big-wheeled hardtail here, with only its overall year on year value letting it down."

Personally I don't like those leftys. They just look wrong. Without much effort on the XTC you can bring the weight down to below 11kg.

I don't understand the myth that 29ers are for tall riders only. See lots of international girls riding 29ers around 1.6m. 29er you have bigger wheels yes, but the distance between seatpost and pedals stay the same - so how exactly does that lead to some sort of height requirement? I'm 5'11 btw and ride a Large 29er.

the Giant is highly regarded - especially ITO the geometry as stated above. 2011 is not the same bike as 2010 - they fine tuned the geometry and got it spot on - SLX crank - Shimano brakes, new rims etc. Many of the smaller companies still make 29ers that are just big 26ers, therefore they handle like dogs. Look at it this way : we know from reviews and marketing from Giant that they put in the necessary R&D for the XTC 29er. They're a big company and went all out on this one. Silverback - do you think they did their homework on this one? They might have, but being a smaller company taking on a new technology (29er) my bet is they copied what they had available to them (last year's technology). So chances are you really are buying a copied 2010 bike. Giant 2011 - best 29er HT in the biz, proven design and excellent reviews. The extra components on Silverback don't make the bike - it starts with the frame. I'll see if I can scan in the review in mtbr - they did a test of all the latest 29ers - Giant XTC came out tops. It's a schweet bike. Like I said. Silverback or Giant. No brainer. Giant, period. Oh, and did I mention - I have the 2011 XTC 29er 1 - couldn't be happier.

Honestly I think it's both. 29ers have decent weight in HT form, but add some shocks and they can get heavy and expensive. Case in point : Plenty of decent 29ers available for around 15 - 17k. Dual suspension : 30k+

Go for the Giant XTC 29er 1. It's a schweet bike - awesome frame - schweet ride. 2011 has much needed refinements, SLX crank and Shimano brakes (2010 had Avids). Silverback vs Giant. No brainer. It's like saying Mazda vs BMW.

My Giant XTC 29er 1. 2011.