Louis for real Posted January 13, 2014 Share Took mine on its maiden ride today, all I can say this bike was made for CT trails, was really blown away and very impressed how this bike handles compared to my 26" Trance. Few adjustments to make(suspension, fork as well as tyre pressures) and a couple other upgrades to do (dropper post, saddle & rotors) otherwise its XT brakeset, cranks, rear derailleur, pedals,carbon bars & wheelset that I upgraded at time of purchase. Really loved the ride today and so amped for tomorrows ride I must admit-i am now jealous and have a itch-but not the dirty kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigwt Posted January 20, 2014 Share All washed up after an insanely awesome contermans shuttle day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted January 21, 2014 Share It seems that the general consensus is to upgrade the wheels as soon as the budget allows. Can you guys tell me why? What is wrong with the standard Giant wheel-set? What did you upgrade it to? (Yes, I see the ZTR Flows above) Did you rebuild with new rims on the stock hubs? Or did you replace the whole wheel? Can you feel the difference, was it worth the cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigwt Posted January 21, 2014 Share It seems that the general consensus is to upgrade the wheels as soon as the budget allows. Can you guys tell me why? What is wrong with the standard Giant wheel-set? What did you upgrade it to? (Yes, I see the ZTR Flows above) Did you rebuild with new rims on the stock hubs? Or did you replace the whole wheel? Can you feel the difference, was it worth the cost? I was having some issues with my tubeless setup seating properly. Every ride the rear wheel would burp which ended either with a sidewall puncture (because the tire got too flat), or having to stop in the middle of a run to pump up the dam tire. I got tired of this and with the limited time we have to ride it just wasn't worth it. I had my eye on a set of flow ex's on hopes (for many reasons) anyways, so I got them sooner than I was planning. With the stans rims the problem went away instantly. Replaced the whole wheelset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in10sive Posted January 22, 2014 Share Thinking to also get this as my next bike the Trance 27.5 2 - or would the GIANT ANTHEM 27.5 be a better bike for me - I normally do XC but I also like doing the technical stuff, DH, jumping, obstacles etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigwt Posted January 22, 2014 Share Thinking to also get this as my next bike the Trance 27.5 2 - or would the GIANT ANTHEM 27.5 be a better bike for me - I normally do XC but I also like doing the technical stuff, DH, jumping, obstacles etc. Only get the anthem if you're going to compete in XC / Marathon type events. Else you can accomplish just as much on the trance, and more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted January 22, 2014 Share Ordered mine this afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in10sive Posted January 22, 2014 Share Only get the anthem if you're going to compete in XC / Marathon type events. Else you can accomplish just as much on the trance, and more... Thanks Ordered mine this afternoon. Were did you order it from pls and if you don't mind how much was it - hope to get a nice bonus in order to get one soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowta Posted January 22, 2014 Share It seems that the general consensus is to upgrade the wheels as soon as the budget allows. Can you guys tell me why? What is wrong with the standard Giant wheel-set? What did you upgrade it to? (Yes, I see the ZTR Flows above) Did you rebuild with new rims on the stock hubs? Or did you replace the whole wheel? Can you feel the difference, was it worth the cost? I actually bought the rims and spokes from somebody who changed them right at the beginning. Finished building the wheelset yesterday and it's nice and light. Shoehorning them into my GT Sanction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted January 22, 2014 Share Thanks Were did you order it from pls and if you don't mind how much was it - hope to get a nice bonus in order to get one soon Action Cycling in Cape Town city centre sells the Trance X 2 for R21 000. That was the best deal I could find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 22, 2014 Share Ordered mine this afternoon. NICE! Well deserved dude... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigwt Posted January 22, 2014 Share Ordered mine this afternoon. Another one, dam I see this bike all over the place! Will have to make mine unique... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capricorn Posted January 22, 2014 Share It seems that the general consensus is to upgrade the wheels as soon as the budget allows. Can you guys tell me why? What is wrong with the standard Giant wheel-set? What did you upgrade it to? (Yes, I see the ZTR Flows above) Did you rebuild with new rims on the stock hubs? Or did you replace the whole wheel? Can you feel the difference, was it worth the cost? speaking from experience using the stock 26" giant rims on my trance: there's nothing 'wrong' with them per se. Super strong, and my tubeless setup only burped once in about a year's worth of riding: no tyre damage cos i had a real, proper tyre, not some wafer thin XC-fetish piece of toilet paper anyway, the burp was expected, and that's your clue: they are not TLR. But like i said: if you setup the tubeless properly, they will give millions of faultless miles. And boy can they take a punishment. pleasantly surprised. But since i didnt know how much of said punishment they could take, i turned to a UST rim i know without a doubt, was built for sadistic levels of punishment. Hence my move to the mavic EX 823, and now the EN 821. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted January 25, 2014 Share I fetched the new Trance 560B yesterday afternoon and finally managed to get a couple of hours to take it for a ride late this afternoon. Thanks Beattbox. Looks:It is a bloody awesome looking bike. Stealth matt black with gloss decals just look so good. Parking it next to my old Trance, which will now serve another member of team DJR, it is easy to see the family resemblance. CTD suspension:It climbs really well, even in Trail mode, it just feels efficient going uphill. In Climbing mode it accelerates like a heavy hardtail, but I doubt that I'll use that much unless I ride it up to the Mast or similar long boring straight up climbs. Going up the Tokai single track Trail worked just fine. The fork wasn't quite as plush as my old well worn one, but I expect that to improve rapidly with some use. In Descend mode it seems to eat bumps for breakfast. I do think that I still have to play with the suspension settings a bit. I'll co-opt Pain or Shine for that. Geometry:The rear end feels very similar to my old Trance X but with more travel. The front end feels much more like the Reign of a year or two ago. The slacker head angle makes it very stable on a fast descend and it feels like it will run a straight line whatever you put in its way. Like with the old Trance, it feels very forgiving. Drivetrain:The SLX 2x10 set up works perfectly and I won't miss the old 3x9 at all. Shifting was faultless. Brakes:These had me worried on the first run down Mamba, but by the time I got to Vasbyt, they have bedded and worked fine. I probably will transfer my SLX brakes from the old bike. Wheels:No issues at all. The Nobby Nicks actually grips nicely and I'll likely ride them to bits before buying tubeless tires. There is a bigger difference between the 26 and 650B wheels, than what I would have expected by just looking at them. It seems to run through sandy bits a lot easier than the 26er ever did. Whether it is that much better in the rocky stuff remains to be seen. I didn't really push it today (I've been in chicken / road mode for some months now). Nimbleness:No problems here. It goes around tight corners and tight spots with ease. What will I change?My old Gobi saddle is going on the new bike immediately and those big-horn wide handlebars are going to get the chop. I know, I know, handlebars supposedly cannot be too wide, but I don't care, those things are going to catch every second tree I try to sneak around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beattbox Posted January 26, 2014 Share I fetched the new Trance 560B yesterday afternoon and finally managed to get a couple of hours to take it for a ride late this afternoon. Thanks Beattbox. Looks:It is a bloody awesome looking bike. Stealth matt black with gloss decals just look so good. Parking it next to my old Trance, which will now serve another member of team DJR, it is easy to see the family resemblance. CTD suspension:It climbs really well, even in Trail mode, it just feels efficient going uphill. In Climbing mode it accelerates like a heavy hardtail, but I doubt that I'll use that much unless I ride it up to the Mast or similar long boring straight up climbs. Going up the Tokai single track Trail worked just fine. The fork wasn't quite as plush as my old well worn one, but I expect that to improve rapidly with some use. In Descend mode it seems to eat bumps for breakfast. I do think that I still have to play with the suspension settings a bit. I'll co-opt Pain or Shine for that. Geometry:The rear end feels very similar to my old Trance X but with more travel. The front end feels much more like the Reign of a year or two ago. The slacker head angle makes it very stable on a fast descend and it feels like it will run a straight line whatever you put in its way. Like with the old Trance, it feels very forgiving. Drivetrain:The SLX 2x10 set up works perfectly and I won't miss the old 3x9 at all. Shifting was faultless. Brakes:These had me worried on the first run down Mamba, but by the time I got to Vasbyt, they have bedded and worked fine. I probably will transfer my SLX brakes from the old bike. Wheels:No issues at all. The Nobby Nicks actually grips nicely and I'll likely ride them to bits before buying tubeless tires. There is a bigger difference between the 26 and 650B wheels, than what I would have expected by just looking at them. It seems to run through sandy bits a lot easier than the 26er ever did. Whether it is that much better in the rocky stuff remains to be seen. I didn't really push it today (I've been in chicken / road mode for some months now). Nimbleness:No problems here. It goes around tight corners and tight spots with ease. What will I change?My old Gobi saddle is going on the new bike immediately and those big-horn wide handlebars are going to get the chop. I know, I know, handlebars supposedly cannot be too wide, but I don't care, those things are going to catch every second tree I try to sneak around. Nice review DJR.From what I saw riding next to you, behind you, and from every other angle the trail would allow to get a good look at your new steed, it's an accurate first assessment.I wonder how the bigger wheels would have coped with that hole my small 26er wheel fell into and stopped me dead so quickly I couldn't get my foot out in time before I went rolling down that thorny embankment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockrabbit Posted February 10, 2014 Share All washed up after an insanely awesome contermans shuttle day! Looks WICKED! Thinking of upgrading my wheels and had the Hans Damfs in mind for tyres. What profile did you opt for front vs back? and how is the performance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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