Angled headset-Love with your Giant XTC 29r again

[camelman]

I used to love my Giant XTC composite 29r, but after rising the Specialized Epic I found the bike way to twitchy and responsive, especially on step technical, rocky singletrack. After a lot of technical analyses I have come to the conclusion that the head angle was super steep compared to other big brand hardtails (Specialised) and a lot steeper than some of the boutique brands that have had really good reviews (Yeti, Niner Santa Cruz and Intense). So after a lot of internet research I ended up getting a angled headset installed.

 

I got a 1 degree Works Components unit installed to slacken it out and it made a huge difference. Yesterday I did a 900m vertical decent that I would have really struggled with before and the bike handled it superbly. The back wheel is still a bit lively on the rough stuff, but that is also because of the short chainstays. Bottom bracket dropped a bit, not sure how much, but this was always a complaint about the Giant, feeling like I am sitting above the bike (I ride an XL), so I am happy with that.

 

So for anyone wanting to improve their XTC, I can highly recommend installing one of these. I would even go so far as to say install a 1.5deg unit.

 

A close up of the headset. It does add a bout 8mm to the top of the head tube so bear that in mind

 

A side view, the bottom cup adds no height

 

And the the Piece de resistance

My Niner top cap with my favorite beer

[Bizkit031]

I used to love my Giant XTC composite 29r, but after rising the Specialized Epic I found the bike way to twitchy and responsive, especially on step technical, rocky singletrack. After a lot of technical analyses I have come to the conclusion that the head angle was super steep compared to other big brand hardtails (Specialised) and a lot steeper than some of the boutique brands that have had really good reviews (Yeti, Niner Santa Cruz and Intense). So after a lot of internet research I ended up getting a angled headset installed.

 

I got a 1 degree Works Components unit installed to slacken it out and it made a huge difference. Yesterday I did a 900m vertical decent that I would have really struggled with before and the bike handled it superbly. The back wheel is still a bit lively on the rough stuff, but that is also because of the short chainstays. Bottom bracket dropped a bit, not sure how much, but this was always a complaint about the Giant, feeling like I am sitting above the bike (I ride an XL), so I am happy with that.

 

So for anyone wanting to improve their XTC, I can highly recommend installing one of these. I would even go so far as to say install a 1.5deg unit.

 

A close up of the headset. It does add a bout 8mm to the top of the head tube so bear that in mind

 

A side view, the bottom cup adds no height

 

And the the Piece de resistance

My Niner top cap with my favorite beer

Where did you get your headset from? I'm looking for one and have seen good reviews on the Works one,the FSA and CC ones are between R2600 and R3500.

[MrJacques]

Another way to slacken the head angle would be to put a slightly longer fork on, e.g. 120mm instead of 100mm.

[camelman]

Where did you get your headset from? I'm looking for one and have seen good reviews on the Works one,the FSA and CC ones are between R2600 and R3500.

That is the price you are going to pay. I actually asked for an FSA unit, the guy talked me into installing a CC unit and when I got there it was a Works. I am Switzerland, and the price was a round R1800-R1900 (CHF180) for the unit. No idea though where you will find it in SA, sorry, but worth every cent. I was on the verge of getting rid of the Giant and getting a Yeti, but cash is a bit tight and decided to give this a try as alast course of action.

[camelman]

Another way to slacken the head angle would be to put a slightly longer fork on, e.g. 120mm instead of 100mm.

That was my initial thought, but then the high bottom bracket becomes super high. And a new fork is quite a bit more expensive than the headset. I wanted to keep it an XC hardtail and that was the whole idea behind it.

[Bizkit031]

Yea I have120mm already so my next option is a 140mm fork or some offset bushes.

[MrJacques]

Yea I have120mm already so my next option is a 140mm fork or some offset bushes.

 

Double check the bike manufacturer's specs before putting on a longer fork. Most bikes should be able to handle an extra 20mm, but it does put a little bit of extra stress on the head tube area and more than that it could worsen the geometry.

[Bizkit031]

 

 

Double check the bike manufacturer's specs before putting on a longer fork. Most bikes should be able to handle an extra 20mm, but it does put a little bit of extra stress on the head tube area and more than that it could worsen the geometry.

They recommend a 120-140mm for my bike so should work but I'm looking at about 10k for shox.

[PeterF]

Where did you get your headset from? I'm looking for one and have seen good reviews on the Works one,the FSA and CC ones are between R2600 and R3500.

 

You can order from Works Components :- http://www.workscomponents.co.uk/

[Cruz Addict]

sorry guys i might be asking a rather silly question but surely the angled headset will put huge strain on the frame?

if i look at the geometry of a bike, the headset angles are set due to the ride and feel the designers want to give the rider, the frame is then built around the tolerances set out as part of the design. if you change the angles surely the forces applied to the frame change exponentially?

[Skinnyone]

So what was the stock head angle? and do you know what it is now? I will never go for a bike for a head angle that is steeper than 69.5deg as then it just becomes too twitchy for my liking. I have found the best handling bikes to have a 68deg head angle. I used to have a Kona HT with this and it is still the best HT I have ridden.

 

As for putting on a longer travel fork, you then now change the amount of trail on the front wheel and could induce what I term "wheel flopping" where you turn the wheel and nothing happens then all of a sudden it "flops" and turns "all at once" so you would go from basically understeer to oversteer in an instant.

 

Gary Fisher came up with his G2 geometry to over come this, have a slack head angle and a short trail on the wheel, thus creating stability at speed but keeping the sharp handling thru the tight slow stuff.

[Skinnyone]

sorry guys i might be asking a rather silly question but surely the angled headset will put huge strain on the frame?

if i look at the geometry of a bike, the headset angles are set due to the ride and feel the designers want to give the rider, the frame is then built around the tolerances set out as part of the design. if you change the angles surely the forces applied to the frame change exponentially?

 

Well not really, the designers will stress test a frame far beyond a normal riders capabilities and circumstances (crashes etc) and factor in these to the construction. Changing the angles by 1.5deg shouldn't cause the frame to suddenly fail, even tho the manufacturer will warn against it - they are protecting themselves from lawsuits remember.

[Cruz Addict]

Well not really, the designers will stress test a frame far beyond a normal riders capabilities and circumstances (crashes etc) and factor in these to the construction. Changing the angles by 1.5deg shouldn't cause the frame to suddenly fail, even tho the manufacturer will warn against it - they are protecting themselves from lawsuits remember.

ah ok cool stuff, makes sense.