Giant Enduro bike for trail riding?

[Thain Covarr]

Will a 160mm enduro bike be to difficult for a 15-year-old to climb with? Is it too much to ride flow trails on? Thanks so much, everyone!

[phenning]

The Trance has been a good all rounder if you ignore  cross country  racing. byt the Reign is typically not suited for smaller riders  if toy are not hitting  rough stuff all the rime 

[El Duderino]

If you're referring to a Giant Reign (Enduro bike) then, yes....it is a heavy bike. The reign is designed to go downhill fast on rough terrain. It is going to be hard going on long climbs and will be slow when pedaling on fire roads and jeep track. I would not buy a Giant Reign to ride flow trails. You better off with a decent trail bike. Giant Trance or Trek Fuel Ex much better options. And they can also handle steep, rocky stuff if you come across it. 

[Stretched@Birth]

I have to agree with the sentiments here.  The Reign is a tank, great at going downhill fast, but not great on the climbs and jeep tracks.

I have a Giant Trance Advanced Pro 1 29, with only 130mm front and 115mm rear travel.  At first I thought it would not be enough, but the travel feels way more than the numbers say it should.  

I've also had a Trek Fuel EX, suggested by @El Duderino, also a very capable bike, though I found the Giant climbs better, I like to stand up and climb, the Trek break traction when doing that, you are forced to sit, whereas the Giant I can stand up and pedal and the power is turned into forwards (and upwards) momentum.

[Headshot]

16 hours ago, Thain Covarr said:

Will a 160mm enduro bike be to difficult for a 15-year-old to climb with? Is it too much to ride flow trails on? Thanks so much, everyone!

If your 15 year old has aspirations to race DH and enduro then such a bike might be the right choice. Any enduro bike can pedal uphill given the correct gearing and cockpit set up. I do it every ride. (15.5 kg Specialized Enduro with 170mm rear travel)

[Robbie Stewart]

2 hours ago, Headshot said:

If your 15 year old has aspirations to race DH and enduro then such a bike might be the right choice. Any enduro bike can pedal uphill given the correct gearing and cockpit set up. I do it every ride. (15.5 kg Specialized Enduro with 170mm rear travel)

I can confirm this. Although not strictly an enduro rig, my Stumpy EVO (160mm up front and 150mm back) pedals well enough up hills.  I'm not sure of the weight, but I suspect its around 16kg as well.

What I would think is if anyone wants to take this type of riding more seriously then I would suggest getting the best bike for the descent, not the ascent. The climbs are a necessary evil in enduro riding, and not the reason for it. So long as the bike can pedal uphill I would compromise on that to ensure that the descending can be done at the best level possible given the limitations of the bike.

[Marc Duby]

Not sure if I'm allowed to advertise here, but you could have a look at my 160mm Transition Covert here  https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-bikes/879594/transition-covert-275-160mm-enduro-mtb-xtxtr

Climbs well but also performs on the downhill, super fun to ride.

[Martin Albrecht]

If you already have the reign, then I would say ride it. It’s definately “too much” bike for flow trials and will be a bit cumbersome on tight twisty trails, but it will get the job done. It can climb too, just not super fast. If you plan to use it more like a trail bike than an enduro bike, just fit lighter wheels and more XC style tires, and you should be okay.

But if you are in the market for a bike, rather shop around, and seriously consider a Trance or Spez stumpy ST, or the Trek as mentioned above (there are some bargains to be had on previous gen Treks both new and on the used market at the moment).

For 95% of South Africa’s trails, you really don’t need more than 130mm travel and decent tires, and a proper trail or “down country” bike makes the longer days in the saddle so much more enjoyable.

I live in Stellenbosch and surrounded by endless amounts of some of the best trails in the country. I have a 2018 Giant Reign, and a 2023 Anthem X, and I can probably count on 1 hand the number of times I have taken the Reign out of the garage in the past year. I might use it for a shuttle day here a there, but otherwise the anthem does everything I need it to, up or downhill. 

[Slangvel]

https://giant-bicycles.co.za/products/trance-29-1-phantom-green-black-chrome?available%20colours=phantom%20green%20%2F%20black%20%2F%20chrome&available%20sizes=s
 

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/dual-suspension-bikes/864245/giant-trance-x-1?return_to=L2NsYXNzaWZpZWRzL2MvZHVhbC1zdXNwZW5zaW9uLWJpa2Vz