First Look: Giant's All-New 2013 Trance X 29er 8

bturman
7/17/2012 8:42am

Giant's new steed is nearly ready for public. Dubbed the "Ultimate Trail Bike" and developed in conjunction with super-everything champion Adam Craig, the Trance X 29er is everything you love about the original Trance X trail bike re-engineered for 29-inch wheels.

The Trance X 29er 0, shown above, has 5 inches of rear wheel travel, a short rear end and internal cable routing.

Listen in as Craig and crew discuss the development of the Trance X 29er and shred on Giant's new machine.

The Trance X 29er mates a new "Single-Spar" swingarm design with a 5-inch travel Maestro Suspension system. What's Single-Spar? Giant says they tucked the rear wheel tighter under the rider for fast, agile and "flickable" 29er trail handling. We have yet to see geometry numbers, so we'll see just how short they got it when it officially launches. The oversized bottom bracket and chainstay area also features a fully integrated 89.5mm wide BB design. Asymmetric chainstays provide additional stiffness on the driveside and stability on the non-driveside.

The Trance X 29er series comes in a variety of models including the Trance X 29er 1 and 2, above. They all feature Giant's OverDrive 2 headset (1-1/4-inch top bearings, 1-1/2-inch bottom).

Rabobank-Giant racer Adam Craig, who played a key role in developing the Trance X 29er, rode a prototype version to a Super D National Championship at the U.S Mountain Bike Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho just under two weeks ago.

Keep an eye out for the new big-wheeler to hit shops soon. It drops this August, and there are rumors of a yet to be released model that isn't shown here. For more details, cruise over to giant-bicycles.com/showcase/trancex29er/

8 comments

View replies to: First Look: Giant's All-New 2013 Trance X 29er

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Marc
12 years ago
Utley06 if the FSR design is outdated crap as you say then why is it when paired up with the brain shock Specialized's Epic became the first ever dual suspension bike to win the XC world cup? I ride a Giant Glory and my father owns a Trance, and while their suspension is ok it's far from being even one of the top 10 suspension designs. To be honest I've never liked my Glory. It pedals ok and that's about it really. I'd rather have a bike that sucks at pedalling but is one of the best at everything else (Specialized) than one that pedals well jumps ok and sucks at everything else (Giant) if you want a bike that does everything well get a Morewood Makulu.
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mostlypedals
12 years ago
Through-axles are a valuable tool for increasing strength and stiffness in frames with pivots located in the rear triangle (Specialized, Trek.) Giant has found that the rear end on their maestro bikes are comparable in stiffness and strength to these other companies' frames without having to use a thru-axle. Santa Cruz reached this same conclusion with their Nomad (and Yeti with their 575.) Thru-axles are certainly trendy, but not always necessary, despite what Specialized's marketing department says.
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JCL
12 years ago
Head angle too steep, seat angle way to slack, especially for taller riders. No ISCG and no ability to mount a guide, no thru axle. About two years behind Specialized.
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Tommy84
12 years ago
what little you know, Giant are ahead of specialized and always will be, they are the biggest bike manufacturer in the world. specialized dont even build their own bikes. slack seat tube is to accomodate for the larger wheels while not extending the wheelbase
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Marc
12 years ago
Tommy, are you for real? Giant aren't even close to Specialized. Specialized have made a name for themselves as the brand putting the most R&D into their bikes. You can't tell me Giant are on the same level let alone ahead of them if their top of the range Trance is lacking all things that have become common place with prop trail bikes. Thru axles ISCG tabs etc. Saying Giant are ahead because they are a bigger brand is like saying Toyota are better than Ferrari because they are bigger. It's about the technical know how not the size and money. How little you know son...
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Alekosty
12 years ago
I don't think Giant is two years behind Specialized, but I agree that no ISCG and no thru axle is a fail. When I got 10mm rear axle for my Trance X the rear triangle became significantly stiffer.
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Demostat
11 years ago
I am very happy with my Trance X 29er 2. Regarding the thru axel, I like that it QR in the rear, I can use a disk break lock/alarm with a locking skewer on there, and likewise I actualy think thru axls are more important up front, look at the return of the single crown fork, this is a direct result of thu axls.
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Gareth_Warren
12 years ago
Well owning a 2011 trance x i'm seriously looking forward to riding one of these, the 26" version is awesome, and being 6ft 6 i think this bike is gonna be made for me.

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