I NEED A BIKE!!!...Please help me!

this will do:

Just shy of 2G and a lot of fun.

Not a 29er. Funny thing about the 29er is until about a year ago a swore i would never ride one. Now I have 2 with a 3rd in the works.

Trance-X-2-Black.jpg
 
Scotty878 said:
...Okay, well I don't NEED a bike, but I do REALLY REALLY want one. I've wanted a MTB for probably over three years now and the want is greater that ever!

I joined this site a while back and lurk on here and MTBR quite frequently, and just can't stop wanting a bike! And now I really want a nice quality bike because after just wanting for so long, I got my friend into wanting one too. Long story short, this past fall we took the two ten year old rigid's he had in his garage that we pulled from the depths. The one I rode was a Specialized Hardrock and he had a Trek Jetta edition. We got some new tires and tubes, and went and hit up Hartshorne(I'm within 20 minutes from there). The bikes only lasted us three rides, as on the third ride, the rim on the Spec. was so badly bent and the brakes out of alignment that it was cutting a hole in the tire so I rode across the park back to the car with no back brake. So those bikes are out of commission, and we're both ready to get some nice new rides! And I'm ready to do it right!! (And not let this one get to the state these bikes were!)

Phew. So anyway, I'm finally ready to bite the bullet and drop some nice cash on a good bike. I'm willing to spend a little upwards of $2000, probably about $2500 max. I emphasize about because the one bike I already have in mind is $2600. I'll first admit I was pretty much decided on getting an Ibex, which I'm guessing some of you have heard of. It's the internet brand which I know causes some controversy, but that's for another thread. The bike had a really nice build spec, and looked to be a nice ride, so that's why I thought I had decided. Anyway, when they released images of their bike, DW-Link tried to hit them with patent infringement, and being a small company, they didn't want to fight it, so they are scrapping the '08 model of the bike I was going to get. So that has sent me back out on the prowl for a new bike.

I guess I should tell you what I'm looking for and give you some info...I'm a college student from Lincroft, currently attending Brookdale Community College. I'm about 5'10"-5'11" and about 180lbs. My home trail, I guess you could call it, as I'll probably ride there most frequently, is as I mentioned, Hartshorne. I'm looking for a nice FS rig, aimed towards all mountain and preferably/perhaps the stronger side of AM, sliding slightly towards a light-FR bike, as I'd want to occasionally go to Diablo to mess around and don't have money for two bikes....

Annnnywayyyy.....The model I am considering thus far is a Giant Reign X1 (For those interested, http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/mountain/1284/29380/ ). I was/am thinking I'm kind of settled on this bike, but figured I'd take some opinions from some local knowledgeable folks like yourselves before spending this much on a bike, which all my friends think I am nuts for doing. (But what do they know, they've never even tried mountain biking!) I like the build on this bike, and to my somewhat small knowledge looks pretty solid. Strong enough to handle some trips to Diablo, and nice for the descents at Hartshorne, and apparently from the reviews I've read, not a terrible climber either! But the only thing is, I think of a lot of the other trails around here the I'm bound to travel to. Six Mile, Allaire, and others, that I have not personally been to, but have read about, seen pictures and videos of, and they seem pretty flat to me. So really, what all this is getting at, is do you guys think this bike is kind of overkill? Like I said, I would like something a little burlier like this, and I wouldn't have a problem having to push myself to carry the extra weight up hills, but don't know if this is perhaps a little TOO much...?

So I guess what am asking is what do you guys think of this bike and it suiting my needs? Any personal experience? Any opinions really? If not, perhaps suggestions to similar bikes to check out and research? Anything really to help point me in the right direction to finally getting a bike!!:eek:

Thanks in advance for any help!
Scott D.
:confused:


....Wow, just meant for this to be a short little "help me out/suggestions/opinions" post, turned into a life story. Thanks for putting up with that, lol.
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I'm brand new myself and my weapon of choice was the Giant Yukon FX. It's a 4" FS bike and leans more towards XC (not sure about the weight factor but as far as head angle and chainstay length). So far I haven't had any problems with climbs or moderate decents. For the price and ability to do a lot of different riding styles without being settled into a specific kind I have no complaints.

The Reign X series' head angle is 67 degrees. I'd assume this would be a bit much on the climbs. If I had more money at the time I would have looked into the trance and trance X myself.
 
After a Giant Clinic today I decided to stock the full line of Trance X bikes for this season. This bike seems to be a sweetheart of the bike press and anyone who spends some time on it.

From what I have read the X series bikes offer an extra 1" of travel over the regular Trance with very little downside.

Now if they would just build a Maestro 29er!
 
jdog said:
From what I have read the X series bikes offer an extra 1" of travel over the regular Trance with very little downside.
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That's pretty much what I've gotten from reviews/articles.
 
Cthulhu said:
That's pretty much what I've gotten from reviews/articles.
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It shaved nearly two pounds off of last year's trance due to the frame design. Last year the shock passed through the downtube. Due to hydroforming technology, Giant was able to get away from doing that. That curved downtube has a true function. I rode the Trance X in Vegas at Interbike for quite a bit. The first thing I actually did with it was test out the climbing. Fox has their shocks and forks dialed. The bike definitely descends really well. The only reason I would suggest the Trance over the Trance X is either pricepoint, or if you were considering racing and wanted something that handled a little quicker.
There are a lot of other 5" travel bikes that you can actually pedal. I would take a glance at the new Trek Fuel Ex and the Gary Fisher HiFi.
 
TCB
Stop pimpin' the trek.
can't you see this is a Giant thread? :)
Off to Peru, wow I am going to miss this wonderful weather we are having.
BJK
 
TownCycleBoy said:
It shaved nearly two pounds off of last year's trance due to the frame design. Last year the shock passed through the downtube. Due to hydroforming technology, Giant was able to get away from doing that. That curved downtube has a true function. I rode the Trance X in Vegas at Interbike for quite a bit. The first thing I actually did with it was test out the climbing. Fox has their shocks and forks dialed. The bike definitely descends really well. The only reason I would suggest the Trance over the Trance X is either pricepoint, or if you were considering racing and wanted something that handled a little quicker.
There are a lot of other 5" travel bikes that you can actually pedal. I would take a glance at the new Trek Fuel Ex and the Gary Fisher HiFi.
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The new Trance design is sweet. I'm an engineer and I love to see a design modified for a reason, not change just for the sake of change. They eliminated the extra material for the pass-through downtube, they combined the linkage pin with the shock pin, and hydroformed that gooseneck downtube. Sweet looking and functional! Excellent engineering principles were applied.
 
newbike.jpg

i got one of these the price was good and the bike is good but those giants look good too...just a sug i love it climbs easy brakes great...no chain hop when susp. is workin hard its a good bike about $1800.00 $1900.00...go to kims in New Brunswick and ask for robbie he has long red hair and is skinny...hes my cousin he will help you
 
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