I just got back from a few days riding in Park City. I was out there for the 2009 Giant bicycle product launch.
Here is some rambling:
I knew that they were not going to do a 29er for 09 so I went in w/ an open mind and spent some serious time on an 09' Trance X.
First off the climbing switchbacks out there is great. I found my rhythm after about 2 hours climbing at elevation (7000ft+). I hated the 26" wheel on the way up. I seriously missed the traction of the bigger wheels. I climbed from the base of the Canyons resort to the summit in the middle ring. The bike worked for shit in the granny. It constantly lost traction. This was my biggest frustration. I soon became very glad that I had spent so much time this season on the SS bike. I was able to summit the Mt 4 times in the Middle ring over 2 days. This might not sound like much but it felt like a real feat to me.
I ended up riding with a group that were from Geneva NY and Jeff Lenosky from NJ.
http://www.genevabikes.com/ These are some of the coolest folks I have met in years. Stand up folks who are in the buisness for the right reasons.
Most of he group I was with were huge 29er fans and 2 of them are on the Gary Fisher 29er team. We all had much to say about how we missed the big wheels and that a 29er Anthem X would make up all very happy.
On long descents I missed the bigger wheels at times but moreover I was so impressed with the trails that I was just letting the bike roll and hooting & hollering. It was a real treat to get some much longer rides in with Jeff. I learned a lot just by watching his lines. I made some huge gains in descending skills this trip just by learning to keep off the brakes. By the 2nd day I was really pushing the big ring on many of the descents.
Jeff is a stand up guy and an absolute professional. He is a huge asset to the sport and to NJ riding. Come see him at the Jorba fest in the fall. He is an approachable, fun loving guy who loves bikes. He has every right to be "over it" but he isn't. He will answer every question you give and add insight that he has gained with thousands of miles logged all over the country.
Some bike tech notes: I liked the stoker brakes stopping power but HATED the lever feel. The new XT discs are better all around. I am still on the fence about Magura vs. XT but they are close. Shimano stepped up their game on the servo wave xts.
Hate the WTB Devo Saddle! What an ass destroyer! anything is better.
LOVE the new Fox Q15 forks. Very stiff. Almost as stiff as a lefty. Great descender and smooth in the corners. Solid climber too. This is a great technology advancement. Stiffer for sure. Fox Nailed this one. Look out.
Rode some Shimano SLX stuff. Very good. All that anyone needs.
Hate the skinny Giant mt Grips. Missed the ergons. 2 point for Ergons.
I spent a lot of time on an Trance X2 which is an amazing bike for the price. It came with a Fox Rp2. I poo-pooed this shock but in reality the suspension design works very well and the RP23 might have worked better but I didn't miss it.
If I was to buy a bike in 26" from these guys it would be a Anthem X. Check this bike out. Adam Craig won Mt snow on this bike. Super killer.
I absolutely missed the Rotor Q-rings. I did over 10 hours of climbing in 2 days and I really could tell the difference.
I also learned that Giant is the ONLY bike company that weaves their own carbon fiber and mixed their own resins. If you are considering a carbon bike of any kind you are foolish to overlook giant. Super techy!
Needless to say we gave the Giant folks a verbal beat down every chance I could as to why they skipped 29" for 09'. The reality is that Giant is a Global brand and 29ers are not huge globally yet. Ironically Giant makes most of the 29ers that are built worldwide yet they do not make one with their name on it.
It is worth noting that their Mt bike product manager is about 5'-6". I corned this guy at the first meeting and he basically knew he was screwed. I was wearing a crossmax 29er T-shirt and I really let him know that I was very disappointed in the lack of 29 for 09'. They will make a 29er soon, but not soon enough for my taste.
Apart from the 29 disaster the bike are really amazing. It is important to note that giant is the BIGGEST bike maker in the WORLD! They hit 2 Billion in sales last year and built over 10 MILLION bikes. I learned a lot about the way that they operate and I was very impressed. I ate lunch with the Founder of Giant and I was amazed how far these guys have come.
I can in no way describe how amazing the scenery was or how many times i just stopped to take it all in. (sorry for the lack of pics) Utah is crazy nice. Unfortunately it seems much more built up than 2 years ago when I last visited. I saw 100's of new houses everywhere I looked. There were countless multi million dollar homes that sat idle. I was unimpressed with the sprawl in such a beautiful spot.
I left Utah tired, sore and worn out:drooling:. I rode some very well built bikes and learned a lot about a company this is THE global leader in bike manufacturing. Honestly Giant has their act together in every way but brand image. They don't seem to care much as they built most of the bikes that we all own anyway.
Thanks Giant!
J_
Here is some rambling:
I knew that they were not going to do a 29er for 09 so I went in w/ an open mind and spent some serious time on an 09' Trance X.
First off the climbing switchbacks out there is great. I found my rhythm after about 2 hours climbing at elevation (7000ft+). I hated the 26" wheel on the way up. I seriously missed the traction of the bigger wheels. I climbed from the base of the Canyons resort to the summit in the middle ring. The bike worked for shit in the granny. It constantly lost traction. This was my biggest frustration. I soon became very glad that I had spent so much time this season on the SS bike. I was able to summit the Mt 4 times in the Middle ring over 2 days. This might not sound like much but it felt like a real feat to me.
I ended up riding with a group that were from Geneva NY and Jeff Lenosky from NJ.
http://www.genevabikes.com/ These are some of the coolest folks I have met in years. Stand up folks who are in the buisness for the right reasons.
Most of he group I was with were huge 29er fans and 2 of them are on the Gary Fisher 29er team. We all had much to say about how we missed the big wheels and that a 29er Anthem X would make up all very happy.
On long descents I missed the bigger wheels at times but moreover I was so impressed with the trails that I was just letting the bike roll and hooting & hollering. It was a real treat to get some much longer rides in with Jeff. I learned a lot just by watching his lines. I made some huge gains in descending skills this trip just by learning to keep off the brakes. By the 2nd day I was really pushing the big ring on many of the descents.
Jeff is a stand up guy and an absolute professional. He is a huge asset to the sport and to NJ riding. Come see him at the Jorba fest in the fall. He is an approachable, fun loving guy who loves bikes. He has every right to be "over it" but he isn't. He will answer every question you give and add insight that he has gained with thousands of miles logged all over the country.
Some bike tech notes: I liked the stoker brakes stopping power but HATED the lever feel. The new XT discs are better all around. I am still on the fence about Magura vs. XT but they are close. Shimano stepped up their game on the servo wave xts.
Hate the WTB Devo Saddle! What an ass destroyer! anything is better.
LOVE the new Fox Q15 forks. Very stiff. Almost as stiff as a lefty. Great descender and smooth in the corners. Solid climber too. This is a great technology advancement. Stiffer for sure. Fox Nailed this one. Look out.
Rode some Shimano SLX stuff. Very good. All that anyone needs.
Hate the skinny Giant mt Grips. Missed the ergons. 2 point for Ergons.
I spent a lot of time on an Trance X2 which is an amazing bike for the price. It came with a Fox Rp2. I poo-pooed this shock but in reality the suspension design works very well and the RP23 might have worked better but I didn't miss it.
If I was to buy a bike in 26" from these guys it would be a Anthem X. Check this bike out. Adam Craig won Mt snow on this bike. Super killer.
I absolutely missed the Rotor Q-rings. I did over 10 hours of climbing in 2 days and I really could tell the difference.
I also learned that Giant is the ONLY bike company that weaves their own carbon fiber and mixed their own resins. If you are considering a carbon bike of any kind you are foolish to overlook giant. Super techy!
Needless to say we gave the Giant folks a verbal beat down every chance I could as to why they skipped 29" for 09'. The reality is that Giant is a Global brand and 29ers are not huge globally yet. Ironically Giant makes most of the 29ers that are built worldwide yet they do not make one with their name on it.
It is worth noting that their Mt bike product manager is about 5'-6". I corned this guy at the first meeting and he basically knew he was screwed. I was wearing a crossmax 29er T-shirt and I really let him know that I was very disappointed in the lack of 29 for 09'. They will make a 29er soon, but not soon enough for my taste.
Apart from the 29 disaster the bike are really amazing. It is important to note that giant is the BIGGEST bike maker in the WORLD! They hit 2 Billion in sales last year and built over 10 MILLION bikes. I learned a lot about the way that they operate and I was very impressed. I ate lunch with the Founder of Giant and I was amazed how far these guys have come.
I can in no way describe how amazing the scenery was or how many times i just stopped to take it all in. (sorry for the lack of pics) Utah is crazy nice. Unfortunately it seems much more built up than 2 years ago when I last visited. I saw 100's of new houses everywhere I looked. There were countless multi million dollar homes that sat idle. I was unimpressed with the sprawl in such a beautiful spot.
I left Utah tired, sore and worn out:drooling:. I rode some very well built bikes and learned a lot about a company this is THE global leader in bike manufacturing. Honestly Giant has their act together in every way but brand image. They don't seem to care much as they built most of the bikes that we all own anyway.
Thanks Giant!
J_
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