Utah is nice.

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
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_
 
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stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
thanks for the report, sounded like a great time and judging by how tired you were yesterday in the shop, you took advatage of it!
 

jbogner

NYCMTB: President
JORBA.ORG
If you need Park City pics to illustrate with, I've got plenty from my June trip in this thread:

http://nycmtb.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3685

You're absolutely right about the trails- I loved climbing in the middle ring for an hour or two straight. You feel like a superhero because they've built the trails with the perfect grade for climbing. I was expecting to die hammering with the A- group at that altitude, and was really surprised when I could hang.

I also rode 26ers while out there (Rush, Remedy 9), and really missed my 29er.

Did you get over to the Glenwild trails on the other side of 80? And the Bob's Basin trails? The mid-mountain trail is absolutely spectacular. Thinking about it makes me want to get back there ASAP.


Image-238481CA41EB11DD.jpg
 

THATmanMANNY

Well-Known Member
Wow

WOW. What an epic trip.

Very nice post. I hardly stick to the end of lengthy ones, but I didn't miss a word.

Thanks for making the members here jealous, including me.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I'd just like to agree that this was a great post.

When i was in Taiwan in the spring I noticed Giant shops everywhere, even down in the countryside. It was kinda crazy how prevalent they are.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Unfortunately I only rode up and down the Canyons and a bit of the Wasatch trail. It was enough to keep me happy for a few days but I did wonder what I was missing. I spoke to a local retailer from Utah who said that it was laughable that Giant took us there to ride since it was the worst riding around. That being said I had blast and I am stoked to get back out there to ride some more. We only had 2 days of riding so I made the very most of it. In fact I had a late flight on Sunday so I rented a Santa Cruz Super-light for 3 hours after Giant had packed up their demo truck.

I spoke with Giant Pro Kelli Emmit and she said that the Wasatch trail made it's way all the way down to salt lake city. She said that she had ridden nearly 30 miles and it was almost all down hill. She told me that she hitch-hiked back on a landscaping truck. Cool chick but a bit risky move.

I am still amped from my trip and I know that it kick started my fall riding. I also admit that I am seriously considering a Giant road bike after spending an afternoon getting bombarded with Giant propaganda. I know have a better handle on the technology that they posses and the potential of their bikes.

It is strange how Giant is sometimes considered a 2nd tier company while they make most of the 1st tier bikes made on the planet!




I am still holding out for their 29er offering since I had a chance to speak at length to some product guys about what their 29er might be or not be. I was told that they want to bring something unique to the market. My wish list is an anthem 29er or a full carbon advanced 29er with 100mm up front. A boy can dream right??




J_
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
I'd just like to agree that this was a great post.

When i was in Taiwan in the spring I noticed Giant shops everywhere, even down in the countryside. It was kinda crazy how prevalent they are.


Giant IS everywhere.. I can't say for sure but they most likely made that Niner that you love so much.

Keep in mind that they make more bike for OTHER brands than those with the Giant logo.



j-
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Giant IS everywhere.. I can't say for sure but they most likely made that Niner that you love so much.

Fair chance. It's all Taiwanese, you know?

I would guess that you couldn't imagine how prevalent they really are. There would be little shops nested in between little noddle shops where you can get a 50 cent bowl of noodles, out in the little villages where there are old Taiwanese people that look at me as if they've never seen a white guy before.

But most people in Taiwan ride beach cruiser type bikes. I think I saw maybe 2-3 road bikes while I was there.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Fair chance. It's all Taiwanese, you know?

I would guess that you couldn't imagine how prevalent they really are. There would be little shops nested in between little noddle shops where you can get a 50 cent bowl of noodles, out in the little villages where there are old Taiwanese people that look at me as if they've never seen a white guy before.

But most people in Taiwan ride beach cruiser type bikes. I think I saw maybe 2-3 road bikes while I was there.

I think they have 10,000 dealers worldwide.
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I find it ironic that I lived in park city for 6 years and never got into mountain biking, then again when I lived there, bikes with suspension were really rare. J. you were right across the street from my old house more or less. I used to live in the silver springs development from 89-95. Park City was like a ghost town compaired to how it is now. Congrats on pedaling your way up those mountains, thats rough.
 

mtnbiker5

Active Member
Pc

More importantly, did you grab a burger at the No Name Saloon? Best burgers especially after skiing in 2 feet of fresh pow at Deer Valley.
 

743power

Shop: Bicycle Pro
Shop Keep
I hope to be on the trance x frameset before I have to put away the short sleeves and don the tights and jackets. Glad to hear another positive review of it.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
I hope to be on the trance x frameset before I have to put away the short sleeves and don the tights and jackets. Glad to hear another positive review of it.



Here is the crazy thing about the 09's :

The New trance X frame sells for $1450.

You can also buy the new Trance X 4 Complete for $1400. Mind you the rear shock is a p.o.s.

j-
 

743power

Shop: Bicycle Pro
Shop Keep
Here is the crazy thing about the 09's :

The New trance X frame sells for $1450.

You can also buy the new Trance X 4 Complete for $1400. Mind you the rear shock is a p.o.s.

j-

word, I wish they put they rp23 on the x1, it's a nicely spec'ed bike that an rp23 would compliment nicely.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
word, I wish they put they rp23 on the x1, it's a nicely spec'ed bike that an rp23 would compliment nicely.

In reality the bike works fine with the RP2. I does work somewhat better w/ a Rp23.

If it were a Rush or another single pivot bike a RP23 would be mandatory.

j-
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
J i missed you so!

Good stuff my man. I actually have been looking at some of the giant road bikes as well for a future purchase. They do have some good looking stuff.

xoxo

me!
 
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