The Giant XTC Composite 1 is an unfair advantage for those who want every advantage. Its feathery frame uses the highest-grade T-800 carbon for stiffness, strength and weight that puts many road bikes to shame.
Submitted by
iRide FOCO
a Cross Country Rider
from Foco, Co
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2010
Strengths: Light, stiff, great power transfer
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
This bike is great. I was riding an 08 Specialized Stumpy FSR and Specialized was being a pain about warranty replacement so I decided to cut my losses and get a new bike. I got the frame and a few extras from a guy off craigslist. This bike has not let me down. I have added on a lot of my old parts from my stumpy and this thing flies. Mine is built up around 25 lbs. The only complaint I have heard, not had, is that it is fairly pricey.
Similar Products Used: specialized hardrock, no comparison
Bike Setup: Juicy 5 sl brakes, dt swiss 240 rims, Fox F80 RL Push'd, SRAM X7 shifters, Specialized riser bar, Crank brothers Candy pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
fieldmouse
a Weekend Warrior
from Sheffield UK
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2009
Strengths: Weight! Frame, XT/XTR group set
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
I've been scouring the internet for reviews on bikes.. toying with buying carbon or not.. I had my Trek 8500 since 1999 and it was ace.. light, reliable and easy to maintain. I decided on theXTC C1 over the Scott Scale 30 purely on weight and group set. Th Scott is light and it seems to be easy to find a weight of about 23lbs for a medium... Try to find this for the Giant - no chance.. Well I took delivery of my 2008 XTC C1 two days ago. I got a 19" medium and it weighs 10kg (22lbs) bang on. My initial mile test drive had me hitting 25mph on a road where I hadn't before.. The next day I cycled to work and back for a good 18 mile round trip.. Initial impressions are good. As I menitoned - it's light so climbing and acceleration seemed effortless.. The riding position is perfect for me (at 5.10ft) - I don't have to strecth out like on the Trek. On the way in, I went off road and the Kenda Small Blocks were pretty awsome and providied loads of grip (which I wasn't expecting). The gear changes were crisp and the fox fork soaked up more bumps than I ever realised. On the way home I went on the road.. and again the tyres impressed again.. They are fast and have very little rolling resistance.
Overall first impressions are awsome. I'd recommend this bike to anyone. This bike new in 2008 would cost £2000 ($3300) so it's expensive. I managed to shave £550 of the price due to it being a year old, so for under £1500, I think I got a good deal.
Submitted by
Daniel Trunzo
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto Canada
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2008
Strengths: Excellent Stiffness, Weight, Geometry
Weaknesses: NONE ! except price (Trigons now are cheaper)
Bottom Line:
Ridden this bike on Technical Trails, XC fast trails, Downhill Trails.. it's impeccable handling in all circumstances.. nobody stays near me on any track. I purchased each single piece off the shelf and self assembled the bike from bare bones.
Favorite Trail: Harwood Hills, Oakville 16 Mile Creek Niagara Falls Trail
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$4000.00
Purchased At: Self Built through various vendors
Similar Products Used: Giant Iguana,
Bike Setup: Full XTR 2007, Mavic Crossmax SLR 2005, All Ceramic Bearings, AVID Ultimate 2008.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
MOPETIN
a Cross Country Rider
from Santiago Dom Rep
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2007
Strengths: EVERYTHING IS TIGHT, As should be.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
My ride… a Giant XTC Composite 1. Full XTR, FSA CRANKS, MAVIC SL WEELS, SID WORLD CUP CARBON. It’s ridiculously LIGHT. 21 something, almost 22pnds. I didn’t buy this at a store… I build my rides from the ground up and step it up how I want, not how some manufactures thinks it should be, yes it’s more expensive but well worth it. My theory… build a bike just right, and just swap frames if you need a change. I’ve ridden a ZASKAR for many years… Then got in the F/S cross country bit on XCR1000, then a 2005 EPIC… and now back to HT. There is nothing I can say about this bike… for those who love HTs this is the way to go. Light, bomb proof… climbs effortlessly and did I mention light and sexy? Comfortable, no back pains after all day rides. Carbon is Carbon, if you can afford it… or make it a priority… it’s your best bet. I’ve spent almost what my car is worth on this bike, and it’s the money I’ll spent best. There is nothing better than a sweet ride on a Saturday afternoon, with a good conversation and fine cigars afterward with the fellas. This a ride, that makes all those long rides possible.
Strengths: Indestructable, lightweight, sexy, everything a hardtail should be...
Weaknesses: The Rock Shox SID World Cup it came with... To flexible. The XTR Ceramic V-brakes aren't great, despite changing to Jag pads, toe in toe out no toe, tried everything but the front squeals relentlessly....
Bottom Line:
It took several months and major changes but I think now I can honestly say I'm totally in love with this bike and wouldn't change it for the world. Climbs effortlessly despite me making it heavier over the year (see below), I feel i know it's character inside out now whether it's technical, fast downhill, endurance etc... Not to mention the fact i've absolutely battered the poor frame this past year and it's held up. The deciding factor in buying it was value for money, in HK it came with the ultimate components package full XTR and SID WC, which complimented the C1 frame. A year on in which I did Cape Epic, raced in various events around Asia and ridden it almost every other day i've made several changes to what I thought was the perfect package. After 900km of Cape Epic torture I swapped the XTR Dual Controls which never changed precisely at the best of times for SRAM XO twisters and luv em. The Rock Shox SID WC came under scrutiny next, as I became more confident with the feel of XTC and took it to it's limits I realised something just wasn't predictable at the front end through rock gardens, consequently changed to the REBA WC. Wow! the extra half lb in weight transformed the handling totally i'd never go back not even in a race. Overall rating i'm still gonna give it top marks espiecially after what i've put it through and the fact it's got done me proud in races!
Similar Products Used: Nothing anywhere near similar
Bike Setup: Sram XO twisters Derailleur. RockShox Reba WC, XTR crank, XTR V-Brakes, Cross Max's, Maxxis CrossMark tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mil;ton Fernandez
a Cross Country Rider
from Santiago , Dominican Republic
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2006
Strengths: APPEARENCE, STRENGHT AND LIGHTNESS
Weaknesses: PRICE
Bottom Line:
ITS SIMPLY THE MOST CONFORTABLE BIKE I EVER RIDE, FASTER, GREAT HANDLE,FAST RESPONSE IN CHANGES OF TERRAIN CONDITIONS, WITHOUT ANY DOUBT A STATE OF THE ART IN TWO WHEELS.
Similar Products Used: GIANTMCM COMPOSITE, GT ZASKAR RACE, KLEIN ADROIT
Bike Setup: CROSSNAX XL WHEELS, ROCK SHOX SID WORLD CUP, HAYES DISC BRAKES SELLE ITALIA FILANTRO SADDLE, RACE FACE BB
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
simon
a Weekend Warrior
from bolton england
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2006
Strengths: just made the jump from road racing this is my first xc bike, all i can say is WOW it handles better than some road bike`s, its awesome i could`nt believe the weight of the thing brill{an english term]
Similar Products Used: none first xc bike after years as a roadie
Bike Setup: standard uk spec, mavic 717 rims race face everything x9 shifters etc
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
William A
a
from Honey Brook, PA, United States
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2006
Strengths: Nimble. Fast and agile. Mavic Crossmax wheels. Race Face Crankset. Race Face Carbon seatpost. XTR RD. Fox F80RL fork. Lateral stiffness and rigidity.
Weaknesses: Hutchinson Python tires. WTB saddle (the rails broke and WTB wants me to send it in so that they can determine whether or not they will fix it).
Bottom Line:
This bike is super fast and efficient. It feels like every push of the pedal yields 100% go. The carbon feels nice in really bumpy and rocky terrain. The crank set is extremely stiff and efficient. Definitely consider getting a size larger than your normal size, sice the frames seem to run small. I love this bike. Buy this bike if you race or are planning to race regularly. If you will not be racing, get the aluminum version or maybe even a Rainier.
Similar Products Used: 2004 Giant Rainier with the same geometry.
Bike Setup: Race Face crank, handlebar, seat post, and stem. XT front/XTR rear. Maxxis Larsen TTs UST in the front (excellent tire). FSA Orbit headset (integrated).
Strengths: Carbon Frame, components, and everything.
Weaknesses: NONE
Bottom Line:
WOW, all I can say is wow. This is such a sweet and fast bike! At about 150grams lighter than the trek theis thing flys. ALL one piece and hand made in the USA so none of that lugging CRAP that just adds weight. The Geometry is soo perfect. IT is as responcive as a Cannondale road bike but it takes the bumps like a FS. Weighed my bike and it is 21 pounds (M). EXECELENT WHEELS AND BRAKES. If you don't like the sweetness of the fox fork you could go for a weak SID and lower the weight to under 20. AT this price this bike is a steal (not to mention the aswome service at KLM). WOW.This bike dropped my times 5 freak'en mins. That is crazy. The main question for all of you is why don't you have this bike.
I recently replaced my stock internal headset ACB bearings as the bottom one had broken. I contacted giant who said that if I use the bearings from the FSA No 16cc they will fit pe Read More »
I have built up a Giant XTC Composite 29er frame as a race bike and put a Fox F29 100 RLC on it. Compared to my previous race bikes, this bike "feels" steep and twitchy to me so I Read More »
Greetings! Ok, so today I visited my LBS and I saw this cool looking Giant 29er that caught my eye, mainly because of the beefiness of the frame, the awesome color scheme, and okay Read More »
Currently trying to decide between 2 bikes xtc 29er composite 1 or 0 2012 model size medium. Thinking about going with the 1 since none of the components on the zero offer that m Read More »
