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Is Giant Trance considered an all mountain bike?

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#21 ·
It's mostly down to tire choice and weight IMO. If you put 2.5 Minions on a Trance it would be more capable and more like an AM bike. But it climbs so well why bother? I used to have a 6 inch travel bike weighing a heft running heavy tubes and thick slow rolling knobblies. Yes better on the downs, but getting destroyed by roadies and guys on XC bikes uphill and on the flat fire-trails and roads who are much less fit than me wore pretty thin after a while. These days I shove a fast XC tire on the back and a 2.35 knobby (not soft compound) on the front of my pretty lightweight 5 inch air sprung rig and can have my cake and eat it. Fast everywhere and some air and gnarl too. If I had lots of money I might plum for a carbon or alu lightweight 6 inch bike, but I really don't want to bother with anything over 30lbs if I'm riding up or on the flat.

May get a 2nd hand coil sprung Freeride monster for other duties, also maybe not.
 
#22 ·
mountainbiker24 said:
If it only handles 95% of what a rider will likely throw at it, then it isn't "all" mountain. There's a major distinction in that 5%. It helps if you're a smooth rider, but gravity is gravity. A 200 pound rider hitting a 10 foot drop will punish his bike whether he's smooth or not. If you do that on a consistent basis, you should get a bike designed to handle it. Just because some pro trials riders ride small cross-country bikes, doesn't mean that they don't run a major risk. I'm sure they replace components and frames on a fairly consistent basis.
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Haha. A 10 foot drop is not all mountain. That's free ride if you want to get technical, since you're defining bikes and all.

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#23 ·
BaeckerX1 said:
Haha. A 10 foot drop is not all mountain. That's free ride if you want to get technical, since you're defining bikes and all.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
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I consider a 10 foot drop to a transition all-mountain. A true all-mountain bike should be able to handle that. If it can't, it's a trail bike. Freeride is bigger than that. Often much bigger. Freeride should be able to handle anything you would consider putting your body through, if you want to get technical and all.
 
#24 ·
mountainbiker24 said:
I consider a 10 foot drop to a transition all-mountain. A true all-mountain bike should be able to handle that. If it can't, it's a trail bike. Freeride is bigger than that. Often much bigger. Freeride should be able to handle anything you would consider putting your body through, if you want to get technical and all.
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I don't think you are in sync with the industry definitions.
 
#25 ·
mountainbiker24 said:
I consider a 10 foot drop to a transition all-mountain. A true all-mountain bike should be able to handle that. If it can't, it's a trail bike. Freeride is bigger than that. Often much bigger. Freeride should be able to handle anything you would consider putting your body through, if you want to get technical and all.
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This is exactly the problem I was mentioning earlier. So to further the issue, I consider all mountain to be 20 foot drops to a transition. Since you only do 10 foot drops, you should be on a trail bike. US more hardcore people will stick with our 18" travel am bikes and do true all mountain riding.
 
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#26 ·
Well, if you've ever seen a mountain bike freeride video, you've probably noticed that they are hitting drops and jumps much larger than 10 feet on freeride bikes. I would think that a 6" bike that's designed to be shuttled at times and be ridden on any trail on a mountain, including stunts, should be able to handle a pretty good sized drop. Look at what people like Wade Simmons and Richie Schley were riding back in the day. My point is, a little common sense should tell you what bike you should be riding. Who knows exactly where the lines are, but an intelligent person that is honest about their riding will know which side to err, if need be. As far as not being in tune with industry definitions, I've seen more than a couple of ads for all-mountain bikes with riders 10 feet in the air. Just sayin'.
 
#27 ·
mountainbiker24 said:
1. It's not pigeonholing. It's establishing recommended boundaries and classifying intended usage.

2. All-mountain includes stunts and features you may find at a bike park. Trail bikes are not built to withstand that abuse on a consistent basis. It isn't a conspiracy to confuse you, and it isn't rocket science.
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Recomended and classified by whom for whom? :confused:

If bike builders had to put a frame out for each category on this site they'd have 20 different frames. Just frustrated here, because I asked a question in a similar thread, and it got instantly pushed aside for, you guessed it, internet dick swinging. And now I'm being that same guy!! Damnit!
 
#29 ·
This is ridiculous. Those 10 and 20 foot drops require skill and the right conditions. Some of them, if designed correctly, with the correct rider, will not put much stress on a bike. On the other hand, repeatedly dropping to flat concrete over just 5 feet (no transition) can kill a "freeride" bike. You can't judge a bike's "strength" by if you see it doing drops to 10 or 20 feet in a video.
 
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#31 ·
Jayem said:
This is ridiculous. Those 10 and 20 foot drops require skill and the right conditions. Some of them, if designed correctly, with the correct rider, will not put much stress on a bike. On the other hand, repeatedly dropping to flat concrete over just 5 feet (no transition) can kill a "freeride" bike. You can't judge a bike's "strength" by if you see it doing drops to 10 or 20 feet in a video.
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No crap. Like I said, common sense goes a long way. By all means, just go out and buy whatever bike comes in the color you want. I'm sure it will fit your riding perfectly, and stand up to whatever abuse you choose to put it through and climb like a 22 pound hardtail. Why pay any attention to the intentions of the engineers who design bikes to excel in particular areas, right? I mean, what do they know. Everybody knows anybody can ride any bike in any situation and by perfectly fine. Heck, a trials champion has a couple of videos riding trials on a road bike. Perhaps we should all ride road bikes. Common sense, people. I know that's asking a lot, here.
 
#32 ·
My regular riding buddy has a 2011 Giant Trance. We ride lots of diamond trails. I think if you like the Trance buy it. It won't disappoint. The only time he bottomed out the fork he dropped 4 feet to near flat. The only thing I would worry about is the front fork flexing a bit if you ride the Trance near it's limit.

BTW.. I love when people on mtbr.com talk about one hit wonders. It reminds of Citta's Friday night.. My buddy telling this girl he's on the Canadian ski team.
 
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Discussion starter · #34 ·
God 20 foots drop is considered all mountain!? I just want a bike that can take 4 foots drops so if 10 foot is trail the trance dosen't even feel a 4 foot drop..
 
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#36 ·
I was just proving a point with that 20' drop post. Everyone likes to feel like a tough guy talking about all the huge drops they can hit, and they like to act as if it ain't no thang. It makes them feel like a good rider.

The Trance will handle decent drops, provided you have a good landing and aren't ham-fisting everything in sight. If you want a bit more strength/capability, look for a Reign. A bit beefier frame, and an extra inch of travel.
 
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Discussion starter · #37 ·
Problem with the Reign is that I am going to have a hard time climbing and like I said I will be riding drops of 4 feets MAX so the trance could take that?
 
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#39 ·
hardtailrider2013 said:
Problem with the Reign is that I am going to have a hard time climbing and like I said I will be riding drops of 4 feets MAX so the trance could take that?
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Yes!!

The Reign isn't that bad to pedal uphill. Take one for a test ride. It's not a HT 29er but it's a 20 foot huck rig either!
 
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#40 ·
hardtailrider2013 said:
Problem with the Reign is that I am going to have a hard time climbing and like I said I will be riding drops of 4 feets MAX so the trance could take that?
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Yes, for sure. But know that the Reign does not climb badly AT ALL. It's very comparable to the Trance. The Trance is a tiny bit lighter, and that is the only real difference between them in terms of climbing ability. The suspension systems are very equal in terms of climbing
 
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