Bike came in This last Friday, thanks to an awesome dealer who pulled some strings Giant was able to find one and send it to us. I went with the 27.5-1 model, it is flat black and has the full XT setup on it. Comes with the PCRX1 wheels (1675) and racing ralph tires.
I am coming off of a 2012 Specialized Epic Comp that was setup with SRAM X9/Stans Arch EX/Shimano XT brakes (28.1lbs trail ready).
Set the bike up Friday night, out of the box (size medium) setup tubeless with no pedals bike weighed in at 24.2lbs. Once i got the bike home and put on my 3T carbon bars, Giant carbon seat post, Garmin, can of big air and XTR pedals bike weighed in at 25.6lbs. Plans are to order the Giant carbon stem and then after the new year and once Stans Carbon wheels hit the shelves to put a set of those wheels on the bike and should be at 24lbs fully trail ready.
Rode the bike Saturday morning (right before the Giant Demo truck came to the local trail, seems I was the first person in the state that has this bike, even the Giant demo riders had not seen one yet) and put in a nice 16 miles on it.
Right off of the bat the difference in pedaling was noticeable, bike was easier to get rolling, to maintain speed and easier to climb in. Suspension works better than the Brian system on the Epic, climbs were alot easier and I could actually stand up and pedal up hills without losing traction. I kept the fork and shock in trail mode.
Handling was quicker for sure, easier to pick the lines and easier to change the lines if need be over the 29'er bike. On Sunday went to another trail that I am racing this weekend and put another 25 miles on the bike. Dialed in the front fork some more as per recommendations at point of setup the shop put too much air in the fork. I weight in at 205 ready to ride, put 100psi in the fork on the trail yesterday and it was perfect. Rear shock is at 100psi as well. Need to play with the rebound some and slow it down a bit.
So far I am pretty impressed with the bike and will be happy riding it for the next coulple of months until the wheels come in. Plan on putting some miles on it over the next 3 months and hopefully better myself over the winter months to be ready for the next race season.
I am coming off of a 2012 Specialized Epic Comp that was setup with SRAM X9/Stans Arch EX/Shimano XT brakes (28.1lbs trail ready).
Set the bike up Friday night, out of the box (size medium) setup tubeless with no pedals bike weighed in at 24.2lbs. Once i got the bike home and put on my 3T carbon bars, Giant carbon seat post, Garmin, can of big air and XTR pedals bike weighed in at 25.6lbs. Plans are to order the Giant carbon stem and then after the new year and once Stans Carbon wheels hit the shelves to put a set of those wheels on the bike and should be at 24lbs fully trail ready.
Rode the bike Saturday morning (right before the Giant Demo truck came to the local trail, seems I was the first person in the state that has this bike, even the Giant demo riders had not seen one yet) and put in a nice 16 miles on it.
Right off of the bat the difference in pedaling was noticeable, bike was easier to get rolling, to maintain speed and easier to climb in. Suspension works better than the Brian system on the Epic, climbs were alot easier and I could actually stand up and pedal up hills without losing traction. I kept the fork and shock in trail mode.
Handling was quicker for sure, easier to pick the lines and easier to change the lines if need be over the 29'er bike. On Sunday went to another trail that I am racing this weekend and put another 25 miles on the bike. Dialed in the front fork some more as per recommendations at point of setup the shop put too much air in the fork. I weight in at 205 ready to ride, put 100psi in the fork on the trail yesterday and it was perfect. Rear shock is at 100psi as well. Need to play with the rebound some and slow it down a bit.
So far I am pretty impressed with the bike and will be happy riding it for the next coulple of months until the wheels come in. Plan on putting some miles on it over the next 3 months and hopefully better myself over the winter months to be ready for the next race season.
