Making a big impact part way through the 2018 summer, the Giant Trance 29er got everything right from the start. A lot of people wondered if it was just be a carbon copy of the 27.5in bike with bigger wheels, though it certainly wasn’t that. Though the trance 2 29er is at the bottom of the trance range, it comes with a lot of features that have trickled down from it’s carbon older sibling.
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After abandoning 29 inch bikes for a number of years, it’s nice to see Giant venturing back into the 29er world. Big wheels and short travel, this bike really is the playful companion lots of people were waiting for. The Trance is one of the best selling bikes in the Giant MTB range, and the 29er is set to be the same.
Giant’s twin link Maestro suspension offer the Trance 2 115mm of travel. Meaning it’s directly between the Anthem 29 and the current 27.5″ Trance. But don’t let that play tricks on your mind, this bike will do everything you want it to. Up front it features a 130mm travel suspension fork and the overall geometry has been tuned and developed to maximize its performance on rugged trails.
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What’s New?
Well the 29 inch wheels is the obvious, and perhaps the most surprising thing from the brand, but what sets this bike apart from other models? The updated geometry comes with 66.5-degree head tube angle, a 74.5-degree seat turb angle and a 44mm fork off set. This makes the bike agile, number and efficient both up the climb and through the descents. 780mm bars make the cockpit feel roomy and spacious while the Trance’s 17.1-inch chain stays add extra control. These are quite short for a 29er.
Internal cable routing keeps the design neat and maintenance on the low side. Boost 148 dropout spacing comes on all the bikes too, though the Trance 29er 2 only comes with aluminium rims. On top of this, all models of the Trance 29 come with SRAM 1×12 Eagle drive trains and use different versions of SRAM’s guide brakes. It’s been kept clean with all the models running a single-ring frame design.
Giant usually sells bikes with Schwalbe tyres though it’s nice to see them now move over to the Maxxis tyres. The 2.3in width with roll great on Giant’s 30mm rims. Apart from this a lot of the finishing kit is made with Giant’s own components, though that being said they’re still good quality.
Verdict:
Though this bike is the bottom of the Trance 29er range, it certainly looks to be a great entry point. With all the features we’ve wanted to see, the Trance 2 29er is comfy & stable, whilst remaining quick and agile through the descents.
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Value - 81%81%
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Performance - 72%72%
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Aesthetic - 73%73%
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Durability - 72%72%
