With an all new frame design for 2019, the new Giant Trance Advanced Pro 29 is one of the best all round mountain bikes we’ve had a look at. It took years for Giant’s team of engineers product designers and pro riders to create a new mid-travel 29er that met their high standards but the wait was worth it.
— 15 TYPES OF MOUNTAIN BIKER WE ALL KNOW —
The Giant Trance Advanced 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.
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.
This short travel trail bike is very well suited to the U.K. trail centre scene. It hasn’t come as a surprise to us that we’ve seen it pop up more and more throughout the U.K. Set to be one of the 2019 best sellers, we had a closer look.
— GET A GRIP ON TRICKY CORNERS —
The Features:
Larger 29-inch diameter wheels roll over rough terrain with balance and stability giving you the momentum to tackle technical climbs and the confidence to fly on fast rugged single track descents. The hookless bead 30mm wide carbon trail wheels feel an absolute treat on the tough terrain. The Maxxis Exo 3C tyres come as standard with the bike.
Updated Maestro rear suspension features a trunnion mount shock with a longer stroke and smoother feel. With 115mm of full rear-wheel travel (and 130mm up front) in the form of Fox DPX2 and 34 suspension.. The Trance Advanced has the new Advanced Forged Composite upper rocker arm for increased stiffness and strength plus lower overall frame weight. A Giant switch dropper post leaves you comfy in the saddle with the flexibility to attack any terrain.
— TOP TRAIL CENTRE SKILLS —The lightweight Advanced-grade composite frame set features updated geometry including an aggressive 66.5-degree head tube angle and 74.5-degree seat tube angle plus a 44mm fork offset. The result is agile and efficient climbing capabilities plus added control for high-speed descents.
Internal cable routing keeps the design neat and maintenance on the low side. Boost 148 dropout spacing comes on all the bikes too. 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.
Verdict:
This short travel trail bike is very well suited to the U.K. trail centre scene. Retailing at over £4,000, it’s certainly not on the cheap side. But it comes packed with all the features you’ll need to unlock the next level of single track MTB fun.
