Advice: 2011 Giant Anthem x2, Giant Trance x2 or Scott Spark 50.
- Thread starter dk13
- Start date
hey guys,
just like to thank everyone for the help, after lots of reading, and few test runs, i made my mind and got myself a new Trance x2
such a nice ride. Today i'm going to get this baby dirty...
here she is:
Still stock everything, i might put a shorter stem on in and a tad wider bars, but for now i'll just enjoy the ride...
cheers,
dan
just like to thank everyone for the help, after lots of reading, and few test runs, i made my mind and got myself a new Trance x2
such a nice ride. Today i'm going to get this baby dirty...here she is:
Still stock everything, i might put a shorter stem on in and a tad wider bars, but for now i'll just enjoy the ride...
cheers,
dan
Congrats Dan, welcome to the club. I'm still running mine stock too, though looking to get a dropper seatpost but they're a bit pricey still.
Have you got the shock pressures right yet? It took me 3 rides to dial in the right pressures. Each time I let out more air in both shocks. Got it pretty plush now with a tad over 25% sag in the rear and about 15-20% in the front.
Mine is no longer as new and shiny as yours anymore. I've had two stacks already and it now has a few scratches here and there. The first stack, I came off worse than the bike - nasty gash on my ankle. The second one today, I went over the bars going down a steep rock section but somehow managed to eject both pedals and jump over the bars to land on my feet. Bike was worse off this time - scratches on the brake lever.
Have you got the shock pressures right yet? It took me 3 rides to dial in the right pressures. Each time I let out more air in both shocks. Got it pretty plush now with a tad over 25% sag in the rear and about 15-20% in the front.
Mine is no longer as new and shiny as yours anymore. I've had two stacks already and it now has a few scratches here and there. The first stack, I came off worse than the bike - nasty gash on my ankle. The second one today, I went over the bars going down a steep rock section but somehow managed to eject both pedals and jump over the bars to land on my feet. Bike was worse off this time - scratches on the brake lever.
hey nick,
thanks mate, jumping over the handlebars and landing on your feet, you must have been a ninja in a previous life heheheh
Sag settings, it's pretty tricky to be honest, i only got the bike yesterday arvo, so didn't had much chance to play around with the shock settings, but today we went to daisy hill, an i noticed i was bottoming out on some pretty standard stuff, so i guess the manual advice of pumping the shocks with the riders weight in pounds it's a bit wrong, because that's what i did yesterday. Saying that, i'm pretty stoked with the bike, it does more than i expected... and 3kg lighter than my old hard tail....
so today after the ride i've pumped my shocks a bit more, lest see next time, but now they feel a lot more stiff, maybe i'll like to have it more plush... i actually had to pump about 40 psi more than the manual setting to get the correct sag, and i know i'm not that fat hehehehe... i'm 86kg, with all my gear on probably about 90, today i in daisy i had the shock at 200 psi and both of my friends with trances x3 though i had too much sag, now my shock is at 240, i haven't touched the forks, that's at 200, and seems pretty good...
bike is not looking so clean now hehehehe, just spent the last 2hs cleaning it, but still looking a bit more offroad now...
the only thing i noticed now my back wheel is doing some pretty nasty noises, sounds like there is gravel in the bearings, but only when free spinning not while peddling, i don't like hosing my bike specially getting the chain and gears wet, always clean it with wet brush and cloth... so i'm not too sure what to do, might take it back to the shop so they can have a look... hope is nothing serious...
this was the ride from today:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90240317
cheers,
dan
thanks mate, jumping over the handlebars and landing on your feet, you must have been a ninja in a previous life heheheh
Sag settings, it's pretty tricky to be honest, i only got the bike yesterday arvo, so didn't had much chance to play around with the shock settings, but today we went to daisy hill, an i noticed i was bottoming out on some pretty standard stuff, so i guess the manual advice of pumping the shocks with the riders weight in pounds it's a bit wrong, because that's what i did yesterday. Saying that, i'm pretty stoked with the bike, it does more than i expected... and 3kg lighter than my old hard tail....
so today after the ride i've pumped my shocks a bit more, lest see next time, but now they feel a lot more stiff, maybe i'll like to have it more plush... i actually had to pump about 40 psi more than the manual setting to get the correct sag, and i know i'm not that fat hehehehe... i'm 86kg, with all my gear on probably about 90, today i in daisy i had the shock at 200 psi and both of my friends with trances x3 though i had too much sag, now my shock is at 240, i haven't touched the forks, that's at 200, and seems pretty good...
bike is not looking so clean now hehehehe, just spent the last 2hs cleaning it, but still looking a bit more offroad now...
the only thing i noticed now my back wheel is doing some pretty nasty noises, sounds like there is gravel in the bearings, but only when free spinning not while peddling, i don't like hosing my bike specially getting the chain and gears wet, always clean it with wet brush and cloth... so i'm not too sure what to do, might take it back to the shop so they can have a look... hope is nothing serious...
this was the ride from today:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90240317
cheers,
dan
Sounds like it could be the clear plastic cluster "guard" acting up. Happened to my Trance X2 too. I thought my freehub had seized up and took it to the shop. They finally figured out the plastic thing had slipped down and was jamming the cluster against the spokes. So it only affected the bike when coasting but not pedalling. Fix was to remove plastic thingey
All better now and bike is lighter too yeah that was my first though, as i had something like this with my old bike, so first thing i did was check the plastic thing, looks good to me, still in place, and doesn't seem to be lose or anything, it could be mud that got in there, today the ride was pretty muddy, but i don't want to risk hosing the gears...
thanks for the tip tho...
cheers,
dan
thanks for the tip tho...
cheers,
dan
bluesmurf
Likes Bikes
Hey Dan, congrats on the purchase.
Re hosing the gears, I wash my anthem after nearly every ride and I use the garden hose fairly low, pressure wise and I have not had any troubles re water ingress into any of the bearings. I run a power link in my chain and that does get removed before washing.
If you were contemplating using a pressure washer, I would advise against it but the garden hose and some CT18 brings the bike up sweet each time.
Enjoy getting to know the new steed
Re hosing the gears, I wash my anthem after nearly every ride and I use the garden hose fairly low, pressure wise and I have not had any troubles re water ingress into any of the bearings. I run a power link in my chain and that does get removed before washing.
If you were contemplating using a pressure washer, I would advise against it but the garden hose and some CT18 brings the bike up sweet each time.
Enjoy getting to know the new steed
Hey bluesmurf,
thanks for the tip, i might take the wheel off and let the water run on the gears, see if that fixes the problem, i don't have the power link on my chain, but its a good idea to get one i think...
i'll probably try cleaning before i take it to an embarrassing trip to the shop...
cherrs,
dan
thanks for the tip, i might take the wheel off and let the water run on the gears, see if that fixes the problem, i don't have the power link on my chain, but its a good idea to get one i think...
i'll probably try cleaning before i take it to an embarrassing trip to the shop...
cherrs,
dan
notorioushsg
Likes Bikes
So its been a while now... Any follow upreview? Have you dialed it in yet?
I've got an X2 coming my way shortly for the amazing price of $1600. Guy bought the bike and realised the size was incorrect.
Anyone have tips for setting sag on the bike? I'm sure the sellers weight and mine wont be the same.
I've got an X2 coming my way shortly for the amazing price of $1600. Guy bought the bike and realised the size was incorrect.
Anyone have tips for setting sag on the bike? I'm sure the sellers weight and mine wont be the same.
hey mate, i'm still getting used to the bike, so i won't give a full review yet... in terms of the sag setting, it takes a little while to set, i went with the factory settings recommendation which is same ride's weight in pounds to PSI so if you weight 200lb pump 200 psi on the shock, that turned out to be a bit too soft for me, as i was bottoming out a little, so after playing around a bit, i found that my weight + 15psi is probably the right amount, but i'm still playing with it, i wouldn't mind a bit softer to be honest...
The bike itself its pretty amazing, comparing to my old hardtail with mechanic disk breaks heheheh, i'm in love with the hydraulics 1 finger breaking... so good... the bike it's extremely light (2.3kg lither than my old one, believe it or not), i was worried about paddle bob, this is out of the window now... paddle bob its almost inexistent, i don't even have to switch pro-padle on, if you have good climbing technique seated you won't even feel a thing, standing up you feel more bob on the front suspension than on the rear... but still manageable... climbs like a monkey, in fact i'm able to keep up with my "speedy gonzales" friend on a Reign (something i could never do)
I'm contemplating putting a shorter stem, from 100mm to 90mm, see if it makes a difference in the handling, but at the moment i'm pretty happy with it, so i might leave it for now..Thats pretty much what i have to say about it for now... i'll give more updates as they come...
cheers
dan
notorioushsg
Likes Bikes
Great to see your enjoying it so muchhey mate, i'm still getting used to the bike, so i won't give a full review yet... in terms of the sag setting, it takes a little while to set, i went with the factory settings recommendation which is same ride's weight in pounds to PSI so if you weight 200lb pump 200 psi on the shock, that turned out to be a bit too soft for me, as i was bottoming out a little, so after playing around a bit, i found that my weight + 15psi is probably the right amount, but i'm still playing with it, i wouldn't mind a bit softer to be honest...
The bike itself its pretty amazing, comparing to my old hardtail with mechanic disk breaks heheheh, i'm in love with the hydraulics 1 finger breaking... so good... the bike it's extremely light (2.3kg lither than my old one, believe it or not), i was worried about paddle bob, this is out of the window now... paddle bob its almost inexistent, i don't even have to switch pro-padle on, if you have good climbing technique seated you won't even feel a thing, standing up you feel more bob on the front suspension than on the rear... but still manageable... climbs like a monkey, in fact i'm able to keep up with my "speedy gonzales" friend on a Reign (something i could never do)
Thats pretty much what i have to say about it for now... i'll give more updates as they come...
cheers
dan
Do you think shortening the stem will give you a little more control? or would you just like a more relaxed riding position?
yeah, i don't know just feels a bit slow on tight corners, so i tough a shorter stem might do the trick... but my friend reckons it's not the stem and it's more the wider bars compared to my old one, so he recommended me to wait a little bit longer and see if it get used to it before spending money on a new stem. normally longer stems means more stable, shorter more direct steering, but it will compromise a bit on climbing with a shorter stem, but you can always adjust your climbing position...Great to see your enjoying it so much
Do you think shortening the stem will give you a little more control? or would you just like a more relaxed riding position?
I'll probably wait a bit longer to see if i do get used to this size of stem...
And yeah i'm loving it this much that some days i even ride it to work, just to be able to squeeze a ride during the week, even if its on paved roads...
cheers
dan
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notorioushsg
Likes Bikes
hey check out the mtbr forums sometime. I'm sure they have some information about shock mods you can do to decrease the mid travel action. Apparently people have been complaining about the rear shock blowing through its travel too quickly.... now I'm not sure if its for the RP23 or RP2 or both.
It may/may not help you with your problem though.
It may/may not help you with your problem though.
thanks for the tip, i'll have a look see if i can find anything... i wouldn't mind having it a tad softer without bottoming out... maybe i'm just too heavy for it
87KG + gearcheers
dan
Search for: fox rp2 shim mod
Thanks nickdos, but the though of pulling my shock apart is a bit scary for me... never done it before since that is my first full susp bike... still trying to get my head around it... have you done it? is it a hard thing to do? or maybe better to take it back to the bike shop and get them to do it...?
cheers,
dan
Ditto for me Dan. I plan to get the shock serviced around the 12 month mark. I might enquire at my LBS about it then. There are also a few shops around the country, where you can send the shock to them and they'll service and mod it for you - they are fork/shock specialists normally.
yeah, basically what i did was good gentle hose, and it did the trick, also centred the brakes... nice and smooth now...
cheers,
dan
Loving this thread
I am a very low level rider (race D grade at WSMTB) and unfortunately (due to divorce) I am about to come into a little money and will be looking into upgrading from my poor old Giant Yukon.
This thread has been a great resource as i am looking at spending around AUD$2K on the bike. Unlike the main thinking in this thread though I think I'll go for the Anthem. I am still not a good rider and mostly love riding XC (Yellomundee, Awaba, Stromlo) and climbing could do with as much help as I can get.
Looks like my cash may come in around Aug/Sept so maybe it might be good timing to try and pick up a '11 X2 at a good price I hope.
I am a very low level rider (race D grade at WSMTB) and unfortunately (due to divorce) I am about to come into a little money and will be looking into upgrading from my poor old Giant Yukon.
This thread has been a great resource as i am looking at spending around AUD$2K on the bike. Unlike the main thinking in this thread though I think I'll go for the Anthem. I am still not a good rider and mostly love riding XC (Yellomundee, Awaba, Stromlo) and climbing could do with as much help as I can get.
Looks like my cash may come in around Aug/Sept so maybe it might be good timing to try and pick up a '11 X2 at a good price I hope.