those names mean nothing to me, i ride my bike, i have fun and im not the worlds fastest. my amazing value fluffer gives me the same feelings we all get from doing the sport we enjoy so whats it got to do with anything? id get my ass whipped by a shit load of ppl i never said i was fast. good day to you sirAnd Chris Jongewaard or Steve Peat would whip your ass on a Huffy.
Does that make his bike better than your amazing-value-fluffer?
The "larger" bottom bearing actually ISN'T larger than the current tapered standard - it's the same size! The point isn't that this standard is "shit" (which it isn't, it'll work alright), it's that it's pointless because it isn't going to actually offer anything new in terms of performance. The problem is that because Giant have introduced it, it WILL stick around simply because they have the purchasing power to make that happen - they are the only company in the entire industry with the clout to pull off this kind of stuff.
Glorydays the point is not whether this standard will work or not because any diameter within reason will work. The problem is we have three current standards already:
Standard - 1.125 top and bottom
Heavy duty 1.5 top and bottom (though from memory that originated from C'dale's head shok bikes)
Then we got the tweener standard of taper - 1.125 top and 1.5 bottom - which is rapidly becoming the standard of choice for serious MTB.
There was an article in Dirt magazine recently which explained that with all the different variations of standard, integrated, zero set etc headsets we already have something like 28 (I am moving this weekend mags are packed away) different headset configurations! For all the reasons stated above and previous posts we do not need another f'ing standard!
The criticism of the standard is because it is stupid and not needed; not because Giant thought it up, the scarry thing is Giant have enough muscle to give a stupid idea legs.
Yeah sorry that's just bullshit. Entirely bullshit. 30% stiffer than what?! If you want to talk about the steering stiffness of a fork, separate it into two parts:
1. The steerer tube itself
2. The crowns, stanchions, lowers and axle.
You've ignored frames stiffness though, which will have an effect on steering.
If frame stiffness was the goal you'd go with the 1.5 standard or are you saying that a 1.5-1 1/8 taper is too flexxy where as 1.5-1.5 is too stiff so we really did need something in the middle?
Maybe Giant have caught onto people who buy there excellent value bikes, who just simply buy the bike for those parts and sell the frame, thus making it so its harder to put those said parts onto other bike frames because of the new standards will result in some weird compatibility issues.
Maybe Giant have caught onto people who buy there excellent value bikes, who just simply buy the bike for those parts and sell the frame, thus making it so its harder to put those said parts onto other bike frames because of the new standards will result in some weird compatibility issues.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's pretty fucking pointless also, but I doubt a company as large as Giant would make the claim that it's stiffer, without actually researching it. That'd be one hell of a fuck-up for them to keep quiet.
Like the Toyota Prius being environmentally friendly?
Wow, great, another standard, and as usual, everyone get's in a huff about it. Here's an idea, if you don't like it, or think it'll be too hard to customise your bike, then don't bloody buy one. If it turns out to be a stupid idea by Giant, then it will probably die off. Also, if you ARE building a bike from the frame up, then chances are, you won't be going from a Giant frame, you'll pick some other brand. It is GIANTs loss if you don't buy their products, not yours, so get over it. There's PLENTY of other brands out there that have just as good a frame/suspension design. So stop bloody complaining... Besides, most people buy Giant bikes complete anyway, so who cares?
Don't get me wrong, I think it's pretty fucking pointless also, but I doubt a company as large as Giant would make the claim that it's stiffer, without actually researching it. That'd be one hell of a fuck-up for them to keep quiet.
Just like this - http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/company/index.php?joe=1#joe1209.php
The Prius is another brilliant example