Specialized Camber comp 29 VS Giant Trance 27.5

S

s4undy

Squid
Hey guys,

New to the forum. Looking to get myself a new bike (decent 2nd hand).
Currently riding a Scott Scale 960 29er. Used for riding the 10km trip into
work a few days a week (pretty flat) and hitting some Yarra trails.
Itching to join some mates in heading up to Buller this year and do some of
the great trails and some of the easier downhill tracks.

A couple of options I'm considering;

2015 Specialized Camber comp 29er
This bike is new, dad bought it, didn't get to ride it due to injury. Can swap my him scale plus a bit of cash.
My concerns are, The suspension... Is 110mm front travel sufficient? Will this bike be able to handle
some downhill (small drops jumps).

2015 Giant Trance 27.5
Can pick up a decent 2nd 2015 model for around the $1500-$2000 mark.
Looks like a very suitable bike for what I am after. How will this bike go on a something like
casual sunday arvo ride with the misses or 10km trip to work on the bike path? Is it going
to be a pig to ride or generally ok?

Thanks in advance:peace:
 
F

findbuddha

Likes Bikes
Mate rides a Trance, he has no trouble going for a casual bikepath ride with his girlfriend. Commuting should be fine too even if you have to lock out the suspension for pedalling efficiency.

Main issue if you do a lot of it might be your choice of tyres.
 
Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
I've ridden both bikes but it's like comparing an apple with an orange, even though the Camber has less travel, it can be thrown down some hills. If you intend on more gravity riding as in weekly, I would jump on the Trance.
 
mitchy_

mitchy_

Llama calmer
s4undy said:
Any advice is always good to hear... especially about the Camber.
Click to expand...
considering it's your dads bike... why dont you take it for a ride?

you can also demo a trance pretty easily too, that will give you the best opinion of both.
 
J

JediPanda

Squid
I've owned a 2014 Trance and now own a Camber. Depends on what you want to do. When I first got into MTB it was all about the fun downhill single track and the Trance was really fun.
Now my friends and I still do that but we tend to do much longer sessions with much more kilometres. I struggled to keep up on the Trance. Scored a fairly cheap Camber and it's really fun. I thought 29ers would be a little too boaty as I'm fairly short. But with the modern geometries these days I honestly don't think it's a hindrance at all. All my times are faster.
That said, I'm in South East QLD and most of it around here is XC.
 
S

slimjim1

Fat boomers cloggin' ma leaderboard
The 2015 camber evo or 2016 camber would be more comparable to the trance IMO in terms of ability. I've ridden the trance and a 2016 camber 29 and believe the 2016 model camber with updated geometry (closer to the old evo) is 90% as capable as the trance on the hard descents, despite less travel, and exceeds it everywhere else.
 
S

s4undy

Squid
mitchy_ said:
considering it's your dads bike... why dont you take it for a ride?

you can also demo a trance pretty easily too, that will give you the best opinion of both.
Click to expand...
It's not about taking it for a ride. More so can the Camber handle some downhills trails (nothing too extreme) in the strength department? Like the wheels etc.?

If I go with the Camber should I look into upgrading any parts?

Is 110mm front Tavel enough? Can the travel be extended abit on the rock Shox fork or will that not really achieve much?

Thanks
 
MarioM

MarioM

Likes Dirt
My riding buddy has a Camber and loves it for general trail riding. We both did the Rocky Trail Ourimbah enduro this year and despite him blowing his fork he finished the day 4th on it . Schooled a lot of big bikes but he did say at the end of the day that he was hanging on for dear life through the steep stuff , hence him thinking of getting another longer travel machine . If your going to go more gravity than trail based go the Trance . Have you considered other 140 - 160 bikes like the Scott , Trek , Norco etc ?
 
S

s4undy

Squid
MarioM said:
My riding buddy has a Camber and loves it for general trail riding. We both did the Rocky Trail Ourimbah enduro this year and despite him blowing his fork he finished the day 4th on it . Schooled a lot of big bikes but he did say at the end of the day that he was hanging on for dear life through the steep stuff , hence him thinking of getting another longer travel machine . If your going to go more gravity than trail based go the Trance . Have you considered other 140 - 160 bikes like the Scott , Trek , Norco etc ?
Click to expand...


Yeh I have my eye on a trek slash 8, a trek remedy 8 and a remedy 9 at the moment. All seem like suitable bikes for me.

Can't seem to find in the second hand department
 
S

simonhaha

Likes Dirt
For me, id definately give the camber a shot. Ive taken my trek superfly fs9 out on dh runs. Its got 100mm travel front and rear. Its not as fast as my mates 170mm travel canyon or my mates trek slash, but thats probably on because of my leve of skill/guts. Id just lower the seat and watch the lines, this dosent mean bomb through boulders and roots like the dh boys do. This means being light on your feet, bunny hopping over stuff and riding around them. The only thing ive upgraded on the superfly was a set of stans arch on it. Not that the stock ones were any bad, just wanted wheels i know i can rely on.

I felt i could keep up with them if i was a better rider. Honestly.. ive seen guys fly on dh tracks with their xc bikes. Youll have a big smile on your face when youre riding up hill when they are pushing thier bikes up. Youll have a even bigger smile on your face when you overtake boys with their long travel bikes on the decents. Never for a second i missed buying a longer travel bike. Going fast is somewhat mostly down to your skill.
 
Last edited:
J

Joe_MTB

Likes Dirt
I wouldn't worry so much about the amount of travel, but the geometry will be the biggest difference.

If I remember the camber correctly is a fairly steep HA xc set up. The trance is a bit slacker which will give you a lot more confidence going down, especially if you're not so familiar with that kind of riding
 
J

James Adam Theinert

Squid
Trance should be more fun for the vast majority of riding especially if looking to do some gravity stuff. Can always lock out the travel if you need more pedalling efficiency but should be ok in a trail mode
 
Lukespook

Lukespook

Likes Bikes
I have a Camber and fitted a 120mm fork.
Can ride it anywhere - feels very efficient.
Friends who have ridden it think its a great bike also.
 
born-again-biker

born-again-biker

Is looking for a 16" bar
Just to throw something else in the mix....what about a Giant Anthem with 120 mm travel ??
It kinda splits the two bikes I think ? ....and pretty soon you'd prolly get a smokin' deal on the 2016 model ??
Just sayin'....

I have a '15 Trance. The bike is definitely more capable than I am (I'm not as young as I once was)....but I wouldn't want to do much flat ground commute riding on it unless it has less aggressive tyres, which would then make it weird on the tough trails....
 
Calvin27

Calvin27

Eats Squid
I've ridden both for a short period. I'd go for the trance if Buller is the objective. I prefer the Camber for normal XC riding like most of the common trails like lysty, yarra, buxton and forest. But Buller, no questions, I'd go for the trance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top