Mountain Biking - Giant Trance frame - Alternative?

Hi guys,

I've been pottering around on my Spesh Hardrock for a while now and after spending too much money upgradging the wheels, brakes, forks, etc. I feel it time to go full suss! I only want to upgrade the frame as I feel alot of my components are satisfactory and ... well... it's cheaper tha way.

Initially I thought I'd try and track down a second hand FSR XC frame and that would be that.

Recently things have changed - I have realised that some retailers offer 0% finance. Wahoo! For the price of my gym membership (now cancelled due to the fact they withdrew Spinning classes) I can buy a brand new Giant Trance frame... and my wife is still happy because I not spending ANY extra money!

So.... I am now trying to get a test ride on a Trance before I buy... but obviously I need to try some of the competition.

I mainly ride XC but I'd prefere a bike that's a little on the burlier side as I don't have a problem climbing and I enjoy being confident that my bike can take a few knocks.

Any thought on a suitable alternative frame to the Giant Trance????

Thanks for your time,

kona dawg

nah Trance is beats the Dawg, cause he wants XC and dawg is considered as a all mountain. Furthermore, MAESTRO technology has proved its superioty

the iron horse mkIII is a real good bike/frame. the maestro is somewhat similar to the dw_link, or so they say, and everybody raves about the dweagle link, so pedalling performance etc should be similar. the mkIII has five inches of travel, can take a few knocks. i saw a picture recently in the mtbr iron horse forum of some dude winning a downhill competition on the mkIII (apparently he was still waiting for his IH downhill set up) so im sure there is no question about how tough it is.

the trance is a 4" travel bike, so if you want the shorter travel, then thats a real good frame for sure and with a good suspension system. some people though are worried about the shock placement on the newer frames. if you go to the giant forum at mtbr im sure you will get a more accurate picture to that issue.

Marin Wolfridge :4-6 inches rear travel using a 4 bar linkage design and a Fox Talus up front.

since he is a XC rider and if you are talking about 4 bar linkage he is best off using Specialized FSR series

FSR XC Pro is the only line in that series i liked, but the trance felt amazing, i have a reign, and the feeling is pretty much the same except reign is heavier and takes bigger hits.