Mountain Biking - Found out my Rincon is an 04, not an 05

I was looking at my tires and realized they were hutchinsons, I checked and those came on 04 rincons, not 05. So I looked at the pics at giant's website and found my bike is indeed an 04. This means I have 32H rims instead of 36H double wall rims. Is the 04 that much of a downgrade from the 05 rincon or is it still an ok bike? I mean, I've been riding it for almost a year and I love it, but I'm still curious. All this time I thought I had an 05 :-(

Also, it has 26x2.0 tires on it, can I run 26x2.1 ?

Also, it has 26x2.0 tires on it, can I run 26x2.1 ?
why can't you? I think you'd be fine running 2.1" tires on it

I didn't know if it matters what rim you have. Also, the front tire is pretty good so I think I'm just going to get a new rear. I've heard that its actually better to have a wider tire in front and a thinner tire in rear, is this true? I mt bike quite a bit and go over a ton of rocks, roots (3"-8" or so tall roots), wet rotten logs etc.

I mean, I've been riding it for almost a year and I love it

There's your answer. Stress less over what year it is and just go ride it. You didnt know before and couldnt tell the difference....so it matters not.

There's your answer. Stress less over what year it is and just go ride it. You didnt know before and couldnt tell the difference....so it matters not.

Yeah, thats kinda where I'm at now. I'm still curious the difference between the 32H rims and 36H doubles. I don't even know what the H stands for lol

Double wall is stronger, 36h is more spokes (also making the wheel stronger)...but if you've been hitting up the trails for a year over roots and rocks and they are still true, then you're all good.

I didn't know if it matters what rim you have. Also, the front tire is pretty good so I think I'm just going to get a new rear. I've heard that its actually better to have a wider tire in front and a thinner tire in rear, is this true? I mt bike quite a bit and go over a ton of rocks, roots (3"-8" or so tall roots), wet rotten logs etc.


It doesnt matter on the rim as much as the frame, yes you can go from a 2.0 to a 2.1, even a 2.3 if you wnated.

Also, the reason a bigger front is more preferable is because if your back tire washes, you can usually regain control, the front tire washes and your going down, the wider/more aggressive in the front the better the handling.

This is good stuff to know. My rear tire had gone a tick out of true, but I just adjusted two spokes and brought it back, now its perfect. No complaints really I guess. But I do wish I had the beefier wheels.

There's your answer. Stress less over what year it is and just go ride it. You didnt know before and couldnt tell the difference....so it matters not.

Thought I'd update this thread for posterity.

I took this advice so thoroughly that I never even tried counting the spokes. I counted and I have 36 spoke wheels, which means they are also the stronger double wall type. Then I read that the Racing Red color of my bike was a 2005 color, not 2004. So it turns out all along I've had a 2005. They must have had extra Hutchinson tires or something and threw them on the bike...or Giant's website was wrong - BikePedia says it came with Hutchinsons in 2005: http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2005&Brand=Giant&Model=Rincon&Type=bike