Bike Forums - View Single Post - For the 2nd year in a row, GIANT introduces another great new Hybrid

09-03-15, 09:23 PM

#71

SpeedyStein

Senior Member

Join Date: Jun 2012

Location: SF Bay Area

Posts: 119

Bikes: 2017 Giant Trance 2, 2016 SOMA Wolverine, 2015 Diamondback Haanjo Comp

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Quote:

Originally Posted by AlTheKiller

Where I live it's rocky, rocky, rocky. There are very few "gravel grinder" type roads like are so popular in the midwest. When you get out on gravel around here, you're pretty much a quarter mile away, max, from huge patches of sharp rock. And it's also rarely flat for any length of time off road, you're either going up or down. Geometry has a lot to do with it. More than sheer frame material, IMO. A degree here or there can absolutely make a huge change in how it handles in rough corners, and the Giant just seems to lean towards a nice mix of off road handling, while losing a bit of the "road" geometry which goes with the Marin. Both are still blends. Both can still handle all the same stuff. But I feel I'd have a lot more confidence and fun with the Giant's set up when taking an off road shortcut.

I'm with you. Your profile says you are in Napa, and I am down in Concord. I imagine your local "fire roads" look a lot like mine – really rocky in some places, really dusty for the rest. The main reason I am interested in a bike like this is so that I have a fast bike to explore with other than my cyclocross/gravel bike. I ride 40mm tires on my cross bike, and those just aren’t wide enough to tackle the steep climbs in loose material – think 16-20% climb in 2” deep dust/sand. I would LOVE to find a cyclocross bike that can take a 29x2.1, but such a beast does not exist as a standard production bike (therefore not within my budget). I think a hybrid that can take wider tires is probably the best bet – the Giant seems like a good fit. In the mean time, I scored an awesome buy on a second hand Trek 7.1 FX – haven’t seen it in person yet, but I have heard reports of some 29x2.0 tires squeezing in.

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