Well, I did buy the Giant ARX 2 today. I drove two hours down to Charlottesville, VA, which is the closest dealer to have ANY of these in stock, let alone one of each color in the large frame. I rode it and was immediately impressed with the feel. There's not a lot out there on this bike (or the ATX Lite, which this was called last year), so I'll document it with some photos for anyone searching. I'll also post my initial thoughts on various aspects of it. It was 40 degrees F with light drizzle today, so I didn't ride it much, but I did spend some time with it on the bike stand (I might have had a bottle of spray wax and a microfiber cloth...).

arx01 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

Getting ready for the ride home. The Swagman XC2 rack does a nice job. It's not an expensive rack, but it's not the cheapest rack, either. Much of our riding is either directly from home, or I also have a rack that I have across the front of my Ridgeline's bed, so I can carry two in the bed with fork mounts. I used the Swagman today.

arx02 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

I'm 6'0" with a 32" inseam, and I bought the large frame. The medium fit okay, but the cockpit was more cramped. I could have installed a longer stem or set the saddle back, but I think the large frame is a good choice for me. It's more of a "French fit", which I like.

The head tube angle is a slack 68 degrees, and this will take some getting used to. At pressures I like to run (low), the tires like to lay over when turning and do a bit of "self steering" (the side knobs grab and try to keep turning more). It's a bit of a weird sensation, but I think it's something to get used to. Otherwise, the bike has a very nice feel to me. It feels nimble, it feels light, and it's fun to ride.

arx03 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

The cockpit is pretty basic. It has a 680mm handlebar and a simple 90mm stem, and Tektro M285 brake levers and Shimano SL-M310 shifters. These shifters (Altus group) are very common on low-to-mid range bikes like this, and they work great. They have a very positive ratcheting action, and I have these on my daughter’s Raleigh Alysa, replacing the OE twist shifters. Nice shifters, nice value. The brake levers have an adjustable reach, which is nice.

arx04 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

The drivetrain is also basic. FD-M191 in the front and RD-M360 in the rear, with a 28-38-48 no-name crankset and an 11-32 8-speed cassette. Giant’s spec sheet says it has an 11-34 cassette, but mine is an 11-32. This is the exact same drivetrain as what’s on my Trek Verve 3, and it just works. The chain is a KMC Z8, without a Missing Link (I will swap one in).

The frame seems to be of good quality. The rear dropouts have THREE fender/rack mounts: two that you can see from the outside (and that are threaded all the way through) and one additional one on the inside (that is not threaded to the outside).

arx05 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

More goodness back here. I like bikes with rear brake calipers mounted within the rear triangle; I think it looks clean and tidy this way. (Both brake rotors are 160mm on this bike.) The kickstand is a Giant accessory kickstand that I bought, and I appreciate that it has an integrated mount on the frame for this.

arx06 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

Another view of the cheap crankset. It’s a “Prowheel Swift 201P” -- a no-name brand to me. The chain rings look very cheap, though they seem to work fine. And they are actually bolted to the crank spider rather than spot-welded or riveted, so that’s nice. It has a simple cartridge bottom bracket with square tapers. I like this; I have tools to service and it’s dead simple. Both shift cables and the rear brake line run internal to the down tube, and pop out just upstream of the bottom bracket. It’s all very tidy.

arx07 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

Another view of the cockpit and the Giant stem. The grips are slip on, but the end caps are removable, so you can use accessories that slip into the end of the handlebar (like a Mirrcycle mirror), or you can slide the grips on further to use over-the-bar bar ends without needing to cut up the grips. They’re not all that comfortable to me, so I may replace these.

arx08 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

The tires are CST Maverick Lites, size 27.5x1.95, or 50-584 (and they do measure exactly 50mm on these wheels at 40 psi). I couldn’t install much larger than these, at least not with large side knobs, because I’ll have some clearance issues with the front derailleur cage on the small ring. These should work fine for now, though. They roll smooth on the road and likely offer enough traction off the road for what I’ll do with it.

I paid $489 for this bike, plus $25 for the kickstand, and was out the door for under $550 including state sales tax. I think this bike is a pretty decent value, and offers an option for those looking for a rigid frame bike that is super versatile. It looks like it’ll bomb down dirt trails and fire roads just as well as it will cruise along paved paths and neighborhood roads. I look forward to many enjoyable miles on this bike.