Giant TranSend review
 

Well i had a really nice long post about it, and then the forum ate my post. greeeeaaaat....

Anyway here are the cliffs notes.
I LOVE THE TRAN SEND!!!!
It ride fabulously well. Geared nice and high on the high end, very low on the low end, with plenty in the middle.
I bought it earlier in the week and have been riding it. It's a whole lot of bike for the price.
Brakes stop it on a dime. I plan to change the tires out because they are the weak link in the chain, but even they do their job admirably.
The grips are VERY comfortable. Road feel because of the solid frame is really good. I can really haul @$$ on this thing when I have to, but it's also very stable feeling even at low speed.

By the way, I always thoght bike bells were kinda fruity. Turns out it's actually incredibly useful. Much of my commute is along the MUP and when I passed people I used to have to call out the warning ("Bike passing on the left!"- or something to that effect). Now, I just ding my cmpass/bike bell at them and they get out of the way right quickly. I love it.

And now for your viewing pleasure, I present the bike porn.

Edit: ok my pics weren't working. But go here:

LINKARONI!!!

I'm looking at the Giant TranSend EX. I can't find any LBS that carries the less expensive LX and DX models. It's great to hear that you love the bike. I have a 40 mile round trip commute that I'll be starting in a week or two. This bike looks like it should work well for me. Thanks for your review!

Have the LBS check availability on the DX and LX in your size from Giant. Then again, maybe Giant is running low on their inventory as more people start riding bikes again...

I just bought a Tran Send EX from my LBS and have been loving it. The seat is surprisingly comfortable to the point where I may not need to wear padded bike shorts on my commute. Today I did a 22 mile ride with strong head winds. The bikes gearing and quick shifting made it very easy. Mine has got slime filled tubes. I don't know how good this will be when I run over something that punctures the tube. The mechanic at the LBS said "it will get you home" which is all I really need. So far I'm loving this bike.

I'm glad I stumbled across this post. I am considering buying the Trans Send EX after commuting for one year on a modified mountain bike. I'm looking for something a little lighter and more efficient, with 700c tires and all the trappings of a commuter, i.e., fenders, chain guard, etc. How do you feel about the seat position of the Trans Send EX relative to the handlebars and pedals? Is this "cruiser" type positioning comfortable, and does it allow you to pedal efficiently? Thanks for any feedback you can provide!

I have no problems with the seat position relative to the handle bars. It's very comforable for me, no aches or pains so far. I also own a Giant road bike and this feels just a comfortable to me. The front suspension helps smooth the ride as well.

The bike comes in three sizes for both men and women. The fit my LBS did showed that I was between a medium and large size. I rode both of them but thought the medium size felt better. So you'll want to try a couple of sizes to find which one fits best. You'll definately want to get a good fit done before you're test ride to get the seat high enough so that you can get the maximum efficiency from your pedaling.

I haven't done much riding on steep grades so I pretty much only use the top 4-5 gears when I ride. Shifting is very easy and smooth. I've found it better to stop pedaling between shifts. I don't know if that is the proper technique for internal hubs or not but it's much smoother when I do that.

The frame seems very strong and should be able to hold quite a load.

I hope some of this was helpful. The best way to determine if this is the right bike for you is to get a test ride on one and see how it fits you.

Can one replace the trigger shifters with twisters?

Does it perform well enough on packed dirt or fire roads or curbs/potholes?

Not sure.

VERY well. If you're really concerned about handling in dirt, just get CX tires for it. but I ride it over dirt trails all the time with the OEM Kenda Kwest tires, and it's absolutely fine.

Thanks.
Good to know even without front suspension.
What are CX tires?

CX=cyclocross

I don't have any clue as to why you would want to do this. The shifters transends have are absolutely amazing! But, yeah, you could. You'd also have to get new brake levers though, as the brake levers connect to the shifter pods.




I love my transend dx. I've had it since December of 2007 and have ridden it a lot. The geometry is comfortable, the seat is comfortable, it comes with quality fenders and a quality rack, the drive train is smooth and the gears shift well, the ergo grips are the most comfortable things ever, rigid fork, it's not heavy (although I don't really care about weight). There are too many good things to say. My friend liked mine so much he bought himself one. I run 700cx38's on it and they're still nimble, but don't take bumps horrible like a 23, 25 or anything that low does. I've used it on 25 mile rides, everyday commuting, groceries, fun rides, and errands. It is a great all-around bike.

Downfalls: I don't like the sloping tt, but I got used to it. That's really the only thing I don't like.

This bike rules. I can't even imagine how great the lx's would ride......

What's a "sloping tt"?
I prefer twisters but I guess I should give the OEM triggers a fair shot before considering switching?

he means that the top tube (the thing that runs between the stem and the seatpost) slopes down as it gets toward the seat post. I honestly don't mind that at all. In fact, I kinda like the elegance of the sloping lines.

Yeah, the triggers are awesome. The bike I had before this had grip-shift, but once I got my transend, I never wanted to touch one again. In fact, I'm now turning that old bike into my single-speed winter bomb!


I guess I don't hate the top tube, and it adds a lot more room if I'm stopped and want to stand over it.

[QUOTE=thebeard;7415217]Yeah, the triggers are awesome. The bike I had before this had grip-shift, but once I got my transend, I never wanted to touch one again. QUOTE]

Interesting. I guess I'll give the triggers a fair shake. But I kind of liked the simplicity of the twister grip shifters including their cosmetic look.

Triggers: For the right side (as one is seated) for the typical 8-shift, the upper trigger raises the shift # and the lower trigger lowers it (lower number, easier to pedal, more revolutions to get the same distance, better for upgrades). On the left side (typically the 3-shift), which way does the upper trigger change things??

The seat on the Tran Send seems a bit stiff on my skinny butt (vs Cypress). Is it just me breaking in bike, or have others found this too? Any way to make it springier, or do you have to upgrade seat?

I actually found it too soft and I swapped it for a firmer Specialized Body Geometry saddle. Stick with that one for just a little while and see if a) the saddle breaks in, or b) you come to appreciate a firmer saddle.

I like a firm saddle that supports me on my "sit bones."

edit to add:
That's just my opinion (which happens to be shared by the vast majority). If you prefer softer saddles, go for it.

left side: It's the opposite. In fact, it says it on the shifters. The upper trigger lowers the gear, and the lower raises the gear (numerically).

That's a great looking bike, just begging for some trekking bars or some other "odd" bar :)

For me, because I would using it in the Maine winter, and a trigger shifter is harder to work while wearing mittens than a twist shifter. I looked at this bike and that was one of the downsides for me.

That said, I'm fine with the trigger shifters on my summer bike.

Use SRAM triggers. They use two thumb levers,so you can work them just as easily if wearing bulky gloves or mittens. You can also keep a finger on the brake lever and still shift normally.

5K miles and counting
 

I've had my Giant Transend DX (2009) for a year and a half and am approaching 5000 miles on it. I commute to work daily and use it for groceries, errands and the like. Basically I ride the hell out of this thing day, night, rain, snow, whatever... My bike has been through a seriously abusive relationship with me and still lives to ride on. Overall I've been very happy with it with the exception of a few things.

Here's what I've found:

It's a very comfortable and stable ride even when pedaling uphill loaded down with 30 pounds of groceries in the panniers and my five-year-old riding tandem on the trail-a-bike. It's geared well on the high and low end with everything in between. It really feels more like riding a fast mountain bike than a road bike. I'm not afraid to take this on the occasional off road detour and try terrain I wouldn't dare try on my road bike.

I did manage to trash the crankset rings in the first month and upgraded immediately to a Shimano Tiagra crankset (the OEM crakrings could not be replaced individually).

The stock fenders have VERY delicate plastic clips that break easily. After several annoying broken clips I replaced them with a pair of SKS fenders. No problems since

One complaint about the geometry - I have a pair of toe clips on my pedals. On rare occasions the clips brush the fenders when pedaling in a turn. Not a big deal though.

The kickstand lasted about six months as I trashed it by parking her with heavy loads in the panniers. I installed a double kickstand like those used on tandems and would highly recommend it to those who constantly load and unload heavy stuff from the deck.

Other than the crankset caving in the first few weeks, the derailleur and shifters have been flawless.

The wood deck looks pretty cool. I get lots of comments on it.

The grips are comfortable but the rubbery material got sticky and gross after a year and needed replacing.

The seat is super comfortable. It got a minor tear and I replaced it with a similar Unity saddle last week.

Given the thrashing I give this bike daily: I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Is it possible to buy the giant transend ex today and where?

I'm thinking of buying the Giant Escape 2.

Is this bike the same as the giant transend ex?