Down to two bikes, Buying this weekend, HELP
 

I was looking at the Giant Revel 29er vs the Felt Nine 80 at my LBS but it looks like the Giant 29er is not available for order. But they do have a Giant Talon 27.5 5.5 for $570 on order. I will be going to buy either the Felt Nine 80 ($550) or Giant Talon 27.5 5.5 ($570) this weekend, which is the better bike? I will be riding with my family (1 and 5 year old) most of the time but on rare occasion will ride off road with friends. I don’t know much about bikes 27.5 vs 29, tyes of shifters, etc so any help would be appreciated. I like the thougt of the 29" tire but I have never heard of Felt. Thanks.

GIANT Talon 27.5 5.5
Frame: ALUXX-grade aluminum
Fork: SR Suntour XCT MLO, w/lockout, 100mm travel
Handlebar: Giant Sport, low rise, 25.4mm
Stem: Giant Sport
Seatpost: Giant Sport, 30.9mm
Saddle: Giant Connect, Upright
Pedals: Alloy Platform
Shifters: SRAM X4, Trigger Shift
Front Derailleur: Shimano Altus
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X5
Brakes: Tektro Novela, mechanical disc, 160mm
Brake Levers: Tektro
Cassette: Shimano HG31 11x34, 8-speed
Chain: KMC Z8
Crankset: SR Suntour NEX, 24/34/42
Bottom Bracket: SR Suntour sealed
Rims: Giant Alloy, double wall
Hubs: Alloy, 32h
Spokes: Stainless steel, 14g
Tires: Giant Sport, 27.5x2.1


FELT Nine 80
Frame: Felt Nine Series XC, Dynaform butted 6061 aluminum, semi-integrated head tube, replaceable derailleur hanger, IS disc mounts, standard 73mm bottom bracket, 135mm OLD, Ø30.9mm seatpost, 34.9mm low clamp front derailleur
Fork: Suntour XCT, 100mm travel, 1-1/8" steerer tube, forged 6061 crown, 28mm stanchion, aluminum lowers, coil spring + MCU, w/ preload adjust
Headset: FSA No.10 integrated 1-1/8" Aheadset, custom cone spacer 1 x 8mm + 2 x 5mm straight spacers, w/ Felt Tornado aluminum top cap
Stem: Felt MTB 3D-forged threadless 1-1/8" +/- 7° rise for Ø31.8mm handlebar w/ CP Cr-Mo bolts: XS - 70mm SM/MD - 80mm LG - 90mm XL - 100mm
Handlebar: Felt MTB 6061 aluminum, 15mm rise, 9° sweep, 680mm wide
Grips: Felt Wing Grip, double-density
Bar Ends: Felt Bubble-Tech F-Wing
Shifters: SRAM X4 3 x 8-speed
Front Derailleur: Shimano Altus low clamp Ø34.9mm, bottom pull, 3 x 8-speed
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X4, 8-speed, medium cage
Crankset: Suntour XCT w/ forged aluminum arms, 3 x 8-speed: XS - 170mm SM/MD/LG/XL - 175mm
Chainwheel: Suntour 42/32/22T
Bottom Bracket: Sealed cartridge, square taper axle
Pedals: Low profile nylon platform
Chain: Sunrace 8-speed
Freewheel: Sunrace 11-34T 8-speed
Brake Levers: Tektro MTB
Brakes: Tektro Novella mechanical disc w/ 180mm rotor
Cables: Felt All-Weather Sealed Slick
Saddle: Felt MTB performance
Seat Post: Felt butted 6061 aluminum micro-adjust 15mm offset: XS/SM - Ø 30.9 x 350mm MD/LG/XL - Ø 30.9 x 400mm
Seat Post Clamp: Aluminum 6061 CNC cold forged w/ barrel nut design, Ø34.9mm
Rims: Aluminum double wall
Front Hub: Forged aluminum, 6-bolt disc mount, 32 hole, 9mm QR axle
Rear Hub: Forged aluminum 8-speed, 6-bolt disc mount, 32 hole, 135 x 10mm axle
Spokes: Stainless steel 2.0mm w/ brass nipples
Tires: WTB Nano Comp, 29 x 2.1

29er are very late 2000's; 27.5/650b is where it is now....

For the specs, jut pick the color of the bike you like more at this price point, as there is too little inbetween them; as a very basic rule, 29er vs 27.5 if your over 6" would go for 29er, under 27.5. but if your starting out, you don't have anything to compare it with, so just go with which you like best.

I'll second the above. That said, my first mountain bike was an old Giant Boulder (entry level) that I paid $50 for on Craigslist. It's at least 10 years old and was clearly left out in the rain on a regular basis. It still rides completely fine for the most part. Can't speak about the quality of Felts.

I like felt, does a good job lining the ceiling of my car.

The rule of thumb with two bikes at the same price point is to test each & go with the one that feels better to you. 650b is all the rage (& I must admit that I'm partial to them as an 'all-arounder' bike based on the reviews), but finding tubes & tires in bike shops may or may not be an issue. So I'd stick with the rule of thumb.

It will be a tough choice between the two until I can ride the Talon. The Felt had a good ride.

Giant Talon - Good name, lock out on the fork, but is 27.5 just a fad...

Felt Nine 80 - 29" wheels, $50 off msrp, not a well known brand with possible support and warranty issues.

Seriously doubt it. I know I'm not the only one who's been drooling over the idea for at least a few years, as it eliminates the issues I (& others) have with not liking the way 29ers feel, but not having the technical terrain to justify sticking with a 26er. Jamis was the first semi-big name to join the trend, & the fact that Giant has hopped on board should probably be taken as a sign that it's here to stay. But it could still be quite a while before you start seeing 27.5 tubes in any given bike shop, & good deals on wheelsets will probably be even further behind should you do something extreme & taco the stock rims.

I can't speak for customer service or warranty qualities of Felt, but they are a pretty big name. My local Specialized shop in my old neighborhood also carried Felt, & they had more than their fair share of happy customers. I can't remember his name, but there was a guy that used to frequent these forums a few years ago that had a few Felt frames that he built up into pretty sweet bikes, & he had nothing but good things to say about them.

Felt is an excellent brand...

That said, get the Giant, because it's fork has the lockout feature.

My 2 cents. I really like my 29er but I have never tried a 27.5. So I will not get on tire size but The 27.5 are not as popular as 29 around here.
Giant Talon has lockout fork
Giant has 1 higher Rear Derailleur.
The Felt has 180mm Rotors VS Giants 160mm.
Your paying Msrp for the Giant and $50 off MSRP for the Felt.
Giant has 2x color choice VS Felts 1x color.

I've ridden 26" bikes for 20 years and have been riding 29ers for about 5 years.
Just rode my first 27.5 bike the other day...Cannondale Trigger carbon...and as much as I like the bike/suspension, I felt that the 650b wheels were a waste. They don't roll like 29s and they don't turn like 26s. That's my opinion based on one ride on one bike.
Yet I digress...
Ride them both and see which one you like better; which one fits, which one steers, which one you feel better balanced on and then buy the one that wins. If you can't decide, buy something else.
There are an awful lot of bikes being made these days and you have many more than 2 to choose from if you're willing to wait.

My biggest problem is that I like the 29" better as it is more established and I dont see myslef doing tight narrow trails. But I think the Giant is a better bike due to the fork, derailleur and just having the Giant name. I never heard of Felt. My LBS should get the Talon in this weekend and I will ride them back to back. I guess my biggest worry is the 27.5 wheel size not really catching on and not being made any more in 5 years.

I had never heard of Giant when I first started mountain biking. Doesn't mean Schwinn was a better brand. Keep that in mind.

Lockout can be real useful if you rarely ride off road with your friends.

Got the Talon 27.5 5 today and so far I am pretty happy. I am replacing a 2003 Giant Sedona DX and I must say even with the bigger knobbier tires on the Talon it was a much faster bike. Put my 1 year old on it with me and did 3-4 miles no issue.

Congrats, Rolfeskj! :thumb:

I've just heard the other day that the next thing to hit the market will be a 27.5 Plus. Meaning 27.5 with ballooned tires, similar to what the 26" went through. It will be the same diameter as a 29'er with more volume. It's just a rumor, though.