Giant frontman Andrew Juskaitis makes one thing clear right away: "We've always been one hundred per cent convinced of 650B wheels, we're certainly not just relying on them because everyone else is doing it." Giant spent two years developing the new "Glory" together with the World Cup team. While racers like Andrew Neethling and Danny Hart worked closely with the Giant designers, the gravity bikers were apparently left out. For example, the 2012 Rampage winner Kurt Sorge knew next to nothing about his employer's new bike during our probike interview in issue 2/14. The racers, on the other hand, were able to incorporate their preferences into the new bike. We thought we could feel that. Because the new "Glory" looks as if it has been trimmed even more consistently for racing. Overall, the frame geometry has been updated: longer reach, shorter rear triangle, slacker head angle (63 degrees), lower bottom bracket. Visually, the bike looks stylish. Integrated fork stops and chainstay protectors are not rocket science, but they are not a given on every bike. Giant deliberately dispensed with internally routed cables. "Inappropriate", says Andrew, alluding to the more time-consuming cable change.
Enough talk - we want to know how the new "Glory" rides. We were able to gather our first riding impressions on the downhill track in Pemberton, near Whistler. The track starts off with tight turns through the forest and then gets faster and faster. Soft ground alternates with root carpets and tame rocky sections. When we first got on the bike, we felt comfortable straight away. In fast, technical sections, the top model "Glory Zero" consistently bulldozes over everything in its path. This gives the rider a great deal of confidence and automatically makes you want to hold the throttle. Even in tight turns, the Giant leans willingly without losing much speed. The racing genes are noticeable - however, we were not yet able to find out how the new "Glory" performs on jumplines in the bike park at the press event.
ConclusionThe new "Glory 650B" provides a lot of safety and is a pleasure to ride fast. The bike works, we're sure of that. In our next big bike group test, we want to find out whether the new Giant bike can hold its own against the competition from Trek, Specialized and co.
PLUS Racing, weight, smooth running
MINUS nothing
MANUFACTURER INFORMATION
Distribution Giant Germany GmbH
Info www.giant-bicycles.com
Material/sizes Aluminium/S, M, L
Price 4,999 Euro
Weight without pedals 15.8 kg
MEASURED DATA
Front/rear suspension travel 200 mm/203 mm
Rear suspension system Maestro
EQUIPMENT
Fork/damper RockShox Boxxer 27.5 Team/RockShox Vivid R2C
Cranks/gears SRAM X01 DH/SRAM X01 DH
Brake system SRAM Guide RSC
Impellers DT-Swiss EX 471 system wheelset, Schwalbe Magic Mary Evo 2.5 tyres
Laurin Lehner
Editor
