The best-selling mountain bike from Giant Bicycles, the largest MTB manufacturer in the worldis the Trance. After the all-mountain classic in 27.5 inches (to the test Giant Trance Advanced O) has been retreaded, Giant is now pushing a 29-inch version of the Trance behind. After the Trance had already been available with large wheels, it disappeared from the Giant model range in 2015. But now it's back and should be better than ever. The new Trance 29 is intended to be more of a trail bike and less of an all-mountain bike. "During development, 'fun' was the top priority. We wanted to design a bike that normal bikers could get their money's worth on," says Kevin Dana, Global Off-Road Category Manager and a Giant employee for 16 years. His team started experimenting with the first aluminium prototypes back in 2016. Giant later brought the suspension specialists from DVO on board. Together with the Californian company, behind which the former Marzocchi boss Bryson Martin Sr. stands, the Giant engineers worked on the perfect shock for their Maestro rear triangle. According to Dana, over 100 damper variants have been trialled in recent years. The collaboration also allowed them to experiment with different suspension fork preloads. The result: the seventh generation of the Trance comes with a specially designed DVO Topaz 2 T3 shock with a stroke of just 115 millimetres at the rear and a DVO Sapphire D1 with 34 mm stanchions and 44 millimetre fork travel, which is not available from DVO in the aftermarket.
Trance 29: only for 1x drivetrains and frame weight under 2000 grams
The combination of 29-inch wheels, the 130 mm fork and a long, slack geometry should make the new Trance 29 the trail bike of the next generation. Especially as the short shock feels like much more in practice due to the low gear ratio, which means that the nominal 115 mm travel harmonises well with the longer fork. In the factory setup, the fork and shock are always equipped with two volume spacers; a maximum of four can be fitted. This gives riders a very well-functioning basic setup and enough leeway to customise the suspension to their personal requirements. The Maestro rear suspension with the carbon rocker works with the usual confidence: drive-neutral when pedalling, sensitive and comfortable when the going gets tough. The new Trance 29 will be available in three carbon and two aluminium models, all with single drivetrains. The head angle is 66.5 degrees, the reach in size L is 462 mm. The seat angle measures a steep 74.5 degrees and the chainstays are just as long as the Trance 27.5, namely 435 mm. Since only the top model - Trance Advanced Pro 29 0 - is equipped with DVO suspension elements, Giant has also worked a lot with Fox on the suspension tuning of the other four models. They all come with Fox 34 suspension forks and Fox Float shocks. The frame weight of the new Trance 29 carbon frame should be less than 2000 grams - without shock, but with thru axle, frame protectors and seat clamp). Boost standard, overdrive head tube and an ISCG05 mount are a matter of course. You can also run tyres up to 29x2.5 inches on the Trance 29.
Giant Trance 29 - the models
The top model is called the Trance Advanced Pro 29 0 and weighs 11.97 kilograms in size M. It costs 8300 US dollars and should cost around 7000 euros in Europe. Unfortunately, we do not yet have exact euro prices. It comes with the exclusive DVO suspension, the new Giant TRX 0 carbon wheels, a Sram XO1 Eagle and the Guide RSC. Two further carbon models follow, the Advanced Pro 29 1 with Sram GX Eagle, Fox 34 and Fox DPX2 for 4799.90 euros and the Advanced Pro 29 2 with NX Eagle, Fox 34 Rhythm and Fox DPS Performance for around 3700 euros. Both also come with Giant's own TRX 1 29 carbon wheels, which have a hookless, 30 mm wide rim.
The two aluminium models of the Trance 29 follow suit and are equipped with a Giant Contact Switch dropper post, shift with Sram GX or NX Eagle drivetrains and come with Fox suspension. The entry-level price for the Trance 29er 2 is 2599.90 euros, while the more expensive aluminium Trance 29er 1 model costs 3899.90 euros.
