We'll spare you the moaning. This "What's wrong with the bike categories?". We certainly have reason to. Because these two models have very little to do with the trail rockets Canyon Spectral and Giant Trance, which we tested in our 2017 trail bike test. Instead of firm but nimble 12-kilo bikes, you now get potent 14-kilo bikes that are cosying up to the enduro segment. You may find that strange, but not necessarily stupid.
Although the bicycle giant Giant has not given its bestseller Trance X more travel, it has given it a fatter fork and a slacker steering angle. At the front is the Fox 36 with 150 millimetres of travel, while the Maestro rear triangle pushes 140 millimetres out of the rear. The official application area of the Trance X: All Mountain. Nevertheless, the manufacturer has given it bike park approval.
The new Canyon Spectral is clearly different from its predecessor. Officially, the area of use remains the same: All Mountain. But the bike speaks a different language! More travel (160/150 mm), a 64.2 steering angle, a wide cockpit and fat tyres clearly shift the former touring bike towards enduro. The new Spectral is longer and slacker; approved for park use. A mullet version is set to follow in 2022.
You can download the entire test article about the duel "Canyon Spectral 29 CF 8 vs Giant Trance X 1" from FREERIDE 3/2021 as a PDF below the article. The test costs € 1.49.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in FREERIDE. We don't charge for them, but the opposite is the case: we do charge for them - tens of thousands of euros every year.
Downloads:
Laurin Lehner
Editor
