Grannygear has had the new Giant XTC 29″er on hand for testing for a bit now and came up with an idea to get some new viewpoints on the new rig from Giant. Here is his first installment on “What Others Have To Say”

Since I still had the test bike in my garage, and knowing that everyone was tired of hearing my thoughts on the bike, it occurred to me that it might be interesting to let some others ride the bike and see what they thought. In many ways, the XTC 29er 1 represents a step up to the next level of 29ers in that it addresses many of the perceived shortcomings that big wheeled bikes have been charged with. It has a very stiff and accurate steering front end with the hydroformed frame and the Fox 15mm QR/tapered steerer fork, it has short chain stays (17.3″), it handles tight trails well, and has a low gear set in the 22/32/42 front chain rings and 12-36T rear cassette. The one hit it needs to take is heavy-ish wheels, but at least they do not seem to be flexy, and at $2,000.00, you can’t have it all.

So I decided to lend it out to a few folks that had different bike experience and backgrounds. Some were wise, old birds and some were relative newbies, Some were 29er vets and some had never even put a leg over one before. What did they think? Read on and see.

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Rider Number One: James

Stats – 5′ 11″, 32″ inseam, 40 yrs old, 180lbs. Been riding mtn bikes for approximately 1 year. Editors rating: Very fit newbie ready to upgrade his 10 year old FS bike.

“I took the Giant XTC 29-1 out on my favorite trail in the Castaic area called the Charlie Canyon loop. The first thing that I noticed was that the size of the bike was the same as my current bike, a 2000 Specialized FSR Enduro. I was expecting it to be much taller just because of the term ’29 inch’. The only other 29 incher I had ridden was an XL framed Turner (Sultan) which felt like I was on a Clydesdale compared to a pony. The second thing was the angle of the front fork on the Giant compared to the Specialized, which is pretty standard on today’s XC bikes, but made quite a difference from my bike. The beginning of the ride is on asphalt and dirt fire roads and the Giant rode exceptionally smooth. I was also impressed with the shifting of the derailleur on the front and rear. The second part of the trail is a series of uphill climbs in which I was interested to see how the 29er Giant would climb. I was blown away. I know that hard tails typically can climb faster than full suspension but with the 29 inch wheels and the lighter frame, I seemed to be able to power up the hills almost (not quite – still had to pedal) without as much effort. Even going through the sand and silt seemed easier. On the flatter uphill sections the Giant rolled and the crank worked so smoothly.”

“I really did not know what to expect on the downhill single track. The Giant definitely rolled over some of the bumps and rocks a lot easier than the Specialized but I do not know if that was due to the tires or the Fox front shocks compared to the Rock Shox Judy’s that I currently have. The handling in the turns was much more crisp and flowing but I think the Specialized coasted faster than the Giant. I usually do not have to pedal so much to keep up my downhill speed (it could have been the windier conditions also). One of the other things I noticed was the use of the disc brakes. My bike has the older V brakes which means more of a tighter grip and pulling on the levers. But they are smoother than the disc brakes which is more of a quick grabbing action (probably something I need to get used to). The Avid Juicy 3 brakes really started to squeak halfway down the trail for no reason since I did not use them much on the downhill. The noise was was more annoying than anything else. I am looking forward to trying the Giant out on another favorite trail Friday morning at Towsley Canyon.”

“So today I got to try the Giant XTC 29 on a different trail, Towsley Canyon in Newhall. I was excited to see how the bike handled on a more technical uphill and downhill. The beginning of the trail is flat with some asphalt and some fire road and I was still impressed with how the 29” wheels rolled. I was also still equally impressed with the components and how nicely they shifted. After a slight bike hike through a rocky creek area, the real climbing begins. I could really feel the hardtail on the uphill climb because of the rocks, ruts and bumps in the trail which was something I was not used to. The uphill climb has some pretty steep switchbacks. Two of them I could not make on this bike that I normally can on my bike. One was because I lost traction on the rear tire going up and the other was because I was not completely familiar with the feel of the Giant. The bike handled good on the narrow trail and there were no wobbles or balancing issues. I did notice on some of the steeper sections the bike felt heavier in the tires and harder to pedal. On this particular downhill trail the bike was fun but what I gained in the tires and front shocks was given back by not having the rear suspension. The trail is very hard packed in a lot of places. I did like the way it handled on the steep downhill sections. I tried to pick lines where I would roll off some bigger rocks and the bike did not miss a beat. The stopping power on the brakes probably also made me a little braver. The brakes squeaked so badly on the top section of the downhill that I considered not using them but by the time I reached the bottom the squeak was gone like they had gotten worked in a little. The bottom section of the downhill was great for this bike. There are some rocks and bumps that you can definitely feel because it is a hard tail but the way the bike rolled and held in the turns made up for it.”

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“Overall I was very impressed with the Giant XTC 29 since I have never had any experience with a 29er or a hard tail. When I purchase my next mountain bike I am definitely going to look into the 29” wheeled bikes. Would I consider buying this Giant XTC 29? Not until it comes with full suspension.” – James

Editors note: James felt like a one size smaller bike would have fit him better, especially as far as stand over clearance was concerned.