Giant XTC 29'r - Customer ride review

Many thanks to Brian Murden for giving us his initial impressions on the XTC 29'r - opinions are divided and the debate on 29 v 26 " wheels is sure to go on and  on -

Thursday 0730. Most of my mates (and the dog walkers!) will be either struggling out the pit, or already on their way to work. I am out on a brand new bike and a totally new type of bike to me. The conditions are superb on a still, warm, damp September morning. What is more, the guys from Cycle Logic have given me full permission to put their GIANT 29 inch wheel demonstrator through its paces. I find it difficult to suppress a smile as I unlock the garage, strap on my helmet and set off.

I have a max of three hours where I can blot out the list of duties and cares of modern life just enjoy. In the shop there was plenty of 29” vs 26” banter, so I also feel an air of experimentation. I have decided to take my most familiar route as a control.I feel like a kid in a sweet shop.

I take the track out the back of the house which heads to the top of CarnMarth. First thing, I pick the wrong gear heading uphill and have to correct. It’s early right? Then I do the same again on the stony shute at the bottom of a gullied path. This time I sit in the gear and grunt it out. The GIANT performs well. It is very stable. It sticks to the stony track well. When I direct it up the side of the gulley, it climbs effortlessly out where my 26ermight be tempted to slide down at the back.

Towards the top, after a level section, I again pull the wrong gear. Then I suss it. Because of the increased diameter wheels, the gearing is all changed. I am in the habit of my bike. I am being lazy. need to be a more precise in gear choice until I have made the adjustment.

I flip over a couple of granite steps without problems and then decide rather than take the easiest route to bump up some bigger lumps in the path. This is good. The larger wheels make this far easier, far smoother. At the top I take in one of my favourite views before taking on a technical path which I have never cleared. There is part of an ancient granite hedge on which I always bottom the crank or peddle. On the GIANT I fail again but the additional clearance means that I only clip the boulder with the right peddle. On the second attempt I clear and am gaining more confidence. I haven’t yet turned the suspension on. Time to see if all the talk of the downhill abilities of the 29er are what they are cracked up to be.

The track down towards Lanner and the Mining Trail back towards Carharrack disappear in a smooth blur. The relatively soft suspension and big wheels work in combination to reduce jarring and pile on speed. Th acceleration is exhilarating  andwhat I imagine full suss bikers experience. Luckily no walkers out yet.The smile on my face has returned and is momentarily turned to grimace with the approach of step witch I know jars the 26er at slower speeds. Again no problem. I sail over safely at speed. Wow!

I point the GIANT towards Wheel Maid and the lumps and bumps of the old arsenic works in the Poldice Valley. There are tracks and drops here which are old friends and there are others; gremlins, outside my comfort zone. One brute which I have cleared once but on a second attempt the front wheel hit a boulder sending me airborn, scared and luckily only bruised.Hence I call it “Big Scary” nad have not been back since. Iavoid this one on my first pass through. With my growing confidence in the GIANT this would be a fitting climax to the ride. I take a less exciting route over a few smaller drops, then head toward Unity Woods noting the ease with which I climb short steep sections along the way.

After some fun in the woods I decide to head down to Porthtowan and climb over the cliffs to Chapel Porth. Try to stretch out that 3 hour window a little. I realise that I haven’t tried the bike on tarmac.Taking the Wheal Busy Loop on the Coast To Coast route, I stop for a drink on the bridge over the A30. I note that the aches and pains in my shoulders gained completing the Exmoor Bike Marathon have returned and get off to stretch and admire the GIANT. It really is all wheels, a bike drawn in a comic. The bright frame is completely dominated. I note it is not nearly as shiny and clean as when it was lent to me. Oops!

On the road down through the mining waste to the north coast again there is far less loss and the ride is fast and smooth. I go out of my way to find a downhill shute and am again impressed. In a gulley I catch the handlebar end and for the first time realise that these are particularly wide. Perhaps this is because extra leverage is needed to turn such a big wheel. I remember the stability I noted when climbing and heading downhill.This is due to the additional centripetal force of the big tyre and wheel. I also notice that not only are the bars wide but my hands are at their extremes. The geometry of the bike I as different as the looks.

At Porthtowan the bike handles really well on the stony climb. The descent into Chapel Porth is superb and rewarded with a cup of steaming coffee at the café. The GIANT, propped against the benches, draws admiring glances from some surfydudes . My shoulders are by now really stiffening up and I try to adjust my position on the bike as I climb back towards Towan Cross. Moving my hands in on the bars helps my back but hampers my control of the bike. Moving them out pulls my upper body forward and I am amazed that with such weight transference forward the back wheel sticks on the stony path – but it does, like glue!

Finally, back at Big Scary, the old fears are negging me out. I am on my own for a start. At least last time there were mates to pick me up and dust me down (after they finished deep belly laughing of course!). Today there is nobody around. My back is aching.  In just over three hours my lackof upper body fitness has been exposed. I think to the stability and smooth ride of the GIANT and its stone clearing capacity, my increased confidence. “Surely if it going to be any time, it’s got to be now” I stiffen my resolve. “What about the boulder halfway down? It took you out last time” the health and safety inspector in my head counters.

The lack of braking on thesebig wheels, mentioned when I picked up the bike, but not experienced, enters my head as the GIANT tips over the point of no return. Then the downhill rush, the bite of back brake on stone, a slight sideways movement as the back wheel slews, correction, and I’m down. I complete the two smaller drops below in celebration. Aches, pains and negative thoughts are banished until later. Adrenaline fuelled I head elated for home.

I make no bones about it, in the 26 vs 29 argument I am still firmly in the 26 camp. But then I have invested in that camp. Before this ride I didn’t even know there was a choice. I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite being slightly anti at the offset. The GIANT had exhausted me, but if I had more time, days as opposed to hours, my body would probably get used to the altered geometry. Afterall, once I took more care with gear choice that ceased to be a problem and soon became natural. If this is the new look of off-road biking it has real merits: ground clearance, smooth fast down-hilling and stability. These are gained at the cost of responsiveness in steering and a slightly heavy feel when climbing (I’m sure both of these are due to the gyroscopic action of the larger wheels). The wider handlebars are more likely to snag and change body position on the bike.

If you are in the market to buy or replace, or if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford both options – or alternatively if you are a tall rider - ask Steve or Shane for a go. You may just be converted!