Published:
We’re fans of Giant’s Maestro suspension design, and on the alloy Trance it’s one of the highlights, providing a stable, supportive and controlled platform when trails get steep and you want to push the bike through big compressions.
- Best mountain bike: buyer’s guide to help you choose
- How to set up your mountain bike suspension: video guides to help you get the most from your bike
- The Giant Trance 1 is one of our Bike of the Year bikes for 2019. To read reviews of the other contenders and the categories tested across road, mountain and women’s bikes, visit our Bike of the Year hub page.
This is thanks to the back-end’s smooth progression through its stroke, offering buckets of support as the bike is pushed towards the limits of its travel. Instead of a jarring clatter as the 140th millimetre of travel is reached, it almost just tickles the end of its travel.
Get the bike heavily loaded through a berm and the bike holds steadfast in its midstroke, allowing you to push the bike to the exit to generate speed.
At the flatter end of the trail spectrum I did find the super-supple nature of the Trance sucked a bit of the bike’s vigour though, especially when ridden back to back with some of the more sprightly bikes on test. Trying to accelerate from turn to turn takes more effort than might be required elsewhere.
Uphill, the Trance is a fair companion, so long as you’ve a smooth pedal stroke, or rely on the Fox DPX2’s compression switch to quell any sogginess from the rear suspension. Traction on loose or lumpy climbs is, however, good thanks to the back-end. The Maxxis High Roller II tyres roll fairly well, while offering decent grip.
Giant Trance 1 kit
Giant has done fairly well on the spec front, especially considering you buy the Trance from a bricks and mortar shop.
The Performance Elite level Fox 36 fork offers plenty of chassis stiffness and plush control through its 150mm of travel.
The Giant AM wheelset has a fairly wide rim bed, offering plenty of support to the Maxxis tyres. The High Roller II might be less commonly seen than the now very much ‘in vogue’ Minion DHF/DHR combo, however it’s arguably slightly better in sloppier conditions and provides a very predictable feel when it eventually breaks away from its traction.
Giant’s own finishing kit — cockpit, dropper and saddle — caused little to worry about too.
Giant Trance 1 ride feel
It’s all good so far, however I feel the sizing is behind the times. The 67-degree head angle is relatively steep for a 140/150mm bike, the 73.5-degree seat angle is slack, and the 448mm reach in a Large (the largest size available) is more like a medium than a large.
This leaves the bike feeling rather short when compared to other similar bikes, and when ridden back to back leaves you feeling a touch less secure on faster, looser terrain.
This is compounded by a relatively tall seat tube, which left regular ‘large’ riders feeling they were at times pitched over the front of the bike in steeper terrain.
In fairness, though, if the rear suspension sat higher in its travel at the back, this would be exacerbated, so on steeper stuff it’s no bad thing that the Trance likes to slip into the first part of its travel with ease.
The Large is the largest of the bikes on offer, so sizing up for ‘large’ riders isn’t possible. The length felt good to some of our shorter testers, who may usually ride a Medium, but the length of the seat tube meant they were riding with a dropped post. In essence, we felt like it had the reach of a medium but the seat tube of a large.
Giant Trance 1 specifications
- Sizes (*tested): S, M, L*
- Weight: 14kg
- Frame: ALUXX SL aluminium 140mm 650b
- Fork: Fox Float Performance Elite 36 150mm
- Shock: Fox Float Performance DPX2
- Chainset: TruVativ Descendent
- Bottom bracket: SRAM
- Cassette: SRAM GX Eagle
- Chain: SRAM
- Mech: SRAM GX Eagle
- Shifters: SRAM GX Eagle
- Wheelset: Giant AM 27.5
- Spokes: Sapim
- Tyres: Maxxis Highroller II 650×2.5WT (f), Maxxis Highroller II 650×2.5WT (r)
- Stem: Giant Contact SL 50mm
- Bar: Giant Contact SL 780mm
- Saddle: Giant Contact SL
- Seatpost: Giant Contact Switch S 150mm
- Brakes: SRAM Guide R 180/180
Giant Trance 1 geometry
- Seat angle: 73.5 degrees
- Head angle: 67 degrees
- Chainstay: 43.5cm / 17.13in
- Seat tube: 48.2cm / 18.98in
- Top tube: 63cm / 24.8in
- Head tube: 13cm / 5.12in
- Fork offset: 4.2cm / 1.65in
- Trail: 10.4cm / 4.09in
- Bottom bracket drop: 1.5cm / 0.59in
- Wheelbase: 1,183mm / 46.57in
- Stack: 61.4cm / 24.17in
- Reach: 44.8cm / 17.64in
BikeRadar would like to thank 661 Protection, Northwave, Effetto Mariposa and Finale Ligure for their help and support during our Bike of the Year test.
Latest deals
Product Specifications
Product
| Name | Name, 0, 10, Name, Trance 1 |
| Brand | Brand, 0, 20, Brand, Giant |
| Available Sizes | Available Sizes, 2, 0, Available Sizes, S M L |
| Bottom Bracket | Bottom Bracket, 2, 0, Bottom Bracket, SRAM |
| Brakes | Brakes, 2, 0, Brakes, SRAM Guide R 180/180 |
| Cassette | Cassette, 2, 0, Cassette, SRAM GX Eagle |
| Chain | Chain, 2, 0, Chain, SRAM |
| Cranks | Cranks, 2, 0, Cranks, TruVativ Descendent |
| Fork | Fork, 2, 0, Fork, Fox Float Performance Elite 36 150mm |
| Frame Material | Frame Material, 2, 0, Frame Material, ALUXX SL aluminium 140mm 650b |
| Front Tyre | Front Tyre, 2, 0, Front Tyre, Maxxis Highroller II 650x2.5WT |
| Handlebar | Handlebar, 2, 0, Handlebar, Giant Contact SL 780mm |
| Head Angle | Head Angle, 2, 0, Head Angle, 67 |
| Rear Derailleur | Rear Derailleur, 2, 0, Rear Derailleur, SRAM GX Eagle |
| Rear Shock | Rear Shock, 2, 0, Rear Shock, Fox Float Performance DPX2 |
| Rear Tyre | Rear Tyre, 2, 0, Rear Tyre, Maxxis Highroller II 650x2.5WT |
| Saddle | Saddle, 2, 0, Saddle, Giant Contact SL |
| Seat Angle | Seat Angle, 2, 0, Seat Angle, 73.5 |
| Seatpost | Seatpost, 2, 0, Seatpost, Giant Contact Switch S 150mm |
| Shifters | Shifters, 2, 0, Shifters, SRAM GX Eagle |
| Stem | Stem, 2, 0, Stem, Giant Contact SL 50mm |
| Weight (kg) | Weight (kg), 2, 0, Weight (kg), 14 |
| Wheelset | Wheelset, 2, 0, Wheelset, Giant AM 27.5 |
| Spoke Type | Spoke Type, 2, 0, Spoke Type, Sapim |
| Chainstays (in) | Chainstays (in), 2, 0, Chainstays (in), 17.13 |
| Seat Tube (in) | Seat Tube (in), 2, 0, Seat Tube (in), 18.89 |
| Top Tube (in) | Top Tube (in), 2, 0, Top Tube (in), 24.8 |
| Wheelbase (in) | Wheelbase (in), 2, 0, Wheelbase (in), 46.57 |
| Frame size tested | Frame size tested, 2, 0, Frame size tested, L |
Authors
Tom Marvin is a technical editor at BikeRadar.com and MBUK magazine. He has a particular focus on mountain bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, too. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus, and was previously technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. He is also a regular presenter on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel and the BikeRadar podcast. With more than twenty years of mountain biking experience, and nearly a decade of testing mountain and gravel bikes, Tom has ridden and tested thousands of bikes and products, from super-light XC race bikes through to the most powerful brakes on the market. Outside of testing bikes, Tom competes in a wide range of mountain bike races, from multi-day enduros through to 24-hour races in the depths of the Scottish winter – pushing bikes, components and his legs to their limits. He’s also worked out that shaving your legs saves 8 watts, while testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. When not riding he can be found at the climbing wall, in his garden or cooking up culinary delights.
