Giant Trance Advanced XC Race build

[STU!]

I just got a great deal on a Trance Advanced frame and I'm in need of ideas to help me with a XC race build. The races I usually do are between 30-60km and a mix of road, rail trail and single track. Light weight parts would be ideal, but I'm willing to take a little more strength over lightweight.The frame is a 2009 and has 4.2 inches of rear suspension and came with the fox RP23. I also figure this will give me a good winter project, sourcing parts and with assembly.

Thanks in advance for your help and ideas

[Alison Dunlap Coaching]

Strong, light, and simple - here's what I use and what I'd recommend:

Fox F100RLC fork
Shimano XTR group
Mavic SLR wheels

Nothing out there, nothing odd. Just stuff that works, works really well, and keeps on working! Good luck with the build!

[STU!]

Strong, light, and simple - here's what I use and what I'd recommend:

Fox F100RLC fork
Shimano XTR group
Mavic SLR wheels

Nothing out there, nothing odd. Just stuff that works, works really well, and keeps on working! Good luck with the build!

I can get a good deal on the F120 RLC. Do you think that fork would work or do you think the extra 20mm would make a difference?

[AZ]

Fox 120 is a good match for the Trance . FWIW I race a Trance X1 , @ 27.5 lbs. its a bit heavy but suspension sure is plush .

[Alison Dunlap Coaching]

The 120mm is good for the Trance X series, like the one owned by AZ.MTNS. Giant makes both the Trance series and the Trance X series - there's about an inch of travel difference between the two.

If you have a Trance - not the Trance X - and you're looking to race XC, stick with the 100mm fork. 20mm may not sound like much, but it will slacken the head tube angle sufficiently enough to slow the steering down quite a lot - not a good thing for an XC race bike.

[AZ]

Sorry didnt mean to confuse the subject , reading comprehension owns me .

[DahVeed SherDeed]

I would call Giant and ask them about geometry issues regarding a 120mm fork.
It may or may not be an issue.
Also, it sounded like your race course was fairly tame so why go for extra travel up front?

[ryanstrive]

You may want to consider a TALAS fork with a lock out where the suspension can be adjusted or turned off completely. I'm guessing the weight penalty won't be too much of an issue for you based on the original post, and personally I love the versatility.

I race a combination of:

- Hard pack single track courses (fun series and provincial series racing)
- Rocky, rooty technical endurance events (50km and longer distance marathons),
- Just recently, a multi-day stage race with the same terrain you described (railtrail, atv trails, singletrack, and exposed rocks/boulders thrown in for fun).

For what it's worth, I race my not-so-racey Blur LT1, which features a TALAS 100-140mm fork, and at present, don't have a single carbon component to brag about (except for the titanium/carbon middle ring on my cranks I suppose). At last weigh-in my bike tipped the scales at 28 pounds, mostly due to said fork and UST tires.

I'd love to have a dedicated bike for each, but the budget just doesn't allow for it, nor would I want to be maintaining three bikes either (though if I had three bikes, I'd probably be able to afford to have the LBS keep them working great on my behalf!).

I upgraded from Sport to Expert this season, so needless to say the looks I get at the start line are a combination of confusion and/or pity. For the long distance and stage races, having the extra travel your disposal is awesome.

As the poster above said, you'd best contact Giant before going with anything longer in travel for the fork than what the frame was originally spec'd with. Frame geometries can get thrown off and your warranty can go down the toilet should anything crack or bend, not to mention the ride quality will suffer.

Good luck!

[LCW]

Get the new FIT F120 RLC if you can swing it! Super light and you get the FIT damper, and extra adjustments.

[Le Duke]

I would call Giant and ask them about geometry issues regarding a 120mm fork.
It may or may not be an issue.
Also, it sounded like your race course was fairly tame so why go for extra travel up front?

Pretty sure the Trance comes stock with a 120mm fork, as it's a 5in travel frame...

If you're going to go for a 100mm fork, why wouldn't you get the Anthem X frame, which is lighter, and offers 100mm in the rear?

I.e., get the frame and fork combo that best suits your riding. 120/120 Trance X or 100/100 Anthem X.

[chrisdude]

i have a 4inch trance, and i would not put a 120 on it!! only go that high if your a heavy rider and losing some travel due to sag. Once again as 70kg rider just stick with 100mm it was designed for that and in my opnion is best for that too, and further to this forks have come such a long way that 100mm is the new 120 in perfromance so why mess your geometry up??!

[G-Live]

I'd go with a 100-120 adjustable REBA with remote lockout.
Sram X.0 RD, Force FD, X7 or above GripShifters.
Any of the new 2x cranks or even a light standard 4 bolt with 24/36 rings.
11-34 Cassette (XTR if you can swing it.)
Handbuilt wheels. Stans wheel or DT 240's on Bontrager TLR rims.
Elixir mag brakes
Ritchey or Bontrager Post/Stem/Bar combo in the weight category that you feel comfy.
ESI Grips,
G

[chrisdude]

yeah reba is a good fork to go for, you can get the u-turn version and this even comes as 15mm bolt through its an awesome fork very underrated. my trance is built up pretty much as follows :-

wheels - dt 240s or hope pro 2 on dt swiss 4.2 with bladed spokes

Cranks - Xtr but xt is only 100grams heavier and gives you a saving of about £2/$3 dollars per gram!!!

Chain/Cassette - Xt

Brakes - Avid elixir

gearing - sram xo or if you have the cash the new top end sram range

forks - rebas, sids, fox's or for serious light weight maybe the maguras. I think the u-turn reba is 80mm to 110 or 120.

[rhyko]

i disagree with sticking to 100mmm fork on a trance
i changed to 140 mm, then lowered them to 130 mm and im sticking with 130, it feels perfect, its so much smoother, but thats from rock shock tora to fox 32 float rlc

ok its probably not going to make you faster in a race due to more energy being absorbed through the fork, however i dont think it has any noticable negative affect on the handling, with longer forks the bike is so much more fun when going with gravity!

P.S Alison Dunlap - i think i run your tyre Maxxis ADvantage-theyre perfect for what i ride ;-)

[STU!]

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice so far. The trance advanced frame I got is last years (2009) and is 4.2". It's kind of confusing cause this year the trance jumped to 5" and now giant has a 4.2" anthem x.

I heard from a freind that the f120 can be lowered to 100mm . Can anyone confirm if this is true? If it is I beleive I have found me a fork!

[Le Duke]

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice so far. The trance advanced frame I got is last years (2009) and is 4.2". It's kind of confusing cause this year the trance jumped to 5" and now giant has a 4.2" anthem x.

I heard from a freind that the f120 can be lowered to 100mm . Can anyone confirm if this is true? If it is I beleive I have found me a fork!

Are you sure about that?

The 2009s in my shop are all 5" bikes.

And, they didn't make a Trance Advanced in 2009, at least for the US market. Only Trance X models were sold this year.

You have a 2008 frame, according to Giant.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...llections_id=3

[chrisdude]

yep if it says 4.2 maestro suspension system on the a trance frame which is the same shape as the latest versions, you have a 2008 frameset.
Let us know how the build goes! im still very against a 120mm fork on a lightweight xc bike too many front wheel washouts and bike skiteynish with a heavy fork up front IMHO!! if your gonna build the bike up with heavy parts throughout no need to worry though.

[STU!]

I thought it was an 09 but I could be wrong.

This is what my new baby looks like

http://www.bikepedia.com/Images/imag...e-Advanced.jpg