Giant Trance X4 forks

sandy771

Hi all

I have just purchased a new trance X4 (2012) and noticed as soon as I took it out that the forks were very squeaky my LBS said that this sometimes happened and may go with a bit of use. I have since been out 3 times - about 6 hours in all mostly off road - and the squeak comes and go when the forks are compressed however a more problematic issue (which may be related) is the amount of spring in the forks.

I am 16st and with camelbak, knee pads etc probably closer to 17 when on the bike. I have adjusted the preload so that I get about 25% compression (this is max preload) when sat on the bike and tried the rebound on various settings. When I drop off anything of almost any height or downhill though woods etc. the forks dont quite bottom out but they do compress to a very disconcerting degree so much so that I have taken to riding with the forks locked out. With the forks locked out I still get some compression (i.e. they are not fully locked out - just much stiffer) and this seems similar to the fork performance I used toget from my last bike (a Giant Talon 29er). Although my last ride waas much nicer with the forks locked out I feel that I might be working around a problem on a new bike rather than getting it dealt with.

So some questions...
Should I be getting a lot of compression (I know this is subjective but an indication would be useful)?
Should they be squeaking?
Should I get any compression when they are locked out?
At my weight should I be using max preload?

The bike will be due for its first service in a week or so and I will take it up with my LBS when I go in but wanted to see what people thought. I did mention getting an X3 at the time of purchase but was told that the X4 would be fine for me.

Thanks

cooldad

What are the forks?
But sounds normal.

sandy771

Stock delivery forks - from the Giant web site they are :
RockShox XC32 TK Coil w/ OverDrive Steerer, 120mm Travel
Nothing I have in the paperwork supplied actually confirms this though, although no reason to suspect that they should be anything other than advertised.

Dirtydog11

You may need to fit stiffer springs.

It's normal to have some movement (compression)when locked out.

1mancity2

Pretty sure the stock spring will be for a rider of around 12st so you probably need the firm/extra firm spring to stop it diving through its travel so easily.

sandy771

Is it worth upgrading the spring or upgrading the fork?

Should my LBS have sold me a bike that possibly wasn't spec'd for someone of my weight?

1mancity2

Nothing wrong with the fork and your LBS are not at fault, the spring may be right for someone else at your weight, Im 12st 7 and have an extra firm in my forks (16st+) and it feels right but may be too firm for someone else at my weight.

supersonic

Sag should be set when stood on the bike in normal riding position.

Dirtydog11

sandy771 wrote:

Is it worth upgrading the spring or upgrading the fork?

Should my LBS have sold me a bike that possibly wasn't spec'd for someone of my weight?

I suppose if they where aware of the fact you are 17st they should of advised that stiffer springs may be required.

Ideally an air sprung fork with adjustable compression damping would be most suitable for someone of your weight but they don't come cheap, Reba RLT springs to mind.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... tedKingdom

chrisw333

I think we're being pretty generous to the LBS here.

It's a joke that the OP feels he needs to ride around with the forks locked on a brand new Trance x4.

If the fork spring isn't capable of dealing with your weight surely they should have advised you. Or at the very least help you set up the sag properly when you picked up the bike, and advised you on the suitability of the spring at that time. Otherwise what on earth are you paying for getting it from a shop in the first place?

I would check out the cost of a firmer spring and push very hard for the LBS to cover the cost of fitting at least.

sandy771

I am going to pop to the LBS this afternoon and see what they say.

Haviong thought about and spoken to other riders, My view is that either there is something wrong or the LBS should have advised me when buying (especially as we discussed forks and whether I should go for the X3). The forks on my 29er (a bike at half the cost ofthe trance) were fine and if these new ones were even similar then I would have not been posting - the difference is huge though.

rockmonkeysc

They might not have mentioned it because some people may get upset when the salesman tells them that they need to upgrade the suspension to support their extra weight.
I'm also about 16 stone & just accept that when I buy a bike with coil forks I need to change the spring. Thats my problem so I don't expect the shop to pay for a spring just because they are selling to someone who is a bit tubby.
A new spring costs about £25 and takes seconds to change.
Personally I much prefer coil forks to air just because the damping is so much better. Your forks are pretty basic though. If you want to really improve the handling & ride have a look at Rockshox Sektor's, I had a 140mm fork on my Trance X3 and it was awesome, rides like a slopestyle bike, really good fun & much more stable.

sandy771

Answer from LBS was that they would supply and fit uprated forks at cost. Another option was that they would take my X4 and give me an X3 (with air forks) at the cost difference which over here is £400.

The other options are :
stick with the current xc32's and use them on lockout - less keen on this.
upgrade to some other fork

Need to weigh those options up. The X3 sounds nice but at my level of skill (a year into mountain biking) is it overkill. I am doing quite a bit of bumpy stuff and a bit of downhill.

rockmonkeysc

It's going to cost you £400+ to upgrade forks & change the front wheel to use a 20mm axle

sandy771

RockmonkeySC wrote:

It's going to cost you £400+ to upgrade forks & change the front wheel to use a 20mm axle

The difficult question is "is that money well spent?" Or rather will I be happy with an uprated fork spring with an otherwise stock bike? or will I want to change the fork anyway in the near future?

My thought is that the trance does get a good review and as a newbie (less than a year) I should be OK with just the uprated stuff.

Oh and is it normal! for the airsprung forks on a trance to queak on rebound?

1mancity2

£400 between the bikes won't just be a better fork, other components will be better spec so money well worth spending, yeah they squeak abit at first.

sandy771

Thanks for the help - gone for the X3

sandy771

LBS pulled out all the stops and managed to get an X3 for me in 3 days despite the system reporting next availability as week 16. Thanks Cyclelogic Helston.

bamba

One other option that one has mentioned, is lose some weight,not meant to offend by the way.

Rushmore

bamba wrote:

One other option that one has mentioned, is lose some weight,not meant to offend by the way.

Cheapest upgrade you can do...

I've lost a stone in just over a months and i'm now hammering the climbs....

sandy771

I am 3 stone lighter than my peak so that one is under control. irrespective of that I didnt want a bike that wasn't right for me now - downhill at night on a bike you are not comfortable with is not a good idea