Giant Stance upgrades

marcg868

Just wondering what I should upgrade first. Tyres I find ok but they are only grippy when it's bone dry. Not very often in Lancashire.
Forks are fine as is shock.
Current specs.


Frame: ALUXX-grade aluminium, 120mm rear suspension

Rear Shock: RockShox Monarch R

Fork: RockShox 30 Gold TK Solo Air w/ lockout, OverDrive steerer, 120mm travel

Stem: Giant sport

Speed: 27

Front Mech: Shimano Alivio

Rear Mech: Shimano Alivio

Chainset: FSA Comet, 22-30-40T

Bottom Bracket: FSA, Press Fit

Cassette: Shimano HG200 11-34T, 9 speed

Chain: KMC X9

Front Brake: Shimano M355, Hydraulic disc, 180mm rotor

Rear Brake: Shimano M355, Hydraulic disc, 160mm rotor

Rims: Giant CR70 6061, Aluminium, Double-wall

Front Hub: Giant tracker sport, QR

Rear Hub: Giant tracker sport, QR

Tyres: Maxxis Ardent, 27.5x2.25", wire bead Front Maxxis Ardent, 27.5x2.25", wire bead Rear

Seatpost: Giant Sport, 30.9mm

97th choice

You hit the nail on the head. Better tyres and leave the rest until it wears out, it's mostly reliable shimano kit. I assume you bought the stance because hit your price point for a full suss so why throw cash at it to take it into trance territory?

marcg868

Yeah I plan on changing to a Trance in 2018. £2000 budget.
Rides well just wish I had something better all round tyre wise and maybe a dropper post.

The Rookie

Tyres are a must, any other upgrade I would use the following rational for......can I swap it onto the Trance.....that way if you get a Dropper (for example) you won't be out of pocket on the Trance as you just swap it over, keep any bits you take off to put back on when you sell it!

Swap the tyres as soon as possible, then you can advertise the Stance as having nearly new tyres when you sell it!

97th choice

Giant's are all 30.9 so a dropper will swap over

marcg868

Any ideas for tyres. I like the Ardent out back. But it's plain scary out front.

poah

maxxis HR2 2.4 3C is good for everything other than mud or a WTB vigilante 2.35 up front and change the rear to a lighter folding bead tyre

swod1

Some schwalbe nobby nics 2.25 would be a good choice for an all rounder tyre, doubt you want anything wider than 2.3 on the bike.

Just upgrade as and when parts wear out.

There is stuff that you will change grips and seat these on new bikes aren't going to suit everyone.

Redkyte

I'm looking to upgrade the drivetrain on my 2016 Stance, does anyone know whether this can take an 11spd cassette? I'm only looking to go to a 10 speed but just wanted to know what my options where? Thanks

swod1

Redkyte wrote:

I'm looking to upgrade the drivetrain on my 2016 Stance, does anyone know whether this can take an 11spd cassette? I'm only looking to go to a 10 speed but just wanted to know what my options where? Thanks

What wheels are on the bike?

If there is a shimano rear hub on the wheel then most likely as I believe 8,9,10 and eleven all use the same size freehub body.

I think it's only shimano road hubs that you need to use a spacer on the freehub.

The Rookie

All correct.
The Stance is readily modifiable to 10 or 11 speed, apart from improved (reduced gap) gear spacing there is no real benefit in using 11 speed unless you get a SRAM XD hub and can use a SRAM cassette.

Redkyte

The Rookie wrote:

All correct.
The Stance is readily modifiable to 10 or 11 speed, apart from improved (reduced gap) gear spacing there is no real benefit in using 11 speed unless you get a SRAM XD hub and can use a SRAM cassette.

Thanks for the info!

I'm about to move a mile away from Swinley Forest Trail Centre so I figure a 1/2x10 or 1/2x11 might be more suited than the out of the box setup.

The Rookie

Not really, your current setup will be fine at Swinley, it's not overly challenging.

poah

The Rookie wrote:

All correct.
apart from improved (reduced gap) gear spacing there is no real benefit in using 11 speed unless you get a SRAM XD hub and can use a SRAM cassette.

the wider range without having to bodge the cassette is reason enough. it changes gear better than 10sp with an expander. with the release of the 11-46 shimano cassette there is just as much range as a SRAM 10-42

swod1

POAH wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

All correct.
apart from improved (reduced gap) gear spacing there is no real benefit in using 11 speed unless you get a SRAM XD hub and can use a SRAM cassette.

the wider range without having to bodge the cassette is reason enough. it changes gear better than 10sp with an expander. with the release of the 11-46 shimano cassette there is just as much range as a SRAM 10-42

There is a video on youtube of a xt 11spd cassette working fine with a 10spd xt rear mech minus one of the cogs and less chain jumping as you move up the cassette.

So if you take time you can make 10spd work with a wide range.

Just wondering 46t, where would you need that size rear gear?

rockmonkeysc

I don't think I'd be upgrading to a Trance from a Stance.
The Stance has potential to be a great bike. A nice set of Fox 34 or RS Pike forks at 140mm and a top quality Fox or Cane Creek shock and some decent wheels and brakes would turn it in to a great bike.

The Rookie

Not tried a Stance, I thought it would suffer a bit from not having the Maestro rear, you seem to be saying it doesn't?

rockmonkeysc

It's not loosing as much performance as I'd expected. It's surprisingly good.

swod1

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I don't think I'd be upgrading to a Trance from a Stance.
The Stance has potential to be a great bike. A nice set of Fox 34 or RS Pike forks at 140mm and a top quality Fox or Cane Creek shock and some decent wheels and brakes would turn it in to a great bike.

Nearly changing to a complete new bike except the frame?

Are marzocchi 350ncr forks not worth using anymore you seemed to rate these at one point on the forum.

rockmonkeysc

Yeah, they are very good. Forgot them!
The Trance doesn't come with any particular spectacular builds at the moment which is why I think an upgraded Stance would be better.

marcg868

Will it take more than 120mm forks? I don't need a fork upgrade yet but maybe in the future.
Never tried Giants maestro but if the stance is anything to go by without it I can imagine it's very good.
Can't believe how good the stance is for the £999 I paid.

rockmonkeysc

You should be fine with a 140mm fork.

swod1

RockmonkeySC wrote:

You should be fine with a 140mm fork.

Hmm, think I will have a look at one of these as I want a trail bike light medium useage but cant spend too much money at the moment, did have heart set on a scout but other priorities getting in the way.

Could get one of these and swap to a 350ncr fork and some stan's arch ex pro 4 wheels later on.

rockmonkeysc

I'd recommend Hope Tech Enduro wheels over Stans Arch. I've found them much stronger.

poah

hope enduro's are too much wheel for light trail duties, heavy and thin. better choices out there

rockmonkeysc

They aren't that heavy. Same as Arch EX.
Hope are a bit more honest about their weight than some manufacturers.
The width is a personal taste thing. I don't like really wide rims.

poah

RockmonkeySC wrote:

They aren't that heavy. Same as Arch EX.
Hope are a bit more honest about their weight than some manufacturers.
The width is a personal taste thing. I don't like really wide rims.

yes 400g v 490g is the same weight.

rockmonkeysc

POAH wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

They aren't that heavy. Same as Arch EX.
Hope are a bit more honest about their weight than some manufacturers.
The width is a personal taste thing. I don't like really wide rims.

yes 400g v 490g is the same weight.

I would like to point out my comment about honesty of manufacturers about weight. The Hope wheels are about 16g heavier in reality. You won't notice that.
We weighed mine against my mates when setting them up tubeless (weighed without tape) there was no noticable difference so we though we would weigh them. The Hope front wheel was 520g, the Arch EX Hope Hoop was 504g.
Either the Arch EX had a LOT of grease in the hub or Stans are a bit less honest than Hope who are also not as honest as they could be.
A lot of products are advertised with a theoretical mass from CAD which depends on the software used. Catia or Pro Engineer give a much more accurate mass than Solidworks which is more accurate than Inventor. All due to the way they calculate volumes of bodies.