Giant Trance 2015 used vs 2017 new?

edzalv

Hi all.

I'm looking to buy my very first full suspension bike. I've been riding hardtail (Felt 7 Sixty 2014) for couple of years, and I'd like to try FS now. So, the question is which bike to get? Im looking at brand new Gieant Trance 2 2017 for £2400 ( https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/trance-2 ) or I was offered an older, 2015 model with very minimal use for £1000 ( https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/trance-27dot5-2-2015 ). Comparing the two, I can see, that the latest model has got some better components on the paper, but is the better components actually worth the extra money?
P.S. I live in Northamptonshire, so bike wont see much abuse here.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Cheers

JBA

The 2017 model has some different components but that doesn't mean they are better.
If you think you will benefit from 34mm forks, 1x11 gearing and boost hubs then get the 2017 bike.

Personally I would buy the 2015 bike and save 1,400 quid. If you get on with FS you can sell the bike in a few months for not much of a loss and get the 2017 bike in the sales at the end of the year.

edzalv

JBA wrote:

The 2017 model has some different components but that doesn't mean they are better.
If you think you will benefit from 24mm forks, 1x11 gearing and boost hubs then get the 2017 bike.

Personally I would buy the 2015 bike and save 1,400 quid. If you get on with FS you can sell the bike in a few months for not much of a loss and get the 2017 bike in the sales at the end of the year.

Thanks. This was exactly what I was thinking. Since I'm new to FS bikes and I live in area where we don't have (or I'm not aware of?) any hardcore trails or downhills, I'm not sure if I will actually benefit from all those upgrades. But then again, since I'm new to all this, I have no idea what is actually better or what is just a marketing gimmick.

The Rookie

Unless you plan on going further afield I wouldn't get the Trance but something shorter of travel.

edzalv

The Rookie wrote:

Unless you plan on going further afield I wouldn't get the Trance but something shorter of travel.

I'm open for suggestions if you guys have any. I'm only looking at Trance because I read that it is great value for the money and it is very fun bike to own. I'm not too bothered about the numbers, i want to have a fun all rounder if that makes sense? I also looked at Giant Anthem (similar to Trance?), but used Trance's are a lot easier/cheaper to find.

edzalv

oxoman wrote:

Giant Anthem would be a good choice or Boardman fs pro, you should be able pick one up cheapish. Worth looking on paulscycles website as well.
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s183p ... nsion-27-5

Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into it. Looking at that website, it leads me to similar question as per title. As an example, 2017 Anthem for £2440 ( https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s183p7761/GIANT-Anthem-2-2017 ) or 2016 Athem for £1250 ( https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s183p6926/GIANT-ANTHEM-27-5-2-2016 ). I'm really confused in my ignorance, where's the catch?

P.S. That Boardman FS Pro looks really nice as well. Not the biggest fan of looks tho.

Thanks

kinioo

Get an Anthem - incredibly fast bike

apreading

You can always beef the Anthem up later with longer travel on the front forks too if you just want a little bit more rough and tumble - the SX model is the same frame but with longer forks.

edzalv

Thank you guys. I do some casual riding around town and some wood trails with my wife as well. I hit the trails with my mates. Looks like the Anthem SX could be a perfect choice for me, but I don't see any 2017 SX model?? Or should I go for 2016 SX for £900 less than the latest Anthem2... I'm getting very confused with all these choices and different spec bikes...

apreading

Not sure about this year - I think in 2017 they upped the suspension travel anyway so maybe the SX model isnt needed anymore?

Anyway, it looks like the last couple of years, the SX came with longer travel forks, dropper seatpost but some lower spec components elsewhere compared to the normal model - I guess that for a given price point if you add somewhere you have to take away elsewhere.

It doesnt sound to me like you need anything more than the normal anthem, but either that or the SX should do you. I think dropper seatposts are ace though. The anthem will be better at climbing than the trance - its more of a fast trail type setup and less of a downhill rig. If you dont need the trance, I would say you would be better off with the anthem.

I have just bought a second hand 2015 Anthem 1 with dropper post for £900, upgraded to XT brakes and 1x11 XT drivetrain. Great condition and figured I couldnt go wrong - at that price if I dont like it, I could sell it at little or no loss.

edzalv

Thanks. I will try to do a test ride of trance and anthem before I get one. But im still thinking about getting a second hand bike because of the savings that can be made.
I agree with you apreading, I dont think I need anything more than the anthem, but I am planning on going for frequent trips to bike parks around Peak District, Lake District and Wales. Thats the only reason why I'm considering the Trance. Some of those trails are mad.

apreading

Yeah - I was nervous about buying second hand full suss because although I have become quite proficient at mechanics and can do everything short of servicing forks at a push, I didnt know anything about pivot joints and all that malarky and its alot of money to take a risk with. In my case, I was happy because the owner had it serviced at a bike shop I know by reputation a couple of months ago and he said it hadnt been ridden since - because he bought a Trance while at the shop! He had all the receipts for every visit to the shop and all the bits he had upgraded.

I think the answer here is for oxoman to sell edzalv his Anthem SX and put the money towards a Trance (or a Whyte T130 which would be my choice if I wanted more bike without going silly).

edzalv

Thanks again guys, you're all great help! Its really hard to chose between Trance and Anthem. My only concern with Anthem is that it being an XC bike, I might not like it. Friend of mine owns a hardtail XC carbon Cube (dont know the excact model) and I dont like it much tbh. It just feels so big(or stiff ??) and I feel sort of clumsy on it. Cant ride it aggressive at all. But im guessing every XC bike is different. Hope it makes sense :oops:

apreading

All XC means is that it can go uphill as well as down them. Often that just means that the front end isnt higher than the rear, which is good when the front wheel is lower because you arent pitched forwards so much but bad when the front wheel is higher when climbing because the front end lifts because you cant get your weight over it. This is probably a huge oversimplification but thats my general interpretation. XC is usually aligned with a bit less travel in the suspension too, on the basis that its generally the downhill riders that to cater for bigger hits and more extreme territory.

If a bike is too big and stiff then I dont think that has anything to do with it being XC, its probably just too big for you or just doesnt fit you?

edzalv

apreading wrote:

All XC means is that it can go uphill as well as down them. Often that just means that the front end isnt higher than the rear, which is good when the front wheel is lower because you arent pitched forwards so much but bad when the front wheel is higher when climbing because the front end lifts because you cant get your weight over it. This is probably a huge oversimplification but thats my general interpretation. XC is usually aligned with a bit less travel in the suspension too, on the basis that its generally the downhill riders that to cater for bigger hits and more extreme territory.

If a bike is too big and stiff then I dont think that has anything to do with it being XC, its probably just too big for you or just doesnt fit you?

Hi, sorry, missed your reply somehow. Thank you for the great and simple explanation of XC bikes. This seems to make a lot of sense. You might be right about the Cube XC that I tried. The frame size was one size bigger that I prefer and it was 29'' tires, which im not a fan of. So it could have been just a bad fit. I will need to try another XC bike I guess.