PINKBIKE FIELD TEST
Giant Stance 1
Words by Mike Kazimer, photography by Anthony SmithThe Giant Stance 1 is billed as “the perfect entry to singletrack fun,” and with 29” wheels, 120mm of rear travel, and a sub-$2000 pricepoint it sure looks like it could fit the bill, at least on paper.
It's built around an aluminum frame that uses Giant's 'Flexpoint' suspension design, a link driven single pivot that does away with chainstay or seatstay pivot and relies on the flex of the frame to allow the suspension to go through its travel instead. It's a fairly common design on shorter travel trail and XC bikes, and eliminating those pivots does mean there are fewer bearings to maintain.
The 29” Stance is a relatively new addition to Giant's lineup, so it was surprising to see that the frame still has a front derailleur mount, and uses a quick release for the rear wheel rather than a thru-axle. I can't think of the last time I headed off-road with a quick release rear end – more on that in a bit.
Giant Stance Details• Travel: 120mm rear / 130mm fork
• Aluminum frame
• Wheel size: 29"
• Head Angle: 67.5°
• Seat Tube Angle: 75°
• Reach: 454mm (L)
• Chainstay length: 438mm (size L)
• Sizes: S, M, L (tested), XL
• Weight: 31.6 lb / 14.7 kg
• Price: $1,800 USD
•
www.giant-bicycles.com As far as components go, the Stance is right in line with what you'd expect at this pricepoint, and there's even a dropper post, in this case Giant's Contact Switch post. A 130mm RockShox Recon SL fork is paired with a RockShox Monarch R shock, which is about as simple as it gets when it comes to adjustments – air pressure and rebound are the only two things to worry about. SRAM's SX 12-speed group handles shifting duties, and Shimano's two-piston Altus brakes try to slow things down, with mixed results. Maxxis' fast rolling Forekaster tires are found on both wheels, and they're tubeless ready. Taping the rims and making that conversion early on is a highly recommended step.
The Stance's geometry is on the more conservative side of the spectrum – it has the shortest wheelbase the shortest reach (454mm for a size large), and the second steepest head angle (67.5-degrees) out of all eight bikes that we had in for the Field Trip. The chainstays measure 438mm on all sizes, and the seat tube angle is 75-degrees.
ClimbingThe Stance is a fairly quick climber, thanks to those fast rolling tires and the relatively light weight. It does have a bit of an old school feel to it; there's a sharpness to its handling that requires more attention to keep it on track. The climbing position itself was comfortable - the seat angle isn't the absolute steepest, but the front center of the Stance isn't that long either, which means that the 624mm top tube length is fairly typical for a size large frame.
There's no compression dial or climb switch on the Monarch R shock, but I never found myself wishing for those adjustments. The Stance's 120mm of travel is well managed, and it felt plenty efficient when standing up and cranking. However, it's definitely not the stiffest frame, a trait that became more apparent when descending.
Descending
The Stance's conservative numbers don't hinder it too much on the climbs, but the steepish head angle and short reach are much more noticeable when gravity takes over. There's a distinct lack of stability at speed, especially on rougher portions of trail. It was in those chunky sections that the Stance's limitations really showed up – the frame felt flexy and tall, and when the low-powered brakes are added into the mix it's not a recipe that inspires confidence.
More than anything, spending time on the Stance underlined the importance of good geometry. Yes, the Stance is aimed at cross-country and light trail riding, but even so, a slacker head angle, longer reach, and lower standover height would go a long way towards helping riders of all ability levels feel more comfortable in technical terrain.
When it comes to the parts spec, I'd say the brakes are the weakest link. The levers are gigantic – there's enough room for using three fingers, which sort of makes sense, since you'll probably need to use all three fingers in order to generate enough power to slow down in the steeps. I was surprised to find that the difference between the M310 brakes on the Stance and the Acera-level brakes on the Kona Honzo was very noticeable. Neither brake offers a massive amount of power, but at least on the Honzo it was possible to slow down in a semi-reasonable amount of time.
The RockShox Recon fork's performance wasn't really anything to write home about either. It gets the job done, once you inflate it well past the recommended pressures printed on the lowers, but that requires trading out traction for more support.
The final note has to do with the quick release rear end. That's a potential deal breaker, in part because it limits the number of replacement options. It's also one more thing to worry about. Most of us spent years riding bikes with quick releases without too many issues, but a broken axle or a wheel that slips in the dropouts is much more likely with a quick release compared to a thru axle.
Who is the ideal candidate for the Stance? Aggressive riders on a budget should look elsewhere, but beginners or cautious riders looking for a traditional-feeling trail bike may find that the Stance has everything they need.
It's worth taking a moment to mention the Giant Trance 29. It's priced at $2,100, but for that extra $300 you get several significant upgrades, including a Marzocchi Z2 fork, Fox Float DPS shock, Maxxis Minion tires, and Shimano MT400 brakes. That frame uses Giant's Maestro suspension design, and it's a little longer and slacker than the Stance. $300 isn't insignificant, but it could be worth it for riders looking for better performance at a still-reasonable price.
12mm hubs manufacturing isnt more expensive either with the amount Giant orders.
The main reason they put QR is for you to buy/consider Trance instead - so basically marketing reasons rather than price
While giant certainly does this, the hub is a "new" product. QR 141, which is boost spaced QR, as opposed to 135QR, based off of the old 142 standard. Boost is used here for chainline/tire clearance.
Supposedly, plenty of manufacturers were "hoping" a few years back that everyone would move to superboost and stay there, but clearly that hasn't happened yet.
Also of note is that the rear triangle has been redesigned to avoid that weld that was a problem area on past model year bikes (about time). They certainly could have put a thru-axle on here as it's not like they're reusing the exact frame from years past. And on the shop side when these first came out, I can vouch for it NOT being a small amount of $$ saving with this being a QR instead of a thru, since that was one of my questions about this year's lineup as well.
In summation, buy the trance 3, I refused to even stock the stance 1.
"It's worth taking a moment to mention the Giant Trance 29. It's priced at $2,100, but for that extra $300 you get several significant upgrades, including a Marzocchi Z2 fork, Fox Float DPS shock, Maxxis Minion tires, and Shimano MT400 brakes. That frame uses Giant's Maestro suspension design, and it's a little longer and slacker than the Stance. $300 isn't insignificant, but it could be worth it for riders looking for better performance at a still-reasonable price."
I've always sold the $1500 stance (no dropper, suntour raidon suspension) and the trance 3 this model year. I'll literally throw in some cages, grips, half priced pedals/helmet, couple bucks on a gift card, whatever...just to get people on the trance 3 instead of the $1800 stance. It's one of the worst value bikes in their MTB lineup and I've always managed to talk people out of ordering one this year and straight up refuse to stock it.
I get that it's fair game to test, and the trance 29 3 is a bit short on travel compared to what they were reviewing on the high price end, but not one of the 3 competing giant shops around me stocks this model. There's a giant concept and partner store that will forced to sometime this season, but that's about it in a 100 mile radius.
Trance=good
For just a few hundred more.
Aluminum ones have gotten decent in the last 2 or so years, but the SUPER cheap ones are definitely a place where they save money. I remember the stock trek and specialized wheels being total garbage not so long ago either, but all three companies have shaped up in a big way.
Their new carbon wheels are great, warranty too. You do have to pay top dollar before getting a nice hub though, which almost defeats the purpose, if you're a snob.
So is this wha the Starling Cycles guy is always saying?
www.facebook.com/593631864070674/videos/1380399148727271
Reality for most people is a faster rolling tire that still grips really well is gonna be faster than a DHF or whatever.
This bike is shit get the vitus
Low end Jeffsy all day over this relic
www.pinkbike.com/news/pinkbikes-ews-pro-rides-jared-graves-and-his-yeti-sb5c.html
that's what she said?
But don't put any $ (or else) in this bike with upgrading in mind: sell it to a new mtber and buy something with a better frame.
Also, i rented last year's model version of this and I have to say my biggest gripe was the front tire. Not having good grip on the front is a way more noticable detriment to the ride than just about all the cons you guys found, imho.
It's basically a disposable rear triangle / bike. A much bigger problem than the QR axle if you ask me.
"Awesome bike, like new, paid $1800, $1600 firm"
Ad will definitely not contain brand, model, size or model year (let alone any specs).
(Until that fateful bump over the curb, 15 years from now when this Stance is ferrying a drunk student back from the pub...)
I mean unless Levy's fastest time is like WAY faster...?
I wish they would have run a 10 thousand dollar XC, downcounty, trail, and enduro bike each on the same timed runs for comparison.
Problem is, I might have underestimated how fast my "skills" would come back. I only go up to go down so this was probably the wrong bike from the start, oh well. The plan always was to ride this for a year or two and give it to my lil' brother, a true beginner trail rider. I do like the bike but upgrades at this point are necessary.
Money is not so much the issue but I don't need to go crazy being the bike will be going to a rider that it was made for probably sooner than planned.
Brakes for sure, good one to go to?
Can it be converted to a thru-axle?
Any other upgrades to consider?
We're fans of Giant and really liked the Trance Advanced 29 we reviewed in the 2019 Field Test: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpva_uxuYBg
there are more pricy or value oriented bikes, however giant have huge network of bike shops where new customers can try bike, and get even more discount to buy helmets etc.
My Opinion for absolutely new to MTB person - this is probably nice option;
They make a lot of other brands frames . . . .I think and so they cant make their entry level bike any better than their "clients" frames who are saying they have all these innovative bullet points.
plus they probably had a ton of qr parts laying around an had to do something with them
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Why even comment on the weaknesses of an entry level bike? It’s all weaknesses, duh!
The end.
But a better example is to compare Giant to other bikes right now. I shopped giant last year. For the same price that I could get Sram SX, and Marz suspension, I ended up with an intense with NX, a charger fork, and carbon wheels.
Thats a pretty major fall from where Gaint used to be.
Now if I wasnt over the weight limit for their carbon and no Aluminum...
I get it, you're trolling us....nothing better to do with your time in COVID World!
Not this one it has parts on it I dont like!
this?
or a slightly used higher tier bike?
Now that calculus totally changes once the person gets some experience and knows what they want/need in a bike and how to service them. Then used bikes become more attractive.
Maybe you have a great job and bill $500 an hour so a $500 difference doesn't matter to you. But it's 2 weeks full time work for someone making minimum wage in the US (assuming they have some taxes taken out). If it took someone a year to save up the $1800 for the Stance, it's arrogant to say "just spend another $500 on better components. It doesn't mean anything because some people spend 12000 on bikes!"