Upgrade Trance Pro 3 to a 29” front wheel and fork

[Wernher]

Hi I let the air out if shock and measured rear wheel travel as I'd seen in 3 reviews that they measured 142-144-145 mm I got 145mm and if u use 20% sag on ya forks on 150 it's less than 160 do u only gain about 7mm ish tbh I'm looking forward to fitting the new damper as I find the compression on the fork to firm (harsh) and the rebound I'm running nearly open or it gets packed down when going fast on multiple hits? Tbh all the tech and measurement is great but the bike is still far better than me and most people unless u r pretty good I'm only doing it for a bit comfort and I'm a bike tart lol

Remember sag is always part of your travel, so you never have the full travel available. You can even go for more sag and by implication less travel if you don't use the full travel and if you want a more supple ride.

What a longer stroke provide you with us the option to go for a higher percentage sag than on the shorter stroke and still have the same or more stroke available with a more plush ride. You really don't need more than 150mm travel even if you ride really hard.

Damping should be as open as possible without shooting your wheel up into the air so that your fork is ready for the next hit. With low and hi speed compression and damping things get a bit more complex and most riders will never use that and the shock will actually perform quite well.

 

[Stretch40]

Hi I would agree tbh but yesterday because it was sooo cold - 3 so I opened the rebound as it felt slow ? the new damper comes with high/low speed compression plus rebound but its just a better damper than what's in I find the fork stiff just harsh lol and fie the rear it's running just a fox evol shock and the maestro susp is the plushest I've ridden it's lovely ?

 

[Wernher]

True. Did you fit the Durolux?

 

[Stretch40]

Hi no I've still got the aion that came but its the same chassis as the auron with 35mm stanchions so u can fit the rc2 pcs damper I'm liking it to revelation to pike on rockshox ? durolux I'd say is like yari lyrik? Enduro fork I think ?

 

[Wernher]

Hi no I've still got the aion that came but its the same chassis as the auron with 35mm stanchions so u can fit the rc2 pcs damper I'm liking it to revelation to pike on rockshox ? durolux I'd say is like yari lyrik? Enduro fork I think ?

Yes the Durolux R2C2 29 is a monster! I just love it. It transformed this old man in a monster. I do things I never thought I'll do. Age took a bit of my length away. I'm left with 6' 3" or something thereabouts, most of it in the upper body, making me an awkward son of a bitch. A year or so ago, I was playing on the small puddles, now I'm scaring some of the big guys ???

I think the Suntour forks are very underrated. Never thought I'll go that route.

 

[Wernher]

I don't know if anybody is still following this thread but I've done some more playing around and it's been lots of fun and the end result is even better. I got a 29 front wheel for free and decided to put it on. So to recap where we stand with mods:

I made the following changes to my bike:
1. Raceface Carbon bar with approximately 15mm additional height on the handlebars,
2. Replaced the Fox 36 Rythm 150mm with a SR Suntour Duralux R2C2 29 boost fork that gained me 30mm in additional axle to crown height (I left it at 150mm because it's already 30mm higher).
3. Now I replaced the front wheel with a 29, which gains another 7 of 8 mm and reduced the rake of the fork from 64 to 63,5 degrees.

I thought this last change would have a very minor impact and I expected the steering to be lazier, similar to the Merida e160. I couldn't be more wrong. It is the best change I made. The tyre I'm running us an Onza Ibex 29x2,4 in 60 TPI.

The results are as follows: Steering is lighter and more precise. Tracking is excellent and balance is perfect. The Giant always felt a bit nervous and I never felt completely comfortable to ride with loose hands. It was just too nervous. On hard surfaces I can lean into corners with much more confidence and improved grip. On trails with deep ruts, there's almost no feedback through the steering and it doesn't tramline like it did with the 27.5 x 2.6. In deep sand my front is a little less sure than before but considering that I'm running high pressures I could just let done air out and gain some improved grip. A small price to pay as I'm only riding a small percentage of terrain with such deep sand.
At the back I run a wider 27.5 x 2.8 for increased grip when climbing.

Climbing over steps and high rocks is improved, steering is lighter, confidence leaning in all corners are hugely increased and balance is hugely improved.

With this last improvement, I'm now incredibly happy with the bike. Comparing it with bikes like the Merida e160, which is lighter with a shorter chainstay length, which I used as the yardstick for playfulness, I am now as near as can be to experiencing the same playfulness. With the extended wheelbase and more relaxed fork angle, I have fantastic downhill stability. I love this Giant now so much that I won't trade it for anything out there.

The only other change I made was to replace the Giant rear hub with a DT-Swiss 350 hub and steel freewheel.

I attach a picture with my red 28 inch front rim which was given to me for free and which I decided I'm going to leave red just to be different and so that people can talk about me when they see me. The guy with the red front rim on the Giant ?