...I need your help. Please tell how the bike rides and the pros and cons of this. Does it manual well? Track well? Good geometry? Weight of DH TEAM?(that is really important) Can you bunny hop more that six inches with it? 
ATTN: Giant DH riders...
- Thread starter motomike
- Start date
i couldn't manual mine very well but I can't on any other bike either so who knows.
tracks real well. IMO the bike has a feel to it like how people describe the older V10s. just point it downhill and let it run everything over.
geometry? it seemed to fit me well. HA seemed kinda slack. It felt great on fast runs, not so great on the tight runs w/lots of turns.
I had it mine at ~46lbs fully built, and that wasn't exactly using the lightest of parts.
I could bunny hop it well over 6 inches.
now I just need to sell it so it's not taking up space in my shed.
tracks real well. IMO the bike has a feel to it like how people describe the older V10s. just point it downhill and let it run everything over.
geometry? it seemed to fit me well. HA seemed kinda slack. It felt great on fast runs, not so great on the tight runs w/lots of turns.
I had it mine at ~46lbs fully built, and that wasn't exactly using the lightest of parts.
I could bunny hop it well over 6 inches.
now I just need to sell it so it's not taking up space in my shed.
it manuals decent, it tracks amazing! (all of the weight is in the lower 1/3rd of the frame) geometry is good as long as you run a good fork (i.e. i run it with a zocchi so it has a steep HA, but if you put a 888 on it you'll be set) mines at 42lbs right now, i love the thing to death, i just need to get a new spring for my fat a$$. anybody got a spare 6way spring? like 500-550ish??
geee thanks guys! that helps alot. I will probably get the DH TEAM complete bike and add a few bits. I plan to keep the Dorado, since looks sooo bada$$!
Def keep the dorado, I have an 05 on my Gemini DH it its SWEET. It will also keep your front end down compared to an 888 which would make it way too slack or thats the way I fell. Quicker turning is more important than being able to just sit down on the steep stuff, You can ride steep stuff on any bike but the corners is where the real speed is.motomike said:
The only downside of the Giant DH has been the chainguide, pivots coming loose, and the HFX-9 brakes. The chainguide is made out the cheapest aluminum known to made and is overly complicated. The pivots need lots of lock tight and the HFX-9s (if they still spec them in 05) are the worst excuse of a downhill brake. I know, some people have had great luck with them. Heck I even have some on my all mountain bike, but with parts like a Dorado and the other bits, why not up the price a tad and offer the Mags?
-Corners very well, the rear end is a tad flexy (noticed at Schweitzer high speed fire road) but the low center of gravity more then makes up for that.
-Mine weighed 42-3 lbs in large with Boxxer, 321's/Riigles,carbon bars, etc.
-Manuals well, for a bike w/ 17.75" stays, definite two thumbs up in this dept
-I've been very happy with the bike, I've had all three frames,(02, 03, and 04) and would recommend one to anyone
-Mine weighed 42-3 lbs in large with Boxxer, 321's/Riigles,carbon bars, etc.
-Manuals well, for a bike w/ 17.75" stays, definite two thumbs up in this dept
-I've been very happy with the bike, I've had all three frames,(02, 03, and 04) and would recommend one to anyone
wow, two posts and your convinced already. I have some stuff i'd like to sell ya....motomike said:
I used to race on the Giant Team DH all custom built up with some sweet parts. I liked the bike alot compared to the V-10 I had before. Before you buy one, take a moment to hear me out, since there are a few things that you should know, even though you may not want to hear them.
First off, the chainline is bad. The chain is straight in about 7th-8th gear (bad). This makes it very hard on your easier gears such as 1-4. I ran a 40 tooth and a 12-25 and I dreaded starting in 3rd because it felt so inefficient (grinding).
The chainguide that comes with the frame doesn't last and adds to the already bad chainline. Not to mention that it is very noisy. At Sandpoint, Idaho 03' during practice I bashed it on a rock. Mind you I hit it hard enough to crash, but after that my chainguide was done. I had to purchase an e.13 for about $130 since they were the only chainguide company at the race. The good thing about this is that the e.13 chainguide gives you a slightly better chainline by about 2mm and won't self destruct on rocks, not to mention it is much quieter.
The third thing that I didn't like was the bottom bracket width. Sure it feels kinda cool having wide stable stance, but when you lay the bike over in a corner, maybe throw in a pedal, your toes will be seriously begging for mercy when they curl up between the ground and your pedal. Another situation where the bottom bracket width is noticed is when in real technical rock terrain where the best line may thread it's way bettween the rocks. Try not to hit your feet!
Another thing that I didn't like was the old 135mm rear spacing. When combined with the extreme dish of the rear wheel it makes a very weak rear wheel. Giant has addressed this with the new 150mm spacing and I thought "awesome they'll throw a 150 back end on the bike and move the chainline 10-15mm and make it perfect". That's what I thought...
At the 2004 Sandpoint National I was riding the charlift up with Jared Rando and asked him some important questions about the bike, since I knew that he is very technical with his bike setup, not to mention he rides on Factory Giant, he seemed like a person who would know. First I asked him if the 150mm back end improves the chainline. He said No, the additional width of the hub extends out on the disc brake side. This gives you a stronger wheel but not a better chainline. Before this he actually mentioned that the Factory bikes that they were running with the very low top tubes actually had 165mm rear spacing. They improved the chainline and strength of the rear wheel ONLY on the factory bikes. This makes no sense to me other than Giant wanting to cut cost on production.
Since riding the giant I have moved on to the Orange 223 (which I later sold for other reasons) and the Specialized Demo-9 (which I just recently sold to replace with the 1 lb lighter Demo-8).
I'm not trying to sell you on a Demo. But I urge you to strongly consider it. It is the BEST bike I have ever ridden PERIOD. The chainline is PERFECT, the rear wheel dishless 150mm spacing. The braking characteristics are awesome, the back end is one of the stiffest in the business. It has ISCG chainguide mounts (the Giant does not), it has 2-position adjustable geometry, a rising rate rear suspension design...and the list goes on...
This bike helped me when the Semi-pro US National Championships at Mammoth by almost 14 seconds! Ohh one more thing. It manuals the best I've ever seen. The chainstays are like 16.9-17" making it one of the shortest chainstayed DH bikes available. It is also very easy to bunny-hop. It doesn't absorb all your energy like a V-10.
Below is a picture of my Giant just so you know I'm not B.S.ing and in my next post is a shot of my just sold Demo. I believe that there is still a monkey on here selling his nearly new very sick demo 9 for like $2600. I'll let you know...
First off, the chainline is bad. The chain is straight in about 7th-8th gear (bad). This makes it very hard on your easier gears such as 1-4. I ran a 40 tooth and a 12-25 and I dreaded starting in 3rd because it felt so inefficient (grinding).
The chainguide that comes with the frame doesn't last and adds to the already bad chainline. Not to mention that it is very noisy. At Sandpoint, Idaho 03' during practice I bashed it on a rock. Mind you I hit it hard enough to crash, but after that my chainguide was done. I had to purchase an e.13 for about $130 since they were the only chainguide company at the race. The good thing about this is that the e.13 chainguide gives you a slightly better chainline by about 2mm and won't self destruct on rocks, not to mention it is much quieter.
The third thing that I didn't like was the bottom bracket width. Sure it feels kinda cool having wide stable stance, but when you lay the bike over in a corner, maybe throw in a pedal, your toes will be seriously begging for mercy when they curl up between the ground and your pedal. Another situation where the bottom bracket width is noticed is when in real technical rock terrain where the best line may thread it's way bettween the rocks. Try not to hit your feet!
Another thing that I didn't like was the old 135mm rear spacing. When combined with the extreme dish of the rear wheel it makes a very weak rear wheel. Giant has addressed this with the new 150mm spacing and I thought "awesome they'll throw a 150 back end on the bike and move the chainline 10-15mm and make it perfect". That's what I thought...
At the 2004 Sandpoint National I was riding the charlift up with Jared Rando and asked him some important questions about the bike, since I knew that he is very technical with his bike setup, not to mention he rides on Factory Giant, he seemed like a person who would know. First I asked him if the 150mm back end improves the chainline. He said No, the additional width of the hub extends out on the disc brake side. This gives you a stronger wheel but not a better chainline. Before this he actually mentioned that the Factory bikes that they were running with the very low top tubes actually had 165mm rear spacing. They improved the chainline and strength of the rear wheel ONLY on the factory bikes. This makes no sense to me other than Giant wanting to cut cost on production.
Since riding the giant I have moved on to the Orange 223 (which I later sold for other reasons) and the Specialized Demo-9 (which I just recently sold to replace with the 1 lb lighter Demo-8).
I'm not trying to sell you on a Demo. But I urge you to strongly consider it. It is the BEST bike I have ever ridden PERIOD. The chainline is PERFECT, the rear wheel dishless 150mm spacing. The braking characteristics are awesome, the back end is one of the stiffest in the business. It has ISCG chainguide mounts (the Giant does not), it has 2-position adjustable geometry, a rising rate rear suspension design...and the list goes on...
This bike helped me when the Semi-pro US National Championships at Mammoth by almost 14 seconds! Ohh one more thing. It manuals the best I've ever seen. The chainstays are like 16.9-17" making it one of the shortest chainstayed DH bikes available. It is also very easy to bunny-hop. It doesn't absorb all your energy like a V-10.
Below is a picture of my Giant just so you know I'm not B.S.ing and in my next post is a shot of my just sold Demo. I believe that there is still a monkey on here selling his nearly new very sick demo 9 for like $2600. I'll let you know...
Attachments
Another thing that I didn't like was the old 135mm rear spacing. When combined with the extreme dish of the rear wheel it makes a very weak rear wheel. Giant has addressed this with the new 150mm spacing and I thought "awesome they'll throw a 150 back end on the bike and move the chainline 10-15mm and make it perfect". That's what I thought...
E.T. You are wrong here. Traditional wheels are dished over towards the cogset. The Giant rear end due to being asymetrical is actually makes the wheel stronger because it allows you to build the wheel with the rim centered over your hub flanges, the main benefit being that the spokes are tensioned equally, and equal lengths on both your drive side and non drive side, it's just a pain in the ass to build and tru wheels this way because stands are designed to center rims over the the hub locknuts not the flanges. The new 150 rear end give the wheel zero dish (equal spoke tension and length per side) while being centered over the hub.
Stony98 thanks for your input. I however am glad E.T posted and think his post has definite value.
E.T. You are wrong here. Traditional wheels are dished over towards the cogset. The Giant rear end due to being asymetrical is actually makes the wheel stronger because it allows you to build the wheel with the rim centered over your hub flanges, the main benefit being that the spokes are tensioned equally, and equal lengths on both your drive side and non drive side, it's just a pain in the ass to build and tru wheels this way because stands are designed to center rims over the the hub locknuts not the flanges. The new 150 rear end give the wheel zero dish (equal spoke tension and length per side) while being centered over the hub.
Stony98 thanks for your input. I however am glad E.T posted and think his post has definite value.
That does sound exactly like the dishless 135mm spacing idea on the new Demo-8. The only problem was that I recall the rear wheel having very Un-equal spoke tension and was very weak. This could be due to the fact that I built the wheel with the correct spokes for a regular bike (where you have to dish it, I didn't know it was supposed to be dishless) and they are different lengths. So okay, possibly the rear wheel strength problem from my list could have been a mistake. If I had that same bike now it seems as though it could be made better with equal length spokes not to mention the 150mm spacing. I'm just saying what I remember. It was back in 03' There are still all those other problems I mentioned earlier though...Tootrikky said:
The point that I am trying to make is that you could buy a SICK demo whether it be a 8 or a 9 and it will not have all those problems that I mentioned, Oh the demo-8 also comes with the FOX DH Fork!!! How sick is that!
ET, the Demo has a 16.7" chainstay, super short!
I agree with everything you've said but unless he rides a Demo he won't understand. I borrowed one from Spokesman last year and took it out to UC and mobbed everything first try. I hit the campers drop twice and just about whatever else and the Demo just wanted more...
I agree with everything you've said but unless he rides a Demo he won't understand. I borrowed one from Spokesman last year and took it out to UC and mobbed everything first try. I hit the campers drop twice and just about whatever else and the Demo just wanted more...
My chainstays came out to about 16.9-17" measured with my good ol' tape measure. I had a slightly shorter shock on my bike to match the 7" Boxxer up front. No doubt this is what caused my chainstays to be .2" longer than stock. Either way, whoever is listening the bike is absolutely confidence inspiring. The first time I rode one was on Campers. Basically a balls out pinned run through high speed loose rocks. It put my older bikes to shame. And after my 2 minutes of riding I had already made up my mind. They are that F*cking good!!!punkassean said:
Ohh! and another thing for you Nor Cal'ers. The Demo in Demo-9 stands for Demonstration Forest. That is where they did most of the testing/development for the bike. How cool is that!
E.T. is on the money with this one. I race (and loose) against ET and have also ridden a number of DH bikes including the Giant.
I respect you're XC/DH multi sport ability and come from a similar way of thinking. I assume you're a strong pedaler and this is even more reason to go for the demo, the Giant is just a single pivot with linkage to give it a rising rate. This means that it will stiffen to some degree under pedaling, unlike the Demo series, which will let you mash through anything.
The best bikes I've ridden to this day include the Demo 9 and Azonic Recoil, both FSR bikes. Hopefully when I'm fixed and my GT is here I can add that to my lineup of best bikes. (burlier swingarm for 05...YAY!)
I respect you're XC/DH multi sport ability and come from a similar way of thinking. I assume you're a strong pedaler and this is even more reason to go for the demo, the Giant is just a single pivot with linkage to give it a rising rate. This means that it will stiffen to some degree under pedaling, unlike the Demo series, which will let you mash through anything.
The best bikes I've ridden to this day include the Demo 9 and Azonic Recoil, both FSR bikes. Hopefully when I'm fixed and my GT is here I can add that to my lineup of best bikes. (burlier swingarm for 05...YAY!)
DHi's rock! I loved mine that's for sure! Not quite as active as the FSR's but a great pedaller with long legs and good geometry. Also, they are light, mine was as light as 38lbs when it had an Xvert carbon on it.
I'd look into the newer Giant's, I bet the dropped top tube helps some in the standover and nut department 
It all depends on your riding style and what you are looking for. The Giant will do whatever you want, but like said....pivots loosen up, brakes sucks (HFX-9's), guide is weak........you get the picture. Plus it's a single pivot.......if it's bumpy you'd want a floater on that or it's gonna stiffen.
The Demo's and other FSR bikes will pedal pretty well and you can grab the brake anytime, anywhere and it won't just "stiffen". If you haven't felt this it just basicly sucks to a degree. It feels like nothing is moving back there.
The Only good thing about the Giant is their warrenty vs some of the other bike companies, same goes with Specialized. Most DH frames are 1-2 years if you're lucky, where as Specialized and Giant I think are beyond that. Plus getting parts and yadda yadda. I don't know, but I don't think they would gouge you as much as a custom DH frame builder would.
Plus you can get the Giant Comp for what, $3000 complete? Pretty sick bike for the price.
It all depends on your riding style and what you are looking for. The Giant will do whatever you want, but like said....pivots loosen up, brakes sucks (HFX-9's), guide is weak........you get the picture. Plus it's a single pivot.......if it's bumpy you'd want a floater on that or it's gonna stiffen.
The Demo's and other FSR bikes will pedal pretty well and you can grab the brake anytime, anywhere and it won't just "stiffen". If you haven't felt this it just basicly sucks to a degree. It feels like nothing is moving back there.
The Only good thing about the Giant is their warrenty vs some of the other bike companies, same goes with Specialized. Most DH frames are 1-2 years if you're lucky, where as Specialized and Giant I think are beyond that. Plus getting parts and yadda yadda. I don't know, but I don't think they would gouge you as much as a custom DH frame builder would.
Plus you can get the Giant Comp for what, $3000 complete? Pretty sick bike for the price.
Yeah, I am also seriously considering the Demo 8 Pro. It is soooo sick!