[clemsonbiker]

does anyone have any opinion on the Giant AC2? what would be a good way to build it up for freeride/allmountain? i dont mind weight so much, i just dont want to be 40+ pounds (its around 34 now). and if anyone has pics of their's(or any freeride/allmountain) that would be great. just need opinions and ideas.

 

[MMcG]

34 pounds sounds FR/All Mountain-ish to me. Leave it as is and ride the piss out of it!

 

[pedro_sandchez]

I'm using my AC for all mountain/light freeride duty. After I get the money for the fork I want the build will look like this:

Giant AC, set in 6" setting with manitou swinger 4-way
Rock Shox Lyrik (soon to come)
Salsa delgado disc wheels laced to hope pro2's
Hone cranks, with 22/36/bash setup
x-0 shifters
x-9 derailluers
Easton carbon DH bars
50mm sette stem
Hayes brakes with 7 in front and rear
990 cassette
nice wide trail tires like the panaracer rampage (I know not a a real DH duty tire, but great for trail riding)

Currently (without the lyrik) it weighs in at 30.74 lbs.
With the lyrik it should come to right at 33ish.

 

[Dangerous E]

does anyone have any opinion on the Giant AC2? what would be a good way to build it up for freeride/allmountain? i dont mind weight so much, i just dont want to be 40+ pounds (its around 34 now). and if anyone has pics of their's(or any freeride/allmountain) that would be great. just need opinions and ideas.

What's the spec look like right now? Let's see some details/pics.

 

[clemsonbiker]

What's the spec look like right now? Let's see some details/pics.

'03 AC2
rock shox pyslo(for now)
shimano xt components
race face crank and bb
titec bars and stem
hayes hydros 8"
rhyno lites
maxxis minion 2.5

ill try to get pics up later

 

[Biffff]

does anyone have any opinion on the Giant AC2? opinions and ideas.

They break. I had 2 of them. The first (02 AC-1) had a strong front triangle, but broke chainstays. The 2nd (04 AC-1) has a different seat tube, which will break, and the chainstays break as well.
It will hold up fro all mountain/light freeride, but there so many frames out there that are several times better for little $$$$$. They brake jack like crazy as well, the pivots come loose religously, they creek...........mehhhhhh. I don't want to offend anybody, but they plain suck. Giant makes amazing bikes these days, but the AC is a dud.

 

[pedro_sandchez]

They break. I had 2 of them. The first (02 AC-1) had a strong front triangle, but broke chainstays. The 2nd (04 AC-1) has a different seat tube, which will break, and the chainstays break as well.
It will hold up fro all mountain/light freeride, but there so many frames out there that are several times better for little $$$$$. They brake jack like crazy as well, the pivots come loose religously, they creek...........mehhhhhh. I don't want to offend anybody, but they plain suck. Giant makes amazing bikes these days, but the AC is a dud.

I've read a lot of people saying they break and I'll attest to the fact that the chainstays are a weak. I can feel some real flex back there sometimes. But as far as the pivots loosening and the frame creaking, I havn't had any issues with that.

The plan for mine is to build it up with my dream components, ride it till it breaks, then get a turner RFX

 

[clemsonbiker]

They break. I had 2 of them. The first (02 AC-1) had a strong front triangle, but broke chainstays. The 2nd (04 AC-1) has a different seat tube, which will break, and the chainstays break as well.
It will hold up fro all mountain/light freeride, but there so many frames out there that are several times better for little $$$$$. They brake jack like crazy as well, the pivots come loose religously, they creek...........mehhhhhh. I don't want to offend anybody, but they plain suck. Giant makes amazing bikes these days, but the AC is a dud.

well ive heard of people who beat the piss out of them and love it. then there are people who broke them off a 3' drop. so i guess im just gonna ride it untill i have a problem then go for a preston. does anyone have pics of theirs(an AC) so i can get some ideas on what i need to change.

 

[skatetokil]

Here's my old rig. rode it everywhere; resorts, XC, dh racing, urban.

Never broke it. That's a super t up front, felt pretty good with a 7inch fork.

 

[clemsonbiker]

Here's my old rig. rode it everywhere; resorts, XC, dh racing, urban.

Never broke it. That's a super t up front, felt pretty good with a 7inch fork.

thanks for the pic, nice ride. yeah, im lookin at puttin a drop off, travis, or nixion when my psylo goes. how does yours pedal?

keeps the pics coming.

 

[Duzitall]

I still have mine. Ridden hard everywhere including resorts. Z150 fork on it works great. It has not suffered from breaks, creaks or loose pivots.

Just replace that psylo with a cheap Marzocchi AM and enjoy until you can afford a higher priced frame.

 

[clemsonbiker]

I still have mine. Ridden hard everywhere including resorts. Z150 fork on it works great. It has not suffered from breaks, creaks or loose pivots.

Just replace that psylo with a cheap Marzocchi AM and enjoy until you can afford a higher priced frame.

pictures?
yeah that was my plan. ride the piss out of it and then upgrade. i figure the components will still be in good enough shape to use on my new frame.

 

[Duzitall]

but it still looks about the same except it has 2.35 sticky DH Minions on it and Mallets replaced the SDP's.

 

[clemsonbiker]

but it still looks about the same except it has 2.35 sticky DH Minions on it and Mallets replaced the SDP's.

hey man, thanks for the pic. thats what mines probalby gonna end up like.

 

[clemsonbiker]

finially got my AC in today. heres a few pics.

 

[mattmatt86]

Bike looks good. Show up to the Freeride Club meeting tomorrow night in Bracket at 8.

 

[skatetokil]

Pedaled great when I had a short fork and a long seatpost, but in dh mode with low spv pressure it was kind of a bitch.

 

[clemsonbiker]

ill deffiently try to be at the meeting.

the only thing i dont like about the bike is the fork. rides great but it's just too soft. i havent decided if i wanna keep it and put heavier springs in it or just buy a drop off or something beefier.

 

[skatetokil]

depending on what you're using it for, a flick + or a 36 talas would be great forks for that bike for everything short of dh racing.

 

[clemsonbiker]

depending on what you're using it for, a flick + or a 36 talas would be great forks for that bike for everything short of dh racing.

yeah, i was lookin at somethin like that or maybe a travis but i may end up goin with a drop off because i could get one cheap. i dont need a full dh fork just something i can ride xc on and still hit the freeride/urban stuff.

 

[clemsonbiker]

i have the the prodigy dh cranks and isis drive. has anyone had problems with the crank coming off? i was riding yesterday and i thougt my foot unclipped but i looked down and my cranks was attatched to my shoe. i got a new bolt, tightened it up and rode, and it loosened up agian. so i loctited it. no problems since but is this a normal problem with isis drives?

 

[skatetokil]

yea, if you overtighten or undertighten they will work loose. Basically check them after every ride, but recognize that once you rip a crank off like that it will never be as solid again cause the splines get damaged. I recommended those forks because the ac really benefits from travel adjust. Makes it a much more useful bike in my opinion.

 

[clemsonbiker]

yea, if you overtighten or undertighten they will work loose. Basically check them after every ride, but recognize that once you rip a crank off like that it will never be as solid again cause the splines get damaged. I recommended those forks because the ac really benefits from travel adjust. Makes it a much more useful bike in my opinion.

yeah, can i change to an external bb to fix the problem? but i would like to run the fox its just so expensive.

 

[giantrider89]

this is my build.....besides the rock shox has been replaced by an avy rear shock now.....

im loving mine.......i bring it up to big sky and beat it around in dh at it's held together so far......i have heard the stories about them falling apart though.....

if you already have the frame, just build it up however you think'll be fun, and ride it till it dies......

 

[skatetokil]

the flick + is cheap and light 6inch fork.

External bottom bracket isn't going to make any difference. A new bb and cranks, properly torqued and loctited from the beginning will, but really just give them a good go with the wrench before you use the bike. You just have to remember to do it.

 

[clemsonbiker]

the flick + is cheap and light 6inch fork.

External bottom bracket isn't going to make any difference. A new bb and cranks, properly torqued and loctited from the beginning will, but really just give them a good go with the wrench before you use the bike. You just have to remember to do it.

yeah, i guess ill just have to remember to check it before every ride

i rode around campus last night and hit some urban stuff. she rode great, took all the drops and stairs fine. theres just a creaking sound coming from my headset and i cant figure out what it is. it has carbon fiber spacers under the stem, not sure if thats the problem or if my headsets just old.

giantrider- nice whip. killer set up. not quite my style but still sweet.

 

[skatetokil]

i had an integrated headset explode on me. if it were my bike i'd get the problem solvers spacers and put in a pig pro or something.

 

[dan wask]

but it still looks about the same except it has 2.35 sticky DH Minions on it and Mallets replaced the SDP's.

do you have spacers under the headtube? scary scary.

 

[skatetokil]

the spacers i'm talkin about are these little alu deals that fit in the tube give it the right ID for a normal headset.

 

[dan wask]

the spacers i'm talkin about are these little alu deals that fit in the tube give it the right ID for a normal headset.

I'm talking about this picture:

Theres no way thats a good idea.

 

[clemsonbiker]

wow. i didnt even catch that. that does look scary. mine are on top and they scary me with the creakin.

 

[skatetokil]

Oh wow, holy crap. I know they make extended crown races but that's ridiculous.

 

[Duzitall]

do you have spacers under the headtube? scary scary.

It's actually a tightly machined spacer that held the bottom race.

The '03.5 Z150 has a beefy azz steering tube like a piece of structural steel. I machined a few different size spacers to try just for kicks.

Even with that big one it never flexed or creeked. I didn't ride it with those spacers more than a few times.

I wanted to prove to myself how much difference fork length and stack height make. Alot!

 

[dan wask]

It's actually a tightly machined spacer that held the bottom race.

The '03.5 Z150 has a beefy azz steering tube like a piece of structural steel. I machined a few different size spacers to try just for kicks.

Even with that big one it never flexed or creeked. I didn't ride it with those spacers more than a few times.

I wanted to prove to myself how much difference fork length and stack height make. Alot!

Its still super scary. The head tube and steer tube were not engineered for that kind of crazy homemade setup. I don't care if NASA engineered it, any kind of spacer under the ht still looks dangerous.

 

[clemsonbiker]

my cranks are loose again but the bolt wont go any tighter i think its time for new ones. any suggestions on a good set of allmountain/freeride cranks and a decent BB? also my headset is shot so any suggestion on that would be great too. thanks.

 

[pedro_sandchez]

shimano hones
I love mine.
get the 2-ring-bash setup since it has pedal inserts like saints

 

[clemsonbiker]

im lookin at a set of race face diabolus cranks w/external bb. a friend of mine is sellin his. they've been great for him. any comments on them?

 

[skatetokil]

heavy?

 

[clemsonbiker]

heavy?

yeah they are but im running race face prodigy dh cranks now so the diabolus cant be any worse. my isis drive is rounded so the cranks shift and i need something with an external bb and but just as strong.

 

[clemsonbiker]

just put a manitou travis 150 on it. looks sexy and rides like a dream. took her to pisgah and it was amazing.

cept now i have some major frame flex and creaking again so i think im gonna get a preston and just transfer the parts.