Giant XTC 29er 1 2011

My actual weight measurements are marked with bold.

The components in new rows were not included in the original setup.

Issues

General notes

• Pedals are not included.
• A fork pump is not included, neither is a manual for the fork.
• Derailleur cables are a bit long and may need trimming.
• The cabling below the top tube doesn't allow for easy carrying of the bike over the shoulder (not to mention that the main triangle doesn't have much room inside)
• The factory handlebar is very wide (70cm) although it is a matter of personal preference.
• Even in the lowest position the handlebar is at approximately 95cm, and the upper part of the headset represents an extra 10-15mm under the stem.
• The Q factor is wider than on my previous bikes (approx. +1cm/side), but it is mostly due to the crank profile. There is not much room at the chainstays anyway (~a finger's width).
• I received a properly translated maintenance manual with the bike which is nice, although some recommendations of the manual are questionable/laughable.
• The same bike would have cost 10% less in Slovakia (1350 EUR) than the price of the Hungarian shop (1485 EUR) already including 11% discount from the list price (1675 EUR)...!

Chainstay/Rub protection

• There is only a thin adhesive foil the chainstay, it needs better protection from the chain.
• The chain is already a bit longer than necessary. The 110-link KMC X10 is just the perfect length.
• My heels rub against the left chainstay, I applied a piece of adhesive tape there.
• The headtube area needs some attention at the cables.

Fork upper crown creak

• See this MTBR forum thread
• Seems a generic Fox issue on 2011 forks
• It happened only once, probably due to water and dust at the same time. I just cleaned the headset area and the creak didn't come back.
• On a side note, the headset can get dirty (stains, sand getting in) and needs to be cleaned regularly.
• In 2014, I just gave up and bought a new Manitou fork.

M529 rear hub loosening up (November 2012)

• The steel counterpart in the hub for the cassette body's hollow bolt was apparently of wrong size out of factory. After ~16 months, the bearings started to creak. The difference in thread size become obvious upon disassembly.
• The 16-position cassette ratchet used to "jump" a few times even when the hub was still new.
• I replaced the rear hub with a NS Primary, and the spokes with DT Champion stainless.

Fork seals dirty, no full travel

• After ~2000 km (!) of riding in 95% dry conditions (no direct exposition to mud or water), the fork seals have dirt inside and make oily dirt marks the sliders.
• Some of the dirt may be wiped out by a piece of tough paper (a business card).
• I need to disassemble the fork soon.
• I'm running with lower pressure now
• In 2014, I just gave up and bought a new Manitou fork.

Fork lockout fading

• After the fork has been locked out for a while, travel gradually comes back
• After a short period of keeping the bike upside down (wheel truing), the lockout doesn't work until the oil flows back
• The fork may have too few oil in the cartridge.
• In 2014, I just gave up and bought a new Manitou fork.

Torn spoke

• During a fall in October 2012, a spoke's head got ripped off. I never had any spoke damage on my bikes before.
• The stock black Sapim spokes seem to stick together a bit at the crosses.

Brake pads

• The original Shimano metallic pads have been extremely loud regardless of riding conditions, even after an excessive burn-in period.
• I tried another rotor for a while, I used an Avid CS rotor but it was bent on a rock. I'm using the original now.
• Replacement: BTS/Ashima AD0104-SM-S: 5000 HUF/set. Not installed yet. Installed Mar 28 2012.
• The Ashima mixed compound pads need regular cleaning (after every 200km or so) to prevent noise. But they are quiet after that.
• The rear brake can be fitted better by using conical brake pad washers on the PM mount.
• Running mechanical Avid BB7 brakes now

Tires/Tubes

• After one year or so, I was getting a lot of punctures with the original Maxxis Aspen tires
• I'm using Specialized FastTrak LK 2.0 at the moment (HUF 9900)
• I have a set of Panaracer Rampage 2.35 which are nice for rough terrain but probably unnecessary for everyday rides in Hungary
• The original Maxxis tubes were pretty light in their category.

Rear brake partial failure 2013-11

The rear brake has never been completely reliable, but i could usually fix this by just cleaning the brake pads on a coarse surface. Now in November the brake power has decreased dramatically, it looks like a brake cylinder has a leak or there's air in the system. As a quick remedy, I replaced it with an Avid BB7 mechanical brake and a Shimano XT cable lever. I needed to add 5mm washers under the brake. I will leave it now as it is.

Fork replacement 2014-04

Exit Fox 29er, Enter Manitou Tower Pro

Rear hub problem 2015-05

The bearings of the NS Bikes Rotary Cassette hub needed to be replaced, so I bought two in a bearing shop (there )

Prices

2012 models

velosprint.sk 2012-11-17 (EUR; 309 HUF/EUR:

2012 Giant Xtc 29Er 0 €2,029.00

2012 Giant Xtc 29Er 1 €1,559.00

2012 Giant Xtc Composite 29Er 0 €2,859.00

2012 Giant Xtc Composite 29Er 1 €1,999.00

Alpinbike.hu 2012-11-23 (HUF; 1 EUR=280 HUF)

2012 Giant XTC Advanced SL 29er 0 1899900

2012 Giant XTC Advanced SL 29er 1 1086900

2012 Giant XTC Composite 29er 1 699900

2012 Giant XTC Composite 29er 2 599900

2012 Giant XTC Composite 29er 3 549900

2012 Giant XTC 29er 0 599900

2012 Giant XTC 29er 1 453900

2012 Giant XTC 29er 2 399900

!!! not the same specs !!!

Moab.hu 2012-11-23 (HUF; 1 EUR=280 HUF)

2012 Giant XTC Composite 29er 0 659000 (was 769000)

2012 Giant XTC Composite 29er 1 469000 (was 549000)

2012 Giant XTC 29er 0 469000 (was 549000)

2011 Giant XTC 29er 0 399900 (was 449900)

Other info

Fox F29 fork manual

2010: http://www.ridefox.com/fox_tech_center/owners_manuals/010/eng/Content/Forks/29er/29_FRLopenbath.html

2011: http://www.foxracingshox.com/fox_tech_center/owners_manuals/011/Content/Forks/29er/29_FRLopenbath.html

Fox fork high volume air mod service

http://www.joinomba.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=19805

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlhN7tdqszs