Giant Trance 1 (2008)

Bought this bike to step up into full suspension mountain biking. From the off i was relatively comfortable, the handlebars needed tweaking a little as did the seat, eventually discarded the somewhat uncomfortable WDG for a belle air.

Ok, first things first, this thing, when it came out, was a pretty bling bike. Race face gear, wtb wheels with hayes discs/brakes, fox suspension all round and a real nice look to the geometry of the whole bike. Without getting into a naming competition of all the parts here is a summary of exactly how they handled:

Brakes: Would stop an elephant at full charge down a steep welsh mountain. They are that good. Seriously.

Front forks: Brilliant, really confidence inspiring, soak up the bumps and bang and rarely feel like they are being remotely tested, a sure sign of quality.

Rear Suspension: Ok, as far as comfort etc, superb, do not wallow, return nice and sharp witnout being too aggresive and handle anything i could chuck at them with ease.

Wheels: Ok for getting you going, though i mangled one on rocks in the peak district, replaced with a DT swiss. Nevegal tyres are awesom on all surfaces.

Overall ride:Brilliant, really inspires you to go further and faster than you would normally and comfortable over long lengths of time and distance.

Now the down side:

Bottom bracket often hits the deck, relatively low, can be hairy till you get used to it. The stem on the handlebars could do with being a more acute angle and shorter. WTB saddle only a reasonable one, needs replacing.

Overall well worth the £1700 i paid (it was new model when i bought), certainly worth paying about a grand for (have seen some new 2008 models for about that).