This full-suspension 29er makes it easy to experience the latest trail-taming technologies for a smooth, confident ride. The Stance E+ is a cross country and possibly light trail oriented electric bike. It offers 130mm of travel in the front and 120mm of travel in the rear suspension. The 2 is a mid-level build, and it appears that the company also sells a 1 that uses more premium components. Dave told me that he saw a 0 and 4 which would represent the very best and most affordable, but I didn’t see them on the official Giant website .
They’re a hefty set of hoops and tubeless compatibility isn’t really on the radar at this price-point but we can’t see them presenting any durability issues. Visually it closely echoes its longer travel big brother; the Trance. In fact the Stance looks a lot like the Trance Advanced giant ROAD BIKES 0—a bike that costs four times as much. Giant has certainly done well to retain the appearance of a premium bike on this entry-level dually. The Stance is Giant’s latest entry-level dually and it’s priced well enough to lure would-be hardtail buyers over to the land of squish.
But when it comes down to it, the Stance is way more capable and fun than a hardtail on rougher trails, and price wise that’s what it’s competing against. Giant has chosen Suntour for the suspension components on the Stance 2. The 130mm of front wheel travel is controlled by a Suntour Raidon 34 fork. This fork has 34mm stanchions and beefier chassis than the RockShox Recon forks often found on budget bikes. This fork works surprisingly well on the front of this bike and provides pretty good small bump compliance, adequate mid-stroke support, and a progressive ramp-up at the end of the stroke. It doesn’t feel like a high-end fork by any means, but we found it hard to complain.
Built around a hydroformed alloy frameset and 29in wheels, the Stance 29 gets a 130mm travel fork along with 120mm of rear-wheel travel. But as the quality of the Trance’s geometry, suspension and frame has improved over the years, the prices have begun to notch upwards. The current alloy Trance range kicks off at well over three grand, with the top-end carbon model selling for north of $10K. That’s a lot of coin for those of us on a tighter budget, and it presents a much bigger commitment to newer riders to the sport who are weighing up the ‘hardtail vs full suspension’ equation. With its combination of grippy, rock-eating, plus-sized tires and smooth-riding suspension, the all-new Stance gives you more traction, more control and more fun. On the surface, Giant’s signature fluid formed aluminium frame looks exactly the same as the 2016 Stance we tested.
We’ve criticised Giant in the past for dumbing down the build kit on its entry-level bikes, but no such complaint can be levied at the latest Stance 2. With wide 780mm handlebars, short 55mm stem and a 150mm dropper post, it has the best finishing kit in test. It also shows just how light the Stance frame really is, because dropper posts typically add 0.5kg to the overall weight of a bike.
In fact, the Stance 2 would do really well with a few select upgrades. Hydroforming is also one of Giant’s trademarks, and is used across every giant KIDS BIKES tube on the front triangle. In this case, Giant has placed the main pivot fairly low on the frame and just forward of the bottom bracket.