The new RideControl ONE center gives you navigation, health and fitness tracking capabilities give this E-bike more features than ever before. Most impressively, the Stance 2 goes for $1,500, and the Stance 1 for $1,750. These days, there’s a lot of talk in the budget-bike-o-sphere about consumer-direct sales. For experienced bike buyers who will drop cash on something sight unseen, or for those who are willing to travel to a demo event to try before they buy, consumer-direct is a reasonable option. The original Stance was released a half a decade ago, and hasn’t undergone any major changes since. Back then, 27.5-inch wheels were the safest choice if you wanted to make a bike for the masses.
The proven single-pivot rear suspension design is durable, lightweight and super smooth with 120mm of travel. Frame geometry is optimized for the 27.5 wheels, ideal for a variety of trail adventures ranging from smooth singletrack to more technical terrain. Built with a lightweight ALUXX aluminium frameset and our innovative FlexPoint rear suspension, Stance is the perfect gateway to singletrack trail performance. The moderate modern geometry helps keep it responsive and quick handling yet ready to tackle just about anything that comes down the trail. The 120mm of rear suspension feels impressively well balanced with the 130mm travel fork and is the perfect amount of travel for XC style trail riding and dipping one’s toes into more aggressive terrain. Whether ripping around on mellow trails or tackling some steeper and rockier descents, the Stance impressed up with its stability, predictability, and confidence-inspiring performance.
Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a single pivot bike and we’ve ridden some great ones. It really comes down to getting that single main swing-arm pivot in the right spot to gain the performance characteristics that the designer is chasing. While it’s not hard to find a sub-$2,000 dually, they are definitely at the lower end of the ‘genuinely off-road-worthy’ MTB market. Attempting to shoehorn in all of the suspension components whilst simultaneously keeping the price down is a real juggling act, and it often results in an end product that’s heavily compromised.
Like most bikes in this price range, the Stance 2 29 has a functional build with high and low points. In its stock configuration, the Stance gets the job done and it looks good doing it. Select local Retailers offer Home Delivery service on new bicycle purchases. This service is an additional $50.00 per bicycle and is dependent on the local retailer’s participation. Please check for participating retailers at check out, or on our Store finder by select the Home Delivery filter.
Once bedded in, the stoping performance of the 300-series Shimano hydraulic brakes is extremely impressive. The long levers offer loads of mechanical advantage, and a single digit on the end is all you need to extract tons of stopping power—they’re possibly the highlight of the entire component set. The styling is brilliant giant ROAD BIKES and the rear derailleur looks a lot like a more expensive unit. Unfortunately there is no clutch mechanism, so the chain tends to flap about when the going gets rough and you’re more likely to suffer dropped chain. Wheels are a simple affair, comprised of double walled alloy rims, stainless steel spokes and sealed hubs.
I highly recommend this bike for beginners or anyone who has a tight budget and would like to take up the sport. The recently redesigned Stance has modern geometry touches, a solid component specification, clean looks, and the all-around performance of bikes that cost twice as much. This bike climbs impressively well and the FlexPoint suspension design provides a stable pedaling platform and ground-hugging traction. The 120 mm of rear and 130mm of front wheel travel feels smooth and balanced while the updated geometry provides stability and the confidence to get after it on the descents.
The Stance has an almost identical silhouette to Giant’s pricier full-sussers, but foregoes its twin-link Maestro suspension design for a single-pivot FlexPoint rear end. Giants Tubeless System makes it easier than ever to experience all these benefits. Other updates see the rear dropout spacing increased from 135mm to 141mm. The rear wheel is still secured by a 9mm quick release lever, but the move to a wider rear end makes for a much stronger and stiffer rear wheel, while also increasing tyre clearance. The extra space now occupied by larger volume 2.4in Maxxis Ardent tyres, which are good all-rounders.
It was easy to give the Stance our Editor’s Choice Award, we challenge you to find a better full-suspension mountain bike at this price. The new Stance 29 features a lightweight ALUXX aluminum frame with Giant’s FlexPoint rear suspension platform. It has 120mm of rear-wheel travel and is designed around a 130mm fork. The frame features internal cable routing and there is a mount for a bottle cage within the front triangle. Built with a lightweight ALUXX aluminum frameset and our innovative FlexPoint rear suspension, Stance is the perfect gateway to singletrack trail performance.