Giant has given the Trance 29 a well deserved update. For 2022, the bike's suspension platform gets a refresh and the geometry gets even more progressive. The brand says that it offers the same balance of responsiveness and control on techy singletrack as the carbon Trance Advanced Pro 29 while being built around an alloy frame.

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The new Giant Trance 29 benefits from a geometry adjusting flip-chip found on the Maestro suspension's rocker. In the high position, the bike runs a 66.2° head angle, a 77° seat tube angle, and a 35mm bottom bracket drop. Flip that chip into the low position and the head angle slackens to 65.5°, the seat tube also slackens a bit to 76.3°. Then the BB drop lowers to 45mm. The reach figures also get altered, a large in the high position features a 480mm reach while in the low setting, it shrinks a touch to 472mm.

Moving onto the updated Mastro suspension platform, it offers a near-vertical wheel path, paired with a linear spring curve. This helps the rear end stay sensitive to big and small bumps without packing down as it rolls into repetitive hits, boosting traction, acceleration, cornering, and braking says Giant. It also makes use of a single floating pivot that's designed to improve pedaling efficiency by counteracting pedaling forces that create suspension bob.

This iteration of Maestro runs a trunnion-mount shock, which not only allows the designers to build the bike with shorter chainstays but it also produces a lower leverage ratio on shock compression. That's said to further boost efficiency and agility. Around the linkage, all pivots get double sealed bearings for longevity and there's a single-piece swingarm, hopefully adding a heft of stiffness.

That new suspension bumps the Trance 29's travel from 115mm, up to a full 120mm. Up front, there's 130mm of squish, both blending control, and speed says the brand.

Both the geometry and the suspension platform are optimised for bigger 29" wheels and the frame now features a 2mm longer rear-centre in order to offer more tyre clearance. As such, the 2022 Trance 29 can run up to 2.5" rubber.

Then, the frame now benefits from a range of handy features such as on-frame tool storage and plenty of space in the front triangle for a 650ml water bottle. It also sees in redesigner cable ports that offer a cleaner look and Giant claims that they reduce any cable rattle. Finishing off the bike is integrated frame protection around the chainstay and on the underside of the downtube. Along with that, there's an ISCG05 mount for bash guards and chain guides. 

As for the lineup, there are two bikes in the range, the Trance 29 1 and the Trance 29 2. The former tops the range and gets a Fox 34 Performance with a GRIP damper. That's paired with a Fox Float DPS Performance shock. This one gets a Shimano SLX 12-speed groupset with Shimano BL-MT501 brakes. The Trance 29 1 rolls on a pair of Giant's own AM 29 tubeless ready wheel and gets a 2.5" Maxxis Minion DHF at the front with a Maxxis Aggressor at the rear, also in a 2.5". Both of those come with EXO casings.

The second bike in the range comes sorted with a Marzocchi Z2 fork with the very same shock as the Trance 29 1. However this bike benefits from a Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano BL-MT401 brakes. The wheels and tyres match the other bike.

Prices for the new Giant Trance 29 bikes start at £2,700 and go up to £3,200. There are four sizes available too from S up to XL.

• www.giant-bicycles.com

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