... I went down to a bike shop and for my height (6 foot 5) was told to look no further than a 23 inch frame from Giant. We already have 2 other Giant bikes in the house and I was more than happy to follow this advice. So far I have done nearly 600 miles on this bike in the 5 months i've had it.
My ... Read review
Advantages: Brakes are fantastic, really lightweight, very well made, overall great Disadvantages: too many low gears, not enough high gears, uncomfortable saddle. But don't be put off...
...We already have 2 other Giant bikes in the house and I was more than happy to follow this advice. So far I have done nearly 600 miles on this bike in the 5 months i've had it.
My choice was simple between a Yukon, Rainier and this one - the Terrago. I tried to balance price with how good I wanted it to be, I found one of these for £325, and bit their hand off for one.
This bike has a massive 27 gears, 2 disc brakes and ... ...a recipe.
When I recieved it, it took quite some putting together, but that was fine and was all fairly simple. It feels really solid and really high quality from Giant, yet the frame is really light. When put together it feels really lightweight and the difference when riding is huge, the weight makes a bit difference and getting going from standstill is really easy, fantastic.
After getting into cycling on a cheap £100 bike from Argos it was time for me to get serious. I went down to a bike shop and for my height (6 foot 5) was told to look no further than a 23 inch frame from Giant. We already have 2 other Giant bikes in the house and I was more than happy to follow this advice. So far I have done nearly 600 miles on this bike in the 5 months i've had it.
My choice was simple between a Yukon, Rainier and this one - the Terrago. I tried to balance price with how good I wanted it to be, I found one of these for £325, and bit their hand off for one.
This bike has a massive 27 gears, 2 disc brakes and a lightweight aluminium frame. All of this sounds like quite a recipe.
When I recieved it, it took quite some putting together, but that was fine and was all fairly simple. It feels really solid and really high quality from Giant, yet the frame is really light. When put together it feels really lightweight and the difference when riding is huge, the weight makes a bit difference and getting going from standstill is really easy, fantastic.
Having 9 hears on one finger is also really good, much simpler to use, however I very rarely drop below the 3rd gear on the crank set, which makes the first one seem a little unecersary. I also very often get into the top gear so perhaps the gears aren't in the best places.
The hydraulic brakes simply staggering, going downhill you can do 20mph to a a stop in a second or 2, the stopping power is beyond belief. You couldn't stop faster if you rode straight into a wall, that gives you the confidence to ride much faster which gives you better excercise and more enjoyment, as well as being safer.
You can also switch off the suspension forks with a little switch, which I don't tend to use but have done - though I can't see the advantages of having it locked solid.
Now for some negatives - unfortunatly when riding one day, a pedel came loose and fell off, this was not a piece I had attached but was more a problem with the mechanic - never good. Luckily, no harm done though I did have a go and fetch it from the road... Also the saddle it comes with is very uncomfortable, I'm sure it is replaceable, but your bottom hurts after just 10 minutes or so of riding, not nice.
So all in all, one or 2 niggles with it. But then it is worth it becuase for the price, the weight, the insane brakes and the number of gears, it is a really fantastic bike and I am certainly very pleased with mine. I had someone else ride it for a quick trip to borrow it, he said he was blown away by the brakes and easy it was to ride. And that I think sums it up. Hope this helps...
