Giant XTC 4.5 2007

absolutly briliant bike just got it very good quality parts and disign espialy brakes and gears good fun but also great for long rides (has 27 speeds which i think is almost to many) i can highly reccomend the giant xtc 4.5 bike.

When I first bought this bike I was very pleased with it, but the real test was when I took it to Cwmcarn and gave it some stick, the result was hugely disappointing, the fundamental flaw with this is that the pedals are too low to the ground and consequently I kept catching my feet on rocks and roots, as if this wasn't enough on the way back down the mountain, the brakes, after minimal usage, [who uses brakes going up a mountain?] overcooked and completely spoilt my descent, this bike is seriously flawed in my opinion.

The Giant XTC is a good bike. Its light has lots of gears and great suspension. The only problem I found is that ths chain came loose when it wasnt services regularly.

After 17 years, decided to replace my trusty Giant Granite and couldn't see any reason to change brand. Excellent spec for the price - hydraulic disk brakes, Shimano gears and shifters, RockShox forks. The brakes are excellent - I've only faded them once, and that was coming back down Ditchling Beacon. They are particularly good off road where they don't get covered in mud and water the way that rim brakes do.

The forks are well set-up, with adjustments for preload and damping, and an easy to use lockout for hills. The riding position is good, although personally I moved the seat forward about an inch and that improved things greatly.

The gears are Shimano Deore and are excellent. I had some reservations about the finger shifters (17 years of using my thumbs...) but it all came quite naturally. Also, the brakes are so good that it doesn't matter if your index finger is covering the gears; just use your middle finger for the brakes.

I did have some brake squeal after about a month. A thin smear of Copaslip on the back of the pads did the trick. It's also worth whipping out the bottle holder bolts and doing those too, as mine had a few spots of rust after washing it.

Would I recommend it? Oh yes.