2005 Giant XTC

I own an 01 Xtc and love it. They have only gotten better, so one for 1000 is agood deal.

XTC.. ok theres like 4 different models.. and even more selection (i think) in america

im assuming your talking about the XTC3

i have a xtc2 and i love it but im actually thinking of going up to a carbon NRS.
on my xtc i swapped out the skareb forks for some fox F100RLT forks, sram pc99 hollow pin chain, sram front deraleur (replacing shimano components) and also swapped out the shimano SPD pedals for some crank bros egg beater Ti's

but yeah the xtc's are really good bikes and they ride nicely too, flexable but not too flexable

kandiguy said:

I would like to buy a 2005 Giant XTC for around 1000$ and I want to see if people had opinions on this bike.
-thanks

I have an 04' XTC3 and have had no problems. Very good bike, great value for money.

I bought a 2005 XTC2 last week. Its a fantastic bike, its nice and light to climb the hills and decends brilliantly.

Mine came with Skarebs - I thought they handled the terrain with ease and handled really well under some really rutted out sections and drop offs.

The SRAM stuff works really well - the only criticism is the Deore front derailuer, but its new and does the job and can easily be changed later.

Overall a wicked bike/wicked value and I can HIGHLY recommend it!

matt_aus said:

I bought a 2005 XTC2 last week. Its a fantastic bike, its nice and light to climb the hills and decends brilliantly.

Mine came with Skarebs - I thought they handled the terrain with ease and handled really well under some really rutted out sections and drop offs.

The SRAM stuff works really well - the only criticism is the Deore front derailuer, but its new and does the job and can easily be changed later.

Overall a wicked bike/wicked value and I can HIGHLY recommend it!

yeah the skarebs are alright for what they are but they are a bit flexy and dont even compare to other XC forks at the same level or higher like the SID and fox FRL or FRLT.

you should change over the front deralleur with a SRAM one and if you can a SRAM chain, the sram front deralleur is so much smoother than any shimano one with a shimano OR sram chain but having the right brand chain makes a difference

matt_aus said:

I bought a 2005 XTC2 last week. Its a fantastic bike, its nice and light to climb the hills and decends brilliantly.

Mine came with Skarebs - I thought they handled the terrain with ease and handled really well under some really rutted out sections and drop offs.

The SRAM stuff works really well - the only criticism is the Deore front derailuer, but its new and does the job and can easily be changed later.

Overall a wicked bike/wicked value and I can HIGHLY recommend it!

Is urs the 1000$ one??????

Mine is an SE-2, But I have made some upgrades to it. I have a Manitou Black comp fork and Shimano Deore Hydro brakes.

I have an XTC3, bought new for Christmas, been riding it most weekends since then. Mostly tracks (bridleways we call them in the UK) with a reasonable amount of mud, given how wet it has been.

Its a really nice looking bike, and Its a good bike to ride, but I have just gone through the pain of two broken derailleur hangers. One last weekend, after which I took to back to the bike shop who replaced it, but then it happened again within 2 miles yesterday.

I didn't really look closely after it came back - just got on and rode - trusting the shop mecahnics to get it right - obviously a mistake.

Looking at the SRAM mech - its a gonner - bent and twisted. 🙁

I'm not convinced about the SRAM stuff and the rave reviews it gets. I have a Scott Yecora for 5 years before this and rode it into the ground - hundreds of miles - with no trouble at all with the Shimano gears.

The deraillier hangers seem to be a problem for Giants - there are a number of posts around - with no apparent fixes - worrying.

My theory - yet to be proven till a get the next new hanger - is that the derailier was pushing the chain beyond the biggest rear cog and into the spokes. The plastic disk is chewed up - so I've cut that of for now.

Any strong views on the plastic guards - I come from a TT/road background and you wouldnt be seen dead with one on a bike. Whats the wisdon in MTB land

David

David D said:

I have an XTC3, bought new for Christmas, been riding it most weekends since then. Mostly tracks (bridleways we call them in the UK) with a reasonable amount of mud, given how wet it has been.

Its a really nice looking bike, and Its a good bike to ride, but I have just gone through the pain of two broken derailleur hangers. One last weekend, after which I took to back to the bike shop who replaced it, but then it happened again within 2 miles yesterday.

I didn't really look closely after it came back - just got on and rode - trusting the shop mecahnics to get it right - obviously a mistake.

Looking at the SRAM mech - its a gonner - bent and twisted. 🙁

I'm not convinced about the SRAM stuff and the rave reviews it gets. I have a Scott Yecora for 5 years before this and rode it into the ground - hundreds of miles - with no trouble at all with the Shimano gears.

The deraillier hangers seem to be a problem for Giants - there are a number of posts around - with no apparent fixes - worrying.

My theory - yet to be proven till a get the next new hanger - is that the derailier was pushing the chain beyond the biggest rear cog and into the spokes. The plastic disk is chewed up - so I've cut that of for now.

Any strong views on the plastic guards - I come from a TT/road background and you wouldnt be seen dead with one on a bike. Whats the wisdon in MTB land

David

i work in a giant dealer and never really had any problems with hangers braking, except in the case of someone crashing or bent ones from smashing the deraleur on something

plastic spoke gurad - take it off 😄

I have a Sram on mine and it hasnt complained. I am a trail XC racer on very rocky terrain. Don't run into immovable objects, usually works😉.
Seriously, the replacable hangars are easy to bend but they only do it if acted on by an outside force.

Conniebiker said:

Seriously, the replacable hangars are easy to bend but they only do it if acted on by an outside force.

which is a good thing, then (hopefully) you wont go smashing up your deralleur (im just wondering... is that the right spelling or have i been spelling it wrong for ages and nobodys said anything?)

anyway heres my XtC2, just for the hell of it

and my TCR1 for no reason whatsoever 😄

moparchris said:

which is a good thing, then (hopefully) you wont go smashing up your deralleur (im just wondering... is that the right spelling or have i been spelling it wrong for ages and nobodys said anything?)

anyway heres my XtC2, just for the hell of it

img.photobucket.comGiantXTC2 upgrades1.jpgOpen ↗

and my TCR1 for no reason whatsoever 😄

img.photobucket.comGiantTCR11.jpgOpen ↗

Nice Rides! As for the spelling, I think it depends on your location🙂 ( MIke the advertising executive decides he can sell more chains by calling them "derailanomically" designed!) Doesn't matter if it's a word or not, as long as we sell more chains!

Mountain Bike Action just did a review on the 2005 XTC ( $1000.00), they mainly said that it had good cornering because of its trail bike geometry. They also said that the tires lacked grip on the climbs and that new tires would be a good first upgrade.

i've got the hutchinson Pythons on mine. Its summer where I am and have found them fine for climbing, in fact I've been out to some of the steepest terrain we race and the performance has been excellent. However, when it comes to winter I'll be changing over to something like a michelon wildgripper as I doubt the pythons will grip in the deep mud.