The Giant has been sitting on cruise-control duty

During the lockdown, the Giant’s had a pretty easy life. The local trails I have just outside my door are undoubtedly fun and I’ve been getting out often, but there’s nothing there that’s going to cause this enduro sled any problems. That said, the bike’s developed a persistent creak when pedalling. After a couple of rides, it became clear that this wasn’t going to sort itself out.

The first thing to come out was the bottom bracket for regreasing – it’s always fun to get the hammers out when it’s a press-fit. I apologise to

SRAM for my prejudice here, because that wasn’t the cause. Next up, the shock and hardware received some attention. At least the bearings are running smoothly and play-free. But they weren’t the culprit either. Third and finally, the dropper post came out for a clean and a healthy dose of grease. That one did the trick and got me back to silent riding – just in time for the headset to start crunching.

That’s still a problem. It’s been refitted, enjoyed another dollop of fresh grease and tightened to various torques, from barely rattlefree to only just freely turning, yet it still creaks when I twist the bar. Otherwise, there’s little to report. I’m loving having dry feet when I get back from riding. Even though it’s been the sunniest spring on record, it still feels like a novelty after the awful winter we endured.

As restrictions ease, I’m looking forward to getting out to other trails when they reopen and hopefully using more than just the first

60mm of fork travel! www.giant-bicycles.com