JIMMER’S GIANT ADVANCED 2 TRANCE £3,249

Some shock and cockpit fettling makes the Trance a dream to ride

I knew that I wasn’t getting the most out of the Trance, and dabbling with the shock settings only seemed to make things worse. Fitting the carbon Renthal Fatbar and Apex stem from last year’s long-termer had some negative effects on the bike’s handling too. Fortunately, Ed and I had planned a visit to see our old ‘teaboy’ and tester Jake Ireland, who now runs Sprung Suspension, based at the Pedalabikeaway Cycle Centre in the Forest of Dean.

After getting me to don my full riding kit, Jake’s first step was to set the correct sag – 30 per cent on the shock and about 20 per cent on the fork. While Ed said he wanted the fastest set-up possible, I emphasised to Jake that I was no racer and just wanted to have as much fun on the bike as possible – which, I was guessing, would have a direct effect on my speed anyway.

Then it was out onto the trails, where Jake used his phone to film me so he could assess my riding and his settings. He noticed straight away that I was struggling for front wheel traction, despite having fitted a grippy Schwalbe Magic Mary tyre. I mentioned that since fitting the new bar and stem I’d felt like I was fighting for control, so he suggested removing two spacers from under my stem and rotating the brake levers down a bit. Wow, what a difference! With my weight moved forward and a slightly lower front end, the Trance once again felt planted and it was like I’d had an instant skills injection.

Jake added a ‘Bottomless Ring’ to the shock and 3psi of extra pressure, plus another volume spacer to the fork. This added more progression, which at first felt a little harsh. But I was amazed at how much difference adding just a few psi made – less is definitely more when it comes to shock pressures. Again we hit the trails, and made some small tweaks. A few extra clicks of rebound damping slowed the shock down a bit and I was starting to really attack the trail without fear of being bucked off. I was stoked at how hard I could push through the really notchy stuff.

Not only do I now feel that I have a better understanding of how to set up my bike but, more importantly, the fun factor has been turned up to 10!