2012 Giant Faith- First Impression (pictures)

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2012 Giant Faith- First Impression (pictures)
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flag PeytonP
Posted: Feb 22, 2012 at 13:55 Quote
Well, I sold the Reign X1 and now I'm working with the Faith.

First impression- Wow.

After setting sag, damping, and rebound (following RockShox's incredibly convenient guides- fork - shock) ), I hit the trails and immediately noticed how great the Totem felt. Muddier than desired conditions kept me from hitting my favorite jumps and feeling out the high end, but the low end compression was buttery smooth. The Totem RC2 DH seemed lightyears ahead of the Fox Float R I had experience with.

The Vivid Coil RC2 was a bit more vague and harder to interpret. I'm using a 550lbs spring, which actually didn't feel that bad on climbs. Of course there will be bob with a 7" bike, but I didn't feel like I was completely wallowing uphill. That said, the Large rig is 37.6lbs and the 2.5" Maxxis High Rollers are not fast rollers when pointed anywhere other than downhill. The Faith will definitely whip me into shape due to this. After the trails dry by the weekend, I'll have a better idea of how the shock handles my 210lbs with more speed and bigger jumps.

The Avid Elixir 9, [F] 203mm, [R] 180mm brakes are so much better than the Elixir 5 set I moved from! They are very smooth- could be touchier, but that's adjustable and preferential. They are quiet and only made the slightest noises after several muddy splashes.

I had to cut down the seatpost. I'm 6'3" and the lowest it would sit was with the saddle at mid-thigh. Let's face it, that's not freeride or male friendly.

The Giant Contact AM bar is pretty flat. I think I'll swap for something with a little more rise in the future. The 31.8 width was fine, though.

The MRP chainguide was a bit noisy in lower gears, but I don't expect to lose my chain anytime soon.

I'm looking forward to really pushing myself on this bike and I'll have more information as I get more ride time.

2012 Giant Faith

2012 Giant Faith

2012 Giant Faith- 7 Maestro Suspension RockShox Vivid Coil RC2 550lbs. coil Truvativ Descendant crankset w MRP G2 Mini SL SRAM X9 Derailleur

2012 Giant Faith RockShox Totem RC2 DH Solo Air 180mm Avid Elixir 9 203mm Maxxis High Roller 3C 2.5

Feel free to request certain shots.
flag PeytonP
Posted: Feb 22, 2012 at 13:57 Quote
Frame
Sizes L
Colors Satin Black/Gloss Black
Frame ALUXX SL-Grade Aluminum, 7" Maestro Suspension
Fork RockShox Totem RC2 DH Solo Air w/ 20mm Thru-Axle and OverDrive 2 Steerer, 180mm Travel
Shock RockShox Vivid Coil RC2
Components
Handlebar Giant Contact AM, 31.8
Stem Giant Contact FR, OverDrive 2
Seatpost Giant Contact, 30.9
Saddle Giant Freeride
Pedals Giant Alloy Platform, Sealed
Drivetrain
Shifters SRAM X9, 1x9 Speed
Front Derailleur N/A
Rear Derailleur SRAM X9
Brakes Avid Elixir 9, [F] 203mm, [R] 180mm
Brake Levers Avid Elixir CR
Cassette SRAM PG 970 11x32, 9-Speed
Chain Shimano HG-73
Crankset Truvativ Descendant w/ MRP G2 Mini SL, 36T
Bottom Bracket SRAM GXP
Wheels
Rims Giant P-AM2
Hubs [F] Giant Tracker w/ 20mm Axle, [R] DT Swiss 350 w/ 12mm Maxle QR, 32h
Spokes DT Swiss Competition
Tires Maxxis High Roller 3C, 26x2.5 Folding
Other
Extras Adjustable Dropouts


Weight (with Giant pedals): 37.6lbs.
flag kfitz
Posted: Feb 24, 2012 at 19:40 Quote
wow! 37 lbs! my 2011 is 39 lbs and i just built a light wheel set. the contact bars made my wrist hurt long days on the mtn. i think they have a weird back sweep.
flag NuclearBob99
Posted: Mar 24, 2012 at 18:37 Quote
I'd put a bit more protection between your chainstay and chain guide. I bought a 2011 Giant Faith 1 a few weeks ago, and after three weeks of riding, I tore the crap out of the paint there (finally got around to putting protection on today haha).

Other than that, sick ride! I still need to tune my 66 RCVs, but other than that, the geometry on the bike is amazing!
flag PeytonP
Posted: Mar 29, 2012 at 12:47 Quote
[Quote="NuclearBob99"(finally got around to putting protection on today [/Quote]

What armor did you use? An old tube? Something fabric or carbon? I'd be interested in something on the downtube as well. As much as I like Giant, their cable routing is awful.
flag NuclearBob99
Posted: Mar 29, 2012 at 13:35 Quote
I used a couple of old innertubes, one for the chainstay, and the other for the seatstay. I wrapped each of the ends with electrical tape followed by a zapstrap to secure the tape.

I totally agree with the cabling job; it's pretty shabby. I haven't had any chips or scuffs on my downtube yet and haven't heard of others with Giant Faiths having that problem, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Cheers!
flag shakeystart
O+
Posted: Apr 7, 2012 at 17:25 Quote
How are you liking the wheelset now that you have some miles on it?
flag philg379
Posted: Apr 7, 2012 at 17:36 Quote
PeytonP wrote:
The MRP chainguide was a bit noisy in lower gears

They pipe down after a few rides.
flag komodo1
O+
Posted: Apr 7, 2012 at 17:39 Quote
I have a glory and didnt like the cable routing either, so I used stick on cable guides and put the cables on the top of the down tube and underneath the shock mount. It worked really well to keep them away from getting hit by rocks.

You can see it in these pictures:
2010 Giant Glory looking pimp
photo

If you ride rocky stuff and have a chance of hitting the bottom bracket area on rocks, etc,... I would recommend trying this out.
flag PeytonP
Posted: Apr 7, 2012 at 18:12 Quote
talkinghead wrote:
How are you liking the wheelset now that you have some miles on it?

The stock wheelset has been great. My area isn't that rocky but I've been jumping into some rough stuff and even down flights of stairs in between fast rooty runs with no issues.

I'm sure there are lighter sets for the strength but I'm pleased so far.
flag PeytonP
Posted: Apr 7, 2012 at 18:15 Quote
komodo1 wrote:
I have a glory and didnt like the cable routing either, so I used stick on cable guides and put the cables on the top of the down tube and underneath the shock mount. It worked really well to keep them away from getting hit by rocks.

photo


Nice bike! That looks pretty good. I may have to try that.
flag cmorton
Posted: May 13, 2012 at 10:34 Quote
Lads totally agree with the cable routing not good on the down tube
I have the 2010 faith and think the bike is so good it just fills you with confidence
I run a little dif shock set ccdb and fox vans forks but that's just my thing
I will get some pics
flag PeytonP
Posted: May 14, 2012 at 9:46 Quote
komodo1 wrote:
I have a glory and didnt like the cable routing either, so I used stick on cable guides and put the cables on the top of the down tube and underneath the shock mount. It worked really well to keep them away from getting hit by rocks.

You can see it in these pictures:
2010 Giant Glory looking pimp
photo

If you ride rocky stuff and have a chance of hitting the bottom bracket area on rocks, etc,... I would recommend trying this out.

Komodo, I keep coming back to this thread and I'm always stoked to see your great looking bike! I just realized that you're running Saint. I'd love to make the switch soon, as well. Did you have any issues come up, or could you offer any advice on what to run? I was curious if switching from 9sp to 10sd effected any rear performance. (I'm new to this and paranoid I'll do something wrong.) I'd like to give Shimano a shot after issues with a few SRAM parts on this and other bikes. On the Faith, the X9 rear isn't being reliable.
flag PeytonP
Posted: May 14, 2012 at 9:49 Quote
kfitz wrote:
wow! 37 lbs! my 2011 is 39 lbs and i just built a light wheel set. the contact bars made my wrist hurt long days on the mtn. i think they have a weird back sweep.

What bars are you running now? I'm getting some of that same wrist pain that I didn't have on less plush bikes.
flag komodo1
O+
Posted: May 14, 2012 at 16:16 Quote
Thanks man! The only Saint parts on my bike are the cranks. Every thing else is Sram. I recently put on a X9 shifter, X7 deraileur, and the 970 DH cassette. Its all 9 speed. I never had problems with reliability. Did you bend the deraileur hanger or something?
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