Custom 2010 Glory Geometry
I have been hearing a lot of people complaining about the geometry of the new Giant Glory. So I took it upon myself to try and see if I could resolve these issues by creating a frankenstein Glory.
Did I succeed? Check out the video, pictures and details inside!There have been a lot of people complaining about the geometry of the new 2010 Giant Glory. It had me a little worried as it was the bike that I wanted to ride for 2010. The parts' spec was bang on, the design is sick, and the weight is ridiculously low. The geo was the only thing holding me back. Problem is that I like a bike with a relatively low bottom bracket and a slack front end. The 2010 Glory has a BB height of 14.25 inches and a 65.5 degree head angle. Now don't get me wrong, these angles can, for some people be a perfect fit. I however, have grown to love the feeling of a slightly lower and slacker downhill bike, and the general trend of most DH bike manufacturers right now is to make a bike that is comparatively much lower and slacker than the new glory.
Rob and I at Dunbar Cycles got to thinking, after a few drinks, that it might be possible to toss in a shorter eye to eye shock which would effectively lower the bottom bracket and slacken out the new glory. In the morning it still seemed like a good idea, so we got to work. Now Rob and I are by no means mathematicians, but our rough guesstimate told us that if we went with an 8.5" eye to eye instead of an 8.75" eye to eye(stock on the glory) we would be able to lower the bottom bracket to 13.6 - 13.75 inches and achieve a head angle of about 63 - 64 degrees, depending on how you run your forks. Low and slack, just how we like it! Problem is, the only shock we could find with an 8.5" eye to eye had a stroke of 2.5 inches instead of the 2.75 inches (which the glory comes stock with). Running a 2.5 inch stroke shock would turn the 8 inch travel bike into a bike with just a bit over 7 inches of travel, which is just too close to freerider territory for a DH'er like me.
At this point we called up the boys at Elka Suspension and asked if it was possible for them to make us an 8.5 inch eye to eye shock that still had a 2.75 inch stroke. Pat at ELKA told us no problem, and before we knew it I had the new 8.5 X 2.75 ELKA shock plugged into my bike. I was super stoked to try out the new bike, not only because of the new angles, but also because of the upgraded valving on the ELKA. I had a chance to run an ELKA shock last year and was seriously blown away at how awesome the shock felt. The compression dampening made my Devinci Wilson feel like it had 12 inches of fully active travel compared to my stock shock.
![photo]()
Here it is! The 2010 Glory equipped with an 8.5" eye to eye shock with a 2.75" stroke:
![photo]()
Stock 2010 Glory DH 1 GEO:
Bottom Bracket Height: 14.25"
Head Angle:65.5 degrees
ELKA equipped 2010 Glory:
Bottom Bracket Height: 13.75- 14"
Head Angle: 63.5-64.5 deg. Depending how you run the forks
![photo]()
Did it work ?
Our main concern with putting in the shorter shock was that in some way the frame might bottom out on itself or the shock might end up moving backwards. Once installed, without a spring and before we rode the bike on the trails, we cycled the shock through its travel. The frame did not bottom out on itself, however in the last half inch of travel the top rocker link comes close to fully extending. I was concerned that once I got the bike out on the trail the last bit of travel would affect the performance of the bike by simply blowing through the last bit of travel.
Once I got the bike out on the trail any worry of performance hindering was immediately tossed out the window. The boys at ELKA did an awesome job of valving the shock so it would handle the slightly different ramp at the bottom of the travel. The new angles simply put, felt "right". I personally felt that the stock 2010 Glory just sat too high in the rear. However, the angles of the bike, with the ELKA shock, gave the bike a whole new level of stability. It cornered better, handled the steeps better, and was more stable at high speeds. The bike did however feel more sluggish on the flatter, more pedally sections of trail. The superior performance on the steeper/faster tracks, for me, far outweighed this negative.
The new angles, combined with the amazing dampening of the ELKA rear shock, has for me completely changed the feeling of the 2010 Glory. The new angles make the Glory feel comparable to a lower, slacker version of the popular, but no longer in production Ironhorse Sunday. I'm not saying that this change is for everyone, as I know that many people prefer the stock Geometry, but if you're looking to spruce up your Glory, going with a shorter eye to eye is a sick option!
*Note* Neither Giant, nor Dunbar Cycles endorses changing the suggested eye to eye of the Giant Glory until further testing has been done and doing so will most likely void your warranty. So tread lightly on that one.
Elka shocks available at Dunbar Cycles.com
ELKA SUSPENSION
Did I succeed? Check out the video, pictures and details inside!There have been a lot of people complaining about the geometry of the new 2010 Giant Glory. It had me a little worried as it was the bike that I wanted to ride for 2010. The parts' spec was bang on, the design is sick, and the weight is ridiculously low. The geo was the only thing holding me back. Problem is that I like a bike with a relatively low bottom bracket and a slack front end. The 2010 Glory has a BB height of 14.25 inches and a 65.5 degree head angle. Now don't get me wrong, these angles can, for some people be a perfect fit. I however, have grown to love the feeling of a slightly lower and slacker downhill bike, and the general trend of most DH bike manufacturers right now is to make a bike that is comparatively much lower and slacker than the new glory.
Rob and I at Dunbar Cycles got to thinking, after a few drinks, that it might be possible to toss in a shorter eye to eye shock which would effectively lower the bottom bracket and slacken out the new glory. In the morning it still seemed like a good idea, so we got to work. Now Rob and I are by no means mathematicians, but our rough guesstimate told us that if we went with an 8.5" eye to eye instead of an 8.75" eye to eye(stock on the glory) we would be able to lower the bottom bracket to 13.6 - 13.75 inches and achieve a head angle of about 63 - 64 degrees, depending on how you run your forks. Low and slack, just how we like it! Problem is, the only shock we could find with an 8.5" eye to eye had a stroke of 2.5 inches instead of the 2.75 inches (which the glory comes stock with). Running a 2.5 inch stroke shock would turn the 8 inch travel bike into a bike with just a bit over 7 inches of travel, which is just too close to freerider territory for a DH'er like me.
At this point we called up the boys at Elka Suspension and asked if it was possible for them to make us an 8.5 inch eye to eye shock that still had a 2.75 inch stroke. Pat at ELKA told us no problem, and before we knew it I had the new 8.5 X 2.75 ELKA shock plugged into my bike. I was super stoked to try out the new bike, not only because of the new angles, but also because of the upgraded valving on the ELKA. I had a chance to run an ELKA shock last year and was seriously blown away at how awesome the shock felt. The compression dampening made my Devinci Wilson feel like it had 12 inches of fully active travel compared to my stock shock.
Stock 2010 Glory DH 1 GEO:
Bottom Bracket Height: 14.25"
Head Angle:65.5 degrees
ELKA equipped 2010 Glory:
Bottom Bracket Height: 13.75- 14"
Head Angle: 63.5-64.5 deg. Depending how you run the forks
Did it work ?
Our main concern with putting in the shorter shock was that in some way the frame might bottom out on itself or the shock might end up moving backwards. Once installed, without a spring and before we rode the bike on the trails, we cycled the shock through its travel. The frame did not bottom out on itself, however in the last half inch of travel the top rocker link comes close to fully extending. I was concerned that once I got the bike out on the trail the last bit of travel would affect the performance of the bike by simply blowing through the last bit of travel.
Once I got the bike out on the trail any worry of performance hindering was immediately tossed out the window. The boys at ELKA did an awesome job of valving the shock so it would handle the slightly different ramp at the bottom of the travel. The new angles simply put, felt "right". I personally felt that the stock 2010 Glory just sat too high in the rear. However, the angles of the bike, with the ELKA shock, gave the bike a whole new level of stability. It cornered better, handled the steeps better, and was more stable at high speeds. The bike did however feel more sluggish on the flatter, more pedally sections of trail. The superior performance on the steeper/faster tracks, for me, far outweighed this negative.
The new angles, combined with the amazing dampening of the ELKA rear shock, has for me completely changed the feeling of the 2010 Glory. The new angles make the Glory feel comparable to a lower, slacker version of the popular, but no longer in production Ironhorse Sunday. I'm not saying that this change is for everyone, as I know that many people prefer the stock Geometry, but if you're looking to spruce up your Glory, going with a shorter eye to eye is a sick option!
*Note* Neither Giant, nor Dunbar Cycles endorses changing the suggested eye to eye of the Giant Glory until further testing has been done and doing so will most likely void your warranty. So tread lightly on that one.
Elka shocks available at Dunbar Cycles.com
ELKA SUSPENSION
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The Glory DH is a wicked bike for probably 90% of the downhill market. I was in no way trying to "FIX A BROKEN PRODUCT" as the stock glory is an amazing bike.
The reason I under the took slackening and lowering of the bike was to answer some concerns that OTHERS had presented about Giant making a bike that wasn't "RACER" friendly. I wanted to show that it is possible to make the new Glory have a more aggressive Geometry.
I would not advise changing your shock length on your Glory as you would not want to void Giants already wicked warranty.
-Adam
Regards to the ofset reducer cups mentioned above, would that not have resulted in the same slacker head angle, lower bottom bracket with the pos advantage of a slightly longer wheelbase? Without the expense of the shock?
Intersting article all the same.
T
Giant didnt spend $xxxxxx developing the Maestro and Glory suspension for no reason, geometry is personal preference but the suspension system is designed to work in a specific manner - Elka know what they are doing so i expect have tuned the shock to suit.
I would still go for the angled headset though, this is changing too many aspects of the bike for my liking, but then i dont own a glory so......
Another way to change HA and BB height would be to run a 24" wheel on the back, but who wants to run a 24"?
Tall crowns = slack head angle but taller bottom bracket and greater handlebar to ground heignt; not what everybody will want.
But of course, you can compensate that "un-progressiveness" of the frame by using a tweaked shock tunned for be progressive in the end of the stroke (like Elka did it). But I don't encourage people doing this change in geometry with a linear shock, without bottom-out regulation, because if you did it, you will bottom-out easialy.
Sorry my english. Bye
Nice article guys. I did a similar thing with my older Glory 8 a couple years ago, it made the bike more like the Dh.
OK that's my rant, nothing personal, but if you disagree with me i'll come and burn your house down! [ for those of you who don't get my humour, unplug the garbage can sized cork from your butt and go for a refreshing rip over a 50'cliff :-) ]
Geez, lets spend Sixty Seconds with that guy!
I bet a dollar that Giant will slacken the headtube 1 or 1.5 degrees in 2011.
the Word is "DAMPING" "dampening" somthing would involve water!!!!!
How will the sag slacken the bike? its an 8" travel bike with 8" travel forks. Therefore if they both sag the same (which they will when you are standing up) then the angles will remain the same. Obv the BB height will be lowered.
However, apart from the rear end possibly getting longer, the geo will not change (the head angle may change minutely due to the rear end lengthening but not enough to make any real difference).
Wheel path at the front is ideally going to match the rear (in a perfect world). Just look at the testing K9 bikes have done! Its all involved with getting the front wheel to move WITH the rear.
Anyone knows what song that is in the first videso?
im lost.
THanks
how can you run more than one fork on the bike?
"Bottom Bracket Height: 14.25"
Head Angle:65.5 degrees
ELKA equipped 2010 Glory:
Bottom Bracket Height: 13.75- 14"
Head Angle: 63.5-64.5 deg. Depending how you run the forks"
Why don't you show the differences in stock geo when you adjust the way you run your forks too? what way was the fork sitting in the crown when you made these measuerements of the stock bike? Seems like a silly thing to overlook in the write up, it makes it sound like the new shock gives adjustments which are unavailable on the stock set-up, which of course is not the case.
Clever idea though and it seemed to give you the desired result. Word
And .25 of an inch (6.35mm) is a noticable difference, which is why some people prefer 165,170 or 175mm cranks for example...
"we're coming up to a forks in the road."
it's a fork. unless you have more than one.
and to some-guy, i wouldn't call it "close minded", nor do i think anybody was "offended;" it's just a pet peeve. you're just defensive cause you call them forks. admit it
also (opens another can of worms) 'bars' :o