Originally Posted By: ilmonster
The XTC is a great ride, certainly not a widowmaker. It has very reasonable geometry. The drivetrain is as good as anyone needs, and you'll notice the SLX based drivetrain is a big step up from your 5 year old Specialized. The clutched XT rear derailleur is wonderful shifting, and the clutch keeps from throwing a chain when going over bumpy ground. The disc brakes are also a world better than the cantilever brakes your old bike had, and work well when wet (crossing streams).
Regarding the Stan's tubeless setup, definitely get those things running tubeless. Stan's has the best tubeless sealant out there. I actually work in the bike industry for a component supplier, and have a lot of experience with the Stan's setup - it works flawlessly.
I built up a Giant Anthem ride last year to replace a Santa Cruz Superlight, and Giant makes super frames! Largest bike manufacturer in the world you know. Enjoy!!
Hey bud, thanks for your comments!
I realized that I misspoke about the components - it actually has a Shimano Deore XT crank, and, combined with the stiff carbon composite frame, the XTC is really efficient at putting the power to the ground. I feel like XT is like the 105 of MTB components. Would you say that's accurate?
Love the Stan's tubeless so-far...neither tire seems to be losing any air. I don't know about running lower pressures with it - I was running 26 front and 28 rear today with the slick conditions, and I feel like I definitely don't want any less air in that rear tire. I could tell it was close to the lower limit for my weight (6'2", 180 lbs naked), at least, for where I rode today, which had lots of sharp-edged rocks. Dealer actually ended up throwing in the Stan's kit for free due to a little paint chip in the frame that happened somewhere between Taiwan and Nashville...it is a long way, after all!
I've now put about 35-38 miles on the bike at two different locations - one that is a pretty standard XC-type mountain bike trail and is pretty flowing with only a couple of technical spots (Lock 4 Park), and then another place that I just rode for the first time today (Shute's Branch) and loved. The place today was pretty awesome - starts out with pretty wide-open, fast trails, and then the 2nd half has some pretty technical stuff - mostly rock gardens with lots of tight turns around trees. Both places are a lot of fun. We've had a ton of rain here, so both places are pretty slick right now. I'm trying to get used to not only the new geometry, which is much more aggressive than the old Hardrock, but also the Shimano SLX hydraulic disc brakes, which are 1-finger powerful. Additionally, I have my Hardrock brakes set up motorcycle-style, with the right lever actuating the front brake (I ride sportbikes and dirt bikes). So, I threw myself over the bars once today in a slow, tight, technical spot because I grabbed a handful of front brake accidentally
The XTC is definitely an XC racer! It's light (24 lbs 2 oz as measured at the shop after the Stan's Tubeless kit was installed, for an XL frame) and the steering is quick. I can't wait to get this thing on some dry trails and really start throwing it into the corners. That is my favorite part about mountain biking - the turns. Being so swamped with rain lately, and as slick as it has been over the last 3 days, I haven't been able to do that much. Today I was really enjoying going around hairpins on the bike. It turns as fast as you want it to! The other side to the steep 71.5* headtube angle is that when the front end lets go, either in a flat, slick corner, or when the front wheel hits a wet, slick branch or root in the trail, it lets go fast... You have to have lightning-quick reflexes to save it. I haven't been on any long downhill sections on it yet, but it has a pretty wide handlebar, so that ought to keep things pretty easy to control.
The Fox fork is very good, and so much better than the entry-level Suntour unit on the Hardrock. I was really enjoying that fork out in the rock gardens today. I fell a few times, but, amazingly, didn't put any dings in the frame, or hit the rear derailleur, which is unbelievable. I'm sure it will happen. The bike's forte is not the rock gardens for sure, but that won't stop me from riding them anyway. For the fast, flowy stuff at Lock 4 Park, I like the Climb setting on the fork, which is the stiffest of the 3 settings. Today, at Shute's Branch, with all the rock gardens, I left it in Trail all day (middle). I haven't played with the clickers yet. A guy over on MTBR forum said that Fox actually dropped the CTD system for 2016 because it's not that great, and they have a new system. Apparently my fork can be retrofitted with the new damping setup if I buy a kit from Fox. The guy said that Fox even has it listed at a discount so that people can do just that.
The carbon fiber composite frame has a great feel. It is stiff, yet very compliant. Small and large trail imperfections don't transmit a sharp jolt like on the aluminum frame of the Hardrock...instead, it's like a "dead thunk", with a lot of the impact being absorbed and damped by that composite frame. It does a great job of transmitting every milliwatt of power you're putting into the pedals back to the rear wheel. I can't wait for some dry trails to see just how well this thing climbs!
Also just really enjoying the quality of the Shimano SLX and XT components. They're all several levels higher than the kit on the Hardrock, and newer, of course, so they feel really good. As I mentioned, the SLX brakes require only 1 finger, and have pretty good feel (I'll know more about the feel when we dry out here). SLX shifters are very precise and have a quality feel to them. Shifting is precise and fast.
The place I rode today has 8 miles of trail, and I put in 2 full laps and 1 partial lap (accidentally cut some of the trail off on my first loop). By the end of the 3rd time around, I was tired, but I was really starting to mesh with the bike. I am looking forward to getting to where I feel really comfortable on it! Can you guys do me a favor and hold the rain??
Here is a link to a good detailed little 3-minute HD video that a guy shot of his new XTC like mine. I think his is a 2014, but it's the same bike. I thought about doing a video but this guy did a lot better job than I would have!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTPYnmfeVOc