The affordable Giant Stance short-travel trail bike is getting its first major update since 2018, at least for buyers in the USA. Though the Stance received modest updates in 2024 for the rest of the world, this year’s changes are substantial, with 29er wheels, more travel, a new rear suspension layout, and updated geometry. It also has a much better look.
At the same time, Giant’s sister brand Liv, which is dedicated to women’s bikes, is rolling out an updated Embolden short-travel trail bike with similar specs.
29er wheels FTW
Giant was the last of the major bike brands holding on to 27.5″ wheels, and with the release of the latest Stance, it appears the brand is fully moving on. Giant previously offered the Stance with 27.5″ wheels, and in select markets, with 29″ wheels. Now, it appears the Stance will be 29er only. Only the smallest, extra-small size Stance builds feature a mixed-wheeled setup with a 27.5″ wheel in the rear position.
The Liv Embolden specs mixed wheels on both extra small and small builds while sizes medium and large feature matched 29″ wheels. Liv does not offer a size extra large Embolden frame.
Short travel trail gets longer
The new Giant Stance delivers 140/130mm of suspension travel front and rear, respectively. That’s 10mm more front and rear than the 2018 version, and 5mm more in the rear than the 2024 version that was available outside the US. Today, 130mm is the minimum amount of travel that buyers expect from a short-travel trail bike, with generally only cross-country and downcountry bikes seeing less.
Giant specs their own suspension components on the Stance, with a Giant STL 34 fork up front. The fork features a twin air spring with a self-equalizing negative air spring, a hollow arch, an integrated mud guard, and the ability to tune the fork via tokens. The Giant Crest shock also utilizes a twin air spring design and offers two compression modes: open and lockout.
Giant Stance bikes sold in the USA will feature a Fox Rhythm rear shock instead of Giant’s Crest shock in order to comply with the Withhold Release Order imposed by the US Customs and Border Protection late last year.
New shock orientation
Though the Stance has used the brand’s FlexPoint suspension tech ever since the 2018 release, this iteration of FlexPoint sees a totally new shock orientation that tucks the shock beneath the top tube. Judging by the photos, this gives the bike a much sleeker look overall, with room for not just one but two water bottles inside the front triangle. The linkage-driven, single-pivot suspension design relies on flexstays, a design choice that saves weight and reduces maintenance.
More slack, more stack
Giant boasts that the new Stance has been updated with “29er trail geometry,” and compared to the last US version of the bike, it has a much slacker 65° head tube angle combined with a steeper 76.5° effective seat tube angle. Reaches are longer too, but remain reasonable with the size large Stance stretching to 477mm. Chainstays are on the high side of average at 442mm, though this is a number we’re starting to see trend upward, even among brands like Giant that do not vary chainstay lengths based on frame size. (Owing to the smaller rear wheel, size extra-small Stances do have a slightly shorter, 440mm chainstay length.)
Rounding out the geometry changes, Giant notes the updated Stance has a higher stack height, which lands at 628mm for a size large. The upshot of a higher stack height is improved control on descents and also a better fit for tall riders.
Premium touches at an affordable price
The aluminum alloy Giant Stance has always been one of the more affordable full-suspension mountain bikes in the brand’s range. The $2,300 price tag is $600 more than the Stance 1 that was previously available in the US, but the latest bike has some nice features that aren’t usually found at this price.
In addition to the sleek, tucked-in rear shock, the Stance also delivers intelligent cable routing. Giant explains it this way: “The head tube and headset offer convertible cable routing that allows for internal or external routing.” From the sound of it (and based on the provided photos), the choice between internal and external cable routing seems to be limited to the headset area. Giant also touts a “smooth cockpit-to-frame transition with integrated spacers” that could be related. Full details were not available as of press time.
Giant specs four-piston Tektro brakes, 29×2.4″ Maxxis Dissector tires, and a 1×10-speed Shimano CUES drivetrain. The frame is UDH-compatible, offering owners a wide range of choices for future drivetrain upgrades. Weights for complete bike builds are unknown.
On paper, and in photos, the Giant Stance looks like it should be a damn fine bike for the price.
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