# First new bike in 15 years - Giant Talon 2 or 3?



## Smudge524 (Aug 6, 2016)

I have been riding a a Specialized Hard Rock for about 15 years. I do mostly on road with occasional light off road. It is time for a new bike. I would like to get into some more off road/mountain biking - nothing too hard core though. I have been to two bike shops and narrowed it down to either the Giant Talon 27.5 2 or 27.5 3. The Talon 2 is at tip top of my budget - I wanted to be under $1k but can go slightly over if I can justify it. Is the Talon 2 more than I need? What can I do with the 2 that I cannot do with the 3 (about $400 cheaper). Any thoughts on these two models is much appreciated! Thanks


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## Misterg (Jul 17, 2014)

Hi,

Are you looking at the 2016 models? Be wary, as the detailed spec varies year by year.

Going on the information here, the main differences between the 2 and the 3 is the front suspension fork.

The fork on the 3 is a low-end coil spring fork without any damping (SR Suntour XCM HLO). It would probably fulfill your requirements for ' mostly on road with occasional light off road'. If you have any ambitions whatsoever to do more off road, then the fork on the Talon 3 will limit you immediately.

The Talon 2 has an air spring fork with adjustable damping (Suntour Epixon Air Spring, low speed compression and rebound adjustment). This is still entry level, but it is a "proper" suspension fork - the damping will stop you pinging around like a pogo-stick on bumps, and the air spring will be lighter, and allow you to tune the fork to your body weight.

It would be a 'no-brainer' for me to get the Epixon fork over the XCM, but I think you could buy the Epixon for less that the difference in price (it sounds like a very big price difference compared to MSRP).

The 3 has a 3 x 9 drive set-up which would be fine, but the 2 has Shimano Deore 2x10 which is nice, and would offer an easier upgrade path as things wear out.

For what you *want* to do, I would go for the Talon 2 rather than the 3, but would do my homework as to whether there there were other, similar bikes at the Talon 2 price.

FWIW, I have a Talon 1 (which was the lowest model with an air fork in 2015) and think it's great.

In case you haven't found it, there's 47 pages of Talon love here

ETA: The spec may also be different between US and Europe! Have you got links to the exact models you're looking at?


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

27.5 on a hardtail used a lot on the road. 29 would serve you better and for 2017 Giant is offering more 29s-- the 27.5 marketing scam has largely failed. Getting into it now would be a loss. Test ride both wheel sizes so you have more info.


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## Smudge524 (Aug 6, 2016)

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I need to broaden my search a little more. I initially picked Giant because the two stores in the area I live both sell them. But since joining this forum, and reading lots, I am learning that there are lots and lots of options in the $1000 range. I read some posts about the $700 Diamondback Mason Trail on sale but it appears as though that is sold out.


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## Bruce in SoCal (Apr 21, 2013)

I like when people say they are not going to do anything "too hardcore." I'm pretty sure they mean they aren't going to do jumps or drops of over 10 feet or rock gardens with lots of 3-footers or long 20% descents. And, that makes perfect sense when they are talks nag about a bike that costs less than $3k USD.

But what about a 1 foot drop or 6 inch rock garden or roots or rises that can produce 8 inches of air? These are not uncommon on ordinary trails.

Or is "not too hardcore" just a way of saying a rails-to-trails path or the dirt shoulder next to the paved bike path?


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

If you just want to get riding, the 3 is fine. Not a great fork, but it works. It does not work as well as the 2's fork, but that's also a big price jump for just a fork. You could probably get just as good rockshox or manitou fork for that price bump. The 3x9 drivetrain will also give you plenty of range and top end speed for road use.

End of day though, I'd rather have a 29er any day of the week though. If you're short, the 27.5 or 26" is OK, but if you're over 5'10" and don't have a lot of windy twisty trails, no reason not to go 29er.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

If you're set on the Talon get the 2, better parts.

Remember that the Talon and most of the comparable entry level bikes will have some cheap parts, most (trying not to say all) have bad forks so keep that in mind.

Stop by the Giant sub forum and read what other Talon owners have to say about it, Giant - Mtbr.com


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

Smudge524 said:


> Thanks for the advice. Maybe I need to broaden my search a little more. I initially picked Giant because the two stores in the area I live both sell them. But since joining this forum, and reading lots, I am learning that there are lots and lots of options in the $1000 range. I read some posts about the $700 Diamondback Mason Trail on sale but it appears as though that is sold out.


The Mason Trail is sold out but you can still get a Mason for 950 with a corporate discount code after registering on the corp site. No XL but the other sizes are there. Let me know if you want to go that way.


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