by Barry

(l-r): Sue, Paul, and Barry ready to hit Bootleg Canyon.

We were greeted today with cloudy skies and the high possibility of some nasty weather – not the arid heat one expects when visiting the Las Vegas area. A low pressure system originating in California threatened us with intense rain, wind and cooler temperatures, but that didn’t keep up from our primary goal of testing Giant’s 2012 line of bikes at the Interbike Dirt Demo in Boulder City.

Due to the extreme weather, all rides were postponed until things improved and the threat of flash floods, lightning strikes and high winds made everyone wary of entering Bootleg Canyon. Up until now, I thought only the 2011 Race The Ridge Criterium and some Major League Baseball games could be delayed due to rain.

After an hour of hunkering down under the Giant USA Factory Team tents at the demo site, we were given the green light to ride. Today I had the privilege of being joined by Local Ride Racing team manager and cycling ambassador Paul Craig and Local Ride team racer Sue Weston.

Paul and I started out the day on the Anthem X 29 0 and Sue was aboard the women’s specific Trance X W. We decided to maximize our ride time by riding deep into Bootleg Canyon and hitting as much singletack as we possibly could. After a second ride in two days on the Anthem X 29, I had grown to appreciate the speed it could carry over the moderately technical, flowy terrain. Given more rides on this bike, I know I could really learn to love it.

With the rain and wind still holding off, we decided to check out some of Giant’s new road platform. The test ride became a “tale of two bikes.” Paul chose a TCR Advanced 3 with Shimano Ultegra, while I opted for the Defy Advanced 1 with SRAM Force. We swapped bikes halfway, allowing us both to appreciate the differences of each rig.

A Tale of Two Bikes: Barry with the Defy (left) and Paul with the TCR (right).

The bikes performed extremely well, and Paul and I saw the merits of both rides. The Defy Advanced had that more comfortable, all day in the saddle ride quality, without sacrificing too much in cornering and acceleration. I sure appreciated the compact crank as I laboured up the slight incline back to our starting point. The TCR Advanced had amazing compliance while offering those race quality cornering and “out of the saddle” sprinting abilities. Both bikes rock. It will be a tough decision on which I choose to ride for 2012.

Paul enjoying the ride.

Sue had the opportunity to experience some of Giant’s women’s line of performance bikes, including the Trance X W trail bike and the Avail Advanced W road bike. Sue has a typical woman’s physiology, which includes a shorter torso. As a result, Giant’s women’s line is a perfect fit, as the women’s specific bike frame geometry sports shorter top tubes and taller head tubes. Stay tuned for Sue’s full report on these bikes.

It was another fruitful day at the Dirt Demo and I look forward to sharing more of my first-hand experiences from Interbike tomorrow!