Giant has announced their (possibly the) first-ever women’s specific 29er mountain bike. The Rainier pulls from their XTC 29er hardtail (which we reviewed here) by using shaped, lightweight ALUXX aluminum tubing, but the women’s version is decidedly low spec in comparison…but also much lower in price at $700.
Spec’d with an SR / Giant suspension fork with steel steerer, SRAM X4 8-speed shifting and Hayes MX-4 mechanical disc brakes, it’s aimed at women just getting into the sport, which seems an odd choice for a company that’s only recently jumped into the 29er market.
Michael Delano, Giant’s NC/VA/DC account exec, says “The idea is to price it in such a manner that helps get more women on a mountain bike and give newbies a bit of a performance advantage when riding with friends, boyfriends and hubbies that may be more advanced. My (bike shop) customers love the affordability of this bike, and we think this will help get more people on 29ers and mountain bikes in general.”
In contrast to the spec, Giant gave the Rainier performance oriented geometry (70.5º head angle / 73.5º (average) seat angle) and a decent frame (ALUXX is straight tube aluminum versus the butted, lighter ALUXX SL), making the bike not just a great entry level performer, but perfectly upgradable as you get better. And, fortunately, they put a 100mm travel fork, so the geometry is set for any number of lighter, better 29er forks, too.
It’ll start hitting stores first of April.
