Hardtail

LIGHT, EFFICIENT AND FLAT-OUT FAST. WHEN THE CLIMBS ARE STEEP AND THE SPEEDS ARE HIGH, THIS IS THE WEAPON OF CHOICE FOR XC PROS LIKE TWO-TIME MTB MARATHON WORLD CHAMP LEO PÁEZ. KEY PERFORMANCE FACTORS Superlight and responsive Pro-level Advanced SL composite frame is the lightest off-road frame Giant has ever produced, offering serious XC racers a competitive advantage for climbing, accelerating and sprinting. Ultra-efficient The frame is engineered with the highest stiffness-to-weight-ratio of any hardtail mountain bike in its class, which translates to ultra-efficient pedaling power and precise handling on the trail. Custom compliance Each frame is custom-tuned based on its size. Individual composite lay-up schedules are created to optimize vertical compliance to produce a smoother ride quality on XC terrain.

Wide open, dawn to dusk. The Highball is our race-bred XC hardtail. When the trail (or the competition) calls for the direct drive efficiency that only a hardtail can offer, the Highball is the choice. It looks straightforward but that belies the high-tech features and design hidden within. This is a modern take on the simple machine that many still choose to put battery acid in their thighs and fire in their lungs in order to conquer something. Whether you’re chasing medals, personal demons, or just some riding buddies, this is a hardtail you’ll be happy to log long hours upon. Hard on the throttle, soft on the body Hardtails are about as subtle as bikes come, and in the case of the Highball, simplistic refinement belies engineering effort. We’ve learned from our road biking pals that a great deal of a hardtail’s compliance comes from the Seatpost: the smaller the diameter, the softer the feel, and with more seat posts exposed to daylight, more compliance is had— which is the reason the Highball features low slung top tube and the smaller, 27.2mm diameter post. But you need not be sitting to recognize the ‘soft’ feel of the Highball— the dropped seat stays are made of custom laminate, finely tuned here in Santa Cruz for vertical compliance— and they’re oriented to isolate the top tube from high-speed trail chatter, reducing feedback to the, uh, engine.

RESPONSIVE RIDE QUALITY AND MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY ON FAST, FLOWY SINGLETRACK. THIS LIGHTWEIGHT COMPOSITE HARDTAIL IS A GREAT CHOICE FOR XC RACING OR KOM CHASING. KEY PERFORMANCE FACTORS Lightweight and responsive - A handcrafted Advanced-grade composite frameset offers XC racers and riders a competitive advantage for climbing, accelerating and sprinting. XC efficiency - The frame is engineered with a high stiffness-to-weight ratio, which translates to efficient pedaling power and precise handling on the trail. Custom compliance - Each frame is custom-tuned based on its size. Individual composite lay-up schedules are created to optimize vertical compliance to produce a smoother ride quality on XC terrain. TECHS & FEATURES: ADVANCED COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGY Giant's High Performance Grade raw carbon material is used to produce this custom frame material in our own composite factory with a high stiffness-to-weight ratio. The front triangle of these framesets is assembled and molded as one continuous piece in a proprietary manufacturing process called Modified Monocoque Construction. OVERDRIVE Giant's original oversized fork steerer tube technology. Designed to provide precise front-end steering performance, the system's oversized headset bearings (1 1/4" lower and 1 1/8" upper for road, 1 1/2" lower and 1 1/8" upper for mountain) and tapered steerer tube work in conjunction to provide optimal steering stiffness. TUBELESS SYSTEM Fewer flat tires. Greater traction. Less rolling resistance and a smoother, faster ride. Giant's Tubeless System makes it easier than ever to experience all these benefits.