This is the latest addition to Giant’s Maestro full suspension range, the Giant Trance X. The addition of the ‘X’ tells you that this is to the Trance what the current Reign X is to the Reign – a slightly longer-travel, slightly beefier version. The Trance X therefore neatly fills the often-commented-upon gap in Giant’s range between the 4.2in travel Trance and 6in travel Reign, with 5in.

The Trance X frame is all-new, and the Trance and Reign have new frames along similar lines too. Gone is the hole in the downtube to accommodate the shock – instead the shock mount is on top of the tube in a more conventional style. It seems a little perverse that making a big hole in a tube actually made the bike heavier, but it all had to be reinforced to cope and that added weight. To compensate for the higher shock position, the Maestro linkages have been rejigged so that it all behaves the same.

Rather than the old two-piece top tube, the new frames have a one-piece swoopy one. This lets Giant retain a low standover height (and build frames down to 14in) while still leaving room for that higher shock. Every tube has been slimmed down and lightened, and the lower linkage at the back is now a two-piece hollow welded construction which saves 50g on its own.

A neat finishing touch is the, um, finish. The Trance X is anodised rather than painted, but before that happens the frame tubes are brushed in some places and burnished in others – the logos you see on there aren’t decals, they’re different kinds of finish on the tubes. Tidy.

Specs, prices and weights when we have them. Giant also has some new hardtail stuff, including Alliance half carbon/half aluminium frames such as it’s already doing in the road market. Sounds interesting…