Bicycling Magazine posted a review of the Talon 29 mountain bike, claiming it “might be the best £599.00 mountain bike you can buy.” Editors praised its lightweight ALUXX SL aluminum frame, 100mm suspension fork and tubeless-ready wheels, calling it “a great all-terrain commuter and fitness bike, as well as an ideal bike for riders looking to experiment with racing.”
Bicycling Test Editor Bobby Lea, a former pro racer, claimed the Talon 29 is ready to be ridden hard.
“This bike is a great mix of performance, value, and practicality,” Lea wrote. “On paper you’ll see it has the chops to be a hard-charging, aggressive XC bike. A steep 73.5-degree seat angle helps you keep power on the pedals and maintain traction on steep climbs. I didn’t take it easy on this bike – I pushed it through some of the roughest and rockiest trails we have around the Bicycling office. It responded beautifully.”


In a sidebar to the story, Bicycling pointed out “5 things we love” about the Talon 29, which included its 2×9 drivetrain, internal cable routing, suspension fork, quick release levers and gear indicator.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 x 9-Speed Drivetrain You get bigger big gears and smaller small gears than a 1x drivetrain. |
Internal Cable Routing It doesn’t make your gears work any better but internal cables sure look good. |
Suspension Fork The RockShox XC30 fork is one of the best coil spring forks available. |
Quick Release Levers Removing wheels is much faster and easier with quick release levers. |
Gear Indicator Both front and rear shifters have gear indicator dials for quick reference. |
For more, check out the full review on the Bicycling web site.
And for all the details on the full Talon range click here.
Tags: Giant, Talon
Source: Giant UK