Any major diference between 04 Giant Rainier and 05 model??

[tranzformer]

just curious cause i have been looking at both models. Just wondering if the 05 is worth the extra money??

[snow_slider]

A few things:
Shifters went from Deore to SRAM x.7 (even tradeoff)
Rear derailleur went from LX to SRAM x.7 (IMO LX is better)
Brakes went from Avid mech. to Hayes Sole XC (IMO Avid is better)
Rims went from Weinmann ZAC19 to Sun Rhynolite (excellent updrade)

I'd say that the 04 is the better buy depending on what price you can get it for.

[scoober]

It's super hard to tell because Giant works in half year models a lot and I think within the last two calendar years there have been like 4 versions of the Rainier.

My buddy just bought an '04 that has Avid discs, LX rear mech, Mavic rims, and a Rock Shox Judy fork. The '04 archive on the Giant website shows the '04.5 model which has the sram x7 stuff, rhyno lite rims, a Marzocchi EXR fork, and avid discs. The '05 looks very similar but different color and has the Hayes mechanical discs. Then there is the '04 that s_s is talking about that has avid discs and weinman rims, and I'm not sure what fork....

Out of the options above, the '04.5 looks like the best mix with the Marz fork and Avid discs. (it is mostly silver with a blue front section)

Parts-wise, the things I would go after on the bike are the Marz fork and rhyno lite rims. The Avids are nice brakes, but I run some old Hayes mechanicals and they do just fine.

If it so happens in your dealings that the '04 is significantly lower in price, I would just buy that one because when we are comparing these mid to low level forks and derailleurs, we are really being nitpicky between models. They all basically perform solidly, but nothing super stellar.

confused yet?

[bagtagley]

Shifters went from Deore to SRAM x.7 (even tradeoff)
Rear derailleur went from LX to SRAM x.7 (IMO LX is better)

I'm going to respectfully disagree with these 2.

SRAM x.7 is vastly superior to Deore, and is noticeably better than LX. I've got the x.7 shifters, and they're crisper than anything Shimano I've ever owned. I (Personally) would take an x.7 derailleur over even an XT. The only reason I'd take the XTR over the x.7 would be because I could sell it for a lot more (and get an x.9 ).

My understanding is that the following is true:

x.7 = XT
x.9 = XTR
x.0 = The Shit!

[tranzformer]

the o4 rainier i was looking at is going for $699. This is what the description says of it off of their web site:

The Rainier slices, dices and shreds singletrack with ease! It features Giant's light and responsive ALUXX aluminum frame and a Marzocchi EXR suspension fork that takes the bite out of rough trails. SRAM shifters and Shimano derailleurs keep you in the right gear, and Avid's dependable disc brakes give diesel-force stopping power.


So would this be the 04.5??

[scoober]

yeah, that's an '04 or '04.5. Apparently the one my friend got w/ the rock shox and mavic rims is an '03.5.

I have no idea why they have so many model year and spec releases.

Basically, the Rainier you can get for the least amount of $$$ is the best one. They're all really close in spec.