Giant Talon 2 (2025)

Giant Talon 2 (2025)

The Giant Talon 2 is the third-best Talon in the range. And it’s the most affordable Talon if you’re going to be spending time on mountain bike trails.In this preview, we’ll explain what the Giant Talon 2 is, who should consider buying it and the key components.

What is the Giant Talon 2?

The Talon 2 is a recreational mountain bike. Giant designed it for riders who want something that’s robust and more capable on off-road trails.
Like the other Talon models, the Talon 2 will also happily spend time on suburban bike paths, rail trails and unsealed roads.
But unlike the Talon 3 and Talon 4, the Talon 2 has a more off-road focus.
Important parts have been upgraded to handle the extra impacts that off-road trails will feature (such as small rocks, tree roots and jumps).
We’ll explain what those important components are below.

Who should consider the Giant Talon 2?

You should consider the Talon 2 if you:

• Are riding suburban bike paths and dirt/gravel/unsealed roads.
• Want to start riding easy mountain bike trails.
• Attempting small dirt jumps.
• Want the least expensive, better-than-average robust mountain bike.

Key components of the Giant Talon 2

Before we explain the key components on the Giant Talon 2 build kit, it’s worth knowing that the frame is exactly the same between all Talon models.
Warning:
This section might get a bit information heavy.
Starting at the front – suspension and hub.
There are 2 ways to increase front-end stiffness (and therefore deliver better handling and control):

• Increase the size of the suspension fork.
• Increase the size of the front axle.

Giant did both.
The SXC32-3 RL suspension fork has 32mm tubes compared to 28mm tubes (used on the Talon 3 and Talon 4).
The axle diameter increases from 5mm to 15mm. And widened from 100mm to 110mm (known as Boost hub spacing).
This means the front doesn’t twist and flex when riding over uneven surfaces – especially if the surface has exposed rocks and tree roots.
It’s not just the size.
The damper system inside the suspension reacts smoother over rough terrain.
The Talon 2’s gears are designed for mountain biking too.
Components are used from a brand called microSHIFT and, like for like, it’s a little better than Shimano.
microSHIFT’s Advent family is built for mountain bike trails. As such it’s designed to be robust; able to handle the constant vibrations and impacts that off-road trails consist of.
The rear derailleur has a stabiliser built into it.
This minimises the chances of the chain from coming off. The derailleur also sits closer to the frame; reducing the chance of impacts.
A single front chainring is paired to 9 rear gears with a broad 418% range.
Large volume 2.40-inch wide tyres act like micro-suspension. Not only delivering more grip, the extra volume also smooths out bumps and harsh impacts.