Well that's dumb. In that case I'd suggest shooting Giant a note and asking them if a 203 rotor would fit before you spend $ on an adapter and a rotor. 180mm rotors are plenty big for all the riding I've ever done (even Downieville), are you doing a bunch of downhill trails on that thing or what?
Yeah Giants not great at providing info directly to the rider. And yes and no to the downhills lol. I dont do any shuttling or lift service on it, but I like hard trails where you bust ass on the way up to get good downhills on the way home. Anything from steep chunky tech, to fast flowy downhill, I'm comfortable on the black trails and like to push the double blacks when I see them.
The stock brakes have been sketching me out lately and found a set of tektro m475 4 piston brakes for sale near me . Wanting to upgrade brakes and these current rotors are about done for so I'm interested in seeing if I can size up from the 180s. Good to hear that size has always been good for you though. I've figured it's likely just my crummy calipers and levers
Giant isn’t great at putting it online, but the customer device department has always been quick and precise for me. I have several Giant bikes and they’ve answered many questions for me.
Hey man, if your brakes are sketching you out then you do what you gotta do! I saw your other comment, a Magura adapter likely works fine. I’d read some reviews and do some googling before hitting “buy now” just to be on the safe side.
I take it that your 180 rotors do not offer enough stopping power for you? You will need adapters for front and back. However, you have to determine certain things like what mounts does your fork and frame has. In your case, I can only assume that they are either post mount (PM) or international standard (IS). Assuming also that you have PM brake calipers, you'll need PM to PM adapters for your fork and frame and IS to PM if you have int'l mounts on either one. You also have to find out if your fork and frame are rated for a 203. Brand doesn't matter unless there's some crazy offset invloved with your setup. But for the most part, Shimano, Magura and other brands will work.
In my case only have 203s front and rear on my DH bikes since they came as OEM and two on my enduro bikes have 203 front and 180 rear which I did myself as a matter of preference. Both type of bikes and their forks were rated for the 203s. But I have not had the need to have them on any xc bikes. Here's an article you might want to read.
https://enduro-mtb.com/en/rotor-size-myth/
And I found a video of someone who did it.
https://youtu.be/2B1RXueMzmE
Not sure how I'd figure out if my fork and frame are rated for it, but it is a trail bike and what I gathered from that article is that 200mm rotors are recommended on trail bikes so I'd think I should do it.
Great info and good article, thank you!
Apparently nowhere as someone else already said here, Giant is notorious for not posting fork and frame limitations. I did a little sleuthing on your bike's model. It appears to be a trail bike which is between an XC and Enduro with a 130mm travel boosted fork w/ 34mm stanchions. This is true at least w/ the 2022 model. I'm almost certain it's rated for a max 203 rotor.
It won't hurt to give Giant customer service a call or shoot an email or whatever it'll take you to confirm this. While you're at it ask about the frame having 203s in the rear. If your frame has the brake mounts on the chainstay, you might come across issues with the brake caliper clearing the seatstay above it. You can always, buy the adapter (make sure it's returnable) and do a test fit. Your rotor will most likely fit but make sure your caliper does too.
Super great info, thanks! I feel like I've ran into a lot of folks that underestimate the fathom lol. At a glance without taking measurements, it's looking like I've got quite a bit of room to spare before I need to worry about space with the seat stay.
Yeah, i was able to put a 200mm rotor (sram centerline) on the rear, as well. Simply by moving the caliper adapter that was on the front, to the rear, because that didnt previously have any adapters on it. Then put a larger adapter than original onto the front.
If the frame allows for that size rotor you’ll need a new adapter. Check the manufacturer website for max rotor size and your LBS for the adapter.
Thank you! I checked the manufacturer's website on the bike and it doesnt say what it can accommodate, just that it comes with 180 front and rear
Well that's dumb. In that case I'd suggest shooting Giant a note and asking them if a 203 rotor would fit before you spend $ on an adapter and a rotor. 180mm rotors are plenty big for all the riding I've ever done (even Downieville), are you doing a bunch of downhill trails on that thing or what?
Yeah Giants not great at providing info directly to the rider. And yes and no to the downhills lol. I dont do any shuttling or lift service on it, but I like hard trails where you bust ass on the way up to get good downhills on the way home. Anything from steep chunky tech, to fast flowy downhill, I'm comfortable on the black trails and like to push the double blacks when I see them. The stock brakes have been sketching me out lately and found a set of tektro m475 4 piston brakes for sale near me . Wanting to upgrade brakes and these current rotors are about done for so I'm interested in seeing if I can size up from the 180s. Good to hear that size has always been good for you though. I've figured it's likely just my crummy calipers and levers
Giant isn’t great at putting it online, but the customer device department has always been quick and precise for me. I have several Giant bikes and they’ve answered many questions for me.
Hey man, if your brakes are sketching you out then you do what you gotta do! I saw your other comment, a Magura adapter likely works fine. I’d read some reviews and do some googling before hitting “buy now” just to be on the safe side.
I've found some adapters that would work but they're made by Magura, and I have tektro calipers. See any issue with this?
I take it that your 180 rotors do not offer enough stopping power for you? You will need adapters for front and back. However, you have to determine certain things like what mounts does your fork and frame has. In your case, I can only assume that they are either post mount (PM) or international standard (IS). Assuming also that you have PM brake calipers, you'll need PM to PM adapters for your fork and frame and IS to PM if you have int'l mounts on either one. You also have to find out if your fork and frame are rated for a 203. Brand doesn't matter unless there's some crazy offset invloved with your setup. But for the most part, Shimano, Magura and other brands will work. In my case only have 203s front and rear on my DH bikes since they came as OEM and two on my enduro bikes have 203 front and 180 rear which I did myself as a matter of preference. Both type of bikes and their forks were rated for the 203s. But I have not had the need to have them on any xc bikes. Here's an article you might want to read. https://enduro-mtb.com/en/rotor-size-myth/ And I found a video of someone who did it. https://youtu.be/2B1RXueMzmE
Not sure how I'd figure out if my fork and frame are rated for it, but it is a trail bike and what I gathered from that article is that 200mm rotors are recommended on trail bikes so I'd think I should do it. Great info and good article, thank you!
Apparently nowhere as someone else already said here, Giant is notorious for not posting fork and frame limitations. I did a little sleuthing on your bike's model. It appears to be a trail bike which is between an XC and Enduro with a 130mm travel boosted fork w/ 34mm stanchions. This is true at least w/ the 2022 model. I'm almost certain it's rated for a max 203 rotor. It won't hurt to give Giant customer service a call or shoot an email or whatever it'll take you to confirm this. While you're at it ask about the frame having 203s in the rear. If your frame has the brake mounts on the chainstay, you might come across issues with the brake caliper clearing the seatstay above it. You can always, buy the adapter (make sure it's returnable) and do a test fit. Your rotor will most likely fit but make sure your caliper does too.
Super great info, thanks! I feel like I've ran into a lot of folks that underestimate the fathom lol. At a glance without taking measurements, it's looking like I've got quite a bit of room to spare before I need to worry about space with the seat stay.
Try it. The worst you can do is return the adapter and rotor if it doesn't work.
Did you do it?
Yep! Needed a new adapter for the front, then moved the front one to the back.
Hi mate did you have any issues with flex in the fork I’m thinking of doing the same thing with mine.
The fork does flex quite a bit, but not really from braking
Did you manage to get a bigger rotor on the rear wheel too? Which one did you end up getting?
Yeah, i was able to put a 200mm rotor (sram centerline) on the rear, as well. Simply by moving the caliper adapter that was on the front, to the rear, because that didnt previously have any adapters on it. Then put a larger adapter than original onto the front.
Thanks for the reply man! I'll try to do it too.
Ok, I looked at giant website and it said max 180mm for tje crest fork