Giving this Mom MTB a Parts Bin Overhaul, and damaging it in the process 😬

Liv is Gian’t Women’s line, and this bike is a Liv Hail (it’s a little like a Giant Reign). It arrived with a number of issues, including really rough linkage bearings. I’ve never serviced the linkage on a Giant MTB before, which will be evident by my careless removal of the thru bolt in the center of the rocker link.
In the end, I replaced the link, installed all new bearings in the frame, and snagged a whole lot of upgrades from the parts bin. We also copped some pretty decent parts to use on future flip bikes, including a 160mm shock.
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[@TrailFeatures]

Seth shows that the best way to service a RockShox Reverb is to replace it with literally anything else. 👌

[@cok666joey]

word

[@AndreasRavnestad]

I have one on an old GT Force Carbon. As long as I keep it bled and pressurized it works okay, but wow that button murders my thumb even on short rides. I realize the Reverb was one of the early droppers on the market, but still -- what an absolutely pants design.

[@TimMaddux]

My LBS has literally offered to do the same for free labor, just so they don’t have to rebuild the existing dropper.

[@letsgocamping88]

Mine needs adjusting up an extra half inch to allow for the sag

[@benwilson7911]

Yeah totally agree mine packed up after a few months

[@llamacannon1714]

The backwards rear tire is always a classic, and using tubeless makes it even more fun. This is coming from a guy that rode his MTB with the rear tire on backwards for over a year.

[@StuffFilmedHere]

💀💀

[@DonceGT]

Is there a difference?

[@izzaelofficial6103]

did it affect your riding?

[@ylfursty9398]

Well having the rear tire backwards can lessen its performance on the trail or road and this is coming from a guy who rode and crashed his motorcycle because the rear tire was put on backwards 😑

[@natecowie1104]

I’ve had mine on backwards for about a year as well. The second I put it on I realized what I did, but honestly I haven’t really noticed anything either. I’ll fix it when it finally wears out.

[@brandonadk2711]

I've been mountain biking for years and I just recently started working on bikes, and I just now found out that tires can be put on backwards. Time to go make some adjustments in the garage I guess lol

[@davekal]

The rotation arrow is your friend.

[@kainpwnsu]

Oh yeah... I've heard this story many times. I've done many full tunes and cleanouts for free, simply because the bike was so sick and circling the drain.

[@emma-eventing]

you know you've got your content creation process dialed when an unexpected replacement part delay is just a blip in the magic of editing for viewers haha

[@seniorcajun]

Yea Seth is that good , cool right ?

[@nonanon666]

Bought my wife the same Hail. She's used it three times. Every month I pump the tires up and wash it. Every six months I pump up the shocks. I swear when my current Enduro breaks I'm just going to paint the Hail black and tell her it's my new bike, she'll never notice.

[@owensnicholas]

I have a very similar link on my Salsa, and I bent it overhauling the bike. It was a cast magnesium part, and the real fun came when I found out Salsa doesn’t sell it. They did send me one salvaged off another warrantied frame, though, for free.

[@justdrive.1117]

That is amazing customer service

[@armadillito]

Very glad to know some common sense prevails in the manufacturing and warranty world. So many systems cannot accommodate that kind of practical solution.

[@divscifres2674]

I especially enjoyed this episode -- I have that exact Liv Hail! Mine is more of a backup/Bike Park bike for me. Main ride is a Liv Pique -- 2017 was an BIG year for me and new bikes! Thanks for all you do -- I really enjoy your channels.

[@lirastolons4951]

My main ride is a Liv Pique as well 🎉

[@djmaya3d]

These type of videos are really useful! I am getting ready to sell my current/old bike ( and canibalizing some parts out of it) So I want to make sure the next owner does not have to worry about it and can just go on the trail.

[@JasonScottCarter]

My wife got a Liv and it's fits her so much better. Woman specific geometry is something I wish more brands did

[@ervinfowlkes8326]

I wish we could see the owners reactions when they get their bikes back Great video!

[@PeterCPRail8748]

Gaint is sadly overlooked and out right dissed in the MTB community, I own an older trance 2 in my stable of bikes. I had the pleasure of testing out a 2022 29 trance x. In my opinion it outrides any modern trek, SC, rocky mountain or Kona trail bike. Fantastic climber and is nice and poppy on the downs for an all mountain trail bike. The comparables mentioned are some bikes I got to try out last few years. Giant has really stepped up there game last 5 years and is making solid bikes for a lot less money compared to other major brands.

[@maplejakee]

I also have an older trance 2 (2018) and it's a great time. The frame is great, nice and light and really snappy. Once you throw some good upgrades on it, wheels, tires, crankset, dropper and some new bars the thing rips.

[@Mike_Rogge]

I think the problem is that their stance (the cheapest full sus with the aluminum flex stays) is not at the standard of their other bikes. In order for someone to look into one of the better giants, they would have to either not know anyone who rode the stance as their second bike or ride one of the nice ones by chance at a demo day or something. Having a suboptimal experience for the new customers is not great for sales, even if every other product is great (and they are).

[@diligentyeti]

i love the trance 2

[@jamesofallthings3684]

I had a reign and it was trash.

[@Drt0Kkdo]

One of my favorite parts when working on bikes is that smooth feeling from moving parts after knowing they felt like a pepper grinder before service.

[@Chaddlee]

A big thanks to Seth for some inspiration. When I upgraded by high street MTB to something more trail ready I added some good, cost effective new parts to me old bike to improve it and then sold it cheaply to a young lad in my town. I have since seen him on trails and at a local bike park. I lost a bit of cash selling to him, but watching him ride and enjoy the bike is worth more than the cash value. Big thanks for the inspiration.

[@justinrieger3133]

I've been watching your videos for a little bit now but I just learned that I ride with the same community you used to ride with in South Florida. We'd love to see ya at Critical Mass some day!

[@harrygrimley4352]

This was cool. Thanks for sharing this with us. Heather is lucky to have a friend like you.

[@Kaiden-qh8mp]

Seth i am so glad that you help people get back on their bikes and helping with the things that need to be repaired or replaced I have learned so much from you thank you

[@YTOnlineReviews]

Very useful.

[@aydin334]

You're videos have helped me fix up/clean/take care of my cheap mtb and i'm really grateful, thanks!!

[@clay_not_dirt]

Been here since you had a closet full of bikes in Florida. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You're a gem of a human being. The videos are a nice bonus.

[@christopherjohnston5683]

My girlfriend had the same Reverb Post, to rectify the situation, we put on the Wolftooth cable actuation swap. Now actuation is smooth and consistent, and no more sag, it's become issueless.

[@armadillito]

Another problem I didn’t know existed that wolftooth has a product to solve

[@urg0nnah8me]

Love that you touched on how Giant makes women's bikes differently than their men's bikes. Giant is overlooked far too often. They make their own frames. They even smelt the metal they use to make their frames so they get the exact blend they want. They do this with their carbon as well. They start with the fabric and weave it themselves so they can control flex points how they want. This comes into play for women's, and men's frames. You mentioned data being collected and they do this for all the different sizes. Then they take that data and weave the carbon so it's stronger where it needs to be because power output is different for different sized riders. When Giant says it's a woman's bike, that's because it was designed for a woman. It's not just a paint job and touch points. It's crazy how much Giant puts into a bike and they're cheaper than these other companies that have other companies make their frames overseas.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

People overlook the biggest bike company in the world? *A lot or those other companies pay GIANT to make their bikes😅

[@billyblue922]

I just wanted to say that I really appreciate the fact that you are a master of your trade. It seems more and more rare, ty.

[@saltyman37]

I'm so glad the last tire I put on backwards still had a tube in it. Never happened to me again (knocking on wood) since I transitioned to tubeless 4 years ago.

[@majortom4543]

Why is it worse to do that mistake if it is tubeless? i dont have tubeless tires

[@MrFitness94]

@@majortom4543 reseating the bead can be annoying if you don’t have the proper hardware. Also wasting sealant and can get messy

[@chadmyles-theclevelandcyclist]

This reminds me of the first time I set my gravel bike up tubeless and I put the rear tire on backwards, twice. Made quite a mess of my apartment and I had to make a second trip to REI to purchase more tape and sealant.

[@aliens1990990]

That bike is just glorious !! 🙌 and we have all put the tyre on backwards at least once !

[@tsanders8106]

I too also have a woman’s giant mountain bike 2008 I think. I haven’t rode it since 2012 after 3 shoulder surgeries and neck also Leary to ride do not want anymore surgeries. Now. I want to start again and watch your videos to overhaul it. I’m 70yo now and time is a wasting. I think what you do for the community and the people in it is so selfless of you. May God bless you and your family and of course Oscar, just love him. Stay safe and keep videos coming

[@TealCheetah]

The joy of getting a friend hooked up with the good stuff!

[@mattpoe9391]

Honestly, it's just plain cool to see Seth tricking out this bike to take care of and surprise someone who does a wonderful service for him. Seth is definitely someone that you want to be good to because when he returns the favor you are in for a real treat.

[@ControlAllDa1337]

I love that I found this channel. Makes me want to get back into mountain biking after all these years. I can't afford a bike yet due to the debts I incurred after losing my business but I'm going to save up what little I can until I can afford something 🙏

[@avilaomar10]

I love that he included the part where the part broke, that some shit that hapens all the time but its cool to see play out infront of yiu

[@Magandmissy]

I’ve ridden my hard tail liv bike for almost 6 years now and I love it! One of the best bikes I’ve owned!

[@GTDrummingman]

I have a Giant Trance 2018 and my rocker cracked in the exact same place in 2020. I heard creaking for weeks before taking it to the bike shop. You couldn't see the crack until the whole rocker was taken off. It then took 7 months to get a new one over covid!

[@nsoneditz]

I love these videos, and I appreciate you taking the time to give us such good content. :)

[@chrissyj.6783]

That's one pretty bike you've made a whole lot better. Nice one. There's so much technology in these modern bikes that I'd be afraid to service them myself without some guidance from people like yourself.

[@mbieber6663]

This was so fun to watch--kudos to Seth for being such a great guy!

[@tededdy8423]

I thank this man for getting me into mountain biking 💪🐐

[@Zukini28]

It’s interesting to see how quick new gear wears out. I have Norco mountain bikes with over 10 thousand km’s on them with original chains, no issue changing gears.

[@BoxCarBoy12]

I had a Trance of this vintage, and it was bombproof. I only did the bare minimum for service and did not pamper it, yet over 4 years is still the only full suspension bike I've owned that didn't creak ever. I only sold it to a buddy because I wanted a 29er, and to this day it's still been trouble free for him too!

[@rupedog]

Love the pedals colour coded to the down tube sticker/paint. Nice touch🤘

[@GokkunGuru]

OneUp suggests having 10mm spacers above the stem for the installation of the threaded top cap. This is to prevent clamping forces from the stem onto the threaded section of the steerer tube. I also didn’t follow their advice and only went with 5mm spacers above the stem for the cool factor. You are ballsy to go with no spacers above the stem. It definitely looks cleaner. But you are clamping about 8Nm onto the threaded section of the steer tube which is has less material to clamp onto.

[@MichaelRei99]

Good point!

[@rupedog]

Yep... weakens the steerer tube significantly in that area... but the bottom of the steerer is on full tube, so likely fine for her... she didnt look like a big lady in the vid.

[@Ryan-mv5wi]

the kittsuma is like the best shock for people who own giants and livs works so well with the suspenion layout

[@andrewhaymore3734]

This is my favorite channel, and I love just sitting down and watching it everyday.This channel is very informational and entertaining. Thanks for all your time and hard work.

[@MikeHudson-px2gc]

Glad to see Mom tearing up the trails and the bike. That bike has character. That's a nice bearing press. I like your bike builds.

[@charlesadkins3335]

I just bought my wife a liv embolden she loves it and it shows in your riding her confidence has tripled an all she wants to do is ride anymore

[@frankthetankricard]

If a shop replaced my rocker arm with a spray painted one I'd flip out. I say this fully aware that you're not a shop and you probably tried your best to find a matching replacement. Still, how is flat black spray paint acceptable? At that point you should have had it professionally painted the factory color with 2k automotive paint and clear coat. I understand you did a full service and installed better parts for free but I would still not be okay with the rattle can paint job. Owner probably didn't even notice though. :D

[@joecanuck3751]

Love the no-nonsense delivery of practical build data. Seth and friends.

[@AdamFischerPhotography]

Great video, though I was looking forward to seeing the rear shock and the dropper post serviced instead of replaced. But I guess it's best to just upgrade for those that can afford it.

[@steventrott8714]

Kitsuma is one hell of a trail! I think my friend took me there to convince me I needed to upgrade to full suspension.

[@lirastolons4951]

I’m so happy to see a Liv on your channel it’s what I’ve been riding and it looks just as beat up as this one in the beginning 😅

[@NelsonSherry]

During the change from summer to winter in our shop, in Anchorage Alaska, there are days we swap out dozens of tires to or from studs. There are times I've "carefully" installed (usually tubeless fat tires) tires with their tread backwards more than once on the same wheel. Thanks for yet another great video.

[@deusexaethera]

My old ProFlex had nylon bushings rotating on anodized aluminum supports. Those things NEVER wore out. After 20 years of riding they still worked great. Dunno why anyone bothers with ball bearings in their suspension linkages. If nothing else you could get Oilite bushings that are made of sintered bronze and have oil embedded in them, so they don't have to be manually lubricated.

[@VintageCR]

12:48 even us 'trained' bike mechanics make this mistake, sometimes. it just happens due to the nice work flow and you forget to really think about it because you just know you'll do it right every time.🤣🤣

[@operator8470]

Overhaul videos are my favorite of yours. Just love them

[@milanas_2009]

These are my favourite one of my favourite videos to watch!!

[@nikolauslol862]

you went so overkill with these i9 hubs! love it!!!

[@MichaelRei99]

He’ll get it back in dog grooming services.

[@los_mexicanos_flacos6058]

i love this guy i have been watching him for so long like since 2017

[@TheoreticalCyclist]

Great upgrades! Nice work (as usual)! Last time, we froze the stuck shaft/axle with a can of compressed air and got it out that way.

[@shawnomeara6153]

I love this! I always encourage people to save some money rebuilding their old bikes, I usually end up doing it for them.

[@matthausfrick5971]

Hi Seth, an other amzing service video. Could you please make a video where you go into detail where you buy replacement parts, like the bearings, and also make like tutorials on the services you do on these bikes? Cheers

[@mdnghtrdrr]

Love the water table on the bike washing station.

[@kiansaghafi8681]

seth i see you have a problem and i want to help you help yourself, a few weeks ago you said you had too many bikes and i understand, i will happily fly over from the UK to collect a bike or two off you, this is what friends like me are for, i will allways be here for you if you need to give me a bike

[@augustinepierse7735]

Your the best Seth! Love your videos, your totally my favorite channel! ❤️😃

[@squeekerradio9523]

Wish I had someone as generous and nice as yourself close to me, being disabled it takes me forever to get the money to keep my bike running.

[@walter9724]

Cool. I saw a liv MTB the other day. Nice bike 👍

[@n8_vel868]

If they had brought back pimp my ride but they had a different version called pimp my bike, I feel like Seth would've stared perfectly in it with the amount of detail he goes into flipping and upgrading the bike at the same time👍

[@epicmountainbikeclips5573]

Kitsuma is the best trail and probably a great shock

[@newenglandagingrider1738]

The Cane Creek shock is a huge upgrade. Once she dials it in she should love the support and ride it gives. Nice video.

[@roastpenguin8787]

Wow, what a bike for a mom to ride, great video

[@Later_Nerd]

Hey Seth, I have a suggestion for you. I'm sure you use mag pads to map your screws/bolts when disassembling something? I run an electronics hardware repair business and am often bouncing between multiple repairs to maximize efficiency. This means those mag pads are a life saver. But nearly all of them are complete trash in terms of how magnetic they are. The only one I've used that is actually good was actually a free addon when I bought an electronic tech screwdriver from Xiaomi, the 'wow pad.' You can actually place 20 screws on there in a particular layout, flip it upside down and shake the thing. They just don't move, it's great. What I'd really like to see is you testing different mag pads as a segue into a bike repair. Help me find ones that don't suck. Even iFixit who makes great tech products has an awful mag pad. Just food for thought and I feel your viewerbase would enjoy some nerdy tool stuff here and there :)

[@jagfrediani]

Today I learned: that I can use the "useless" inner tube nut/ring thingy to hold the caliper's screws in place when disassembled. Nice that one!

[@thesmf1210]

1, not useless, they hold the valve square and in position correctly, 2, can be added to other various bolts as a backing nut, like seth did here, hes even shown this before in other videos

[@senorspiegel]

They are also very useful as spacers, say on a road bike water bottle cage to clear the front derailleur or for installing a rack on a fork to clear the arms

[@bbuueennnoo]

Time stamp ?

[@DonnieX6]

@@bbuueennnoo 1:55

[@alleng2011]

Recently had mine overhauled by a shop. Thanks for showing me I made the right decision instead of doing it myself! Haha. Normally I do handy things by myself but the tools, the time and the likelihood of breaking something was too high.

[@Durwood71]

I'm not the most mechanically inclined person, but Seth's videos have given me the confidence to work on my own bike. I've had to buy some specialty bicycle tools, but I think it's worth it in the long run since it saves me the time, expense, and hassle of taking my bike to the shop. Some things I will still use the shop for (servicing front air forks really intimidates me), but pretty much anything else, I'm willing to give it a go. Worst that can happen is I might screw something up and will need to pay someone to fix it. I'm okay with that.

[@jamarsac]

I just purchased a full suspension and I was on the fence of doing the work myself. But after seeing how hard it is to deal with all the bearings, I think I'll leave it to a pro.

[@joeconnell1396]

Great video. I have a Giant Stance and it is one of the most comfortable rides ever. And, it is ready for some suspension upgrades after some rough COVID years. I'm encouraged to take these on now. Thx!

[@ericl5785]

Really enjoying the latest content Seth, thanks for keeping it interesting (and educational)!

[@laurenzzz4551]

Always seeing new tools to do stuff, I did learn it the hard way before

[@mikeb.2166]

Thanks for the vid, the rebuild/upgrades are by far my favorite - keep up the great work!

[@grantschoen1726]

Love the oh-so-subtle nod to your bike-hack roots at 1:55. I see you Mr. Seth... well played sir.

[@grantschoen1726]

For reference, valve stem nuts on the caliper bolts so they don't spill everywhere while working. Can't tell you how many times I forgot how the washers/spacers stacked-up lol... 😅

[@abadatha]

I love it. Would love to score myself a set of i9's for my Sync'r. That angry bee noise from that hub is just phenomenal.

[@georgealexanderp]

Can't wait for the epic video on the star nut.

[@davegillette953]

Great episode I'd love to see another higher end bike rescue!

[@chimps4gimps]

The very definition of ‘used and abused’. Great work Seth 🔥👊🏼

[@jeremybarrette4535]

I changed the suspension bearings in my old Giant Trance a few years ago. They were equally thrashed.

[@anonymous071985]

I must be the only person that can successfully put stuff together cross threaded, backwards, upside down, and inside out. That's why I watch these videos.

[@Marlerc11]

Honestly, I really dig the paint job on a lot of these Liv bikes and many women's bikes in general

[@tmm8829]

NX Eagle is my fave part of my bike. She'll love it!

[@CLEARRTC]

Great episode, more of these!

[@SpaceShrimp-rk4rt]

I actually like this a considerable ammount more than the flip bike series. It's not that I dislike the latter but it kinda plants the illusion of you buying and selling bikes as some sort of crazy merchant. I also find that the real "profit" you make is kinda questionable. On the other hand everyone loves upgrading bikes and showing how much value a bike can provide when shown a bit of love. Anyways, please keep up the great Work (Your videos are almost cinematic)

[@jdmccorful]

You're a good guy! Enjoyed watching, thanks.

[@missltonay]

i love my liv road bike! cool to see one featured on your channel

[@Gecko_54]

I’ve only seen one major part on my bike be reviewed by Seth and it’s that crank, I’m glad he likes it too 😅

[@kimbersal1]

Yeah, female specific bikes were first started with the Santa Cruz Juliana. (I believe. Others may have been doing the same thing, but I had never heard of any). It was called that for Juli Furtado, an absolute rock star in mtb, road racing and skiing. A shop where I worked for a bunch of years, called Another Bike Shop, in Santa Cruz, worked very closely with Santa Cruz bikes pretty much from the beginning , starting with the earliest Tazmon. (An original frame designed by none other than Tom Morris himself, still hangs in the shop. She wanted a female specific frame.qAnyway, when they were working on the Juliana, they brought one to our shop to test. They are only about three miles away. Being the towering figure I am at 5’4”, it was put to me to try out. I could definitely feel the difference and could tell the frame dimensions were built for a woman. Little bit longer seat tube for longer legs, little bit shorter reach, thinner handle bars and so on. We also worked very closely with Fox when they were developing mtb forks. I actually had the first retail Fox fork on my first ( of many) Santa Cruz Chameleon single speeds. I’m on my fifth one now, but still a single speed. This one has a Fox 36 on it. I sure wish I still had that first one.😞

[@radost0514]

its nice to see bike updates like that ! keep it coming ! you do good for people!

[@erikmoedt4199]

I have a 2018 Trance and the same thing happened to my LBS when they were swapping out the bearings. Thankfully Giant covered it under warranty

[@carlwilliams3488]

My wife has a Cube WLS Access, also a womens specific frame design, which she feels much more comfortable on. You can really feel the differences when you ride it compare to another Cube we have (a mans LTD Race). Well worth searching out.

[@xXRunDeathXx]

the dropper post is actually really easy to repair. rockshox include an air bleed valve right at the top. extend the post all the way, push the valve done. no sag anymore, rock solid, takes 1 minute

[@tiagofernandes5011]

That's in the new model. The old one does have that problem and is only fixed by bleeding the droper like you do to the brakes. Because the cause is the same, air in the system. Great dropper, nothing will go wrong with it if you maintain it. No lifespan for that one 🙂

[@aarons4180]

@@tiagofernandes5011 bleeding will not fix the saggy post, it can be done by replacing seals and rebuilding. Most bike shops will not do this repair though. Saggy post is usually caused by picking the bike up by the saddle when dropped, and the seal blows.

[@connar8764]

Just in my own opinion, I would love to see you do some 90s style retro mtb overhauls. My kinda jam.

[@TrailFeatures]

Check out Blue Shovel and Build a Better Bike. Both do awesome 90's restoration vids.

[@connar8764]

@@TrailFeatures you mean old shovel? I watch all of his 😊

[@TrailFeatures]

@@connar8764 HA! Indeed.

[@danielm5324]

I need more on the history and impact of the Star Nut.

[@and2244rew]

I think this is going to be a useful video for a lot of us.

[@feelfreemtb3474]

Ow dude that reminds me of my Giant Trance 1.5 ....such a fine ride

[@lukeyj8745]

Seth loved this great to see a higher tier brand on the channel loved it even my wife watched it !

[@Brainplastics]

I did the exact same thing to my Giant Trance when taking out he shock. Luckily for me I was putting it in a new frame though.