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GIANT TALON 27.5 O LTD

When I started thinking about long-distance touring, I already had a 2015 Giant Talon - a solid hardtail mountain bike in great shape. After a quick visit to my local bike shop, we turned it into a touring setup for my first trip. It carried me more than 4,000 km without a single issue and stayed with me until I started looking toward ultra-cycling..

That bike has since been replaced by a Giant XTC SLR 29 1 - lighter, bigger wheels, and a better fit for what I’m doing now. But the Talon deserves its story.

The bike is a hardtail mountain bike with an ALLUXX aluminium frame, Rock Shox suspension fork, 27.5” wheels, and Shimano M396 disc brakes. It’s equipped with Shimano SLX shifters, an SLX front derailleur, and an XT 10-speed rear derailleur, allowing the bike to handle a variety of gradients and surfaces.

From MTB to Touring Setup

The Talon is a simple, dependable hardtail with an aluminium frame, Rock Shox fork, 27.5″ wheels and Shimano SLX/XT drivetrain. To make it work for touring, I added front and rear racks for panniers.

The rear was easy - a Tubus Logo Evo, steel and strong enough to carry 40 kg. It became one of my favourite pieces of kit.
The front was trickier. Suspension forks don’t have rack mounts, so after some trial and error I fitted a Blackburn Outpost front rack with hose clamps. It looked sketchy but held firm for the whole trip.

After my first tour I ditched the front rack altogether, switched to Ortlieb Fork Packs (5,8 L) and moved everything else to the back. Much simpler.

Bags and Packs

I started with the classic setup: two Ortlieb Sport-Rollers on the front, two Back-Rollers on the back, a Blackburn Outpost frame pack, and a 7 L Ortlieb handlebar bag. The tent sat on the rear rack, rain gear in a small saddle bag, and tools in a top-tube bag.

Over time I refined things - replaced the Blackburn bags with waterproof Ortliebs, downsized the cockpit pack, and trimmed what I carried. Each trip taught me something about what I didn’t need.

Tyres and pedals

The bike came with Schwalbe Rapid Rob tyres - fine on gravel, slow and noisy on tarmac. I switched to Schwalbe G-One Allrounds, which rolled faster and quieter. Later, when I added more gravel and rough tracks, I moved to Vittoria Mezcal TNT Graphene 2.0 tubeless tyres. They’ve been smooth, grippy, and tough.

I used Crankbrothers Stamp 1 flat pedals for a while, then switched to Shimano EH500 SPD pedals. They’re perfect for touring - clip-in on one side, flats on the other, easy for hike-a-bike sections.

FIT AND COMFORT

Mountain bikes put you in a more forward position than typical touring bikes, but that works for me - it keeps pressure off my lower back. The stock saddle was fine at first, but I later switched to an ISM PR 1.0 for better comfort on longer rides.

Maintenance

The Talon never let me down. I kept it clean and waxed the drivetrain with Squirt lube. The aluminium frame held up well, light but strong. I’ve pressure-washed it plenty of times - carefully - and never had issues with water in the bearings.

Spare Parts

I always carry a few basics: cables, spokes, chain, brake pads, inner tubes. Giant parts are easy to find in most countries, and I usually mark Decathlon and Giant shops along my route - just in case.

Navigation

For a long time I used OsmAnd+ on my phone for navigation - cheap, reliable, and great with offline maps. It let me load GPX files and follow routes easily. But in southern Europe the phone often overheated, and charging became a hassle. I’ve now switched to a Garmin Edge 1040 Solar with Komoot for planning. It syncs perfectly, and the phone stays as backup.

Looking Back

Turning that mountain bike into a touring setup was one of the best decisions I made. It took me everywhere I pointed it - on roads, gravel, and the kind of tracks that would’ve been impossible on a pure touring bike. It was the start of everything that came after.