LAGUNA HILLS, CA (BRAIN)—Giant’s message was quite clear yesterday: Our Maestro suspension platform is the best out there.
“We want our suspension design to be the highlight (not the shock itself),” said Giant’s marketing man Andrew Juskaitis, speaking to a packed retail crowd at the Laguna Hills Holiday Inn yesterday.
What makes Maestro so much better this year isn’t the actual suspension itself, but rather the bikes. Giant was able to shave weight off its bikes without compromising in the performance department, something that was a major point of emphasis to the Southern California retailers in attendance.
The basic concept behind Maestro—now in its fifth year—is “4x2x1” where four pivot points allow two rocker arms to articulate in a manner that creates one floating pivot point.
“For us, Maestro is about balance between activity (no pedal-bob) and efficiency (full range of suspension under braking),” Juskaitis told retailers.
Juskaitis even went through all the different suspension platforms on the market today including Single Pivot, Four Bar/Horst Link and Trek’s new suspension R1i, to help better illustrate the advantages Maestro holds over the others.
Giant general manager Elysa Walk (pictured) was also on hand, giving retailers a company overview.
“Giant has been on a tremendous rise the last five years,” she said. “From 2000 to 2006 we grew a lot.”
Walk wanted to make clear how important its dealers were to the company. “We want your feedback to drive our improvements,” Walk said. “Bringing the best possible product to market is what gets us going.”
Giant tech/demo manager Rich O’Neil said being the manufacturer to many vendors helps Giant stay one step ahead of the competition when it comes to suspension.
“We’re able to study so many things out there,” O’Neil said. “It’s a nice advantage.”
After the presentations concluded, Giant’s management team along with U.S. National MTB champ Adam Craig and freeride legend Jeff Lenosky cruised over to Aliso-Wood Regional Park so retailers could test for themselves the Maestro platform.
Giant’s Ride Maestro Tour visited eight different cities in five weeks.
—Jason Norman
