Test Giant Faith Mini Mullet: The compact fully has many modern features, from the trail geometry to the wheel size mix. The chassis is also designed to suit the intended use - so children and young people can get going off-road.
Whether at the weekend in the bike park or after school on the self-built trails in the city forest: racing around on a mountain bike is a lot of fun for adventurous children and young people. On the trails, they train their riding skills and reflexes, and trail riding is also good physical training - especially when building the trail with a shovel and pickaxe and when you have to get the bike back up from the end of the trail, riding or pushing it.
Sure, there are e-bikes for that too, but they are pretty expensive and not that educationally valuable - after all, the gods put sweat before success. In terms of handling and controllability, a non-motorized, much lighter bike may be the better choice for young people anyway. Especially if it is designed as convincingly as the Giant Faith Mini Mullet.
Giant Faith Mini Mullet: Balance bike mix like the big ones
The copper-red bike looks quite grown-up. First of all, it is the wheel size mix itself, as already suggested in the name, that makes you sit up and take notice: With a 27,5-inch front wheel and a 26-inch rear wheel, Giant is also focusing on the combination of smooth running and better rollover behavior at the front and maximum traction at the rear for juniors. This means the trail bike can be steered safely; the rear wheel can mesh with the ground and ensures optimal power transmission and cornering grip. The wide, flat aluminum rims have an internal width of 30 mm and are therefore ideal for wide tires; the test bike is already tubeless and is top in terms of puncture protection and rolling properties.
Giant equips the youth full suspension bike with a lot of suspension travel and adjusts the shock absorber and fork to a low rider weight. The 140 mm of the "SL FloTune Lite" fork and the 135 mm of the shock absorber are also fully available to smaller riders. The single-pivot rear end may seem structurally simple, but it is also used on the brand's adult bikes and has nothing to hide in terms of responsiveness and drive neutrality. The integration of a UDH rear wheel mount is state-of-the-art, even if the Giant naturally uses a derailleur hanger and not a direct-mount rear derailleur - mechanical variants of the new technology are currently still in the prototype stage.
Trail geometry with compact seating position
A steep seat angle and flat steering angle ensure good power transmission and directional stability, while the super-short stem for trail riding ensures easy steering. The angles also result in a compact sitting position; the high front means the upper body is more upright. With its 35 cm short seat tube, the Faith is tailored to riders between 145 and 160 cm tall, according to the Giant size calculator, which is not a very wide range. Smaller or taller riders should definitely try out the bike in a bike shop, and since Giant is a specialist brand, this is not a problem. Anyone who is significantly taller can get on an adult full suspension bike from the brand anyway, because the Faith is practically the XS version of a similarly designed model, the Reign – which is even a little cheaper.
The Giant Faith is equipped with a dropper seat post that offers a decent 100 mm of travel and has two functions on the youth MTB: On the one hand, it ensures a better center of gravity when downhill, and on the other hand, it makes it easier for smaller riders to get on and off. The remote lever on the post is easy to use and, like the handles, is tailored to the hand size and strength of young bikers.
The Microshift gear system offers solid functionality, with a ten-speed cassette with 11-48 teeth and a fairly wide range. Together with the 30-tooth chainring, this results in a rather short gear ratio with easy mountain gears, which in most cases should make pushing unnecessary when heading back up to the start of the trail. However, the Giant weighs a good 13,5 kilos plus pedals, so it is not particularly light. However, its attractive appearance with internally routed cables, as well as details such as the large chain guard on the strut and the bash guard, which protects the chainring when it hits the ground, make you forget this aspect. The Giant Faith Mini-Mullet is a success across the board and has a lot to offer, especially considering the attractive price of 2.399 euros. There is little comparable for boys and girls with serious off-road ambitions.
