An Anthem 29er, made from the smooth stuff


The not-so-minor details

Product

Giant Anthem X Advanced 29er 1

Contact

Giant Bicycles
www.giant-bicycles.com

Price

AUD3,999.00

Positives

Well finished, well specced and well behaved on the trail. Will suit a wide variety of riders looking to go very fast.

Negatives

Not a huge weight saving or carbon benefits from the aluminium Anthem. Long wheel base can feel cumbersome in tight trails.

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‘What is better, 26″ or 29″?’ you say. Well, in the 100mm travel suspension domain a 29″ wheel bike rules the roost. And what better way to improve on an already mighty successful bike than give it a composite front end?

We have spent plenty of time aboard the aluminium Anthem X 29er, so what difference does a little less metal and a little more composite do to the ride?  [private]

It’s a big one, with a wheelbase long enough to keep anyone stable at speed.
Swoopy and silky, the Advanced Anthem not only looks better, but the frame material adds just a little bit of energy and zip to the ride.
A short head tube will allow the racer-types to dump the handlebars down low to attain a racier position.
A perfect match to the Giant’s smooth appearance is Rockshox’s SID 29.
Sag guides and pressure inflation charts make setting up the SID easy as pie.

The Maestro suspension design remains one of the more reliable and effective dual link designs out there. Under pedalling the Anthem reveals very little bobbing and behaves very well when piloted through rough trails.
Still using a quick release rear axle, and an aluminium rear end as Giant does no see much of an improvement in going for a solid axle in a composite rear end.
Schwalbe’s Racing Ralph could be one of the most popular tyres around right now, and mounted to Giant’s P-XC2 wheels makes for a solid and reliable wheelset. Upgrading to a super light set of wheels would be a perfect future upgrade.

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