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Average Rating
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4.67/5
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# of Reviews
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More Products from Giant
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Description:
- Frame: ALUXX Butted aluminum, 3.5" Travel
- Fork: Fox 32 F80RL, 80mm travel
- Shock: Fox Float RP2
- Handlebar: Easton EA 50 low rise
- Stem: Easton EA50
- Seatpost: Easton EA50, 350x30.9
- Saddle: WTB Silverado Race SL
- Chain: Shimano HG 53
- Cranks: RaceFace Evolve XC
- Spokes: DT Competition
- Tires: Hutchinson Piranha, folding 26x2.0
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Submitted by
Fakepunk
a Cross Country Rider
from South Africa
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2300.00 | | Purchased At: | Mike's Bikes | | Strengths: | Climbs like a dream! Suspension nice and stiff, yet plush enough over the rough bits. Very responsive. Very light bike. | | Weaknesses: | Raceface riser bar feels like you're supposed to deliver the paper on the bike, it's too wide to my liking. Realistically only space for one bottle cage. Other than that, no weakness. | | Similar Products Used: | Rocky Mountain Element 50 | | Bike Setup: | Swopped the RaceFace bar and stem for Ritchie WCS flat bar and WCS stem. Maxxis Crossmark Tubeless tyres. Crank Bros. Smarty pedals. | | Bottom Line: | This is an EXCELLENT bike! I wasn't convinced about the Anthem 1 until I rode it in a race. I love this bike. Its a quick bike. The tight steering takes some getting used to, but once dialed in, you won't look back. It
s an excellent racer! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stanford MTB
a Weekend Warrior
from Palo Alto, CA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Arastradero | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Strengths: | Quick handling, FAST, efficient. | | Weaknesses: | None other than I'm scared to leave it on the top of my car! | | Similar Products Used: | Bridgestone, Specialized, Santa Cruz, etc | | Bike Setup: | Full XT Group. FENDERS! | | Bottom Line: | This is the best handling mountain bike I've ridden. It climbs well, downhills well, does everything GREAT. Giant may not have the cache that a lot of the boutique brands have around Silicon Valley, but I would pit this bike against any cross country bike being made today, and indeed I have blown by many, many Santa Cruz, Ellsworth, etc on this thing. This bike at $2500 retail (I got it for $2000) has to be the best deal on the planet for a full on XC racing bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Atown117
a Cross Country Rider
from Bend, OR
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2099.00 | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | It's strengths would be it just gets up and goes! Every bit of effort put into pedaling seems to translate into forward momentum which it should. Also it climbs like a goat no pun intented. | | Weaknesses: | I would have to say for some people the weakness would be the steep head angle which makes it turn on a dime and some people might find this to aggresive for there liking. However I like it just find and don't find it twitchy on the downhill at all. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Enduro, Santa Cruz Heckler | | Bike Setup: | All Stock | | Bottom Line: | Get one if you are going to race or you just like beating all your buddies on your favorite trail for bragging rights. Not for people who want an all mountain do it all bike. It is an XC Race bike nothing more and nothing less. That being said go get one before it's to late! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Theo
a
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2800.00 | | Purchased At: | Tay Junction | | Strengths: | Fast. Relatively light. Even if it is heavier than other comparable FS bikes, it hides its weight very very well. | | Weaknesses: | To me, none. | | Similar Products Used: | Giant NRS, KHS FXT Sport | | Bike Setup: | Stock full XT, Fox F100RLC and Crank Bros Eggbeater SL (upgraded immed on shopfloor), Thomson 30.9*410mm laidback seatpost, stock Race Face Evolve XC stem and handlebar, stock Fox Float RP2 shock, stock Michelin xCR Dry [2] tyres. | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is, all you need to do to enjoy the Giant Anthem is to slap on XT parts (bang for buck) and a Fox fork. It's pretty much like a Nissan GT-R. Not as exotic as say, a Lamborghini, but it sure gives more expensive and exotic vehicles a lot to think about. Definitely the same or a lot more value and performance for half the cost of an exotic bike.
The Anthem, compared to my NRS, has a much more mischievous character. It almost seems to grin and come back for more when you chuck it around corners, making last minute split second corrections halfway into the curve. The Anthem simply shrugs them off with ease, digs the excellent stock Michelin xCR Dry[2] tyres in and takes you along for the ride.
In other words, if you have US$2800 or SGD$3780 to spare, this is the full susp XC bike to get. It hasn't been getting rave reviews for nothing! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
shaun
a Cross Country Rider
from macon, ga, us
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | thomson | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | frame: ebay, build: The Bike Store | | Strengths: | FAST! tight, efficient, smooth. Feels more like it has more travel than it does. Rails corners, ignores small bumps, climbs like whoa, descends right where you point it. | | Weaknesses: | tough to get clean. 2.3 tires are as wide as you can put on it. I'd prefer a shock I could switch the platform off ('07-'08 models do, I suppose) | | Similar Products Used: | trek fuel 8.0, fisher procaliber, hifi, gt idxc | | Bike Setup: | Reba race 100mm, bb7 brakes, thomson stem/ post, xt crank and cassette, x9 shifters and ders, dt swiss 240s hubs with mavic 717 rims. '06 frame with manitou s-type shock | | Bottom Line: | Let's be honest: nobody builds a new bike and then tells you it sucks. I wanted a fast bike for xc races in the Southeastern US but that I could ride and train on year round and still enjoy myself. Picked the Giant for the suspension technology, price, weight, and durability. I know I'm faster on it, but the Anthem is 5 pounds lighter than my last bike. I expected it to climb and accelerate better than my old single pivot (does), but was surprised by how much faster it is in turns and downhill. This bike will hold any line you have the cajones to throw it into.
Within reason. This is no all mountain bike, but seriously, how many of us huck 3' drops?
5 chilis for value: you save $500 just by buying Giant over Trek, C-dale, Spec, etc.
5 chilis overall: it's not as bling as an Intense, but I couldn't be happier. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
swisgar swiggle
a Cross Country Rider
from Mordhaus, netherlands
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | holes in the ground | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$2300.00 | | Purchased At: | plumas expiditions | | Strengths: | Suspension feels like it has extra travel, solid pivot bearings, good stock kit, low center of gravity | | Weaknesses: | stock fork is to short, 100 mm feels much more stable, less twitchy. | | Similar Products Used: | rocky mtn instinct, rode for 6 years | | Bike Setup: | stock except speedball r, rockshox reba, speedplay pedals. | | Bottom Line: | This bike is better than my old rocky mountain instinct in every aspect except paint. Its bushings are tight after a year, Ditch your 80 mm fox for something with at least 100mm, maybe the talas. It will make it handle much more stable and predictable. I recently added a speedball, Huge difference! Stock rims are a little flimsy, will upgrade if they break any more spokes or go out of true again. I keep up with tensioning them, but they loose tension too often. gonna upgrade to xt hubs with a mavic rim. someday. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Laurent Le Puil
a Weekend Warrior
from France
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Paris area | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$2800.00 | | Strengths: | Light, confortable, good climber, affordable price | | Weaknesses: | Cables that rubs the frame and dig holes, quality of some screws | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale Delta V | | Bike Setup: | Stock (2007 model) | | Bottom Line: | This product is a very good compromise if you look a light but still comfortable bike. It is agile and likes all kind of trails, from large forest roads to single tracks. Thanks to its lightweight and effectiveness of the rear suspension it climbs perfectly. I also had the occasion to test it in downhill conditions but this is not the best machine for that and my front rim suffered from a fail...may be the single upgrade I will do on this bike.
Good quality/price ratio.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
GEORGE
a Cross Country Rider
from SAN MARCOS, CA.
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Daley Ranch | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1700.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Warehouse | | Strengths: | Climbing, Handling, Value, Suspension performace. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Epic and Stumpjumper, Ellsworth Truth, Gary Fisher Paragon 29er, GT Marathon, Santa Cruz Blur and Heckler. | | Bike Setup: | Stock. Odi Rogue lock-on grips. | | Bottom Line: | After being away from mountain bikes for four years, riding only on the road, I took my time when looking for a new mountain bike. Giant wasn't even on my radar when I started looking. Than a friend bought an Anthem 1. I looked at it and rode it. I was sold. The build quality of the frame is as good if not better than any boutique bike I've seen. The suspension works. Build kit is all quality components. May change stem and seatpost to Thomson. Nothing wrong with the stock parts I just prefer Thomson. The frame geometry is great. GREAT for climbing and decends with confidence. Overall awesome bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin
a Cross Country Rider
from Breckenridge, co
Date Reviewed: December 11, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | terrible store | | Strengths: | Frame Geometry, Fox Suspension, Lightweight, Easton Components, Responsiveness, Speed, Low center of gravity | | Weaknesses: | hayes Hydraulic Brakes, Avid sooo much better, Terrible customer support, shady warranty, terrible dealers, lack of quality during assembly, cable will rub hole in frame, seat falls apart NO WARRANTY, LX front derail. will have to be replaced with xt or xtr | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher cake, Trek Fuel, Santa Cruz Blur, Specialized Stumpjumper, Rockhopper, Trek Hardtail | | Bike Setup: | Stock,except monkeylite composite bars and XTR pedals, | | Bottom Line: | The design of this bike is phenominal. Excelent handling and suspension. The customer support is an abomination I will never buy another Giant bike again because of it! My Hayes brakes are defective as are about one out of fifteen if you read reviews and talk to bike mechanics about them. Guess what my dealer and Giant said "screw you we already have your money". | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel Wewengkang
a Weekend Warrior
from Jakarta-Indonesia
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Tay Cycles Singapore | | Strengths: | Very Fast and Very Light Bike. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Bike Setup: | Hope Pro Disc II Hubs, Hope Mini Moto Disc Brake Set, Ritchey WCS Z-Max Tire, Thomson Elite for Seatpost and Stem, Easton Monkey Lite (Composite) Handlebar, Shimano XTR pedal, Shifter and RD, Rock Shock SID | | Bottom Line: | This Bike is amazing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$2500.00 | | Purchased At: | Lygon Cycles, Melbourne | | Strengths: | very light. VERY LIGHT. great handling, great gear-shifting, and Pro-Pedal definitely beats other bikes that cost more but lack this function. fox shox are light as a feather, and after dialing them in, you have the lushest 100mm suspension you will ever find! | | Weaknesses: | Lose the 6" disc at the front for a 7". That's it in my opinion. 6" juuuuusst doesn't quite offer the 'stop on a dime' power needed for a front wheel. but replaced with a 7" adapter+rotor, you got Chuck Norris stoppin ya! | | Similar Products Used: | Giant Alias
Giant NRS
GT I-Drive 4 1.0 | | Bike Setup: | Mavic 819 Wheelset, Larsen TT tyres, 7" HFX nine disc (front only). everything else as standard. | | Bottom Line: | FREAKING AMAZING BIKE. best xc bike I've tried. Ever. (that's why I bought it...)
If you really want full control, then -
1: change your front rotor and adapter to a 7" (above, product weakness)
2: lose the generic (Hutchinson) tyres, as they are quite a square design, and don't hold their own in any strenuous cornering. I recommend the Larsen TT, as they are like train tracks on any kind of surface (ok, maybe not sand dunes...).
Fox suspension is FANTASTIC. I started out quite annoyed that such a good fork qouldn't have a pop-lock, but every bike store instructed me that this can get dirt into the fork in a reasonably shor time. After getting used to knowing where the f+r pro-pedal switches are, it takes no more than 2 seconds, and can do it without losing concentration.
Would be good if they were 120mm instead of 100, but I'm not complaining!
Gears are very smooth, very adjustable and very reliable. Bike is VERY strong, and despite being a light XC bike, I've still not broken (or even bent) a spoke.
Seatpost is surprisingly comfortable, and don't notice it even after riding for 3 or so hours through the city.
As a designer by trade, the bike is also the best looking dual suspension XC I've seen in a long time. (especially with white forks - who would have thought!!) Great design!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Darren Wilks
a Racer
from Maldon Essex England
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Danbury essex No not the dirt jumps boring!!!! | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$3000.00 | | Purchased At: | Riverside cycles Maldon | | Strengths: | Light weight, Fantastic angles, cornering, climbing, decending, responsiveness | | Weaknesses: | Get the right size if you are over 5'9" get a large | | Similar Products Used: | First full susser previous bikes Giant XTC se Univega alu 706 GT Tequesta 95 | | Bike Setup: | As standard for 2008 bike except NC17 seatpost, Barends. | | Bottom Line: | Get one today. bought home on the friday set up on saturday, raced at Thetford winter series Round 1 on Sunday on single track this bike just seems to get faster and Faster, I do not do this bike Justice. do make sure you get the right size I am 5'11" and had to get longer post. shame because Raceface post is a work of art. this thing is so fast and predictable through corners it just seems to eat singletrack. you will not believe how hard this bike can corner. climbs hills like there is no tomorrow It will make you a fantastic rider when you catch up with it!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bEN
a Racer
from FARGO
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | JAMESTOWN PIPESTEM | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | PARAMOUNT SPORTS | | Strengths: | FAST FAST FAST. SMOOTHES OUT THE ROUGHEST ROOTS & ROCKS, FIRM WHEN YOU WANT IT TO BE. PLATFORM WORKS GREAT. | | Weaknesses: | GEOMETRY A LITTLE STEEP, BUT SOME MAY LIKE THAT. STOCK TIRES ARE NOT GOOD IN WET CONDITIONS 27.5 LBS IS MORE THAN I EXPECTED FOR PRICE, BUT IT FEELS LIGHTER | | Similar Products Used: | TREK FUEL EX6 | | Bike Setup: | STOCK 07 WITH KENDA NEVEGAL 2.1 ODI GRIPS | | Bottom Line: | GREAT FAST BIKE, BUY ONE IF YOU RIDE XC TRAILS OR RACE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
XCSUR4
a Cross Country Rider
from Blue Mountain,Ontario,Canada
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | 3 stage(where else ?) | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2100.00 | | Purchased At: | Cycle Solutions | | Strengths: | suspension design,function,geometry,light-weight,
climbing, Fox F100R | | Weaknesses: | tires,stock fork F80RL,saddle,tires | | Similar Products Used: | owned 00'Specialized FSR-XC,03'Spec.FSR-XC, DEMO'D
'07 FISHER HI-FI DELUXE, '07 SPECIALIZED EPIC, '07 Brodie, '07Rocky Mountain | | Bike Setup: | exchanged fork for a Fox 100R,tires for Specialized Team control and master. Kore(easton) flat-bar,'94 Concept barends,my old body-geometry saddle'03 | | Bottom Line: | if you're looking for a XC full suspension bike, look no further, this bike outperforms much more expenxive bikes, and for lack of a better comparison "it climbs like a goat"
I've been Mnt.biking since '86(at 3stage)I'm 5'11" 185#
i'm riding a 20" Anthem(this frame had the closest geometry to my last medium FSR) I have 190psi in rear. This thing has the ability to suck up some big hits(moderate) and climb, you'll find yourself pushing bigger gears uphill.
I love it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Danny S
a Cross Country Rider
from Lapid, Israel
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Highly efficient FS bike. This rig is a racing machine. The geometry of the frame, the cockpit design and the drivetrain components make it super fast on climbs, flats and descends.
My bike is the Israeli version so the components are a bit different. Yet the bike is (and feels) very light and tremendously responsive. The steering is very precise (sometimes too unforgiving). When I switched to these bikes from my previous (Norco Fluid 2), I shaved 15% (!) of my time on strenuous climbs. | | Weaknesses: | Hayes breaks (say no more...).
Maybe too steep of Head tube angle (72 deg!). | | Similar Products Used: | Norco fluid 2, Giant Warp, | | Bike Setup: | Stem & Handlebar - Hybrid
Seatpost - RaceFace Next XC
Crank - RaceFace Evolve XC
Rims - Mavic 819
Hubs - Shimano XT
Derailleurs - XTR
Shifters - XTR
Cassette - SRAM 990
Chain - SRAM 991
Tires - Hutchinson Python UST 2.0
Fork - Rockshox Reba SL
Rear shock - Fox RP3
| | Bottom Line: | I ride these bike over a year and done about 5000 km on. I love them! Sometimes it feels like it goes on its own.
The only drawback I see is the behavior on very rough descends. The head tube angle (as mentioned above) kind of forces you to carefully examine sharp drops. But, these bike is strictly XC bike and not free ride bikes. I'm riding it in quite technical trails and still enjoying it both on climbs and on descends. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
willie coetzee
a Cross Country Rider
from cape town
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | jonkershoek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$17400.00 | | Purchased At: | willie coetzee | | Strengths: | everything rides awesome | | Weaknesses: | brake are okay. | | Similar Products Used: | Giant trance | | Bike Setup: | perfect for me | | Bottom Line: | get your self one asap | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from PE, South Africa
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Harkerville | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | This bike is a decent climber. Climbs better than my hardtail. Very little bobbing on pro-pedal setting. Light for a full suspension. Good speed and comfort on downhill but not too soft. | | Weaknesses: | Intitially the chain would skip off the middle chain ring. We removed the 2nd spacer on the RHS and moved it to the LHS. Problem seems sorted now | | Similar Products Used: | GT Avalanche 1.0 | | Bike Setup: | Mavic X819 rims with Maxxix Crossmark UST tyres. XT dual control shifters, XT crankset, XT brakes with Avid Juicy discs, Rockshox Reba Race fork, Fox RP23 rear shock, Race Face stem and saddle post. XT chain. | | Bottom Line: | This is an excellent bike for cross country and enduro marathons. Still getting used to the carbon/titanium seat. I have improved significantly since getting this bike. I ride mostly on pro-pedal 2 setting and only open the rear shock on long downhills. The intitial problem with the chain skipping off the middle ring seems to have been solved by fitting the 2nd spacer on the LHS of the crank. Can definitely recommend this bike. Was intitially not happy with having to take the Reba shock instead of the Fox RL100 but so far I'm happy and have seen many good reports on the Reba. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Karn Rich
a Cross Country Rider
from Bicheno
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Kate Reid Reserve single track | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2700.00 | | Purchased At: | Launceston | | Strengths: | Very fast bike that appear to have very little peddal bob even in full suspension setting. It really feels like I am still riding my XTC. I always thought the XTC was the fastest climber out there but I have a feeling the Anthem is just as fast. I do like the colour scheme. | | Weaknesses: | Have yet to find much although I have hit a few rough sections and did 'not' get as smooth a ride as I expected.
The stock Hutch tires are NOT safe in any conditions. The rear cluster and chain are low spec. I am already getting paint rub around the cables but this is not unique to Giant.
| | Similar Products Used: | Ridden Specialized Epic and Stumpjumper - this thing is equal to Epic and about 2 grand cheaper. I thought the brain was the best thing to happen to XC but the Anthem Fox is as good. | | Bike Setup: | Stock apart from new XT rear cluster and XTR Chain. I am awaiting a trip to big smoke to buy some decent tires (Specialized roll X pro - the best I have ridden - pitty they don't have GIANT stamp on them) | | Bottom Line: | I thought I would move off my hard tails and try the full suspension. This thing is really fast and feels so much like a hardtail that I almost wonder if it is working properly (I have a few things to learn about rear suspension set up). I think I may grow to love the thing and I hope it can handle as many years abuse as the Giant XTC.
Its not cheap when you think $2700 could buy a motor bike but it does appear to be built to take a lot of hard riding. How can you beat the Giant life time warranty? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Finn Logan
a Racer
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Great value for money.
Good groupset mix.
Cartridge bearing hubs.
Fantastic ride quality. | | Weaknesses: | Pro pedal lever is under the drink bottle,not easy to use on the fly.I just use pro pedal all the time so no worrys. | | Similar Products Used: | A few hard tails. | | Bike Setup: | XT shifters.derails,cranks.
Sram chain,cassette.
Juicy 5 brakes.
DT swiss hubs,mavic rims. | | Bottom Line: | I never thought I would buy a dual for cross country but man am I glad I did.
You need to get one and set it up correctly and have a good ride and you will see why.
I leave it on Pro pedal all the time and have it set up for a weight about 15 kg heavier the I weigh.
This bike is fast,and not just down hill. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
marc d'offay
a Racer
from south africa
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | giba gorge | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2300.00 | | Strengths: | pedaling effeincy!
no bob! the rp2 shock locks out well!
pivot's are easy too service and maintain! | | Weaknesses: | the rear triangle sits a little too close too the tire and catches excess mud, sticks and sand
kenda karma tires | | Similar Products Used: | Santa Cruz blur xc
gave me many problems - and was said too have no pedal bob! well it makes the anthem look like an xtc! | | Bike Setup: | stock! except for the rims (mavic crossmax) and tires (maxxis crossmark)
| | Bottom Line: | the anthem is a very quick and responsive bike, it's designed for racers and weekend warriors!
a great all round ride | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JW
a Racer
from Tyler, Texas
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Tyler State Park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2300.00 | | Purchased At: | Tanner Bikes | | Strengths: | light weight, nice paint, great suspension, quick handling, comfortable, fast, Fox shocks, good brakes, price | | Weaknesses: | bottle cage is a little cramped, but is fine for a small bottle. | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale DeltaV, Amp B2, Amp B4. Have ridden dual suspension for over 10 years. | | Bike Setup: | monkey lite bars, Stan's ZTR Olympic wheels and Crow tires, Titec Pluto carbon seatpost, Stock bike (medium) was 26.7 pounds, now 24.95 pounds | | Bottom Line: | great bike at any price, handles well, nimble, climbs and descends like it should. I weigh around 185 lbs and can run about 25 lbs in Stan's No Tubes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from LaGrande, OR
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Fast Twitch and Skills | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Cyclesports | | Strengths: | Purchased as frameset. Love the Maestro suspension | | Weaknesses: | Haven't found any yet | | Similar Products Used: | NRS 1, Trance 1 | | Bike Setup: | Totally custom:
fork: Rockshox Reba SL
wheelset: Mavic Crossmax XL
handlebars: Max-M carbon risers
stem: Giant carbon 130mm
brakes: Avid Juicy 7's
cranks: Raceface Evolve XC
BB: Raceface X-type
front derailleur: XT
rear derailleur: SRAM XO long cage
shifters: SRAM XO twisters
cassette: SRAM PG-990 11-34
chain: SRAM PC-991 hollow pin
post: Thompson Elite
saddle: WTB Rocket | | Bottom Line: | I've ridden a Trance with similar component set-up for the last 2 seasons and absolutely loved it. I wanted a new Trance frame but Giant was out of stock on them so I decided to give the Anthem a try. WOW! I'm impressed. Sure, the Anthem's travel is a half inch less than the Trance, but I can't tell the difference. It climbs like a goat and handles like a Porsche. I rode an NRS 1 before the Trance so I was a little concerned that the Anthem would be like it. NOT! (Didn't NRS stand for "Not Really Suspended"?) The Maestro suspension is just plush enough to make the Anthem really a FUN ride and isn't that what it's all about? By the way; with my component set-up this bike weighs in at just a hair under 26 lbs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Elliot
a Cross Country Rider
from Auckland, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Climbs like a dream, awesome through the trails, super fast. Able enough on the downhills, fills you with confidence, Just a beautiful bike! | | Weaknesses: | Juicy 5's didn't deliver same amount of bite as I expected them to, and took a while to run in properly. lost extractor bolt out of the crank. Not a major and probably my fault for not checking it but thats life. | | Similar Products Used: | 2006 Specialized Stumpjumper Expert | | Bike Setup: | Stock apart from Truvativ Team Carbon riser handlebar and changed pedals to Crank Bros Eggbeater SL's | | Bottom Line: | An awesome XC weapon, if you want to get somewhere quick, beat your mates, or do that endurance ride you've been looking at for the last few months, this is you, it's absolutely awesome. Perhaps not at comfortable as some other bikes on the market, but hey it's a XC race bike. Riser bars definitely help. Definitely the best bike for the spec, money and performance in my opinion. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ricky
a Cross Country Rider
from South Africa
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2300.00 | | Strengths: | Everything | | Weaknesses: | None, only got 2 punctures on my first ride but thats not the bikes fault. | | Similar Products Used: | Schwinn Mesa DSX, GT Avalanche 1 Disc | | Bike Setup: | frame ALUXX SL FluidFormed™ alloy Maestro 3.5” of travel
fork Fox 32 F100 RL w/lockout, 100mm/4”
rear shock Fox Float RP2 w/adj. ProPedal
rear derailleur Shimano Deore XT high normal
front derailleur Shimano Deore LX 34.9
shifters Shimano Deore XT rapid fire 27 speed
crankset Raceface Evolve XC X-Type 22x32x44T
bottom bracket Raceface Evolve XC X-Type integrated, outboard
shift/chain guide
chain Shimano HG53 9 speed
cassette SRAM PG970 9 speed 11-34T
brakes Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic w/6” rotors
brake levers Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic
hubs DT Swiss Cerit disc 28H
rims Mavic XM317 disc 26” x 28H w/eyelets
spokes 14/15G stainless
tyres Hutchinson Piranha Airlight folding 26 x 2.0”
pedals Shimano M520 SPD clipless
h.bar/stem Easton EA50 flat/ Easton EA50
seat post Easton EA50 30.9
saddle Velo w/composite base, hollow ti rail 190g
grips Giant lock-on
| | Bottom Line: | Awesome bike,never ridden something so nice in my life. Better then a Whyte 46 I tested and its 2.7kgs lighter than my GT.Weighs in at 12.3kgs.Climbs like a demon and descends even better.Best Value bike on the market I think.If you on a budget this is the one to buy.Infact I think its the answer, the only thing I can think to improve on is the groupset to XTR and put easton EC90 components | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville, TN
Date Reviewed: January 18, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Hamilton Creek, Montgomery Bell State Park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$3000.00 | | Strengths: | Lightweight, stiff and responsive, no pedal bob | | Weaknesses: | Easton EA50 support group could be lighter. | | Similar Products Used: | Litespeed Niota, Tomac Eli, Trek Fuel EX | | Bike Setup: | Full Shimano XT, Hayes HFX-9 disc brakes (160mm rotors), Mavic CrossMax SL wheels with Michelin AT Tubeless tires, Fox 80mm fork and Float RP2 shock, Easton EA50 support, Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow saddle | | Bottom Line: | I've been a hardtail rider for years and have been searching for the full-suspension bike that would climb and accelerate like my steel bikes with added control and comfort. The Anthem has definitely ended my search.
The Maestro suspension design delivers on it's promise. Even when seated and climbing a technical ascent, the rear wheel tracks the terrain perfectly and holds traction without any noticable pedal induced bob. In fact, because of the active rear wheel and the traction it adds; I believe the Anthem actually climbs better than my hardtails. It almost feels like cheating! I wasn't as beat-up as I was when riding my hardtail and felt like I had more control.
After dialing in the proper air pressure and rebound rate on the shocks, the bike felt quite natural and behaved predictably over stutter bumps, rocks, roots and off 2+ foot drop-offs. I haven't tried it on any drops bigger than 3 feet because frankly, the aluminum spokes on the Cross Max wheels make me nervous - this is an XC bike after-all.
The over-all bike weight is actually 2 lbs heavier than my current hardtail (28 total lbs with Shimano SPD pedals compaired to 26 lbs for my steel XT hardtail). But, the efficiency of the Fox suspension and extreme light-weight of the Cross Max wheels make it feel much lighter.
The new XT group is flawless. The double-release levers are nice, but I'll still continue to use them the traditional way. Shifting is more crisp than the previous generation - which I have on my other bike.
My advice is to upgrade the components that aren't XT and ditch the stock wheels for the Mavic Cross Max's or something similarly as light - like a Bontrager Race X Lite. That's the only thing that could make the stock configuration better.
I'd have to strongly recommend the Anthem. Best climbing full-suspension bike I could find. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
D
a Cross Country Rider
from Wellington, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | sweet ride, light, solid components | | Weaknesses: | Nasty grips, paint scratches easily, shock placement means you can only use a small bottle and the bottle gets in the way of the propedal lever | | Similar Products Used: | came from an NRS 1 | | Bike Setup: | stock with 100mm forks | | Bottom Line: | This bike is in another league compared to the NRS. The suspension is way more supple and the bike is much better over technical terrain. It feels far more stable on steep rough decents as the suspension remains active under braking. Super fast and fun in the single track as it feels really well balanced, and corners on rails.
There is a bit of bob with the suspension fully open but the propedal sorts that out. There are a lot of reviews saying it climbs like a hardtail but I dont think that is true at all. This has more traction so you can get up rocks and roots that might have stopped a hardtail with the wheel bouncing off the ground and loosing traction. Works beter than NRS in this regard also.
I am loving this bike. I have done 3 races on it ranging from dry and dusty to pouring rain and mud, and it has cranked in all of them. Would highly recommend for racing or general XC riding as it is both fast and really fun to ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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