XC Ducky's Modern-Retro Carbolicious (or is it Carboniferous?) Anthem. Now with v2 Project

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
I see what you did there. Just because @slider_phil took out the gong with an xc bike, you thought you would try it on too. Snatching victory from the jaws of my Liteville won't be so straightforward my fine young friend...

In saying that, it is a nice bike. How does it compare to the late carbon NRS?

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The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
OK, so try these....

680mm wingspan
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Remember these things?
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4 inches of carbon-rockered Maestro goodness....
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Twiddly knobs....
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Carbon here too.....
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Control centre (complete with grass seed head under the reach adjust knob....)....
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Bigger rim shot....
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Glowing in the sunset....
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The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
In saying that, it is a nice bike. How does it compare to the late carbon NRS?
It's a better bike than the NRS ever was. I've never ridden a carbon NRS, but a mate had an aluminium model, which I rode a few times. It's not that different geometry-wise, maybe just teeny bit slacker in the head, but even in its earliest form (this model is the second generation) Maestro is a much better suspension platform. NRS pedals very well, but at almost the complete expense of small bump suppleness (some critics have suggested that NRS stood for No Rear Suspension); Maestro has much better sensitivity without using too much stroke on small bumps, but does seem very dependent on shock choice for different rider weights; Foxes work well for riders under about 75kg, while heavier riders find them too soft, but at the other end Rock Shox Monarchs work well for the heavier riders, but are too stiff and harsh in the top stroke for lighter guys like me.. Combined with the higher grade carbon, the Anthem has much fatter, boxier tube cross sections than the NRS, so will be a lot stiffer in the right directions to help with the handling sharpness.
 

safreek

*******
I don't believe I've ever seen a MCM in the flesh.... Reckon they'd be getting exceedingly rare by now.
Yeah, I missed one on gumtree a while ago, under 300. Couldn't get to brizzy at the time. It made me very sad to think some undeserving plonker is probably abusing it right now, or worse still stuck in a collection never being ridden
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
I'm no longer sure if my photography is alright, and you guys are making an ironic joke that has some serious team effort behind it, or if it's terrible and I'm completely ignorant to the fact.
It’s just a reputation you’ll never lose
 
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The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
This is like a hyper pimp version of my Anthem!!! Very nice.
But at the same time it's really low-key pimping.... ;)

Funny tale..... The colour scheme on this frame is so similar to my aluminium version that the fisrt time I rocked up to a club ride on this bike one of the guys asked if I'd got a new fork! - the bright blue is rather different to the subtle black Reba on the other bike. It's only when he got a closer look that he realised it was a whole different bike! :p
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
So, as you may have read a few weeks ago, some shithead decided they needed this more than I did and nicked off with it. :mad: A couple of weeks later while digging around the dodgy sites to see if my bike was listed, I found A Frame. Anthem X Advanced SLs are not common at the best of times, so my very first thought was "is that mine?" so I clicked on the ad. I could tell immediately that it wasn't mine - different graphics make it a 2012 frame, and no top-tube repairs - but things happened and now it is mine! :D And so begins Project Phoenix!


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It didn't come with shock or derailleur hanger, but I had a spare blue one in my kit so on it went, to match the blue drink bottle bolts.

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The shock also came from Farcebook, marketplace, a Fox Float RP23, in the right tune, although it's a slightly earlier version than what the frame originally had.

Our friend @link1896 has a fork put aside for me, entirely coincidentally a Giant-OEM blue Foxy, 120mm travel but otherwise identical to what was on the nicked bike - it would have come off the parallel-spec Trance model.

The plan for the remainder of the build is period-spec XTR, which some ebay digging has found a fair bit of, carbon bar/stem/post/wheels. Not super set on any particular brand for the cockpit kit, just whatever I can find a matching set of (v1 was a bit of a mixed bag, so this time around I want to be more integrated). And to tie in with the blue fork, there'll be some other tasteful blue details. :)

Stat tuned as it evolves.
 
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Halo1

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I always liked the look of the square down tubes on those frames. Hope you still find the original bike one day.
 
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