XC Anthem 2 2016

hakka

hakka

Likes Dirt
Been doing a bit on my Giant Talon hardtail lately, loving the XC geometry in the tight trails but the lack of suspension was killing me so I just bought this one. I have a SRAM GX 1x11 drivetrain, Guide R brakeset, American classic wheelset and a few other bits to go on it. I'll see how the suspension goes, I might do some upgrades there as well.
 

Attachments

Last edited:
S

skinnybeans

Likes Dirt
hakka said:
So i've ridden it 3km on a bike path and already have a flat.
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. When I got my giant defy a few years ago I got a flat on my maiden voyage, 20km from home with no way to fix it!

Had to call my mum to come pick me up... Very embarrassing...

The anthem looks sweet.
 
H

HamboCairns

Thanks for all the bananas
hakka said:
Been doing a bit on my Giant Talon hardtail lately, loving the XC geometry in the tight trails but the lack of suspension was killing me so I just bought this one. I have a SRAM GX 1x11 drivetrain, Guide R brakeset, American classic wheelset and a few other bits to go on it. I'll see how the suspension goes, I might do some upgrades there as well.
Click to expand...
Does that mean you'll have some spares for sale soon?...
 
hakka

hakka

Likes Dirt
Almost finished. Installed SRAM GX 1x11 drivetrain, Guide brakes, Thomson Elite post, Renthal Strata stem, American Classic wheels. Renthal carbon Fatbar is on the way, also thinking about ordering a set of Zelvy wheels for it.
 

Attachments

mitchy_

mitchy_

Llama calmer
you managed to get rid of the kink in the seat post too! :shocked:

looks the goods, Giant nail some of their colorways.
 
teK--

teK--

Eats Squid
Just like what I did with my old Anthem! Short stem wide bars, 1x, etc. Eventually I swapped it for a Trance :)

I also extended the forks to 120 and it made a nice difference.

Looks great what does it tip on the scales?
 
hakka

hakka

Likes Dirt
teK-- said:
Just like what I did with my old Anthem! Short stem wide bars, 1x, etc. Eventually I swapped it for a Trance :)

I also extended the forks to 120 and it made a nice difference.

Looks great what does it tip on the scales?
Click to expand...
10.5kg on the bathroom scales, 1kg lighter than my trance.
 
acads

acads

Likes Dirt
I'm interested to see how the wider wheels effect it. I've got a 14 Anthem 1 27.5, usual 1x upgrade, 12x142 rear axle. I've tried a shorter stem (70mm) and initially liked it when heading down hill but the bike wandered too much going up and washed out on tight medium speed turns.

Since gone back to the 90mm stem and I'm happy with that. What I did do however was change the bars to 710mm to avoid a few narrow gaps, that's a mistake. Looking for a 730mm bar again (do you still have your std one ?) as it's a better bike with the wider bar.

Looking at a rim change next, a little wider carbon hoops but keen to see if its worth it.

Btw, the bike looks great!, I've always been happy with my blue/white anthem, but the bumble bee takes the cake.
 
Last edited:
hakka

hakka

Likes Dirt
acads said:
I'm interested to see how the wider wheels effect it. I've got a 14 Anthem 1 27.5, usual 1x upgrade, 12x142 rear axle. I've tried a shorter stem (70mm) and initially liked it when heading down hill but the bike wandered too much going up and washed out on tight medium speed turns.

Since gone back to the 90mm stem and I'm happy with that. What I did do however was change the bars to 710mm to avoid a few narrow gaps, that's a mistake. Looking for a 730mm bar again (do you still have your std one ?) as it's a better bike with the wider bar.

Looking at a rim change next, a little wider carbon hoops but keen to see if its worth it.

Btw, the bike looks great!, I've always been happy with my blue/white anthem, but the bumble bee takes the cake.
Click to expand...
Not sure about the wider wheels, I didn't ride it on the stock rims (or the American classics I had on it in one of the pics). I did the same upgrade on my Trance but went for 30mm internal Zelvys on that vs 25mm internal on the Anthem, grip, stiffness and weight was a lot better.

I'm running a 50mm Thomson X4 stem and 740mm bars, I've put a Minion DHF on the front. The ardent race was washing out a bit, the trails around here are very dry with a thick layer of dust on top, ardent race doesn't have enough tread to bite through the dust layer. Front end stays planted now and I can lean it right over with confidence in the front, the back is a bit loose with the ardent race but I like that in the twisty trails. I sold the bars that came on the Anthem.

I haven't noticed any issues on the climbs, with the 50mm it can go down at a decent pace too. I'm not a fan of how the steering feels with longer stems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top