Anthem X0 26" vs Anthem 29er: the hard data

[Timmy!!!]

I went into my LBS yesterday and they were assembling a medium size Anthem 29er. I tried to deny that it existed, but it didn't work. I tried stuffing it down my trousers and rubbing it around but that only made matters worse. I came home and spent the entire night tossing, and when I woke up I knew what I had to do. So I bought it. But I needed to know if it is actually better than my current XC weapon: a very well set up and sorted 26" Anthem X0. So I went out to the Youies armed with my Garmin and rode them back to back on this weekend's Nationals XC course.

The result? The 29er is 20 seconds a lap faster, and uses less energy to achieve that lap time. It's faster up the technical climbs, just as fast on the fire roads, and faster down the technical descents. It's more forgiving, and it's more fun. There is no down side.

Bear in mind that I did both laps at full race pace, and I rode the 29er after I rode the 26" bike so I was a bit buggered when I rode the 29er. Also, the 29er was straight out of the shop at 2:30 this arvo, whereas the 26" bike is well loved and VERY well sorted.

Actually, maybe there is a down side: the 29er is so good that it might make you a bit lazy on your technique. Otherwise, it's the best money I have ever spent in my life. How they made such an incredible bike for such a pitifully small amount of money is beyond me.

For those of you who want the hard numbers, here they are.

Anthem X0 26"
Lap time: 24:16
Calories: 318

Anthem 29er
Lap time: 23:55
Calories: 294

Job done.

 

[dyon]

sshhhhh. now all those 26" riders that i can ride faster than will go out and buy 29ers and beat me again!

 

[hifiandmtb]

And imagine how quick the Anthem 29er would be with a lighter wheelset!

 

[mtb101]

yes interesting good test, just a bit quicker and a bit more efficient, the real advantage is on the climbs - grip and handling.

 

[steve24]

I went into my LBS yesterday and they were assembling a medium size Anthem 29er. I tried to deny that it existed, but it didn't work. I tried stuffing it down my trousers and rubbing it around but that only made matters worse. I came home and spent the entire night tossing, and when I woke up I knew what I had to do. So I bought it. But I needed to know if it is actually better than my current XC weapon: a very well set up and sorted 26" Anthem X0. So I went out to the Youies armed with my Garmin and rode them back to back on this weekend's Nationals XC course.

The result? The 29er is 20 seconds a lap faster, and uses less energy to achieve that lap time. It's faster up the technical climbs, just as fast on the fire roads, and faster down the technical descents. It's more forgiving, and it's more fun. There is no down side.

Bear in mind that I did both laps at full race pace, and I rode the 29er after I rode the 26" bike so I was a bit buggered when I rode the 29er. Also, the 29er was straight out of the shop at 2:30 this arvo, whereas the 26" bike is well loved and VERY well sorted.

Actually, maybe there is a down side: the 29er is so good that it might make you a bit lazy on your technique. Otherwise, it's the best money I have ever spent in my life. How they made such an incredible bike for such a pitifully small amount of money is beyond me.

For those of you who want the hard numbers, here they are.

Anthem X0 26"
Lap time: 24:16
Calories: 318

Anthem 29er
Lap time: 23:55
Calories: 294

Job done.

Good post!

It would be great to get some more follow up after the race this weekend.
Your practice times can still be subjective as i am sure you wanted the new bike to be faster and HRs can vary a lot.

It would also be interesting to do a lap on 29 1st then 26 as well as 2 laps on each....
The more data you have the more it means.....

 

[Grover]

You probably need to add a bit to the title ...'at the You Yangs' which is about as 29er friendly as you can get. You need to do a similar test on a tight and twisty course. Something where being able to flick the bike around and accelerate quickly is crucial that would favour a 26" bike. I loved the 29er at the You Yangs, Sass Creek in the Dandenongs on the other hand was a disaster. It's a horses for courses deal and you're lucky you've now got both!

PS. Don't read much into the calorie count on the Garmin.

 

[jathanas]

You probably need to add a bit to the title ...'at the You Yangs' which is about as 29er friendly as you can get. You need to do a similar test on a tight and twisty course. Something where being able to flick the bike around and accelerate quickly is crucial that would favour a 26" bike. I loved the 29er at the You Yangs, Sass Creek in the Dandenongs on the other hand was a disaster. It's a horses for courses deal and you're lucky you've now got both!

PS. Don't read much into the calorie count on the Garmin.

^ +1

If proof existed that 29ers have such an advantage over their smaller wheeled breathen in all conditions I'd assume that it would be very well documented (and advertised)...

 

[Timmy!!!]

^ +1

If proof existed that 29ers have such an advantage over their smaller wheeled breathen in all conditions I'd assume that it would be very well documented (and advertised)...

Excellent point. Until now I've seen little other than talk, and no data whatsoever to back up that talk. I'm certainly not throwing away my 26" bikes (yet) because the "horses for courses" adage is very true. Will my Anthem 29er be quicker than my Carbon Hardtail around Forrest? Or around the Kurrajong are of the Youies? Or Woodend? I seriously doubt it, but I'll make damn sure to find out.

 

[Bodin]

I seriously doubt it, but I'll make damn sure to find out.

Yep, the 29er-friendly nature of the Youies is very true. I have, however ridden my XTC in the Pineys @ Castlemaine (Moonlight flats - brutally tight, twisty & rocky) and my AX @ Macedon (twisty, but not rocky) and my personal opinion is that the strengths still outweigh the weaknesses (hence the fact that I'm selling my 26" bike).

I haven't got any "data" to support my opinions like the OP of this thread, but there is an uphill stretch of 7 consecutive switchbacks right out the back of the Pineys that I think is a great test of handling on any bike and the XTC does it better than my 26" Stumpy, which is a bike that I basically customised for that specific trail.

I'm looking forward to finding out whether my suspicions about the AX being even better than the XTC on that trail will be true.

 

[Steve_N]

I can't provide real data but I knew and felt my rigid 29er (Soma Juice) was faster than my old FS26er ('99 Stumpy FSR XC) and that my FS29er (Lenz Leviathan) is faster again. One thing I have definitely noticed is that I'm now tearing through the ST much faster on the Lenz... The level of grip I have (using Schwalbe Racing Ralph's 2.4 (F) / 2.25 (R)) is just astounding and I haven't come close to hitting the adhesion limits with this set up. I must admit that the current set-up is pretty well dialled so maybe there are other contributing factors at play here...

As far as the smile-o-meter goes... there is no contest... The Lenz kicks a**...

 

[ashl]

i rode both the anthem 29 and the anthem 26 advanced.

it definitely seemed to roll better, but i preferred the 26. i think part of that was that it was much stiffer and lighter and it felt more agile through the corners.

also that time difference of 20 seconds is pretty marginal given the overall time IMHO.

as hardtails they seem to make a lot more sense, but i'm not so convinced as FS.