Giant Anthem or trance?

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shaddowflyer

Squid
Hi

So I am ready to go to my local shop o the weekend a pick u a new bike. after all the research I have decided on going with a Giant bike and I am stuck deciding between the Trance and Anthem. I know that the anthem caterers a bit more for racing and the trance more towards downhill. The reason I am torn is that I will be using the bike for things between both worlds.

I like riding with my partner but she is mainly into more flat gravel tracks like 35km --> one-way track from town to town. where an anthem 29er would be nice

But we also have a lot of really good downhill and trail tracks that I want to ride on and not miss out on. Not much in black but lots of blue and green tracks (easy-intermediate). where the trance would be better.
so which would you recommend in my situation?

And obviously, there is also the bit of 27.5 or 29er. If it was only for downhill I would go for 27.5 but for cross country 29er so I think. My local shop has all of them in stock but wasn't much of a help in helping on choosing a bike so I am hoping to get some assistance here. I do like to ride hard every so often but I am not into racing events as of yet but never no that might change after getting my first decent bike. (used to ride on cheaper bikes but keep breaking them to quickly)

Oh and the most expensive I probably go is the Trance 2, anthem 29er 2 (3800 AUD) but might even consider the 3 for (2999 AUD)

Thank you
 
Chriso_29er

Chriso_29er

Likes Bikes and Dirt
+3

But I haven't riden the Trance 29er yet, could be a great alround bike if not hitting big stuff.

I still ride a lot of XC trails and the Trance 27.5 still does a very good job of it. Marginal between my XC hardtail 29er on climbs and the flat.
Different league once the trail gets rough or down hill :)
 
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C

creaky

XMAS Plumper
If you’ve got to ask, then the answer is Trance !

It will be more versatile and forgiving / confidence inspiring on trails and I’m sure more than capable of keeping up with your missus (assuming she’s not Jolanda Neff) on the flat trails.

I’d tend to go for the 29er for your mix of uses unless you are at the shorter end of the spectrum.

Make sure you get to test ride them all including the adjacent size if you have any doubts about what the right size frame is. It’s generally better to go a bit shorter on the stock stem spec than make them longer but each to their own.
 
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shaddowflyer

Squid
Yea that makes sense. I guess the main thing (apart from xc) I was worried about was how well the trance 27.5 is for hill climbs due to having a bit more of an angle on the forks and more give in the suspension, but I guess that's why I can change the hardness with a switch and not have to work much harder on xc tracks.
 
Calvin27

Calvin27

Eats Squid
Anthem is more than adequate for blue and green runs and gravel grinds. However, the trance will hold value more. I will warn you however that most RB folk are more biased towards DH/Enduro/AM styles of riding so everyone is going to say trance.

My comment is if you are deciding between trance and anthem then you in fact have not done your research. Plenty of other brands that have bikes that fit in between these two. But I'g going with trance as well. If you get into it a trance will set you up better than an anthem will.
 
S

shaddowflyer

Squid
Calvin27 said:
Anthem is more than adequate for blue and green runs and gravel grinds. However, the trance will hold value more. I will warn you however that most RB folk are more biased towards DH/Enduro/AM styles of riding so everyone is going to say trance.

My comment is if you are deciding between trance and anthem then you in fact have not done your research. Plenty of other brands that have bikes that fit in between these two. But I'g going with trance as well. If you get into it a trance will set you up better than an anthem will.
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Thanx for the reply, i did look at some other brands but i have been told by a few local riders that with Giant i will get more bang for buck at this level. Where other brands have really good bike i would pay much for for the same type of gear, but thats what i uave been told. And yes there is much more reasearch i can do but i tend to fall in to the reaserch trap and never buying anything due to not beeing able to make up my minde so i was hoping for good first hand advice whitch i am getting here :) rather than beeng upsaled by local dealers for somethung i dont need.
 
Calvin27

Calvin27

Eats Squid
At the very least I think you'd need to ride both bikes. But if you think you might even get into MTB then trance once more lol.
 
D

Daniel Hale

She fid, he fid, I fidn't
trance 27.5will be a bit of a dog on fire rd's, i can'tsee the 29er version being much better..do they still so an advanced sx with 120mm travel anthem? without any blk runs the trance will b overkillimo
 
C

creaky

XMAS Plumper
shaddowflyer said:
i have been told by a few local riders that with Giant i will get more bang for buck at this level.
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This is not necessarily true anymore. The big plus with Giant etc. for riders with less of a bike history is that you can test all models and sizes easily. If you go with a less broadly available option then you may need to make informed judgement about sizing and geometry that will work for you (i.e. take a punt).
 
S

schred

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I ditched a trance 27.5 for an anthem 27.5 and added 10mm to the fork, so 130/110. Reason was I didn't need the trance for 95% of my riding, and the 5% it felt outgunned. That was a 2015 model for context. I'd get an anthem and cheap 2nd hand sled for shuttles. Giant is not good value except when on sale, which fortunately is most of the time.
 
EsPeGe

EsPeGe

Likes Bikes and Dirt
shaddowflyer said:
do like to ride hard every so often but I am not into racing events as of yet but never no that might change after getting my first decent bike. (used to ride on cheaper bikes but keep breaking them to quickly
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Given you said this and it implies some sort gravity racing maybe be in your future I’d go the trance. Solid bike and will do both sorts of riding. The Anthem will but it will suffer on the downs. The Trance will do both pretty well.
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
shaddowflyer said:
Yea that makes sense. I guess the main thing (apart from xc) I was worried about was how well the trance 27.5 is for hill climbs due to having a bit more of an angle on the forks and more give in the suspension, but I guess that's why I can change the hardness with a switch and not have to work much harder on xc tracks.
Click to expand...
Mate my do all bike is a Reign, and I have lots of steep technical riding here so your potential Trance will be awesome. As you get fitter it affects you less anyway.
 
S

shaddowflyer

Squid
SF Trailboy said:
Trance 29er. Best comprise between all three.

Being a giant they have a demo program. Ride all three.

If your local doesn’t have them to test ride find a giant shop that does.
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yes, I will have to test them out. at least I have a bit of an idea as what to expect. Sadly the local store does not let us test the bikes but there is another store 2h ours away which I might hit up o the weekend.
Would the 29er make it much harder to go up the hill? because I know that they usually take a bit more energy to get going on the straight but once they go.. they go hence good for cross country.
 
S

shaddowflyer

Squid
Daniel Hale said:
trance 27.5will be a bit of a dog on fire rd's, i can'tsee the 29er version being much better..do they still so an advanced sx with 120mm travel anthem? without any blk runs the trance will b overkillimo
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The one I am looking at it is :

130mm travel for the Trance 29er and 100mm for the Anthem.
 
Mattyp

Mattyp

Cows go boing
+1 for the trance 27.5, i ride mine everywhere, Falls, Bright, Buller, Macedon etc... sure you can't bomb through a rock garden like on a DH bike, but with a decent 2.3 tyre they handle good, turn quick and roll fast, I've always preferred a fast light AM/Trail bike than a big burly 2.6 cush core massive travel bike though. If you get one with lockouts/trail modes on the forks and shock they become a perfectly capable bike for XC. don't forget everyone used to race XC on 26" not so many years ago.
Keep an eye out for run-out model bikes on bike exchange, I picked up a trance advanced 0 for $3800 a couple years ago.
 
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