Giant Fathom 29er 1 2018 - What to upgrade?

[Olbert]

So I bought the Giant Fathom 29er 1 2018 for my xc race/commuter bike. It ticked all the boxes I had including having a dropper post! I've been riding since about August last year and although it's a great commuter bike and did me well for the 100km Kowalski, it just doesn't ride as good as I'd hoped on the trails.

I know it's not a full trail bike - I've got a Remedy for that - but on my commute home from work I have the option of going through the Majura Pines trails if I want. The problem is, I don't - I've stopped because it just isn't fun. I prefer riding home via fire-trails only.

This is my commuter/XC race bike, so I don't want to turn it into a hardtail fat bike, I just want to give it a little more oomph and pizzaz. Thus far, everything is still original. The upgrades I'm thinking of getting are a 120mm fork, fatter tyres and fatter wheels. I'm also not looking to spend too many $$.

Does anybody have any experience with this sort of thing and does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[hifiandmtb]

Tell us more about why it's not fun.

TBH, like you've alluded, I wouldn't spend too much trying to make it "better"...just get the cockpit setup right (you got the most playful bar/stem combo?) and get some decent tyres on there. I wouldn't find Ikon 2.2's that inspiring.

But then it might end up being a shitter commuter. Dunno.

 

[Olbert]

Tell us more about why it's not fun.

TBH, like you've alluded, I wouldn't spend too much trying to make it "better"...just get the cockpit setup right (you got the most playful bar/stem combo?) and get some decent tyres on there. I wouldn't find Ikon 2.2's that inspiring.

But then it might end up being a shitter commuter. Dunno.

Most of the trails I would ride a bit bumpy so the 100mm suspension isn't enough - I'm considering going for 120mm and maybe a better fork than Sunto but second hand to keep the price down. Even some of the steeper fire trails around Majura/Mt Ainslie need more suspension than 100mm!

I've got the stock bar/stem combo. I've never considered changing it - does it make much of a difference?

 

[hifiandmtb]

Depends - what's the setup on your Remedy? Do you feel more comfortable & able to be aggressive on the duallie?

For example, I used to enjoy muscling this thing around even though it only have 100mm forks. I'd put a 70mm stem & 750 Enve bars on it with some fat 2.4" Contis. It was heaps more fun.

With forks, just keep an eye out here for some 120mm options. Don't buy brand new forks for the Fathom.

 

[Olbert]

Depends - what's the setup on your Remedy? Do you feel more comfortable & able to be aggressive on the duallie?

For example, I used to enjoy muscling this thing around even though it only have 100mm forks. I'd put a 70mm stem & 750 Enve bars on it with some fat 2.4" Contis. It was heaps more fun.

With forks, just keep an eye out here for some 120mm options. Don't buy brand new forks for the Fathom.

Don't worry - I'm not going to buy brand new forks. I'm trying to do this on the cheap.

My remedy is this without any changes: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/...es/remedy/remedy-9-race-shop-limited/p/17051/

I definitely feel more comfortable on the Remedy bombing it downhills for obvious reasons.

According to the Fathom specs, the medium has a 70mm stem. How does a stem change the feel and ride? If I'm looking for more fun, should I be going shorter or longer?

 

[hifiandmtb]

Looking at the specs, you've got a 35mm stem & 780 bars on the Remedy. That's a pretty nice cockpit for chucking it about.

Do you think you'd feel more comfortable throwing the Fathom around it felt more like that?

 

[Tubbsy]

Should be a relatively quick swap between the two bikes to find out.