Giant Anthem X changing existing 110mm stem for a 80mm stem

Bob Pertlewee

I have a Giant Anthem 4X (2010). I'd like to tweak the handling by reducing the stem length to make it more responsive going down hill. However, the boys in my local shop reckon because of the Anthem's aggressive geometry, reducing the length of the stem will make it really twitchy and unstable at speed. There is plenty of room in the cockpit and I don't think I'd be too cramped with a shorter stem. What to people think?

supersonic

Longer stems, to an extent, can make the steering a little more stable. I know plenty that run even shorter stems than this on anthems though.

My advice would be to give it a try: plenty of really good 80mm stems for peanuts out there.

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=459

118g is amazing for this money.

Dirtydog11

Bob Pertlewee wrote:

I have a Giant Anthem 4X (2010). I'd like to tweak the handling by reducing the stem length to make it more responsive going down hill. However, the boys in my local shop reckon because of the Anthem's aggressive geometry, reducing the length of the stem will make it really twitchy and unstable at speed. There is plenty of room in the cockpit and I don't think I'd be too cramped with a shorter stem. What to people think?

Only you will know!

If you feel the steering is a little on the slow side then a shorter stem will help, however if you feel your steering is too fast fitting a short stem will make matters worse.

The shop is correct to advise caution, there seems to be a fashion at the moment for fitting wide bars and short stems irrespective of the type/geometry of bike, it is assumed short stem wide bar is better but it's not the case.

The 110 mm stem fitted by Giant wasn't just randomly selected it was fitted because it's what the manufacturer decided would work best for the bikes intended purpose so it's probably best not to stray too far away from that.

As Super has said buy a cheap one and try it, if it's no good stick on Ebay or in the BR classifieds

AndyBike

I went to a 90mm from the 110 on the Anthem and would say it feels about right with a race face bar not sure whether 680 or 660....

Also went from a 90mm to a 70mm Hope stem on a long travel hardtail with a 700 bar and it changed the handling dramatically took a while to get used to the very responsive feel

I personally wouldnt go less than 90 on the Anthem.

cloudynights

i run my anthem on a 80mm stem and 685 bars found a longer stem bit slow for my liking but after switching to a 80mm feels more responsive for me both up and downhill without being to twitchy

Broonster

I changed the 110mm stem that came with my Anthem and I've been running a 70mm stem for the past 18 months and have no issues whatsoever.

cmachine

Dirtydog11 wrote:

Bob Pertlewee wrote:

I have a Giant Anthem 4X (2010). I'd like to tweak the handling by reducing the stem length to make it more responsive going down hill. However, the boys in my local shop reckon because of the Anthem's aggressive geometry, reducing the length of the stem will make it really twitchy and unstable at speed. There is plenty of room in the cockpit and I don't think I'd be too cramped with a shorter stem. What to people think?

Only you will know!

If you feel the steering is a little on the slow side then a shorter stem will help, however if you feel your steering is too fast fitting a short stem will make matters worse.

The shop is correct to advise caution, there seems to be a fashion at the moment for fitting wide bars and short stems irrespective of the type/geometry of bike, it is assumed short stem wide bar is better but it's not the case.

The 110 mm stem fitted by Giant wasn't just randomly selected it was fitted because it's what the manufacturer decided would work best for the bikes intended purpose so it's probably best not to stray too far away from that.

As Super has said buy a cheap one and try it, if it's no good stick on Ebay or in the BR classifieds

This is a really old post but thought I would chime in and give my experience. I couldn't agree more with the post above. He is quite correct about Giants intended purpose for the bike. I started with a Giant Anthem X4 2012. It came with a 110mm stem and 680mm bars I think. I found it incredible on the climbs (actually unbeatable and I got plenty of KOMs on steep hills) but quite scary and sketchy on the descents. So I then opted for a 70mm stem based on posts I read and 700mm bars with a larger degree rise. This had the effect of making me feel much more confident on descents...further back and more upright and I was able to descent quicker and better....BUT I couldn't help feel I had lost something on the climbs. Also, I could feel the front wheel not feeling as planted as before due to rider position on climbs. So I've decided to tweak a little more. I've gone up to an 80mm RaceFace XC stem but matched with 740mm bars. I haven't fitted these as yet. I'm a big lad so I think 740mm is the max I can run without clipping trees on my local trails but I still want some of the climbing ability of the original Anthem config. The main thing I've learned from this little exercise is that you can't make an Anthem into a Trance or even a Reign...same as you can't make a Reign or a Trance into an Anthem. The HA in the older Anthems is very steep and Giant have tried to mellow it a bit and make it into a more all round trail bike. Some say the Anthem has lost some of it's racing edge. However the range of Anthem frames usually follow the same geometry so best to look at Anthem Advanced etc. and see what stem/bar combo they go with. Ultimately it's all about personal choice and what works for you. I know a guy who took an Anthem, slapped a 50mm stem on it, maxxis high rollers and probably 760-780 bars and took it down what could only be called a pretty extreme DH course placing Top Ten with riders who were on full Enduro or DH rigs....BUT you can be pretty sure the bikes climbing ability would have been severely impaired. Anyway....long post over...it's a great bike and well worth customising.

rockmonkeysc

I had a 60mm stem on my old Anthem. It certainly didn't make it twitchy, especially combined with a 760mm bar.

The Spiderman

I ran my Anthem with 680mm bars and a 90mm stem. Felt spot on and no affect on climbing.

RisingX

cmachine wrote:

Dirtydog11 wrote:

Bob Pertlewee wrote:

I have a Giant Anthem 4X (2010). I'd like to tweak the handling by reducing the stem length to make it more responsive going down hill. However, the boys in my local shop reckon because of the Anthem's aggressive geometry, reducing the length of the stem will make it really twitchy and unstable at speed. There is plenty of room in the cockpit and I don't think I'd be too cramped with a shorter stem. What to people think?

Only you will know!

If you feel the steering is a little on the slow side then a shorter stem will help, however if you feel your steering is too fast fitting a short stem will make matters worse.

The shop is correct to advise caution, there seems to be a fashion at the moment for fitting wide bars and short stems irrespective of the type/geometry of bike, it is assumed short stem wide bar is better but it's not the case.

The 110 mm stem fitted by Giant wasn't just randomly selected it was fitted because it's what the manufacturer decided would work best for the bikes intended purpose so it's probably best not to stray too far away from that.

As Super has said buy a cheap one and try it, if it's no good stick on Ebay or in the BR classifieds

This is a really old post but thought I would chime in and give my experience. I couldn't agree more with the post above. He is quite correct about Giants intended purpose for the bike. I started with a Giant Anthem X4 2012. It came with a 110mm stem and 680mm bars I think. I found it incredible on the climbs (actually unbeatable and I got plenty of KOMs on steep hills) but quite scary and sketchy on the descents. So I then opted for a 70mm stem based on posts I read and 700mm bars with a larger degree rise. This had the effect of making me feel much more confident on descents...further back and more upright and I was able to descent quicker and better....BUT I couldn't help feel I had lost something on the climbs. Also, I could feel the front wheel not feeling as planted as before due to rider position on climbs. So I've decided to tweak a little more. I've gone up to an 80mm RaceFace XC stem but matched with 740mm bars. I haven't fitted these as yet. I'm a big lad so I think 740mm is the max I can run without clipping trees on my local trails but I still want some of the climbing ability of the original Anthem config. The main thing I've learned from this little exercise is that you can't make an Anthem into a Trance or even a Reign...same as you can't make a Reign or a Trance into an Anthem. The HA in the older Anthems is very steep and Giant have tried to mellow it a bit and make it into a more all round trail bike. Some say the Anthem has lost some of it's racing edge. However the range of Anthem frames usually follow the same geometry so best to look at Anthem Advanced etc. and see what stem/bar combo they go with. Ultimately it's all about personal choice and what works for you. I know a guy who took an Anthem, slapped a 50mm stem on it, maxxis high rollers and probably 760-780 bars and took it down what could only be called a pretty extreme DH course placing Top Ten with riders who were on full Enduro or DH rigs....BUT you can be pretty sure the bikes climbing ability would have been severely impaired. Anyway....long post over...it's a great bike and well worth customising.

Tried the 80mm stem already? And what size are you? Just figuring out what size of stem I want to try.

cmachine

Tried the 80mm stem already? And what size are you? Just figuring out what size of stem I want to try.[/quote]

Actually not yet. I've stuck with the 740mm bars and the 70mm Truvativ AKA stem. The 80mm RaceFace stem is a bit less beefy but I may still give it a go. To be honest the poor old Anthem hasn't been used so much since I bought a Trek Farley 5 Fat Bike.....I'm even considering (deep breath) selling the Anthem at some point to fund some Lauf Carbonara forks (gulp!)

Oh and I'm 6' 1", ride a L Anthem (20" I think)

cooldad

cmachine wrote:

I'm even considering (deep breath) selling the Anthem at some point to fund some Lauf Carbonara forks (gulp!)

Does your brain hurt? You should go back on medication before you do something stupid.

cmachine

Just posting back here re: query on 80mm stem and some other work I had done on the bike that I discussed on another forum.Has given it a new lease of life:

Bike back now with a heap of work done to it. Forks and Shocks both serviced and Recon spacer removed to allow 120mm travel in the front.....and I LOVE it! It definitely feels a bit more raked out now than before and is slightly noticeable when you look over the bars. As a result crank/BB seems a bit higher and had it round the local trail a couple of times. Feels A LOT more like some 130mm+ trail bikes I demoed a while ago. Much more capable on rocky descents/technical stuff and I'm able to roll over most small/medium boulder features where before I would have got pedal or crank strikes. I have an 80mm stem & 740mm bar on it and this feels just right. I would not go any shorter a stem. I do notice some slight lift on front wheel on steep climbs if I shift my weight too far back but this is easily adjusted for. It feels much better than when I had the 70mm stem on it. Bike has lost very little of it's nimbleness and what I have lost in cockpit XC geometry is made up for in descending ability. I would say if you are looking to make your Anthem a bit more of a trail bike without losing too much of the XC ability then this is the way to go. Combined with a dropper it makes for a great fast fun bike, and while a little plusher up front and less steep HA it still rides like an Anthem so you still feel every little bit of the trail and still look for good lines.