Giant Anthem X2 29er Rear Shock Question

andy_welch

I posted a long rambling review of the Trance X2 on here last night, but it seems to have been moved to General.

Anyway, the conclusion was that I liked the bike a lot but still wonder whether the Anthem X 29er would be even better for the sort of mile munching cross country riding I enjoy. I'd probably prefer the X2 model, but I'm not sure about the Monarch RT shock and particularly about any pedal platform it may have. With the Fox RP2 on the Trance I really liked the way you could stiffen it for climbing with the flick of a lever, but I'm not sure whether you can do similar things with the Monarch RT on the Anthem X2 29er.

Cheers,

Andy

Sheppy

I had the same concerns about the shock on the Anthem X2 29er, that's why I ordered the Anthem X1 29er back in October

Would love to tell you how it compares to my old Trance, but I'm still waiting for it to arrive Was told the other week there had been a delay at the factory and it wouldn't be here until April...

Not sure what the timescales are on the Anthem X2 29er though. I tried last years Anthem 29er and really liked it (obviously) but they only had medium and I neede Large. Didn't get a long enough ride to compare it to my Trance properly I'm afraid but I did notice it was a damn sight lighter!

andy_welch

Thanks Sheppy,

Yes I did notice that the X1 29er model has the same shocks as the Trance I've got on loan. However, there are three "problems" with the X1 29er for me (apart from the £500 extra on the cost). First, as you've pointed out there could be a long wait (I need a large too I think). Second I just can't get my head around having a white off-road bike and much prefer the darker look of the X2 and, finally, it's a 2x10 setup with a bottom gear of 26x36 on 29" wheels (around 21" gear) and I quite liked the 24x36 (around 17") bottom gear on the Trance for those cliff climbing moments. Ok only the last one is serious and even that would be somewhat offset by a lower weight, but a 20% higher bottom gear means I've got to put out 20% more power to turn the pedals over at the same rate and is probably going to result in having to push up a few more climbs.

But, if that Monarch rear shock on the X2 can't be stiffened up nicely for climbing I may still end up going down that route (or just sticking with the Trance).

Cheers

Andy

Sheppy

Yeah, I was dubious about the white colour! But then I saw a guy on a brand new white Scot Spark I think it was the other day and it looked great, didn't look like it had seen any mud yet though!

I share your concerns about the gearing too, my legs are in for a shock some day (hopefully soon!) but I'll get used to it, or look for a new cassette. As an aside I also tried a Gary Fisher/Trek Rumblefish and had a huge dilemna between the Anthem and Rumblefish. It seemed to go very well too, it has the 30 gear setup so maybe more suited to what you want. Sorry, you probably don't want people throwing in other suggestions at this stage...

As for the delivery times... Well, all I can say is now the weather is improving I'm starting to get a little impatient, it would certainly put me off if I was ordering now. Then again maybe in April thousands of them will be arriving in the UK.

mudmuncher

I really didn't want a white bike, but it looks great in the flesh.

Ref the waiting times, I think all the Giant stores got one each a few weeks ago. (I know the Bristol store got a large in)

andy_welch

mudmuncher wrote:

I really didn't want a white bike, but it looks great in the flesh.

Ref the waiting times, I think all the Giant stores got one each a few weeks ago. (I know the Bristol store got a large in)

Yes, the colour thing was only semi serious. It does seem a strange choice for a bike that you will get muddy and I'd never buy a white car as it would mean that I'd have to wash it. But the bike gets washed after pretty much every ride anyway and I dare say it looks pretty cool when it's clean. Gearing and availability still bother me though, plus the fact that I'm really just paying £500 extra to get a rear shock with a decent pedal platform. if the Monarch RT can be stiffened up in a similar way to the fox then I'd probably be happier with the X2.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The bike I have on loan at the moment and am really enjoying is the Trance X2. It's just conjecture that the Anthem 29er would suit me better and maybe I should just stick with what I've ridden and know I enjoy, or wait until the end of April when I should apparently be able to get a proper test on an Anthem X2 29er.

Cheers

Andy

mudmuncher

Andy - sent you a pm earlier

andy_welch

mudmuncher wrote:

Andy - sent you a pm earlier

Thanks. Just replied.

Cheers

Andy