Trance vs Anthen 29er

andy_welch

I've had a decent demo on a Trance and really enjoyed it. I'm also interested in the Anthem X 29er, but won't get a chance for a proper demo for at least a moth. So, that leaves plenty of time for idle and ill informed speculation on my part

I understand the differences between the Trance and Anthem. The Anthem is the race bike with less travel and steeper head angle. But put larger wheels on the Anthem and you get a smoother ride (making the 100 mm suspension feel more like 120 mm) and slower steering (making the steeper head angle feel a bit slacker). So, have you not just created a more expensive Trance? In other words, if you want a smoother ride and slower (less aggressive) steering why not just increase the travel and slacken the geometry, rather than changing the wheel size?

Cheers,

Andy

1mancity2

Bigger wheels, you gain ground faster, more contact with the trail so it soaks up more than a 26", so a 29" Anthem would be quicker than a 26" Anthem over the same ground, this is what I have read in mags.

rockmonkeysc

Trance will take the hits better than the Anthem 29er & is more fun on tight, twisty single track. The Trance also has potential to be turned in to a slopestyle/freeride play bike by fitting 140mm forks. Ideally I want a trance with a u-turn fork.

andy_welch

1mancity2 wrote:

Bigger wheels, you gain ground faster, more contact with the trail so it soaks up more than a 26", so a 29" Anthem would be quicker than a 26" Anthem over the same ground, this is what I have read in mags.

Yes, a 29" Anthem should soak up bumps better than a 26" version (as geometry is pretty similar), but if that's all you wanted to achieve you could have just increased the suspension travel and avoided the other problems that you get by going for a larger wheel (less rigidity and higher rotating mass, for example). If both track the ground as well a bike with lighter wheels should always be faster.

I can see that there might be advantages to 29" wheels, especially on a hard tail. But once you've made the decision to suspend the rear wheel it seems to me as though wheel size becomes just another parameter that you could change to get the feel and performance you want, but you could probably tweak the suspension and/or geometry to achieve the same result.

A lot of people seem to like the Anthem 29er and the main reason seems to be that it is a bit more comfortable and less twitchy than the 26" version. But if you like Giant's suspension system but want something a bit more comfortable and stable than the Anthem then there is always the Trance.

Cheers,

Andy

cycle monster

The Trance and the Anthem are different bikes for different riding. As to the comparison between Anthem 26ers and 29ers, it is a bit more than the bigger wheels rolling more smoothly over things, it is considerably faster. I have four mates who each have carbon Anthem 26ers and Anthem 29ers. They all tell me that the 29ers are so much faster that they will never race with the 26ers again.

andy_welch

cycle monster wrote:

The Trance and the Anthem are different bikes for different riding. As to the comparison between Anthem 26ers and 29ers, it is a bit more than the bigger wheels rolling more smoothly over things, it is considerably faster. I have four mates who each have carbon Anthem 26ers and Anthem 29ers. They all tell me that the 29ers are so much faster that they will never race with the 26ers again.

Thanks, that's very helpful. I guess I'm thinking that bigger wheels will make the Anthem smoother and a bit more stable, but you're saying that, basically, it's still an Anthem and therefore still a race bike.

I think I'm drawn to the Anthem because of my experiences on the road (where I've exclusively ridden for the last dozen years or so). I know that a relaxed touring bike is probably better for most of the road riding that I actually do, but I mainly choose to ride race bikes because they are more fun. So, as I contemplate getting a bike to do more off road riding I'm assuming that the same rule will apply i.e. I'll gravitate to a race bike because they are more fun. However, I'm nervous of a full on race bike like the Anthem (26) in case it's going to throw me off when the trail gets technical, which I think probably highlights a flaw in my logic. While race bikes are more fun on the road than tourers when you move off road it seems that a slacker more relaxed bike can actually be more fun as it allows you to play on the more technical stuff.

One thing I do know is that I'll never race. I might do endurance type events, but for those sort of events (and given that I have no hope of winning) comfort and stability can be as important as raw speed. I'm also a nervous (and unskilled) descender but don't want to be limited in where I can ride. Finally, I already have 4 road bikes, will hopefully still be doing a fair few road miles and don't want to build up a stable of off road bikes. So, whatever I get really needs to be my one do-anything off road bike.

So, it sounds as though, even in 29er form, the Anthem may not be the bike for me.

Cheers,

Andy

The Spiderman

I don`t race but ride an Anthem out of choice.Most of my riding is fast xc stuff so it just suits,but I`m taking it to Afan next week,and dont anticipate any problems.

Pretty capable bike despite the racy geometry,I find.

andy_welch

The Spiderman wrote:

I don`t race but ride an Anthem out of choice.Most of my riding is fast xc stuff so it just suits,but I`m taking it to Afan next week,and dont anticipate any problems.

Pretty capable bike despite the racy geometry,I find.

Thanks. I think that's part of the problem really. Of course the Anthem can do a lot more than fast XC rides. This division of bikes into XC, trail etc is pretty new and pretty arbitrary after all. It's not that long ago that we just had mountain bikes and before that people were riding up and down mountains on (modified) beach cruisers.

It's only a problem when you are trying to make a decision in the face of a sea of choices. Once that decision is made I'm sure any decent bike will be fine for anything short of winning a race.

Cheers,

Andy