Giant Anthem 29er vs Giant Trance 29er

FERRET1964

Hi All

Hoping someone can give me some help about buying a new bike - all advice greatly appreciated (thanks in advance!)

I fancy trying a 29er for a change but am not sure it's right for me. I am short (about 5' 7") and very light (about 8st dripping wet!) aged 50. I have been mtb riding for a lot of years and am fairly fit but I wouldn't say I was massively skillful (I don't do jumps, drop-offs etc). I mainly ride on the North Yorkshire moors/Guisborough Woods etc - a mixture of muddy (in winter) singletrack, fire roads, gravelly paths etc - probably more XC than anything I guess. Very occasionally I have the odd trip to the Lakes where it is rockier and to Dalby bike trail centre where it is mainly man-made with some twisty sections. I am a bit weird in that I like climbing - I guess weighing nothing helps!

I am looking at replacing my Boardman 2010 FS Pro. I have a fairly limited budget (only around £1000) so am looking at 2013 models of Giant's Trance 29er and Giant’s Anthem 29er from Paul’s Cycles bikes (links below). I had thought about a Boardman FS Team 650b which is the same money but I don’t really think I will notice the difference between this and a 262 and it is lower spec than my current set up

Giant Anthem X 29er 4 http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s154p4 ... 9ER-4-2013

Giant Trance X 29er 2 http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s154p4 ... 9ER-2-2013

So my questions to you all are

1) Will I be OK with a 29er in view of my size?

2) Will I struggle a lot more on the twisty stuff?

3) Both bikes are about 1.5lb heavier than my Boardman - will I notice the difference a lot - particularly when climbing on a 29er?

and finally

4) Which bike will be best for me and the stuff I ride? (both seem to be well reviewed)

I like the idea of 20 speed on the Trance (3 x 10 on the Anthem) but it is more travel (125mm) - do I need it for the stuff I do? I currently have 120mm on my RS Reba forks on my boardman but see there is only 100mm of travel on the Anthem - I currently run my shock and fork at low pressures and I hardly seem to compress them because of my weight so perhaps I am not using all my travel anyway (i don't know how much I should typically see)

Thanks

Martin

rockmonkeysc

To be honest I think your Boardman is better than either of those Giants. If you can stretch to a Anthem X29 3 then go for it, if not then stick with the Boardman.

FERRET1964

Hi bud - you know what I think you may be right - whats the point in down speccing?

cheers

Briggo

FERRET1964 wrote:

whats the point in down speccing?

There isn't.

Also why go for a 29'er, you tried one and prefer it or you following the marketing spiel?

BigStu2

You'll be fine with a 29er, I'm the same height ( and almost the same age minus a few years ) and I love 'em. You may need to buy a shorther stem and flip it into the negative rize position to get comfy.
To be honest you wont find a decent new FS bike at that price, it will be full of compromises, as soon as you need it to work for you in the rough it will feel horrible.
I was unsure of 29ers myself so I bought a Kona Unit, 1 gear no suspention and looks of disbelief when you ride faster than bikes worth twice the price but thats probably not what you need, those Canyon Nerve AL's look alright but their just over budget, or try a hardtail with a quality frame that sucks up hits.
Depending on the frame some FS bikes are much harder to get up hill on, I also have an Orange Gyro and its not what I love going up on, but in the rough and coming down, Ooooo just awesome.
Hunt around and you may fine a 2nd hand 29er at a good price.

FERRET1964

Good advice too - it doesn't have to be new I guess - probably better to have a decent spec that works well and is a bit lighter than new and heavy!

cheers