Help My Head Hurts !!

iwilldoit

Hi All

Looking for a little advise been looking for a FS MTB, as everyone would like I'm trying to get the best bang for my buck.
The two bikes I'm interested in and in my budget are.

The 26" Anthem X2 is a little better spec with Reba forks and XT mech, the bike I have been riding for the 7-8 months is a 29er hard tail which I like and also has the Recon forks which the X4 has and haven't really noticed any problems and the X4 is a 100mm travel compared to the 80mm I have now.

If I had the 26" wheeled version going back from a 29er would I notice a lot of difference, I keep looking and think I have made my mind up, my head hurts now so looking for some advise, the X2 is approx £150 more but that's not a problem.


2013 Giant Anthem X2 ( 26" wheel)

Model Year
(2013)

Frame
ALUXX SL-Grade Aluminium, 4" Maestro Suspension
Rear Shock: RockShox Monarch R, Solo Air w/ adjustable rebound

Forks
RockShox Reba RL w/ 15mm Thru-Axle, Tapered Steerer, 100mm

Rear Derailleur
Shimano Deore XT M780 10-Speed

Front Derailleur
Shimano Deore

Shifters
Shimano Deore 3x10 speed

Chainset
Shimano M552, 24/32/42

Bottom Bracket
Shimano Press Fit

Chain
KMC X10L Silver, 10-speed

Freewheel
Shimano HG62 11-36, 10s

Stem
Giant Connect

Handlebars
Giant Connect 31.8

Front Brake
Shimano M446 Hydraulic Disc, 180mm rotor

Rear Brake
Shimano M446 Hydraulic Disc, 160mm rotor

Brake Levers
Shimano M505

Rims
Giant S-XC2

Front Hub
Giant S-XC2

Rear Hub
Giant S-XC2

Spokes
Giant S-XC2

Tyres
Schwalbe Racing Ralph, 26x2.1 Performance Folding

Saddle
Giant Performance XC

Seatpost
Giant Connect, 30.9

Also a 2013 Giant Anthem X4 ( 29er wheel )

Model Year
(2013)

Frame
ALUXX SL-Grade Aluminium, 4" Maestro Suspension
Rear Shock: RockShox Monarch R, Solo Air w/ adjustable rebound

Forks
Rock Recon Silver 29", Tapered Steerer, 15QR, 100mm

Rear Derailleur
Shimano Deore 10-Speed

Front Derailleur
Shimano Deore

Shifters
Shimano Deore, 30 speed

Chainset
Shimano FC-M552 42/32/24

Bottom Bracket
Shimano Press Fit

Chain
KMC X10L Silver, 10-speed

Freewheel
Shimano HG62 11-36, 10s

Stem
Giant Connect

Handlebars
Giant Connect 31.8

Front Brake
Shimano M395 Hydraulic Disc 180mm rotor

Rear Brake
Shimano M395 Hydraulic Disc 160mm rotor

Brake Levers
Shimano M395

Rims
Giant S-XC29 2

Front Hub
Giant S-XC29 2

Rear Hub
Giant S-XC29 2

Spokes
Giant S-XC29 2

Tyres
Schwalbe Racing Ralph, 29x2.25 Performance Folding

Saddle
Giant Performance XC

Seatpost
Giant Connect, 30.9

Pedals
The manufacturer does not supply pedals with this bike

Grips
Giant Lock On

pesky_jones

Thought this might have been a retrospective thread about helmets Bit late now!

Seeing as I'm here now - In regard to the bikes, 29er are a lot more XC orientated (as you probably know) so if your're covering a lot of miles without rough technical stuff, stick with the 29er. If you wanna get adventurous go back to 26! Bikes are pretty similar in other aspects

iwilldoit

Thank You for the reply.

rockmonkeysc

I had the 26" Anthem and thought it was excellent. Really great bike for all day, big mileage rides.
I have also ridden the 29er and might buy one next year but out of these two I would go for the 26" bike, it's a much better spec for the money.

iwilldoit

Hi RM

Thank you for your reply.