Some advise on Giants please

iwilldoit

Hi All.

Been riding a Giant Anthem 29er for around 2 1/2 years been really pleased with it, been riding local Welsh trails and trail centres, I have changed the front forks to 120mm otherwise the bike is quite standard, the only thing I've been slightly disappointed in is on tight twisty single track trail centre riding it can seem a little difficult to flick about and chop and change direction, now that might be down to me and I have only ever ridden a 29er but I was thinking of changing to a 27.5.

I'm wondering would it be best to try another Anthem or possible try a Trance, if I had another Anthem I think I would go 120mm on the front end as it seemed to make a big difference on the 29er, would the 140mm of a Trance make a big difference on the rougher stuff and how would it effect climbing ability as every where from where I live is up hill

Any other tips to think of would also be very useful.

kickaxe

I can't comment on the anthem, but I have a Trance, so here goes:
I had a hardtail last year that got a bit small (still a growing boy haha), so I looked around for what I wanted and what deals there were (as the 2016 models had just come out). Found the giant Trance, although after having a negative climbing experience with a full sus in the past, I was a bit scared of how it will climb, while looking forward to the 140mm travel at the same time. But everyone kept saying that the Trance climbs really well, so I found a Giant Testcenter in my approximate area (still a 1.5h drive...), and rode the Trance up a few average climbs and I was impressed: it climbed really well. I ordered mine in December. After having it for a few months I can definitely agree to all the people: it climbs like a hardtail. It's really fun to rol over roots and rocks on the way up without having your butt slammed against the seat on the big bumps. So, after climbing literally like a hardtail+traction, you get to the downhills, where it is a ripper, really capable. Haven't found anything to ride down that made me scared of how the bike would react, I have more consistency problems with myself than the bike, definitely.

Since you don't even have a hardtail but an Anthem SX, there will be no negative influence of the climbs really but a positive influence on the descents, imho