Building an Anthem

callum12

Hello all,
I have just purchased an 2014 (i believe) Giant Anthem 27.5" frame to replace and upgrade my 2011 Giant Revel 1. My aim is to reuse as many of the parts from the Revel as I can. I've got Recon gold RL straight steerer forks so have ordered a Cane Creek headset with reducer to fit the tapered head tube of the Anthem.
The Revel rear hub is quick release so I will be ordering a Sram x7 thru axle hub, I am not sure what size thru axle the Anthem is so if someone could clarify that would be great! the Revel is 26" and I intend to use these wheels, I've heard the BB height is already low with 27.5" on the Anthem but with the 2.5" tyres on the 26" wheels and with the type of riding i do i don't foresee any issues with pedal strike.
As for the bottom bracket again if someone could tell me what size the Anthem takes that would be excellent. the revel is 3 x 8 gears and if possible I would like the have the Anthem as a 3 x 8, is this possible? and if so can anyone recommend a suitable crankset?

so that is my plan, I will keep you all up to date as well as ask many more questions. of course is anyone foresees potential issues or has any suggestions please do say this is my first time doing something like this!

many thanks,

Callum

rockmonkeysc

Are you sure you'll get 2.5" tyres in the fork and frame?
Clearance is very tight for width in the rear of the Anthem and being a pure xc bike it's not designed for fat tyres.
Even with 2.5 tyre it's going to be very low.

The Rookie

If your getting the rear wheel relaced and with probably new spokes it seems silly to just not get a new wheel.....or just get a pair and sell the old pair.

Looking at photos, the stock 2.25" rear tyres are pretty tight width wise, I don't think a 2.5 will fit.

Escher303

I have a 2014 anthem. The bb is bb71-41a pressfit. The rear thru axle is 142 x 12 but assuming you have thru axle dropouts already fitted you'll need the specific Giant thru axle to fit. You'll need to order it through a giant dealer and it might take ages to come like mine did, i.e. Months.

sanchez12

It may also be worth mentioning the frame is only designed to run a single or double chairing set up so a triple chainset won't work.

callum12

thank you all,
to be honest I never really thought about if the tyres will physically fit! so thank you for pointing that one out.

What's stopping me going for 27.5" is the forks being 26", still being in full time education means after getting the frame and the necessary parts I can't afford new forks plus they are only a few years old.

with 26" and standard tyres the BB will be 19mm lower, I reckon this won't hinder me, the sort of riding I consists of course gravel tracks etc nothing too technical really.

thank you for the BB size, info on bikes on the internet seems too difficult to obtain!

Callum

callum12

sanchez12 wrote:

It may also be worth mentioning the frame is only designed to run a single or double chairing set up so a triple chainset won't work.

thank you very much, I had a feeling this was the case, wanted to make sure though.
any suggestions on cranksets?

Callum

Escher303

I have the original 27.5 100mm Reba forks off my Anthem as I swapped to 120mm. I'm willing to sell them at a knock down price if you did want to go 27.5.

sanchez12

If your on a budget I'd go for a deore ht2 chainset set you back about £70 depending where you get it from, then a bb for £15(crc)

callum12

Escher303 wrote:

I have the original 27.5 100mm Reba forks off my Anthem as I swapped to 120mm. I'm willing to sell them at a knock down price if you did want to go 27.5.

thank you very much for the offer, there is a Anthem Carbon with 26" on that auction site, the seller says its an amazing setup. then again I suppose you would say that if your trying to sell it
I'll see how I get on with 26" first, I do like the way they handle, plus a bit of weight saving.

thanks again,

Callum

callum12

sanchez12 wrote:

If your on a budget I'd go for a deore ht2 chainset set you back about £70 depending where you get it from, then a bb for £15(crc)

thank you, I will start looking into those, I've got a few questions with regards to compatibility:
the BB cartridge/shell has a case width of 89.5 / 92 mm, I assume with is the measurement from the outer most faces. I have found some cranks that state they are for a bike with a 68mm/73mm shell width, these will not fit as they are narrow, the axle will be too short? the size needs to be with the 89.5 / 92 mm range to be compatible?

is this the only thing I need to check to insure compatibility? chain ring size is a matter or personal preference I assume?

many, many thanks I imagine you guys get these sorts questions all the time :roll:

Callum

callum12

well i just took a call from the seller, he began by saying the bike was ex display so will have a few marks so as a good will gesture they were going to include the BB and headset. perfect!
I asked about the cranks that were on it he went to check what it had on it single or double and comes back a minute later saying the frame actually sold on sunday!

Callum

cooldad

I'd say you got off lightly.

callum12

cooldad wrote:

I'd say you got off lightly.

what do you mean?

Callum

cooldad

Isn't the 2014 bike Overdrive forks as well? With all the bodging and weird wheel sizes, I'd doubt the bike would be ideal.

rockmonkeysc

19mm lower at the BB is a huge amount. That will be a nightmare.
Don't forget that the forks are shorter as well so you'll sharpen up the steering on a bike which is already a bit twitchy.

Antm81

cooldad wrote:

Isn't the 2014 bike Overdrive forks as well? With all the bodging and weird wheel sizes, I'd doubt the bike would be ideal.

2014 will have been overdrive 2 but it's still just a standard tapered headtube, which is what overdrive is. Overdrive 2 just uses a different upper headset bearing and cup.

callum12

Hello all,
I've just brought a second hand Anthem X3 with upgraded shifters, front mech and pedals!
At first I though yeah i'll get new cranks, rear hub etc it'll be easy, but then with the wheel thing I thought sod it, I'm just going to get a fully functioning bike that I can get on a ride.

this decision was also spurred on when a family member took a shine to my bike which is perfect for them. it would have been a shame to break up a bike that is spot on, just too small for me.

thanks for all you help, i'll post a pic when I collect it in a new post,

Callum

The Rookie

RockmonkeySC wrote:

19mm lower at the BB is a huge amount.

But it would be about 13mm lower.....650B wheels measuring 27 inches on the same measurement system a 26" is measured at 26 inches.

callum12

The Rookie wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

19mm lower at the BB is a huge amount.

But it would be about 13mm lower.....650B wheels measuring 27 inches on the same measurement system a 26" is measured at 26 inches.

well doesn't matter now anyway, I'm picking up my Anthem X 29er on saturday!
I ordered a Cane Creek headset for the frame before I was told it had already sold. Would this still fit the 2013 Anthem X?
its a Cane Creek ZSC01 zero stack. if so I'll keep it as a spare.

many thanks,
Callum

rockmonkeysc

The Rookie wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

19mm lower at the BB is a huge amount.

But it would be about 13mm lower.....650B wheels measuring 27 inches on the same measurement system a 26" is measured at 26 inches.

The fork will be shorter as well so possibly more than 19mm total drop.

The Rookie

True, but the shorter fork is a long way from the BB, you'll only get about a 1/4 of the fork length change (about 13mm again) in BB effect, so maybe 3mm.