Santa Cruz Hightower/ Tallboy or Giant Anthem?

moonshine

I'm in the market for a new FS MTB - probably going to go 29r
I'm not going to race - mainly use of trail centres like Ae, Mabie and dalbiettie - fire roads and singletrack mountain trails more XC use than DH, though will go to the Alps in the summers - but again, more XC than DH - don't like air - it hurts - but I am technically good on XC and green / blue DH - qouldn't go Red or Black DH.
I've looked at Giant Anthems and sat on a Trance - the Trance felt very different to my current 26' '09 stumpjumper FSR!
I've been offered a very good deal on a new SantaCruz Hightower - but don't know if it is too much of a bike - I have the nagging suspicion a Tallboy might be more in my style..

what ar the thoughts on Anthem / Trance / Hightower and Tallboy - pros cons, what is the opinion on the best suited to my riding?
Ta in advance

marcus'73

I've not tried the Giant's but I've demoed the Santa Cruz pair twice when I was looking to buy last year. I found the Hightower was super capable when descending but was a bit sluggish on the climbs and the Tallboy was quick everywhere but you had to be more careful with line choice as it didn't monster truck through everything and hold any line like the Hightower. I'm not the strongest climber so I picked a Scott Spark over a Genius as they were cheaper for an XT level spec whilst riding just as well as the Santa Cruz and I've raced a few local Enduro's and done the SDW way and an XC race on it and I would have been happy to do all of that on the Tallboy but I'd have been reluctant to do the XC stuff on a Hightower. So I guess what I'm saying is be realistic about what you ride most and pick what suits you rather than something which will be faster on the odd day you would be faster with a bit more travel.

billycool

My friend has a 3 or 4 year old Tallboy in 29" that he says is a great mile muncher for XC type riding.

Having taken it to Afan, BPW and a trip to the Peaks (Jacob's ladder etc), he said it wasn't the most comfortable downhill and the geometry wasn't slack enough for that sort of riding.

Having said that, he has also said that the new TB has apparently been tweaked to resolve all of his issues. He's just not bought one yet.

A good deal is a good deal, but not if it's the wrong bike.

You seem to know what sort of riding you'll do and should be able to get the most relevant bike for you. Don't get seduced by a good offer that might not be right for you!

moonshine

Thanks for the comments...
I'm leaning towards the Giant Anthem Advanced Pro 1 / Santa Cruz Carbon Tallboy at the moment - trying to decide between them,
trying to work out if the spec I can live with the 11sp SRAM NX EAGLE spec, Fox 34 Rhythm fork and Fox Float performance rear shock / Race face Aeffect dropper) of the R Spec Carbon Hightower compared to a similar priced Anthem (100mm Fox 32 Float SC Performance Elite, 12sp SRAM GX Eagle / 90mm Fox Float DPS Performance Elite remote rear) .
I'd need an extra £500 (15%) to jump to the equiv. 12sp GX Eagle , with Fox 34 Floar Performance fork and reverb dropper... if I went to the S Spec Carbon C Tall boy (12.8kg)

moonshine

To close this out, I test rode a Santa Cruz tallboy 29er (carbon cc frame, X01 and carbon Reserve wheels) and it was lovely, but just couldn't justify the cost
I was concerned the 2019 Giant Anthem 29er might be too XC focused with only 100mm front and 90mm rear travel and xc geometry.. and wasn't able to get a test ride... Also cost wise, the carbon Advanced Pro 1 anthem that I really wanted is still up at £4k which is a serious wad of cash to spend without making sure it was right. The 27.2mm seat post without the dropper also gave me some practical storage difficulties in my campervan which meant I would need to get a dropper and the 27.2mm seat post diameter limited my options to 1 (ks) so extra cost involved there as well
So, in the end I have plumped for a 2019 aluminium Giant Trance 2 29er, which has 130mm front and 110mm rear travel (similar to the SC tallboy) as a bit more of an all rounder and at a much more wife pleasing price tag than my carbon aspirations
Looking forward to getting out on it

moonshine

oxoman wrote:

You won't go wrong with the Anthem although the Trance would have done you as well.

Thanks. J for clarity, I have gone for the Trance 29er over the Anthem 29er

billycool

Good choice. Let us know how you get on.

moonshine

First ride of my new Giant Trance today at 7 Stanes Ae red and black XC route.
It's been in the house for 3 weeks unridden as I wanted to invisiframe it before I got it dirty and I've been busy every weekend.
Loved it. climbed well and descended superbly!
Very happy with my choice

The secret rider

Good topic, i've just pushed the button on a Anthem Advanced Pro 1 (2019) as my new XC type bike 90% flat trails 10% day trips to Wales and trail centres but I think for the large part the bike should be awesome. Mostly flat where I am !

moonshine

as a further update to this - i recently got a great offer on a lightly used Santa Cruz Hightower C Frame & shock that i decided to go for.....
so i've swapped all the kit from the Giant Trance 29er to this and as a now have a blue 2019 Giant Trance 2 29er frame, dropper post and Fox DPS rear shock in the loft at the moment that was invisi-framed from new....

if anyone is interested....

billycool

moonshine wrote:

as a further update to this - i recently got a great offer on a lightly used Santa Cruz Hightower C Frame & shock that i decided to go for.....
so i've swapped all the kit from the Giant Trance 29er to this and as a now have a blue 2019 Giant Trance 2 29er frame, dropper post and Fox DPS rear shock in the loft at the moment that was invisi-framed from new....

if anyone is interested....

Well done on the SC frame. Sounds good.

If you sell them seperatley, you might get more for them. At least get them on a couple of forums.