Sea Otter Preview: Giant's Carbon Anthem X 29er Debut

Apr 18, 2012
by Richard Cunningham  
Giant USA took its most popular selling XC suspension bike, the aluminum Anthem X 29er, and recreated it in carbon. Well, at least the front section is carbon. The swingarm is produced from heavily manipulated aluminum. The finished product looks stunning, reportedly weighs less than 23 pounds, and a day of riding the Anthem X Advanced 29er in Southern California's coastal mountain trails proved it can shred as well as it looks. The new Anthem shares the same World Cup winning geometry as its aluminum 2011 predecessor and is outfitted in SRAM XX components. Asking price for the Advanced X 29er is $8900 USD, and if that makes your Visa card shiver in your wallet, Giant offers two aluminum versions priced at $4650 and $3300. Giant's new 29ers will start showing up at your LBS around May this year.

Anthem X Advanced 29er side shot

Sharing a similar profile and same geometry as the World Cup winning 2011 Anthem X, the carbon front-section Anthem X Advanced 29er is 180 grams lighter and about ten-percent stiffer.


Giant places the Anthem X Advanced as its premier World-Cup racing platform. With only 4 inches of travel, Schwalbe 2.1-inch tires and a steepish 71.3-degree head angle, Giant's carbon 29er is a troll for the Spandex and Strava XC racerboy crowd - but a little suspension goes a long way on a big-wheel bike and that, combined with its natural straight-line stability and rough-ground roll-over advantages, elevate the Anthem X chassis to trailbike status.

Why even consider an Anthem X Advanced? Most Pinkbike riders campaign on bikes that are ten pounds heavier than the carbon Anthem's claimed 23-pounds. If you already owned a trophy truck, Giant's carbon Anthem X would be the equivalent of adding a Subaru Impreza WRX to your stable. Two completely different styles of shred, both at the highest level. Giant invited a few devoted big-bike riders to the Anthem launch for a 27-mile singletrack epic with over 4000 feet of climbing and it was all smiles at the end. The WRX reference is spot on - the new Giant eagerly responds to the pedals, climbs with ease, carries a lot of speed in the tight stuff, and can be unleashed on descents that would overwhelm most small-wheel bikes in this class. Its steering is surgically precise and in the hands of a good bike-handler, the Anthem X Advanced 29er is more like a weapon than a bicycle.

Anthem Frame Highlights

Giant has more composite frame experience than any major bike maker worldwide, including its own facility for making the pre-impregnated carbon material used to mold frame components. The carbon front section is molded in one piece, which is the optimum method. In places where impact resistance is important, special resin is blended with the fabric and extra layers are added. Case in point: the reinforced down tube is not protected with a plastic shield - 'not necessary.' say Giant's engineers.

Frame details

(Clockwise) Giant's Maestro dual link suspension makes good use of the Anthem X's minimal 100mm of rear wheel travel. The frame's 86mm-wide bottom bracket shell uses press-fit bearings. The aluminum swingarm is stiff enough to use standard quick release dropouts. Post type caliper mounts save a little weight. Giant's Overdrive tapered steerer system uses an oversized 1.25-inch upper section. A two-bolt seat clamp ensures that the carbon tube is not over-stressed.


Overdrive Steerer System: While Giant specs its Overdrive steerer tubes with a larger, 1.25-inch stem clamp, its tapered head tube fits any tapered steerer and headset so Anthem owners are free to adopt future fork technology whether or not the suspension maker offers an Overdrive version.

PressFit Bottom bracket: Down low, the 'Powercore' bottom bracket is a press-in affair, with a wider-is-better 86-millimeter shell. SRAM and Shimano both support it.

Maestro Suspension: Giant uses a tiny shock, a RockShox Monarch RT3 in this case, driven by its Maestro dual-link suspension. Giant struck gold with Maestro, as it has proven over time to strike a keen balance between pedaling firmness and ground holding smoothness. Pivot points run on quality, Japanese-made ball bearings, which make a difference in the long run.

RC descending

Agressive XC numbers combined with balanced geometry and big wheels make the Anthem X Advanced 29er a fast trailbike. The famous Backbone trail offers up a wide variety of treats from slick-rock crawls to super-drifter fire-road descents.(Careful though, the posted speed limit is 15 mph.)


Aluminum Swingarm: Giant's decision to produce the 100-millimeter-travel swingarm in aluminum was based upon the fact that any weight savings would be "negligible." Given that Giant's aluminum manufacturing methodology is second to none (they begin with custom alloys and produce heavily manipulated frame tubing), the new Anthem's triangulated swingarm matches the stiffness and weight of its theoretical carbon counterpart - and offers the customer a whopping, $800 price reduction. Giant waffled at the probability of a carbon rear end in the future though, leaving that door wide open.

Sharp frame numbers: The medium-sized Anthem X I rode had a 23.4 inch top tube - on the long side for some, but the extra length helped to moderate the bike's 71.3-degree head angle by keeping the rider's weight back a bit. Seat angle was a standard XC 73 degrees, while the chainstay was a bit long at 18.3 inches. The bottom bracket was not excessively low, nor does it need to be with the 29er's axle substantially higher than the bottom bracket centerline. This was a plus, as I never banged the cranks. Typical 26er XC bikes have excessively low bottom brackets to stabilize cornering and can be annoying through the rocks. Part of the Anthem's numerical magic results in a relatively compact 43.5 inch wheelbase, which places the rider squarely in the middle of the bike - a plus when change-ups on the trail require quick reactions. Quick reactions and big wheels are rarely used in the same sentence, but Giant rewrites that rule. A possible, though minor, error was the carbon Anthem's copycat straight top tube, which is not a requirement for a molded carbon bike, and it elevates the medium-sized bike's stand-over height to 30.3 inches. Sizes are offered in Small, Medium, Large and X-large.

Lots of bikes

Lined up and ready to rock, $80,000 worth of Anthem X 29ers stand at attention near the trailhead.


Component Check

Giant's World Cup race team is running SRAM components, so the Anthem X Advantage gets the full Monty, highlighted by the XX two-by drivetrain. The 26 x 39 gearing is perfect for racing and seasoned legs, with just enough low gear to scratch up techy climbs and a big-wheel-boosted top gear that can handle fireroad-screamer descents.RockShox does the work up front with a 15QR axle SID RCT3 fork. Brakes were SRAM World Cup XX with 160mm rotors - strong stoppers, but we noticed that on long descents, the ventilated discs would begin to make scrubbing noises when heated to the edge of their comfort zones. Cable guides are included for a dropper post, but Giant's house-brand carbon seatpost fills in until that time, topped by an ironing board disguised as a Fizik Tundra 2 saddle - comfortable in one position, but nowhere else. Stiffness rules the charts, so Giant specs its DH-looking Contact SLR Carbon stem with house-brand low-rise carbon handlebars. Tires were narrow, 2.1 inch Schwalbe Racing Ralphs - faster than your mom on the trail, but not all that durable, and a bit sketchy on the fast, hard-pack corners common to the Santa Monica Mountain range.

Anthem X Advanced 29er 0 1 and 2



First dual-suspension 29er for women

Inspired by Super D and Enduro ripper Kelli Emmet, Giant tweaked the Anthem to produce a female-specific chassis, including a curved top tube for a lower-stand-over height, a slightly taller head tube (not sure how that figures as 29ers are already too high) and lower gearing highlight the Anthem X 29 0 W, in addition to some 'custom-tuned' components like lighter wheels slightly narrower handlebars and a female-friendly saddle. The weight of the top-drawer Anthem X 29 0 W is pegged at under 24 pounds, which is quite nice for an aluminum-framed XC machine.

Sweet Anthem X W0 side shot

Giant's female-specific Anthem X 29 0 W is readily recognizable by its curved top tube.


Up front, the RockShox Reba RL fork uses a standard-dimension tapered head tube (1 1/8 x 1/12 inch) instead of Giant's more rigid 'Overdrive' steerer which sports a larger diameter 1 1/4 inch upper section. Unfortunately, women will not get the Advanced X carbon front triangle, as the Anthem X OW models are aluminum only (Shhh, brr brr brr brr, baaaah). The better angle is that Giant is producing its most popular suspension bike directly to the women's market and in a configuration that has proven to win at the World Cup level. That should make a lot of girls happy on the trail, which hopefully will inspire a carbon model soon.

Girls having fun

A strong female contingent was on hand to weigh in on Giant's female-specific Anthem X 29 0 W. The general consensus was, well, the picture is worth a thousand words.






Giant Wheel Sneak Peek

As an additional treat, Giant used the debut of its 2013 Anthem X Advanced to give us a chance to see and ride its first carbon wheelset - the P-XCR. Designed at Giant, the 1430 gram wheelset is produced at DT/Swiss, using the Swiss wheel-maker's composite rim manufacturing system, star-ratchet freehub and unparalleled spoke technology. Giant's input created new hub flange metrics with 90-degree spoke exits and the drive-side rear spokes are offset two millimeters outwards to optimize wheel stiffness under power.

Bill Miller goes over the fine points of Giant s new wheels

Bill Miller, team leader of Giant's component division, goes over the details of the New P XCR carbon wheels.


'DT Swiss is an ideal partner for Giant's wheel program,' Says team leader Bill Miller. 'Giant is an industry leader in composite manufacturing, and our guys insisted that we could make the wheels in-house. The advantages DT Swiss brings to our wheel program is that everything is produced under one roof, so communication and quality control are simply not an issue.'

The 1430 gram wheelset features a standard XC 19mm inner diameter and is molded with a tubeless ready tire sealing profile. The rim still needs to be taped to be used tubeless, however. An additional benefit of the DT/Swiss connection is that the quick release rear wheel can be converted to a 142/12mm through axle, or use the DT Swiss 9mm QR through-axle skewer system. The front axle is QR 15, and Giant's Bill Miller was pretty sure that his axle design was compatible with DT Swiss' quick-release caps should anyone want to use a standard-dropout fork Giant's P-XCR wheels will not be ready until Summer 2012, and in the meantime, first-production Anthems will be equipped with SRAM's new Rise Carbon 60 29er wheels. Prices are not yet set.

How They Ride

With a days' ride on Giant's wheels, I can report that they are laterally rigid to the point where I did not think of my wheels at all during the ride. Granted, there were only a few sections that would actually put a wheelset in danger, but more importantly, I didn't experience any windup or chatter on high-speed fire-road drifters - the corners that often defeat less-than-rigid 29er frames and wheels. Acceleration, the litmus test of XC wheels was crisp, especially for 29er hoops. I never mounted a tire, and our test wheels used tubes, so the utilitarian aspects of Giant's new rim design are yet to be discovered. I wished that Giant had dared to make its premier carbon rims wider than old-school XC hoops. A more secure footprint would have made the bike way more fun at speed. In Giant's defense, XC gram-counting wiener-boys who are its potential customers would be reluctant to trade the promise of significantly better handling and better tubeless performance in exchange for a negligible weight increase - but the future is definitely wider.

RC and An Lee Giant s Global Marketing Director who belted out 27 miles and 4300 feet of climbing with a smile.

RC with Giant's Global Marketing Director who gutted out 27 miles and 4300 feet of climbing with a smile. It must be quite an inspiration when your boss can throw down for an epic ride like this one.



Author Info:
RichardCunningham avatar

Member since Mar 23, 2011
974 articles

86 Comments
  • 37 4
 Dear Giant, Regarding your Overdrive steerer system, just stop, please. Otherwise, things are looking pretty good! Thanks.
  • 1 1
 I think Overdrive 2 is a stupid idea so that if you buy a Giant, and if later on the components still work fine but you want another frame you cant use the fork, headset or stem on the new frame. It also means you cant get a new fork if you need one. Their reason I heard was that it was stronger than an ordinary taper but still saved weight over a 1.5", fair enough, but you only save like 50g Id say, which they would save more than with a cheaper FSA crankset over the Sram one on there. Just an opinion.
  • 2 0
 "Overdrive Steerer System: While Giant specs its Overdrive steerer tubes with a larger, 1.25-inch stem clamp, its tapered head tube fits any tapered steerer and headset so Anthem owners are free to adopt future fork technology whether or not the suspension maker offers an Overdrive version. "

Only half your statement is correct Martin. And O, why would you ever replace the frame, before forks? Seriously?

And FSA and Sram? Where does that come into reasoning when talking about Overdrive.
  • 1 0
 I didnt know about the availability to adapt, And I was saying that the reason I heard also stated that it saved weight over 1.5" steerer, and I was saying that you could probably save the same weight by a simple difference in cranks in the case of the the X0 model above.

And just think about the frame thing, you have nasty crash and dent/crack the downtube you not going to replace the fork whole bike are you?
  • 1 0
 I hear ya.

And for the frame, considering carbon is generally much stronger than Aluminum with falls (look at what the old dorado forks could get away with), I doubt something that would break a frame, wouldn't also break the forks, or severly damage them. Either way, these frames do have warrenty. So considering most people who can afford these types of bikes only ride them for a season or two, by the time warrenty is up, they are selling the whole buy to buy a new bike.
  • 1 0
 Good point about the seasons, but if you came off a drop and didnt line the back wheel up right you could easily smash your downtube off something and the entire rest of the bike remain fine if you know what I mean. It would be unusual but its not unheard of.
  • 22 7
 29ers remind me of dumbo...
  • 3 3
 HaHa LOL!!!
  • 17 4
 But dumbo could fly :-)
  • 13 5
 $8,900?...UH.......UH....MMM......NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe we could save some money and buy a used road bike, do some TAINT toughening exercises, and hit some techy, single track climbs...hell..we even may start a new trend..TTT (Taint Trail Trials)
  • 17 2
 I will never comprehend how they think $8900 is an acceptable price for a bike.
  • 4 1
 Totally agree
  • 5 3
 Well, that is for the "0" model, which includes an XX groupo and carbon wheelset. The other models are a lot more "affordable".
  • 5 2
 You don't have to buy the top one - the other two models are half the price and are fantastic value-for-money.
  • 9 4
 You guys live in some closets someplace and don't actually pay for your own bikes do you? $8900 is actually cheap compared to what the top end S-works FSR 29er goes for.
  • 3 2
 Most of the cost of the "O" model is in the wheels. At about $1000 per wheel, I'm not suprised.
  • 6 5
 All top end bikes cost this and more. It's carbon (with a bit of alu), with top end groupset which would make XTR look cheap, with Carbon wheels and the best components money can make. Plus it's their flagship, they can charge what they want.

Plus it's the best looking bike ever made pretty much (IMO)!!
  • 7 3
 Overpriced hype-shit that is
  • 10 1
 OK, I'm getting neg'd for my last comment, so lets justify.

Trek Session 9.9 - $8929.99
Trek Remedy 9.9 - $8929.99
Trek Fuel EX 9.9 - $9339.99
Trek Top Fuel 9.9SSL - $8399.99
Specialized S Works Carbon Epic 29er - $10500
Specialized S Works Carbon Stumpjumper 29er - $9900. 26er - $9400
Santa Cruz V10 w/ Boxxer (so not even a drivetrain!) - $7360

A small selection of the top end bikes out there (hell, dont get me started on road bike, a new BMC road bike with Lamborghini endorsement for $20,000?) but they all go for the same sort of price, be it DH, trail, XC.... Manufacturers can charge what they want for a top end bike, and they can get away with it as there are a lot of very well off people out there with disposable income. I dare say when the Specialized Demo Carbon comes out, that will be in the $8-10k region too, but as that's a downhill bike, people wont complain as much about the price!
  • 4 2
 @Eyon- I think you're being neg propped for saying it's the best looking bike ever when I think it looks like a complete abortion. It's wrong in so may ways!!! Not least of all the price!
This bike is tailored for people with more money than sense.
  • 3 0
 @Eyon The fact that other bikes cost just as much, does not make it acceptable. These manufacturers are all in the same club. It is in their best interests to push the prices up so the low end baseline rises. You can buy a pretty nice *new* motorcycle for these prices.

Trek, Giant, and Specialized are not boutique brands. They do think that they can charge boutique prices though.
  • 2 0
 Also @Eyon, the V10 is complete for $7360 skitch.com/ericschiller/8wcjc/santa-cruz-bicycles .
  • 2 0
 my mistake vertr, I didn't spot that, still crazy money though. I agree that it is stupid that they can get away with charging as much as they do, but if they can, and people pay, from a business point of view, why the hell not? People always pay for the better stuff. Why does somebody buy a £1M veyron when they can buy a £5K tata nano. they do the same job at the end of the day, just people like the better stuff!

Also, I made a mistake in my last post, the Lambo BMC road bike actually costs nearer $27,000, that's a joke!!

NR8productions. this is why I said "in my opinion". I'm a little bias, I have a 26" Anthem in alu, and I love the way it rides so much, this is curvier, so can only look better! Some people like it some hate it, kinda a marmite bike?
  • 2 0
 If you chums don't want to spend 8k+ on a bike.. buy a lower end model and stop bitching. It's like people see 8k+ and are like wtf we are being shafted. You realize the parts spec, etc on the bike, soooo, if you don't want to have a set of 1100$ wheels (minus tires) on your bike, then don't.

Some of us have easily spent over 20k in bikes and parts in our own individual history of riding. You get what you pay for. It's like someone saying almost a million bucks in 2001 for a Mc Laren F1, and complaining about it. Well, buy a jetta or something more in your price range, and let the people that can afford stuff enjoy themselves.

The worst thing ever is when people bitch about expense, and people with money. Go to school, work hard, get a career, and 8k won't seem more than a month of work's pay.
  • 1 1
 rffr- people are considered lucky to have a job in the UK at the mo- 8k is much more than a month's wage- for me anyway! I don't mind people having money- my point is more that people don't need such expensive gear. In my opinion the vast majority of people who can afford to buy bikes like this don't have the riding ability to justify it. I wonder if the enjoyment from having such an expensive machine is gained by riding it, or posing with it? Same thing apples to your argument with McLaren F1- only a small percentage of owners will ever get the car anywhere close to it's potential performance- they just want people to know they've got money!. I've spent thousands on bikes myself, but have always tried to be realistic in terms of what I can warrant owning. Spending money is what it's for- but wasting it is something entirely different.
  • 3 0
 Why does it bother you if someone wants to waste their money? If I want to buy a $10k bike and not ride it, is it not my right to do so?
  • 1 0
 Wait, so, because someone wouldn't ride or, drive something to it's potential, that means it shouldn't be bought by them, or ridden by them?

99.99999999999% of people on PB will never push their bikes to the limits. So, in that case, all the people riding Demos, V10's, Intense m9's etc, won't ever push them to what they are made for... so then why do any of us buy top tier bikes with good part specs?

And wasting money??? If someone wants something nice, it's not wasting it. Some people enjoy working hard and buying nice stuff. I don't consider that "wasting" it, if it makes them happy, and makes them look forward to going to work in order to fund things like these. Should these people instead be giving their money away to help others? Heck no. They made it, they earned it, they can enjoy it.
  • 1 0
 I think we're just gonna disagree over this one- I honestly think you're better off giving money to a worthy cause than wasting it. I always told myself I will never spend over 10k on a car- Sure I could buy a sweet sports car but what does that actually give me that I wouldn't get from a normal car?? There's people in this world that have absolutely nothing and I think it's worth remaining grounded and accept that some things in our westernised society are simply obscene.
  • 1 0
 The bikes that cost $9000 are just there to make their $3000 bikes seem more reasonable. I feel the quality of the trail has a lot more to do with my enjoyment than the quality of the bike. I would much rather ride a shitty bike on a great trail than the other way around. It kinda pisses me off that some people spend so much on bikes, and still can't find a dime or an hour of work to donate to a trail building org. You spend $3k on a bike every other year, thousands of dollars traveling to races, and you can only afford a $25 donation to IMBA? Your priorities are wrong.
  • 1 0
 LOL donate time or money to a trail building org. I bet you've donated money to a trail building org before right? ROFL... doubtful.

And it pisses you off that some people have more money than you? Stop being a wining and just ride. It's like saying someone who wears 150$ nikes should pay money to anti sweatshop orgs. Really now?

You realize that most of the cheaper bikes are made in ultra low paying factories right? So, in real sense, many of the top tier bikes get produced in better factories that can handle the QC of such products. So, in turn they are actually supporting people more than people not buying expensive bikes.

This is nothing about priorities. Stop making it seem people need to donate their hard earned money. This isn't a communist country (or continent).
  • 1 0
 rffr- I love the way you believe that everyone else is the same as you when clearly they are not. If you actually read my comment you'd see that people having money doesn't piss me off- people like you do! I'll stop being a 'wining' if you learn to read and write! The idea of giving away some of your hard earned pennies seems almost ridiculous to you. It clearly IS about priorities- and you priority is clearly yourself. Bet you're a joy to be around!
  • 1 0
 I wasn't even commenting on your post NR8. I was commenting on Dthomp's.

So, best yet.... it's you who needs to pay attention.

But, nice response to a comment that wasn't even directed at you. Guess it's you that seems that everyone is "talking about you",
  • 1 0
 May I refer you back to your original comment above.... 'If you chums don't want to spend 8k on a bike.....'. To me that sounds like you are directing a comment at all those people above, myself included, so in that respect you were commenting on all our opinions. If you're going to direct a comment at one particular person you normally mention their name- it ain't rocket science! Please feel free to continue to justify your stupidity with further comments... They make for great entertainment.
  • 1 0
 Entertainment for you two... not the rest of us. Take it to your PMs.
  • 1 0
 I doubt David Cameron would be interested.
  • 7 1
 1.25 to 1.5 tapered steerer tube plus 15QR but just uses standard drop outs in the rear? how about they throw everything at it and put in a 142 X 12 dropout? bigger wheels and a suspended rear end push the limits of the rear wheel a little harder than they should in my opinion.
  • 4 1
 Its an XC bike... not a All-Mtn...they're not trying to burden themselves with a load of extra mass.
  • 5 0
 Man is that an expensive carbon bike. Seriously though you can buy a decent used carbon 29er at around their aluminum price and still have enough to pimp it up. Beautiful bike though too bad some of us still have tuition fees to think about Frown
  • 9 2
 probably the only 29r i would ride. and i hate 29rs.
  • 3 3
 You obviously havent ridden one.
  • 3 0
 actually i have. and i hate them. but this one looks legit
  • 1 0
 ^^ yup

try owning (not just riding one) and you will soon realise why for cross-country "trail riding" they are simply awesome

would still highly recommend a 26er for DH and FR duties without hesitation Wink
  • 1 0
 i have a 26 specialized stumpjumper for xc/trail riding. i race xc for my high school, i tried the 29er for a day and it just didnt seem right. felt like the tire was in my face the whole time, ill admit it is better climbing, but i would much rather ride a 26er any day. but the carbon anthem is shweeeettt
  • 1 0
 I tried an Intense Spider 29er for a weekend a couple of years ago, and it seemed great on less technical trails, but as soon as it got steep and rocky (up or down), it became a handful. I was unable to clear a technical section of a climb that is no problem on my 26er, because I could simply no get enough weight over the front tire. Any type of "body English" like lifting the front or back wheels seemed to require exaggerated efforts compared to a 26. The descents were less fun because pumping through g-outs and turns, and bunny hopping off of small obstacles was basically impossible.

It seems to me if you ride through technical sections by simply slamming into obstacles head on, a 29er may benefit you because the bigger wheels will roll over those obstacles more easily. However if you can ride technical terrain on a 26er without any problems, you will probably hate 29ers, because they take so much more effort to perform the same maneuvers you're used to on a 26er.

Of course, while, I've ridden several around a parking lot, the Spider is the only 29er I've ridden on actual technical terrain, so it could just be that the that specific bike sucked. I'd like try out some other 29ers for XC racing applications (no way I'd even consider it for my AM bike). I prefer a 69 degree head angle on my 26" XC racing bike, so I am thinking of trying out the Scott Scale 29er, since it is reasonably priced and has a 69.5 head angle.
  • 3 0
 The ignorance in the above comments is astounding. If you haven't owned or ridden a 29er for a week you really have nothing to say here. You need time on any kind of new bike to understand how it ride. How many of you have ridden a time trial bike? I bet if you got on one, even if you're a road biker, you wouldn't understand how someone could ride it. Yet it is proven to be the fastest platform in which to race individually on the road within UCI regs. The point is, 29ers are altogether different, Giant bills this as a XC race bike, even though the author talks trail. This bike is for very very fast and long trail rides. It is a marathon machine, not a fun 1 hour rip, beers on your tailgate bike. It is for seriously fast and epic rides and will beat the snot out of any 26" machine. This bike is cheep too, Giant (unlike every other big name in America) is the one of the few brands that makes ALL their own frames from their lowest end beach cruiser POS to their best road bikes, which translates into better QC and cheeper prices at North American tills than the competition as one poster above showed with their price check.

I haven't used the sram brakes extensively but I agree shimano are better, but... lets not forget the most important point.

THIS IS A CROSS COUNTRY RACING BIKE.
  • 5 0
 i know this isnt about dh but holy fuck a carbon glory would look sooo niice
  • 1 0
 Not happening for 2013. Changes are expected for '14.
  • 1 0
 LOOK so nice? ok....
  • 2 0
 ive had my bike ordered for months now ( Anthem X 29er 0 carbon ) i finally paid it off took it to my local trail and the the front wheel didnt even last 1.5km.....!!!! it was basically fireroad i thought to myself how good is this bike and no sooner i said that i noticed the front wheel wobbling all over the place thinking some spokes may have been loose i quickly found the carbon rim had completely folded and creased..!!! Frown so now i got no wheel for my $6500.00 bike that has only been ridden 1.5km..
So in the article where they say ' quality control and communication is simply not an issue " they should probaly have another look cause im F$%KING Pissed...!!!!
  • 4 0
 I like the Subaru reference Big Grin and @rlucky82 yeah, agreed...and its the 5door model with 18inch rims etc. haha
  • 1 0
 After years of secret development in Giant's Secret labs they have finally created the ugliest bike ever, the anthem 29er women's edition. It looks like a child who has seen a bike once drew it, like they have no idea what the dimensions of a bike are supposed to be like.
  • 1 0
 Yea, because everyone knows looks make you have fun, and go fast. Maybe adding some cool stickers, and a bit of chrome would shave some more seconds off the run. Heck, might as well add some ultra neon modern "fox ind" wear, and you will be WC champ in no time.
  • 1 0
 I own a 2008 Trance X2 & a 2011 Anthem X1 29er and to be honest guys, I see no difference. Remember, it's not the bike that's fast, it's the rider. The bike doesn't power itself....
  • 3 0
 press fit BB, 1/1/4'' headtube- almost thought it was a Cannondale for a sec
  • 2 0
 1.5 to 1.25 tapered steerer, the headtube will work with straight 1 1/8. tapered 1.5-1.25 or tapered 1.5-1.125 steerers though with the correct headset bearings.
  • 4 1
 WRX? Really? c'mon, at 9grand it's nearly half the price of a new WRX! I would say more like an STi, thank you very much!
  • 1 1
 I would not even compare a bike like this to a WRX lol
  • 1 1
 The wheels look like they're trying to copy Specialized Roval SL. The price is a joke and the component spec is nice but the Sram XO and XX brakes are crap. The best stock brakes come from Formula then you have Shimano Trail series with Ice tech, I know there are others but these were the first that came to mind and I have used them. I would love to see a 650b fs trail rig. For the 29er game I think Santa Cruz has taken the cake with their Tallboy C. I hope to see an Ibis Ripley in this lifetime.
  • 3 2
 This bike is so overpriced in carbon xx its ridiculous......front carbon and rear alum...what a joke..no thru axle... get lost..at least dumbo could fly..lol
  • 3 0
 Prediction: 650B obliterates 29ers by 2015
  • 3 1
 I just bought a 2007 VW GTI for $9000 thats Mint!!
  • 1 0
 i completely agree with you there a wast of money bring back 26ers there a fuck load cheaper
  • 3 1
 SRAM only?

If the middle model was XT equipped, I'd be more keen.
  • 3 0
 SRAM>shimano
  • 1 2
 "If you already owned a trophy truck, Giant's carbon Anthem X would be the equivalent of adding a Subaru Impreza WRX to your stable."

I'm sorry but don't compare a girls xc bike with an Impreza WRX.
  • 1 0
 OK, go buy a WRX and send it off a 12 meter drop off. Watch it implode. This bike is fast, wont do the massive jumps or super techy stuff, but goes over the rough at stupid speeds. Kind of like a scooby.

If you want to compare a DH bike to a car, compare it with a monster truck, goes fast over boulders, falls off cliff and survives and all that...

Anyway, why the hate for XC? Surely any bike is a cool bike if it gets ridden? right?
  • 1 0
 @Eyon

good words...all bikes are cool bikes...as long as they are ridden and someone is having fun on that bike Smile


every rider could do with opening their minds / horizons and experience all facets of cycling with many different bikes to experience pleasure from riding


I was negative about 29ers until I took the plunge and bought one, now its all I ride off-road as its totally perfect for the trail riding I do, I also have a 700c road bike and 20" BMX in my collection, loving riding them all!

this is one reason legendary BMX rider Taj signed with Giant, to get to ride ALL of their bikes, not just their BMX
  • 1 0
 Is it just me or does it look impossible to put a 2.3+ tire on the back...........
  • 2 1
 The lines of that frame are clean. Pretty fast looking bike.
  • 6 5
 CHRIST THAT IS UGLY AND EXPENSIVE.
  • 2 1
 Better hurry up with the carbon and save that extra pound F**CKING PU**IES
  • 1 1
 Next up the first dual-suspension 29er for children @ only 6999$ its a steal!
  • 2 1
 That's nice
  • 1 1
 I heard 29'ers are so gay...
  • 1 0
 :-)
  • 1 1
 So Stoked for Sea Otter!
  • 1 1
 nice giant~
  • 2 3
 Great another hybrid.
  • 1 1
 nice....a hybrid carbon aluminum inefficient pedalling platform. get an ibis, you giant lovers......or whatever else with a dw-link.
  • 2 1
 Some one please kill off 29ers now !! they are useless,sluggish, ugly looking things
  • 1 0
 yeah, we are all waiting for India (now that they have the range and the missiles) to launch one and erase those carbon factories that produce all this 29er crap......although that may affect ibis cycles, intense, which i like...oh well, i already got my frames that i want.....
  • 1 0
 the 650b is on its way :-) , however I couldn't wait and purchased a Scott Spark carbon 29r pro for half the price of this giant and I must admit, it fukn shreds!
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