The Giant Anthem was first introduced in 2006 as the successor to the classic NRS. Following the Trance and Reign before it, the Anthem was one of the original models to feature the (then) new Maestro dual link suspension design. That Anthem was a thoroughbred race bike – it had just 80mm of travel front and rear, a vicious 72° head angle, and 26in wheels wrapped with 2.0in tyres. It was originally only available in alloy, but even then weighed less than 11kg in its top trim.
There have been several revisions to the Anthem platform over the last
12 years, with carbon frames and bigger wheels having since been thrown
into the mix. I tested the latest Anthem 27.5 last year, and came away
impressed with its sprightly ride and the suppleness of the updated
Maestro suspension design. However, with the Anthem 27.5 featuring wider
tyres, a dropper post and a bump in travel to 110mm on the back and
120mm up front, it was clear that Giant was pushing the Anthem 27.5 into
trail bike territory. This left a gap in the line-up for a thoroughbred
full suspension cross-country bike, and that’s where the new Anthem 29
comes in.
Brand new for 2018, the Anthem 29 sees the platform return to its racing
roots, with travel reduced at both ends (90mm out back and 100mm up
front), and sharpened geometry over the 27.5in model. There are four
models available in the UK – two alloy and two carbon – and they start
at £2,449 for the Anthem 29er 2, and go up to £4,249 for the Anthem
Advanced Pro 29er 1 we’ve got here. All models share the same suspension
design and geometry, and are available in four sizes from Small through
to X-Large.
The Bike
With its blacked-out carbon frame and red highlights, the sleek Anthem Advanced Pro 29er 1 oozes venomous potency like a redback spider. Moulded in-house from Giant’s Advanced-grade composite fibre, the Anthem’s frame is built with a zero stack tapered head tube, a PF92 bottom bracket and a muscular downtube. The frame is Di2 and Live Valve ready, and it features internal routing through the downtube as well as rubber armouring in the key strike zones.
The overall lines are clean, with the slender top tube taking the direct
route to the seat tube. Enhancing the svelte look, there’s a hidden
seatpost wedge instead of a traditional external clamp. Unfortunately
the 4mm adjustment bolt (hidden by a rubber sheath), is positioned in
such a way that quick trailside saddle drops are awkward with a
multitool. Also frustrating is Giant’s decision to engineer the Anthem
frame around a 27.2mm diameter seatpost. This is allegedly for weight
and compliance reasons, but in reality it limits your choice of
aftermarket dropper posts. And that could be a deal-breaker for some.
Boost hub spacing features front and rear, with low-profile axles
locking down each wheel with a 6mm hex key. Out back, the one-piece
carbon swingarm claims to save 160g over the alloy version, and it joins
to the mainframe via two small links. The one-piece rocker link drives
the shock via a trunnion bearing mount for smoother rotation, and Giant
has also employed a longer stroke metric shock to help lower the overall
leverage ratio. To minimise moving parts, the lower shock mount shares
the same pivot as the lower linkage. This little pocket formed an
idyllic habitat for water and mud during our damp Autumn conditions
though, and it’s a pain to clean out.
Fox Performance Series suspension adorns the front and back of the
Anthem, with the skinny-looking Step Cast fork dishing up 100mm of
smooth travel. Weight-wise it’s impressive: 1360g on our scales, which
makes it over 200g lighter than the SID on the Specialized. The fork and
shock are wired to Fox’s new push-to-unlock remote, which allows you to
lock or unlock the suspension simultaneously from the left hand grip.
Like the Spark and Epic, the Anthem features a SRAM GX Eagle 1×12
drivetrain and Level TL brakes. It’s also dressed in plenty of in-house
componentry, including new cross-country XCR1 carbon wheels (1764g
confirmed), and bizarrely, a freeride-ready 780mm wide riser bar. The
theory is that you can trim them down to your preference (I did, to
740mm), but it’s still an odd choice for what is meant to be a flat-out
cross-country race bike. Also weird is the shim inside the Overdrive 2
stem that’s borrowed from Giant’s road bike range.
The Anthem Advanced Pro 29er 1 conveniently comes pre-fitted with
tubeless tape, and Giant includes tubeless valves, sealant, and even
tyre levers. Weight for our medium test bike was an impressive 10.67kg
(23.5lbs), which swelled to 11.14kg by the time we added the control
tyres.
The Ride
With the longest reach on test (437mm) and the longest wheelbase (1,133mm), the Anthem feels big for a medium. This is exacerbated by a 73.5° seat angle, which effectively pulls the saddle rearwards as you extend the post. This stretches you out over its cockpit, but it isn’t uncomfortable thanks to the 70mm stem and comfy riser bar. The grips are fine, though the narrow saddle is one for more *ahem* trained buttocks.
For my 70kg riding weight, I set up the Fox Float DPS shock with 140 psi
for 26% sag, with just three clicks of rebound off full slow. That
allowed me to use most of the travel for general trail riding, with just
enough support for landings off small high-speed drops. I settled on 75
psi in the fork to deliver just under 30% static sag while standing up
on the pedals, and set the rebound halfway. The fork comes shipped with a
single volume spacer inside, and that was perfect for me, though
lighter riders may want to pull this out to more readily access full
travel.
The remote lockout took a while to get used to, as its push-to-unlock
orientation is the opposite of what you’re expecting. The lever force is
very light, but the small release paddle is a little too easy to
engage, and on one of the jumps trails at Gisburn Forest, I accidentally
locked out the suspension halfway down as my thumb bumped the paddle.
My other concern with this setup is that cable tension is required to
unlock the suspension. So if a cable breaks on you, you’ll be stuck with
a fully rigid bike.
When open though, the suspension is nicely supple, with the kind of
small-bump sensitivity you’d expect from a longer travel trail bike.
This provides excellent climbing traction, which is made that much more
effective by the in-built efficiency of the Maestro linkage. Although
the suspension is free to move and absorb ripples and knocks as you roll
along the trail, if you stand up and hammer, the system tightens up
noticeably under pedalling inputs to propel you forward. Out of the
three, the Anthem is the most efficient pedaller here.
The lightweight frame (1983g with shock) isn’t bone-shakingly stiff,
with a more springy feel front to back than the other two bikes. That
isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. On rough trails, it provides
welcome compliance and a little less brutalism when being pummelled
around on rock-laden singletrack. A frame that’s too stiff can be
unrelenting and difficult to control, but the Anthem feels calm and
comfortable. Even while seated and with the suspension locked out, that
slender 27.2mm carbon seatpost does well to dissipate buzz.
The flip side is that Anthem’s steady behaviour does make it more trail-friendly, even if does only have 90mm of travel out back. It’s got loads more character than those angry Anthems of old, with far more enthusiasm for the descents. And that makes it a better, well-rounded cross-country bike.
Overall
With Giant repurposing the Anthem 27.5 as its cross-country trail bike, the 29er version has been sharpened into a thoroughbred race machine. It’s lightweight and sprightly, and the updated Maestro platform delivers outstanding pedal efficiency without any need for proprietary damping or remote trickery. However, the excellent small-bump sensitivity combined with steadiness of the Anthem’s geometry makes it more than just a race day-only bike, and it would give the 27.5in version a run for its money in the outright speed stakes. Personally I’d love to see a pumped-up ‘SX’ model to capitalise on the versatility of this chassis, but as it stands, this bike has already lifted Giant’s 29er game.
2018 Giant Anthem Advanced Pro 29er 1 Specifications
- Frame // Advanced Grade Carbon Mainframe & Swingarm, 90mm Travel
- Fork // Fox 32 Float SC Performance Elite, Remote Lockout, 100mm Travel
- Shock // Fox Float DPS Performance Elite, Remote Lockout
- Hubs // Giant XCR, 110x15mm Front & 148x12mm Rear
- Rims // Giant XCR, Carbon Fibre, Tubeless Compatible
- Tyres // Hutchinson Taipan Hardskin RR 2.25in Front & Rear (Maxxis Ikon 3C EXO 2.2in as stock)
- Chainset // SRAM Stylo 6K Alloy, 32t X-Sync
- Front Mech // N/A
- Rear Mech // SRAM GX Eagle 12-Speed
- Shifters // SRAM GX Eagle 12-Speed
- Cassette // SRAM GX Eagle 12-Speed, 10-50t
- Brakes // SRAM Level TL 180mm Front & 160mm Rear
- Stem // Giant Contact SL 31.8mm, 70mm Long
- Bars // Giant Contact SL Alloy, 740mm Wide, 19mm Rise
- Grips // Giant Contact Lock-On
- Seatpost // Giant Contact Composite, 27.2x400mm
- Saddle // Giant Contact SL (Forward)
- Size Tested // Medium
- Sizes Available // Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
- Actual Weight // 11.14kg / 24.51lb (as tested)
- RRP // $3825
