Just musing here. Since buying a race bike (HT) and being medically advise to stick to short XC racing for the foreseeable, my Anthem 29 has become a trail bike. However, since riding the Reba on the slacker race bike I’m feeling the Anthems limitations in fork & geo.

I’m think of one of 2 “more Trail than race” £2k bikes as replacement – a 2016 Anthem SX, or a Segment S. Never owned an orange before and like the low maintenance theory, but I fit and like Giants. Or cheaper, i could replace the Anthem 29 forks for 120’s at less cost.

I’d welcome thoughts on the comparison or on the Orange Segment specifically, as thats the one i havent ridden.

I bought a segment last week. 40 miles in and I think it’s ace.

I looked at anthems but a lovely ex demo Segment came up 🙂

Quite, both will do Surrey, Wales and general trails with aplomb, the Segment maybe more “tough”, the Anthem more capable for a long distance XC race e.g 24hr if I can manage to get back to that.

What forks on your anthem, reba? can they be extended to 120mm for the cost of a new air shaft? That’s what I did with my 27.5 anthem to make it more trail than race, essentially an sx.

Sorry if this doesn’t help the new bike itch.

They are Fox CTD and not extendable I checked with Mojo. I’m not against a new fork / headset (mine is OD2), if probably get a 120mm Reba.

Have you had a go on a 27.5 anthem SX? Bit too similar to the 29er, or does the wheelsize really make a difference felt?

I guess you really need to test a Segment to see how you like the feel of the single pivot

Just weight my Segment. 30lb for the xl rs. I imagine the anthem will be lighter

Having slept on it, my conclusion is to whack a 120mm fork on my anthem 29er. Its the financially appropriate option, I’ve no dislike for the bike, and despite being OD2 all I need is a 1/18th Headset top bearing only to accommodate the fork, of which I’m sure I have a set of standard taper superstar bearings in the mancave.

I can get a Reba solo air 120mm for £350, and according to a lot of people my trail riding will be transformed, and I’ve still a 25lb short travel FS for long events should I need one.

Having slept on it, my conclusion is to whack a 120mm fork on my anthem 29er. Its the financially appropriate option,

it’s a great option, the anthem is a very very capable bike.

Having slept on it, my conclusion is to whack a 120mm fork on my anthem 29er.

Is the correct answer – why did they come out with the sx after all?

Its the financially appropriate option,

That too

Quite. But can I find out which headset cup I need? I’d happly buy the Superstar Top only, but god know which one I’d choose. The wiggle have a carbon Lifeline jobby for £19.99, that too is confusing.

Might just run it to the LBS and say “fix that”.

Sigh….

Sensible choice, I stuck a 120mm fork in my, much older than yours, Anthem and it’s a very capable bike. I also stuck an offset bush in the top shock mount which took another half a degree off the head angle and could be something worth trying too.

Sensible choice, I stuck a 120mm fork in my, much older than yours, Anthem and it’s a very capable bike

Same here. In fact, I’ve had three Giant FS bikes over the years and they’ve all ridden better with a longer fork.

I have a 2015 Anthem SX and really rate it at 120mm front/100 rear. A lot more agile than my old 5 and more than enough for my old aged mincing 🙂

Not as much fun as my Soul on local techy twisty forest stuff, but great on bigger and longer days.

Thanks for the confirmation. The fork’s ordered (2016 Reba RL solo 29), and the bike goes into the LBS on Saturday for the headset gubbins to be sorted.

In 2 weeks i’m off to Surrey Hills to try my new trail orientated / part time long distance race Anthem 29 “SX” 🙂

Just as an observation, when out on the trail in “open” mode last weekend I ignored my race head and let some air out of the shock for more comfort and compliance from 20% to 30% sag – blimey what a handling difference. It only exaggerated the OEM fork though, especially as the back end had been serviced but I didn’t want to waste the cash on the front.

Glad I’ve done this as I’ve invested a bit in the Anthem and its too good to sell of cheaply.

I also stuck an offset bush in the top shock mount which took another half a degree off the head angle and could be something worth trying too.

I’m not up to speed with this, got any info / a link? AFAIK I’ve just slacken my HA to 70 degrees, but a bit more via a small component would be good?

I put a 120mm fork on my Anthem, and it was good. What made it betterer was the 1.5 degree angleset I put on to take some of the BB height increase back, and slacken it off more.

I killed that frame, but still have the headset (Works) kicking around, now redundant. It needs new bearings for the bottom cup, but get in touch if you fancy giving it a try – I’m sure we could come to an arrangement!

You can do the same with an offset bush, but due the shock mounting arrangement on the Anthem, you can only do this on one end of the shock, so can only get half the slackness (0.75 degree max). It might be all you need, and the bushes aren’t expensive things to experiment with.
http://www.offsetbushings.com/