Finally decided to take the plunge and buy my first full susser. I mainly ride XC or trail centre and do not have the skill/experience/bravery to tackle big jumps or downhills.

Moving from a fairly light hardtail (100mm forks) I've been looking at Giant's Anthem or Anthem X. However with a restricted budget, 2nd hand size large seem quite rare and the Trance is easier to get.

Alternatively Tredz are doing a new old stock 2007 Trance 2 for £799 which has 100m travel and had glowing reviews. I could eBay the lower spec parts and swap my better bits on to it.

I know there's an Anthem X in the classifieds but £650 for a second hand frame seems a little steep to me (apologies to the seller).

My heart says Anthem but head says Trance. Any opinions on how much difference there really is between pedalling an Anthem and Trance?

There's probably a reasonable difference in the weight and the geometry of the two. The 100mm Trances were a bit weighty for their travel, something which can't be said so much for the Anthem or the Anthem X. Anthems have aggressively XC geometry (Anthem X a touch less so) so they are very fast handling, but in a good way. 🙂 Trances will be more relaxed, probably a bit more confident feeling.

That Anthem X is well overpriced if frame only, yes.

The 2008 Trance is worth looking at secondhand. It's much lighter than earlier models and rides very nicely, especially if you swap the fork for a 120mm one.

Google Pauls Cycles and check out their range of Trance's for a bargain !
Highly recommend them !

Trance X unless you are racing. I have ridden both and prefer the slacker angles or the Trance. Really you need one of each 😆

trance climbs bril and you feel like your sat in rather than on the bike,
a great confidance building ride .

Anthem X with 5" forks.

That Anthem X is well overpriced if frame only, yes.

The 2008 Trance is worth looking at secondhand. It's much lighter than earlier models and rides very nicely, especially if you swap the fork for a 120mm one. can you not on the rock shox 302 remove the travel spacer to make them 120 forks any way

I can't comment on the pricing, being outside of the UK, but I came from a similar situation as you – from a Ti hardtail with 100mm up front, to full sus. I did a bunch of research, and came to the conclusion that for _my_ riding style the Anthem X was best bet. I looked at Trek, Ibis Mojo, several others – above and below the Anthem price range. I do cross-country riding and racing, and have been totally pleased with the Anthem. I'm not a hard-core rider so the travel has been perfect for me. For UK trail centers, depending on how much jumping, etc your are into you might want the extra travel of the Trance. If you are primarily doing XC (rough XC no less), then the Anthem is a great buy.

Hi

I have worked in a Giant dealer selling these bikes, so here's my 5p:

Both bikes pedal very well. The anthem is quick going up-hill and in the right hands will come down quickly too (but slightly slower than the trance in the same hands). If you intend to do XC and trail centres, and have decent skill, I'd say get the Anthem X.

One point to note: the Anthem (90mm travel) is a bit snappier than the Anthem X (100mm travel) – the X is no heavier and has gemoetry slightly more suited to trail centres. You dont NEED more travel, the geometry is arguably more important. If you want to progress to more aggressive riding, slacker angles and more travel would be good, but then you would do well to look at Specialized Stumpjumpers with 120mm travel.

And my final point: if you do get a trance, there's no point getting a 100mm travel one, as the X is more capable yet weight the same or less depending on the year. The Giant rep actually said that, hence they dropped the standard Trance the following year.

Hope some of that helps, email in profile if I can help any more 🙂

Oh and it may be wise to wait for more frames to come up for sale if people get good Xmas presents! I wouldn't pay 650 for the second hand Trance frame unless it and the shock are MINT.

Thanks all for your comments. It sounds like it's worth hanging on for an "X" version of either the Anthem or Trance. I need to find a lbs willing to demo them. It's an odd one but I do love battering my fully suspended mates on the climbs and wouldn't want to lose that (Anthem X), but possibly a Trance X would build my confidence and add a dimension to my descents.

Decisions…decisions… 😀

Go with your heart.

get the anthem.

Kristan Rivers – Premier Member
I can't comment on the pricing, being outside of the UK, but I came from a similar situation as you – from a Ti hardtail with 100mm up front, to full sus. I did a bunch of research, and came to the conclusion that for _my_ riding style the Anthem X was best bet.

did yo fid the change from ti 100mm HT to FS made you noticeably quicker? have a similar consideration and debating in my head the cost/benefit thing!

Shortbaldone-

Funnily enough – yes, I did and do find myself faster on the Anthem than the hardtail, despite a minor weight penalty.

I picked up a 2nd hand Anthem frame, added some 100mm forks and have been chuffed with the ride.

I've an Anthem which I am very pleased with. I've ridden mine pretty hard and it's taken some hard knocks and It just shrugs them off, but I do have another bike, which I use for learning jumps/drops and generally taking things past "my" extremes, that I don't worry about breaking.
I won't get rid of the Anthem, I've traded in an NRS for a longer travel bike but I was to slow on it.

I like my Trance, but then again I have a HT for rides when I want something a bit sharper.

http://www.xcracer.com/forum.php?pgid=80&fp=viewtopic&id=3353

some anthem x's for sale here 2nd hand

or you could buy my anthem zero and i'll buy one of these
(damn i'm talking myself into spending more money)

And my final point: if you do get a trance, there's no point getting a 100mm travel one, as the X is more capable yet weight the same or less depending on the year. The Giant rep actually said that, hence they dropped the standard Trance the following year.

Ahhhh but with a longer fork it's a totally different animal to the standard 100mm one… 😉

@faint – I doubt I could afford a full zero. Maybe the frame if it's a large though… 😉

I've a 2006 or 7 trance, 100mm travel one

It's great. May be a bit heavier than some (dunno, haven't tried others) but it's not a beast. I think it's BETTER with a 120mm fork on it – bit slacker & raises the (low) BB a bit. Seat tube angle was origianlly quite steep, so the loger fork doesn't ruin that either. (suppose that means I disagree with swalsey, but then I've not ridden an"X" so can't really claim to know)

My first full susser is a Giant Trance X5. I was limited to <£1000 as I got it in the cycle to work scheme but probably the best bike I could have got. If I'd had the money I probably would have gone for the Anthem X at the time as reveiws were awesome and it's meant to be very fast on xc stuff. However. I'm really glad I have the Trance X as it's more suited to the kind of fast gnarly single track I like to ride.

You need to think about your needs. Like Swalsey says the Anthem is probably better for most trail centre and xc stuff if that's what you'll be doing but if you think you might want to progress onto bigger challenges the Trance might be a better option. Having said that, the Trance is a perfectly capable XC bike. I've ridden mine 50km + in a day without getting too tired and it doesn't even have pro pedal or lockout. I don't know about the Anthem but one thing to consider with the Trance is the low bottom bracket. It doesn't cope well when the rocks get big and the ruts get deep but it makes it very stable and good at cornering.