Hi there, new to singletrack so would like to introduce myself and say ‘hello’ to all you like minded MTB people 😉

Question : Interested in the Giant Anthem X4, good bike bad bike?

I test rode the 2010 X3 and very impressed with that.

Has to be a full Suss..

Cheers Guys

Jamie

Yep great bikes. Some would say too generic/mainstream, but can’t deny the suspension action. I’ve had several. Set up a piece of cake, and away you go.

sure, ok, so what would be up there on comparison with the Anthem range?

bump bump

Well, I’ve just got back from riding a chaps 2009 x1 round my local trails.

Bearing in mind I normally ride a charge duster, ragley mmmbop or sc nomad I found suspension pretty poor – very harsh, didn’t like the rs sids much either. It felt very very fast on fire roads but a bit too sketchy for me on the trails. Maybe a 120 fork and a slightly wider bar would have helped.

Could be down to how he has it setup, suspension too firm etc.. but wasn’t the wonder bike I was expecting. Disappointed as I was planning on buying it off him…

Depends what you want it for. If it is XC fast as possible, maybe, but I don’t think it is as good as the reviews make out.

I believe there is very little differences in terms of geometry or suspension design between the 09 and the newer 11’s

ive got a Trance and love it.
it can be a minor niggle finding the pressure that sits just right, and it does make all the difference
set it up at 25% sag and its pert as pert.
feels almost hardtail, but its fast on the rough, and there is loooads more grip on techy climbs.

i tend to run it 30% sag, with a longer fork (my trance is 100mm frame, 130mm fork) and it slackens it off to ideal trail angles.

short travel giants tend to be very racey in their geometry, so adding a bit too much fork slackens them off nicely.

Excellent excellent frame imo.

I ride a 2011 X2 medium and 5″11.

Its fast up and fast down.

Its a 100mm xc fast bike. If you wanna go fast get one if you need more travel to ride down the hills get a trance, which is a great bike.

DO NOT cahnge the front end travel for bigger forks, as this has a dramatic negative effect on the rear suspension.

Try and up the budget to a x3 with the 15mm front end, just stiffens the whole thing up.

Enjoy

if you need more travel to ride down the hills get a trance, which is a great bike.

my trance is a 100mm bike.

i think the X is getting lost somewhere along the line, you mean the trance X?

Anthem: 80mm
Anthem X: 100mm race angles
Trance : 104mm trail angles, and also out of production
Trance X: 127mm: trail angles
Reign 150
Reign X 170: trail angles
Faith 178mm Slope style
Glory 203mm Freeride
Glory DH: 203mm DH specific

cant say ive noticed any impact on the suspension of my bike. I use the perscribed 100mm for long climbs, and 130mm for the rest of the time. The Criticisms giants of that age have always had is too steep a head angle, and too low a Bottom bracket. both of which are helped by a slightly longer fork.

Thanks guys for all the info and advise, really appreciate it :).

Well I ended up getting the Anthem X4 2011, was a steel for £1150, so it felt the right thing to do, should be delivered in a few weeks, can’t wait! 🙂