Does anybody have the 27.5 Anthem – how do you find it? I dont think there is much weight difference between the carbon and alloy so not sure if its worth the extra cost. Ive owned a 26″ and 29″ anthem and they were great.

They look great.I really like the look of the SX but wonder if by sticking bigger rubber and extending forks to 120 on my 26er I’d achieve much the same result!
Think there was a favourable review in this months MBR.
Don’t think there was much of a weight saving on the 26er by going carbon. It was always a big step up in cost to the advanced and you could save more by a wheel swap. I’m not sure if that translates to the new 27.5.

I have a 27.5 Anthem SX, great bike, light, goes up as well as it goes down. I had been on HT only (Soul) for 2 yrs after selling my 5. Anthem fills the gap for bigger days, trail centres, faster stuff.

I too have an Anthem SX, only had it a month. Really like it, snappy handling in the corners and climbs superb. Happy so far. Gratuitous pic…..

No dropper ?

Iain…took it off on delivery, I don’t use them much. Last bike had one but didn’t really use it. Certainly not local trails.

I currently have one for sale 18″ medium, mint condition as minimal usage, its a 2015 frame that I custom built up to a very high spec ie Sids, American classic wide lightening wheels (£600) Full XT 2×10 drivetrain XT brakes with Ice tech rotors, Thomson seatpost, stem and carbon Thomson bars etc, just had full service at my LBS, so new bearings in headset and BB and all new cables for drivetrain, looking for around £1600 collected Huddersfield it will come with all paperwork/spares, spare seal kits for both forks and shock, if of interest email me at jonathantraverse@hotmail.co.uk

bigbloke – cheers, just curious! great bikes, glad you’re enjoying it

I had an Anthem.. 2014 I think, it was the Advanced 2 in Carbon. I bought it after a test ride on the Aluminium version.

[/url]Sheer bliss by Ian Beddis, on Flickr[/img]

The AL version was great, very good at climbing, responsive in the twists. The Carbon version felt better all round, it may not have been a fair comparison because I swapped the post for a reverb, put XT brakes on and converted to Tubeless.

The issue I found with it is they have a tendency to ping off stuff (roots / rocks) rather than go over it. Previously I was riding a HT so I know how to pick a line, but I couldn’t get on with rough descents, I sold it last year for something with more travel

Thanks for the replies. What type of weights do they come up as?

My SX large frame with pedals is a little under 27lbs set up tubeless nic fr / ralph rear. I have put Fulcrum wheels on which saved a bit from the start.

Mine, that’s for sale is just over 25lbs

I’d buy it like a shot if it were a large!

Love my 26 Anthem, but had to put 120-150 revelations (wound well down) on it after my old forks died, 1 1/8th steerers and 26 inch wheels have sadly dated it way before it’s time. Damn you Giant!

I’m not sure whether to get a 27.5, as that’s effectively a new version of mine especially as I’ve got the longer forks and some big rubber queen tyres to make the size difference quite small or go for the 29er with some 120mm forks up front to relax it all a little (I don’t race, but enjoy riding all day long)

The SX is a good version of the Anthem for varied stuff, rather than the xc whippet that the 100mm one is designed to be. The 120mm front is ideal IMO.

Mine is a medium, standard apart from saddle and grips, and weighs 25 lbs with Time pedals.

Tinybits – if your head tube is 44mm semi integrated jobbie you can run an external oversized bottom cup to let you run tapered forks.
It also raises the front so slackens the head angle a little bit.
I’ll not get into the whole 26″ debate.

I built one up at the end of 2015. Bought an Anthem 2, extended the standard forks to 120mm with an air shaft swap (which gives it SX geometry), upgraded wheels to Fulcrums (set up tubeless), 1×11 XT, RSP carbon bars, RF seatpost, Charge Knife saddle, came out at 25.3lb (more like 28lb as standard). Only ridden it twice so far but feels good. It’s my second Anthem, prior to which I had 2 Trances… Love the Maestro setup!

Had considered an SX but wasn’t convinced by the colour scheme, preferred the ‘2’ and it worked out cheaper…

Obligatory build pic (prior to bar swap):

Yeah mine is set up with 120mm sids, and custom built as spec above
Come on guys grab a bargain

Ah, interesting thanks Alanf