I’ve been looking at the Giant Anthem 29er bikes with a view to a purchase and I am tempted by the cheaper ‘2’ model as I would swap alot of the bits to my preferred kit anyway. So I just wanted a steer on the Monarch shock. Does it cut the mustard? How effective is the floodgate to firm up the back end on smooth climbs? Is the performance better/worse than the Fox RP2 I am used to?
Any thoughts appreciated.

Bump for the evening crowd.

I prefer my monarch to the fox rp3 I had previously.

Fully self serviceable too.

I have a Monarch thats a few years old now and is still going well. Mine has the adjustable flood gate which does make a difference to how it feels. Like glenh says they are full servicable at home. They even say you can swap the nitrogen charge for normal air so that you can service the dampner. I did this as part of my last service and the shock is still running great (noticeable better after it was serviced for £45 for the kit).