I put a 120mm on my 29er. The slightly increased HA improves confidence downhill and turn in, and doesn’t seem to affect climbing – the bike doesn’t feel taller. It makes the bike feel like you can push it into rough stuff harder yet the back end never gets phased. A worthwhile improvement IMO.
The 2017 one is 120 front and 110 rear, a bit longer and lower than the previous incarnation (I had a 2015 SX). It’s an extremely able bike and I reach my limits before it does 🙂
Going to 100 could be why I get more pedal strikes. I know they have low bb height, so setting the new forks to 120 will be great.
Ps
Sorry for the bell in the picture, some of my riding routes were where tourists walked so it was a nessary extra.
Yes I do, it’s a Rock Shox monarch XX and it’s a bonus not having to reach down for the lock out lever on the shock. I have a dropper on mine too as I ride more trail than xc. I would recommend giving the dropper a try before selling as these bikes are a very capable trail bike, especially with wide rims and big tyres.
The 2017 one is 120 front and 110 rear, a bit longer and lower than the previous incarnation
Would you be able to expand on that? I’ve dismissed the current longer legged model for racing (Marathon, backup XC) as I saw it as more “trail” geo than “race” hoping for a 100mm forked model.
Otherwise, I know of an offer Advanced that could conceivabley replace my 29er for a more modern geo although I kind of feel its not much of a change vs the money differential between sale & purchase.
^^^^ The new one is quiet different to the 2015/2016. As I said, I had a 2015 Sx, so 120 front and 100 rear. The new one is still 120 front, and rear now 110, however it has 34m stanchions, a much stiffer back end, and longer and lower without losing any of it’s xc and uphill pace : singletrack review
Just ran a straight Geo comparison with a Scott 920. Very similar Geo. I’d favour a 100mm fork, but even the Spark with that fork is only 0.5 degrees difference in the HA.
The big difference is in the remote lockouts, although running my Anthem 29er in Trail mode seems to not demand that.
So I’m merely musing, but how much does a 650b Anthem Advanced weigh? 😀
Just put together to see if it fits. It does!
13.5 kg with pedals on. Will lose the tubes and the dropper (that cable !!!!) to drop the weight a bit.
The front wheel with axle is a few grams heavier than my 29 Hope Arch wheel tubeless. So they are not too shabby for OE.
No nice pictures of it on a sun baked trail as it’s pissing down and dinner time.
Hi
I had a 26 wheel advanced 2013 (I think) which I built for under £1K from a second hand frame. Loved it but sold it to a mate when I moved to 29ers. He still has it and uses it fairly regularly on xc rides.
100mm front and 80mm rear but felt like more when you needed it. Compared it to riding a Star Wars speeder bike on Singletrack- just so fast
Possibly in the market for a large 29er version if anyone is getting rid.
Email in profile
Cheers
Steve
An old duffers connection with modern bikes.
Rode to work so that I can get to the bank later.
First impressions it’s very quick. The rear suspension needs a lot of air in it. 230psi is a lot more pumping than 150. Anyway it works in a way that you don’t notice. Which is a good thing.
The lock out works , praise the Lord. After a decade of being told we don’t need it and I very glad for its return.
The lever is a long way away though.Might make the lever a bit longer then I could turn it off with my foot. Or I could try and use the dropper switch the make a remote.
The dropper didn’t even make it out of the shed. There’s nothing that I ride regularly to make lugging it around worthwhile.
The gear shifters are push for up and down. Very odd after shimano.
Glad I’ve got the 10 tooth cassette as I think an 11 would spin out in no time.
There’s a little lock sign on the rear mech which I thought I should read up on. My Google search reveals that it costs £129! It shifts alright but not that it deserves that price tag.
The bars are massive and will disappear before the weekend and might reappear once the bushes die back.
I had to read the instructions to work out how to tighten up maxles.
Then the back one works different to the front.
The rear hub makes a noise which is essential in alerting walkers. So the wheels might be staying. Shall see if the cassette gets stuck to the hub as per the other thread before buying better wheels.
Not sure on the front nobby nick. Might just need getting used to and I’m not tubeless yet so running higher pressures.
Down sides? I think it looks a bit dull where as mrs zip thinks I should peel the red stickers off.
It’s a good build. She’s had absolutely no problems with gears skipping or punctures. I can highly recommend it and it ticks all of the Weight Weenies tick boxes.