Advice please – Camber FSR 29er or Anthem x 2 s9er

Been looking at both of these and really cant decide between the two

both are £1299 at Edinburgh bicycle at the moment (camber seems in-store only thought)

Anthem

Camber

The anthem seems to have a better fork/shock setup and I’m not sure how the sram components compare to the shimano kit on the camber (acera cassette??).

Better brakes on the camber?

any thoughts or recommendations appreciated

Both get good reviews, not that I’ve ridden either!

New Giant Trance 29er looks good http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-giant-trance-x-29er-0-13-46476

the drivetrain will wear out eventually on both and need replacing, but a new fork is an expensive upgrade, plus the giant is lighter..
I’d get the giant…..

I think the anthem is more of a race bike, whereas the camber is more of a trail bike?

I could be wrong tho!

From what my mate says the anthem is the bike to have.

cheers so far guys

is the reba much better the recon?

is there much difference between the brakes??

The Rebas a better fork than the recon, better damping and lighter, and with a tapered steerer and 15mm axle will be stiffer as well, which is good on a 29er IMO,
Not much difference with the brakes, both elixers..and the giant is 30speed with ht2 cranks rather than the spesh’s 27speed with octolink cranks
After reading the specs I’d deffo get the giant….

lol, this serves me right for being out of the bike game for so long.

was looking at the fuji 2.0 as well but it doesnt seem as well specced as the other 2

suppose i’m kind of thrown off by the RRP prices in a way, the fuji is £1999, the camber is £1899 and the anthem £1799 yet the anthem seems to be better specced.

If you want a medium These are a steal…And if you can stretch your budget These are a silly spec for the money..

aye, medium is my size

that looks a crackin steed, that could be a winner tight there

£1300 is my limit 🙂

The spec is pretty irrelevent if you don’t like the way it ‘rides’.

Ride both, buy the one you like best.

Plenty of happy KHS peeps Here they seem pretty good
I nearly bought one but ended up building up a Titus rockstar instead.. 😀 which is awesome btw…

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-anthem-x-29er-1.htmlShame on the £1300 limit, I very nearly bought this which I think is excellent value with a good spec.
Decided to build my own Titus Rockstar though as I like building bikes and have lots of spares kicking around!

well I’m moving on from a 2004 rockhopper so anything is gonna be a massive improvement.

at the price range I’m looking at its not worth paying for a few days test I dont think, if it was 3 or 4k then I would. Its difficult to gauge what ‘feels’ right based on a 10 min runaround outside the shop 🙂 but I totally get what you mean b r

see my point there though, the flagstaf looks just as well specced as the rest but its rrp is only £1499, the pricing doesnt make sense

started off with a 1k budget but quickly realised that wouldn’t get much, although the fuji 3.0 29er can be had for £1050 after quidco

I’d ignore rrp’s and look at sizing/geometry and spec if buying blind on the net,
out of all the ones mentioned I’d be getting the KHS or Giant personally….

so, flagstaff or anthem …….

🙂

😀 I have no idea….
The anthem….no..the Flagstaff…giants lighter…KHS is cheaper, noooooooooooo!!! 😆

howd you know anthem is lighter ? 🙂

they seem evenly specced, might have to plump for the khs, after sales service is the only potential problem

From the spec in your link

12.92kg/28.48lbs
This weight is based upon one of these bicycles weighed in the Medium size. We weighed the complete bike as you would receive it, complete with pedals and EN / BS-approved reflectors and bell.

Although I’m not sure if it’s true….

well, am gonna sleep on it and order tomorrow for certain

think the flagstaff is my preference 🙂

Has the Flagstaff had a major redesign lately? I rode one a couple of years ago and it was easily the worst mountain bike I’ve ridden since about 2002. Total disaster of a thing, put me off big wheels for ages.

how though mate?

Clumsy, heavy, slow, cornered like a javelin… Somehow managed to feel steep and horrible, while still not being very good at climbing.

what model was that?

done a bit of hunting an reviews on this model seem to rate it very highly?

Like I say, that was the Flagstaff- though I don’t know if it’s exactly the same design today, hopefully not. Can’t find much info or many reviews online for it tbh. It looks the same as I remember though.

Try before you buy, anyway. Same with all of these tbh, it’s a lot of money to spend on an unknown quantity. Though that might be tricky with KHS, it’s usually pretty straightforward with Specialized.

A guy in our club has an anthem x 29er and loves it, he even won a local avalanche style event on it against people riding 140-160mm travel bikes.

right, is the anthem x 1 that much better than the anthem x 2??

been for a look at the x1 and swithering over that now, but the sale ends at 6 today 😐

I would personally go for the x1 with fox shocks both ends, I’ve heard of problems with the monarch rear shocks.

Anthem is an efficient and low/zero-bob design that pedals superbly. You’ll love it.

That x1 is nice I prefer fox shocks (personal opinion only before an argument starts),
but it’s gone 6 now, so wot u got??? 😀

so did you click buy ?

well, called them up to order, 2 of my size in stock but demo machines in aberdeen and newcastle,so asked if there would be any dosh off cos of them bein demoed and was amazed to hear that there wouldn’t be 🙂 so told them I would buy elsewhere.

Still tempted by the KHS, bang for buck seems excellent and most reviews big it up but northwind hated it …

choices choices, je cycles have the x 1

To be fair I hate everything

When I nearly got a flagstaff I couldn’t find any really bad reviews, the Anthem gets rave reviews as well.
If your sticking to your budget the flagstaff looks good vfm, if you can stretch it to £1600-1700 then the anthem x1 looks awesome…

thats it m8, can I justify the extra 500 quid??

and the flagstaff is as well specced as the x2 but is shimano, which i prefer

lol @ northwind – I’m the same pal, no matter what I get I will find fault

Giant anthem X2 29er for £1299:

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant-anthem-x-29er-2.html

I’ve not ridden the KHS or the 29er giant but have ridden it’s 26″ cousin. If it’s even a fraction as good then it’ll be brilliant.

As for SRAM Vs Shimano, I’ve had 10 speed X9 and XT, there’s very little in it. If anything the new shimano feels more like the old 9 speed SRAM (clunk, click every trip shift) and the 10 speed SRAM feels like old 9s Shimano (so smooth you’re never quite sure it’s shifted). It’s only the rear mech and shifters so if it really is impossible to like just flog it on the classifides for ~£80 and buy some SLX shifters and 10 speed mech off rose or bike-discount.de for pretty much the same, that’s what I did.

a trek

The Trek looks nice, my mates got the older Gary fisher version of one of them and he loves it…

trying to negotiate a price match with evans …