Anyone ridden the Anthem Advanced 29er1?

if so thoughts on its performance as a XC bike (not racing) for distance rides would be welcome.

Hi
Not ridden one but all of the reviews are quite positive.
Stw review in last issue not so much as the early ones in the press (especially the USA press) but still a nice bike.
My lbs reckons they can arrange a demo and Giant are offering 0% over 3 years which makes them tempting.
I was thinking about getting one but ended up with a bling version of the previous (2016) model for a fraction of the price off eBay (full 11sp XTR, Fox 34 (130mm), Reverb and Mavic Crossmax XL for less than £1800) and it’s a spot on XC bike without being a race bike.
Worth shopping around
Cheers
Steve

Im not sure this will be helpful, so please dismiss it if not.

I planned for an upgrade this year and was dead set on this bike as a former Anthem 29 owner, as i loved the ride and suspension platform and kind of knew that together with the mich discussed “modern geometry” itd be the right bike for me. I waited ages for the reviews.

I ended up disappointed in that its been described as a thoroughbred Race bike. I spent time on the prior Anthem common upgrades to make it a more trail orientated so this for me was disappointing. Of course it can be used for trails, but wherever you read about it, its a race bike. I watched youtube vids, read reviews and recorded geometry

As I waited for the UK reviews to appear,  i compared bikes and started to fall for the new Scott Spark. I analysed the hell out of the geo on comparison with my old Anthem revised geo, and the geo of my HT which just works and inspires confidence in me. Amazingly a large Spark was exactly the measurents i needed from stock and with the slacker HA combined with the twinloc i hypothesised its much more race/trail than the Anthem

So i jumped and went with heart instead of head and bought a Spark RC. Ive spent only 3hrs at Hadleigh on it so far but its a natural fit for me and is far more “trail” feeling than you can imagine, although rockets along like the race bike it is, and is very stable, manouverable and capable.    I believe ive made the right choice although ive never ridden the new Anthem, and of course deliberately never will 🙂  I love the Spark already and it feels sublime with much more than the 100mm travel it has.

Of course its your choice, and id go further than I did and ride the Anthem first if you have doubts but remember Giant made and advertise it as a race bike for a reason

I own an alu version. Very comfy. Fast. Very quiet.  Great climber. Scary on anything steep down though and wheels and skinny fork flex badly.

Great for blue runs, firetracks and bimbling with family.

It is faster than my nomad on most of the softer trails in my area like caron valley and glentress blue stuff.

Managed the west highland way on it too.

Thanks chaps – what reading your comments I don’t think it’s a bike for me.

I should point out, my own musings where very personal and may not associate with others opinions. For example, there are many other bikes i discounted due to geomatery which lots of people enjoy and ride with glee – Orbea Oiz, KTM Scarp, Top Fuels etc.   OP, have you had a look at the Cannondale scalpel SE?  Supposed to very good rated for Trail/race, a tad heavy from stock for the latter but if your not competing seriously it doesnt matter.

Or the Anthem 27.5 of course.

Kryton57

Which model spark rc did you get?

if you can find one get a 2015 anthem 27.5 it was the last year before they changed the geo and linkage
stick a 120 cartridge in the fork to slaken it off(very steep h/a out the box) and its perfect or an anthem sx if you can find one
i found this setup as a spot on xc bike i could race on weekends and still keep up on the decents
rode the new ones and instantley dident like it its to close to the trance,
the 29er is fast and nimble but you have to man handle it when it gets rough and the fork dousent like it.
i found mine to be the happy medium

JRM – the Spark 900 RC Team.

Kryton57

How tall are you if you bought a large spark? I’m 179cm and looking at one as well.

cheers

shauhngero, Yes large and I’m 181 and 33cm inside leg, saddle rails exactly in the middle.  Its doesn’t feel “long” or “big”, about 6cm of seatpost could be used in either direction.

Thanks for that, yeah large should be all good then. I’ll try get a demo before I purchase anyways 👍