That old Maestro suspension was very supportive. I still have my Aluminum 2013 Anthem as a back-up bike and I'm always surprised at how well it's aged. The geometry is a different story because that was their first 29er and felt it had the geometry of a road bike, lol.
I’m not interested in XC race bikes but I still watched it and wasn’t disappointed Will”s reviews are the best!! And actually, an awesome looking bike…
I have been repairing carbon frames for since 2009. That frame broke on and internal lugged and bonded joint. Giant are not the only frame manufacturers that have needed to upgrade either the carbon layup or bonded joint areas.
Thanks for the kind words Martyn! We put a lot of time into this one, so hopefully that comes across in both the video and the main review. Cheers for watching! [Wil]
Yea. Giant was always considered a great value for the quality and spec. I'm struggling to see the value in this new Anthem. And no more Maestro! They're using the same suspension design from the lower end Stance? They've lost their minds.
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam it would be super interesting to see a round table of all the recent XC bikes you’ve tested and maybe pick a favorite as a daily driver:) Cheers
Great suggestion! We're getting pummelled with new bike launches at the moment (some cool stuff on the way!), but if we can find some spare time, a group test on the latest crop of XC bikes would be really interesting! [Wil]
Working at a giant retailer I can assure you that giants warranty is very reliable and simple, we’ve had countless frames warrantied no questions asked with replacement frames sent same week. This particular case may have been different due to the new release of the frame and the specific bike being a test bike by a content creator as such. Also for the price of specialized nowadays I’d hope they have a good warranty 😉
Maybe I'm a stickler, but about the only thing this new Anthem has that I would want on my 2016 Anthem SX is the Stepcast 34 fork. Mine came with a 120mm travel Float 32 and it's definitely got some flex in it. Kinda makes me nervous sometimes honestly.
That crack looked like it was on an overlap of the carbon with how straight it was. I would have thought that if it was from an impact type hit or being crushed by something it would have cracked in a more irregular pattern than a dead straight crack. I'm not an expert obviously but I think it was more likely a manufacturer issue especially when trying to get weights so low.
Yea they arent gonna admit they messed up making the frame. I think if your frame cracked and you send it in for warranty, I think they will blame you. Doesnt instill a lot of confidence in them backing their warranty.
Thank you for mentioning the "Lack Luster" shifting with the KMC X12 chain. I thought it was all in my head after moving from a complete DEORE 6100 drive train on my old bike to a SLX 7100 on my new GIANT with a KMC chain. Been debating if I should swap the chain out. I've already converted the stock SLX derailer into a SLX"T" by swapping out the bushing jockey wheels for new M8100 jockey wheels with ball bearings, hopefully by changing to an SLX chain it will bring back the smoothness to the shifting.
It's the second Giant we've had recently that has had a XT drivetrain with a KMC chain, and in both cases the shifting is just not as crisp as it should be. We also have a Scott Spark with a full XT drivetrain (including the chain) and the performance is notably better, and it just feels smoother too. Hopefully fitting an SLX helps out with your drivetrain! [Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam Just wish GIANT was as fast getting me my warranty replacement 29" AM 30 generic front wheel as they were with your frame... I've been waiting since September... Then I can enjoy my new chain when it's installed.
I also had this issue with my trance X which came specced with a kmc chain. To be fair I really wasn't aware of the issue until some a-hole obscured fencing wire across the trail in the Plenty Gorge which I unfortunately ran over in the first month of new ownership. After a $600 repair bill and an upgraded xt chain and derailleur, (replaced damaged slx cassette with a new one) my shifting was markedly crisper and smooth than stock set up with slx derailleur and kmc chain. As there isn't much of a difference between slx and xt derailleurs, I'm tipping it was the genuine Shimano chain which made the difference in shift quality
@@sandycarmichael31 I'm glad to hear the reassurance of deciding to upgrade my chain from the KMC X12 but to be honest, and not meaning to be too pedantic, I have to disagree with the notion that there's not much difference SLX vs XT.... DEORE and SLX use bushing jockey wheels with just grease and a center hollow spacer with the jockey wheel spinning around it where as XT and XTR use jockey wheels with ball bearings. Ball bearings can can handle a side load better, like when pushing the chain sideways up and down the cassette, than bushings which only really work well with the load/movement applied 90 degrees to the pivot or axel, like rear bike shocks or inside of engines. That's why I did a poor mans upgrade to my SLX derailer and I don't deny the claim that you felt a HUGE difference, I just wouldn't give your chain all the credit in your particular case. 😉 Your comment has had me very hopeful now that I'll feel the same degree of improvement as you did! Thank you 🤓
exelent review will what is more complete bike and more versatile for race and ride every day in all terrain giant anthem or canyon lux world cup in your opinion
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it! I personally found the Anthem to be a more capable bike on technical trails compared to the Lux World Cup. It's smoother overall and offers a more planted feel on the descents. If I was looking for an XC bike for both racing and everyday trail riding, the Anthem would be right up there! [Wil]
I'm still riding my 2012 Anthem X 29er1 and love it! I do like to check in every year and see what Giant has done and this bike looks fantastic! Love the bike but I'm not a fan of making sure the battery is charged to go for a ride. I know this is nothing new. I also don't like the fact it can only hold 1 water bottle, it can get hot and I drink like a fish so two is really nice. I have the Holy Rail from Lyne that lets me have 2 bottles.
Hello. I have bought the same frame in size L. Next week they will assemble my bike, I will transfer the components of my 9.3 kg XTC 2021 with pedals. It's all top of the range, I'll tell you as soon as it loses weight. I have seen that the rear shock is PTU 2 position, my fork is PTL 3 position. I don't know what I'm going to do with this issue, so for now I'm going to leave the control that I have on the fork and also the one that comes with the stock frame for the rear shock. I want to see if the bike works well in the open, without pedaling contamination, and if so, I would change the logic of the fork and leave the 2-position PTU as the only one. If, on the other hand, I see that it pollutes a lot in the open, I would change the logic of the damper and put a new control with 3 positions and PTL. What do you think about this topic? Will we have to put all 3 positions? fantastic channel. A greeting from Spain!
Will, a key question, given the recent xc race bikes you have tested, which one would you take as your preferred bike to your next race? Does one stand out over the others? And which one would you choose for your fast, fun up and down, light trail bike?
That's a great question Aaron! There's a lot to consider there, and you've definitely got me thinking 🤔 What if we put together a juicy comparative article on all the XC bikes we've tested to help answer those questions? Do you think something like that would be useful? [Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam I think an article addressing those questions would captivate the interest of many riders. It may also help those riders really nail down the question "what XC bike is best for me?". Most do not have the ability to test multiple high end XC bikes, so to have your final thoughts and input on what bike you would chose in what scenario and where would be extremely helpful. BTW, thank you for the great reviews thus far!
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam that would be an awesome thing to do Will. I appreciate as soon a you do it for the current crop a new release will come out but it's still a very useful comparison to read/watch. I think you would perhaps want to differentiate between a pure xc race bikes choice and the general rider population that might want a going up hill fast bike while still fun and good to ride down some good single track. 👍 Love your thoughts and your reviews, they are some of the best around. Cheers from NZ.
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam Have you guys thought about doing a seasonal 'round table' type review? I'm sure you've seen the pinkbike round tables with each field test - and you definitely test more bikes in a year and a more complete roster of bikes than they do in a field test. I'd love to have comparative impressions and reasoning for what one bike does better than others and which bike you'd go to for various endurance exploits. "TransAlp take the Scott, Cape Epic the Orbea, XCO the Giant or Epic" That type of comparison, bringing together all your acquired knowledge and experience with these bikes would be really helpful to help readers / viewers understand which bikes may be best for their planned riding.
lol. single pivot bike with 'flex point' snaps on the chainstay. 'must have been damage during shipping/car loading'. definitely not a compromise between weight savings, only 100mm suspension, and running tension through the frame instead of using another pivot point.
Over 9k and it cracked but was not the way it was being ridden nor was it a manufacturing defect.... this must be wear we say it was an act of God. I am sure it was also looked at hard after it was received from the shipper so I could have been that - It must of have been good.
Technically you could fit a 120mm travel fork to the Anthem, but Giant doesn't recommend it. I suspect that means it would void your frame warranty if you did go longer than the stock 110mm travel fork. [Wil]
For sure, and it's a big reason why the Anthem rides so well! There have been some significant improvements with the new Live Valve 1.5 system, but I haven't seen a lot of media coverage on those changes. We wanted to provide some user experience on those updates and tuning options, so while it is long and quite detailed, hopefully the review is useful for anyone considering the Anthem, or is curious about Live Valve in general. I should point out that there's also a cheaper Anthem model that uses a standard fork and shock with a remote lockout, and a pricier model that upgrades to Factory Series suspension. You can find further detail on specs and pricing in the full review if you fancy checking it out: flowmountainbike.com/tests/giant-anthem-review-2022/ [Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam That seems to be a big issue with Giant's off-road reviews lately. Their top-end models all have live valve, which has a massive impact on the ride quality and therefore takes up the bulk of the review. I'd love to have a quality reviewer like Wil test the Anthem 1 (with live valve) vs Anthem 2 without it.
If Santa Cruz & Specialized is the IOS of mountain bikes.. Giant is more like Samsung? they have bikes for every price segment.. making their Top spec underwhelming
@@kensterne Hmm im currently using Giant XTC SLR Bro... im not disregarding Giant, thier mid and entry Level bikes are bang for the buck, a good value for money. all im saying is that, when it comes to top Tier... Giant is not that Exotic compared to Specialized or Santa Cruz.... or some of the exotic botique brands out there... Giant is a work horse but not exotic.
@@Paganiproductions84 I adore my Ht XC MTB, mate! I use it daily for transportation needs, for my exercise, & for fun. After having watched this video, I had cognitive friction already. Hahaha! Regards to you, & be safe wherever you are! #KeepBiking
@@silver_c1oud This is NOT an issue of carbon vs aluminum. They both break. But they should have warrantied that chain stay. That seems very odd to me that they didn't. I've broken their aluminum frames on 4 different occasions and they always covered it under lifetime warranty even when it was questionable.
@@adampalma7880 I talked to a guy on the trail this week who was on an older Anthem. I asked him if he'd seen this review and that the chainstay broke. He laughed and said he was on his third frame, but he loves Giant. They make great bikes.
Giant also backs their bikes up with a great warranty; only people who hate on Giant are usually dentists who laugh at any bike that isn’t $10K+, or wanna-be enduro bros who think boutique brands make them cooler than others.
I bought this bike and I hate it. Geometry table can't be right because bike is so high and steep. Bike goes well on the roads, but when you go to trails it's nervous and feels out off date. Live valve make things only worse. Back end stays even higher when Live Valve is on. Bike works best when Live Valve is turned off during trails. Put it on when you are on tarmac. These reviews are useless, because I sure that the tester have noticed same things. Bike just feels wrong all the time.
Sorry folks, i can purchase a dual suspension competition xc bike t900 carbon frame for under 700 bucks usd. I can also purchase carbon fiber t800 sets of wheels for under 500 bucks all day long. How you get these prices with a name brand sticker is beyond belief.
You can get a bike for $5000 just as good. This one with Livevalve is not going to make you $4000 better. It's like an experiment to see how much people are willing to spend on diminishing returns.
That old Maestro suspension was very supportive. I still have my Aluminum 2013 Anthem as a back-up bike and I'm always surprised at how well it's aged. The geometry is a different story because that was their first 29er and felt it had the geometry of a road bike, lol.
I’m not interested in XC race bikes but I still watched it and wasn’t disappointed Will”s reviews are the best!! And actually, an awesome looking bike…
I have been repairing carbon frames for since 2009. That frame broke on and internal lugged and bonded joint. Giant are not the only frame manufacturers that have needed to upgrade either the carbon layup or bonded joint areas.
Flow Reviews are so detailed and intelligently done. Absolutely excellent 👌
Thanks for the kind words Martyn! We put a lot of time into this one, so hopefully that comes across in both the video and the main review. Cheers for watching! [Wil]
I almost spat out my lunch when you said "mid-spec" followed by the AUD$9300 price tag!!!!
The "base" model Adv Pro is $6300! What the hell.
Yea. Giant was always considered a great value for the quality and spec. I'm struggling to see the value in this new Anthem. And no more Maestro! They're using the same suspension design from the lower end Stance? They've lost their minds.
Another smashing review! Loved it! Quality as always
Cheers mate, glad you enjoyed the review and appreciate the feedback! [Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam it would be super interesting to see a round table of all the recent XC bikes you’ve tested and maybe pick a favorite as a daily driver:)
Cheers
Great suggestion! We're getting pummelled with new bike launches at the moment (some cool stuff on the way!), but if we can find some spare time, a group test on the latest crop of XC bikes would be really interesting! [Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam also do one for xc hardtails
I like stiffer a frame and shorter travel shock/fork. This looks like an amazing package and brand new design.
Amazing review 10/10 top!!!
Reviews are killing it. Love you guys, keep it up!
Love your reviews!
Wow, never had that type of difficulty with Cannondale or Specialized regarding warranty issues. Thanks for the warning.
Working at a giant retailer I can assure you that giants warranty is very reliable and simple, we’ve had countless frames warrantied no questions asked with replacement frames sent same week. This particular case may have been different due to the new release of the frame and the specific bike being a test bike by a content creator as such. Also for the price of specialized nowadays I’d hope they have a good warranty 😉
Another great review mate! Only one XC weapon left to test - Santa Cruz Blur. You getting one of these anytime soon?
Maybe I'm a stickler, but about the only thing this new Anthem has that I would want on my 2016 Anthem SX is the Stepcast 34 fork. Mine came with a 120mm travel Float 32 and it's definitely got some flex in it. Kinda makes me nervous sometimes honestly.
That crack looked like it was on an overlap of the carbon with how straight it was.
I would have thought that if it was from an impact type hit or being crushed by something it would have cracked in a more irregular pattern than a dead straight crack.
I'm not an expert obviously but I think it was more likely a manufacturer issue especially when trying to get weights so low.
Yea they arent gonna admit they messed up making the frame. I think if your frame cracked and you send it in for warranty, I think they will blame you. Doesnt instill a lot of confidence in them backing their warranty.
Brilliant review, very helpful
Thank you for mentioning the "Lack Luster" shifting with the KMC X12 chain. I thought it was all in my head after moving from a complete DEORE 6100 drive train on my old bike to a SLX 7100 on my new GIANT with a KMC chain. Been debating if I should swap the chain out. I've already converted the stock SLX derailer into a SLX"T" by swapping out the bushing jockey wheels for new M8100 jockey wheels with ball bearings, hopefully by changing to an SLX chain it will bring back the smoothness to the shifting.
It's the second Giant we've had recently that has had a XT drivetrain with a KMC chain, and in both cases the shifting is just not as crisp as it should be. We also have a Scott Spark with a full XT drivetrain (including the chain) and the performance is notably better, and it just feels smoother too. Hopefully fitting an SLX helps out with your drivetrain! [Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam Just wish GIANT was as fast getting me my warranty replacement 29" AM 30 generic front wheel as they were with your frame... I've been waiting since September... Then I can enjoy my new chain when it's installed.
I also had this issue with my trance X which came specced with a kmc chain. To be fair I really wasn't aware of the issue until some a-hole obscured fencing wire across the trail in the Plenty Gorge which I unfortunately ran over in the first month of new ownership. After a $600 repair bill and an upgraded xt chain and derailleur, (replaced damaged slx cassette with a new one) my shifting was markedly crisper and smooth than stock set up with slx derailleur and kmc chain. As there isn't much of a difference between slx and xt derailleurs, I'm tipping it was the genuine Shimano chain which made the difference in shift quality
@@sandycarmichael31 I'm glad to hear the reassurance of deciding to upgrade my chain from the KMC X12 but to be honest, and not meaning to be too pedantic, I have to disagree with the notion that there's not much difference SLX vs XT.... DEORE and SLX use bushing jockey wheels with just grease and a center hollow spacer with the jockey wheel spinning around it where as XT and XTR use jockey wheels with ball bearings. Ball bearings can can handle a side load better, like when pushing the chain sideways up and down the cassette, than bushings which only really work well with the load/movement applied 90 degrees to the pivot or axel, like rear bike shocks or inside of engines. That's why I did a poor mans upgrade to my SLX derailer and I don't deny the claim that you felt a HUGE difference, I just wouldn't give your chain all the credit in your particular case. 😉 Your comment has had me very hopeful now that I'll feel the same degree of improvement as you did! Thank you 🤓
Lyne Components Holy Rail. Fixes my 1 problem with the Trances and Anthems, only being able to use 1 bottle.
Looks like an awesome bike. I agree that it needs to for two bottles though.
exelent review will what is more complete bike and more versatile for race and ride every day in all terrain giant anthem or canyon lux world cup in your opinion
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it!
I personally found the Anthem to be a more capable bike on technical trails compared to the Lux World Cup. It's smoother overall and offers a more planted feel on the descents.
If I was looking for an XC bike for both racing and everyday trail riding, the Anthem would be right up there!
[Wil]
I'm still riding my 2012 Anthem X 29er1 and love it! I do like to check in every year and see what Giant has done and this bike looks fantastic! Love the bike but I'm not a fan of making sure the battery is charged to go for a ride. I know this is nothing new. I also don't like the fact it can only hold 1 water bottle, it can get hot and I drink like a fish so two is really nice. I have the Holy Rail from Lyne that lets me have 2 bottles.
I have the exact same 2012 bike as well and don't actually have any other bike. I have smooth tires on it as I ride almost only on pavement nowadays.
I have a 2018 Giant Anthem 2. Its perfect. Get one if you can find one.
That crack looked like it was a glue joint to me.
Hello. I have bought the same frame in size L. Next week they will assemble my bike, I will transfer the components of my 9.3 kg XTC 2021 with pedals. It's all top of the range, I'll tell you as soon as it loses weight. I have seen that the rear shock is PTU 2 position, my fork is PTL 3 position. I don't know what I'm going to do with this issue, so for now I'm going to leave the control that I have on the fork and also the one that comes with the stock frame for the rear shock. I want to see if the bike works well in the open, without pedaling contamination, and if so, I would change the logic of the fork and leave the 2-position PTU as the only one. If, on the other hand, I see that it pollutes a lot in the open, I would change the logic of the damper and put a new control with 3 positions and PTL. What do you think about this topic? Will we have to put all 3 positions? fantastic channel. A greeting from Spain!
Great looking machine!
Will, a key question, given the recent xc race bikes you have tested, which one would you take as your preferred bike to your next race? Does one stand out over the others? And which one would you choose for your fast, fun up and down, light trail bike?
That's a great question Aaron!
There's a lot to consider there, and you've definitely got me thinking 🤔
What if we put together a juicy comparative article on all the XC bikes we've tested to help answer those questions? Do you think something like that would be useful?
[Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam I think an article addressing those questions would captivate the interest of many riders. It may also help those riders really nail down the question "what XC bike is best for me?". Most do not have the ability to test multiple high end XC bikes, so to have your final thoughts and input on what bike you would chose in what scenario and where would be extremely helpful. BTW, thank you for the great reviews thus far!
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam that would be an awesome thing to do Will. I appreciate as soon a you do it for the current crop a new release will come out but it's still a very useful comparison to read/watch. I think you would perhaps want to differentiate between a pure xc race bikes choice and the general rider population that might want a going up hill fast bike while still fun and good to ride down some good single track. 👍 Love your thoughts and your reviews, they are some of the best around. Cheers from NZ.
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam Have you guys thought about doing a seasonal 'round table' type review? I'm sure you've seen the pinkbike round tables with each field test - and you definitely test more bikes in a year and a more complete roster of bikes than they do in a field test.
I'd love to have comparative impressions and reasoning for what one bike does better than others and which bike you'd go to for various endurance exploits. "TransAlp take the Scott, Cape Epic the Orbea, XCO the Giant or Epic" That type of comparison, bringing together all your acquired knowledge and experience with these bikes would be really helpful to help readers / viewers understand which bikes may be best for their planned riding.
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam yees please! That would be really interesting and helpful!😊..I was wondering how it compares to the Oiz Tr🤔
Heard more about live valve than how the bike rides.
When it comes to XC, get a GIANT
lol. single pivot bike with 'flex point' snaps on the chainstay. 'must have been damage during shipping/car loading'. definitely not a compromise between weight savings, only 100mm suspension, and running tension through the frame instead of using another pivot point.
Over 9k and it cracked but was not the way it was being ridden nor was it a manufacturing defect.... this must be wear we say it was an act of God. I am sure it was also looked at hard after it was received from the shipper so I could have been that - It must of have been good.
Does this fit on a bike rack?
crossed out from my list then. 😊
Great Review as Always.
I even enjoyed your Chisel Review aswell
Can this bike be used by and adult A 26inch bike is to y’all for me
Can i install a 120mm fork on the new anthem?
Technically you could fit a 120mm travel fork to the Anthem, but Giant doesn't recommend it. I suspect that means it would void your frame warranty if you did go longer than the stock 110mm travel fork. [Wil]
phoar thats a big review on livevalve......or goto 13.01
For sure, and it's a big reason why the Anthem rides so well! There have been some significant improvements with the new Live Valve 1.5 system, but I haven't seen a lot of media coverage on those changes.
We wanted to provide some user experience on those updates and tuning options, so while it is long and quite detailed, hopefully the review is useful for anyone considering the Anthem, or is curious about Live Valve in general.
I should point out that there's also a cheaper Anthem model that uses a standard fork and shock with a remote lockout, and a pricier model that upgrades to Factory Series suspension. You can find further detail on specs and pricing in the full review if you fancy checking it out: flowmountainbike.com/tests/giant-anthem-review-2022/ [Wil]
@@FlowMountainBikeUA-cam That seems to be a big issue with Giant's off-road reviews lately. Their top-end models all have live valve, which has a massive impact on the ride quality and therefore takes up the bulk of the review. I'd love to have a quality reviewer like Wil test the Anthem 1 (with live valve) vs Anthem 2 without it.
Here in case canyon doesn’t warranty replace my frame.
👍
🤙🏼
ew, giant innovations mostly off - still remember they overhype towards 27.5 will be the ultimate choice 🤪
If Santa Cruz & Specialized is the IOS of mountain bikes..
Giant is more like Samsung?
they have bikes for every price segment.. making their Top spec underwhelming
Not everyone has over 10K to splash out on a fancy bike pal!
Confusing analogy.. Are you implying that Apple is superior to Samsung?
@@MrUnl0rd what i mean is that specialized and santa cruz are Overpriced.
@@kensterne Hmm im currently using Giant XTC SLR Bro...
im not disregarding Giant, thier mid and entry Level bikes are bang for the buck,
a good value for money.
all im saying is that, when it comes to top Tier...
Giant is not that Exotic compared to
Specialized or Santa Cruz.... or some of the exotic botique brands out there...
Giant is a work horse but not exotic.
Giant is more like Huawei!
Better start saving up, hahahaha. Ridiculous money when the cost of living is sky rocketing.
All bikes are now designed for world cup but nobody runs in world cup.
That makes bikes to be unconfortable for lazy rides
damn, so if a normal consumer got a crack like that they won't cover it.
So XC mountainbiking is becoming complicated in a way due to automation & use of sensors on XC MTB these days. Here comes the cognitive friction!
Not if you ride a xc hardtail without that sort of Tech
@@Paganiproductions84 I adore my Ht XC MTB, mate! I use it daily for transportation needs, for my exercise, & for fun.
After having watched this video, I had cognitive friction already. Hahaha!
Regards to you, & be safe wherever you are! #KeepBiking
@@yengsabio5315 i have a couple of them i own two of them currently
No thanks, $9000.00 dollars for a cracked chainstay. Did the bike come with a sticker saying shouldn't be ridden off road
that is why i pref alloy over carbon, weather it be specialized or Trek or Santa Cruz.. Carbon is brittle. and is weak against impact
@@silver_c1oud This is NOT an issue of carbon vs aluminum. They both break. But they should have warrantied that chain stay. That seems very odd to me that they didn't. I've broken their aluminum frames on 4 different occasions and they always covered it under lifetime warranty even when it was questionable.
I did enjoy this review, and it reinforces why I would never buy this brand.
lol whatever bud. Giant make great bikes.
I've been riding Giant for 20+ years. They make good bikes.
Hmm guess who won XCM world championship in the past 2 years in a row. Give you a hint, a brand name start with a G
@@adampalma7880 I talked to a guy on the trail this week who was on an older Anthem. I asked him if he'd seen this review and that the chainstay broke. He laughed and said he was on his third frame, but he loves Giant. They make great bikes.
Giant also backs their bikes up with a great warranty; only people who hate on Giant are usually dentists who laugh at any bike that isn’t $10K+, or wanna-be enduro bros who think boutique brands make them cooler than others.
I will NEVER buy a carbon frame bike.
I bought this bike and I hate it. Geometry table can't be right because bike is so high and steep. Bike goes well on the roads, but when you go to trails it's nervous and feels out off date. Live valve make things only worse. Back end stays even higher when Live Valve is on. Bike works best when Live Valve is turned off during trails. Put it on when you are on tarmac. These reviews are useless, because I sure that the tester have noticed same things. Bike just feels wrong all the time.
Sorry folks, i can purchase a dual suspension competition xc bike t900 carbon frame for under 700 bucks usd. I can also purchase carbon fiber t800 sets of wheels for under 500 bucks all day long. How you get these prices with a name brand sticker is beyond belief.
good on you
You can get a bike for $5000 just as good. This one with Livevalve is not going to make you $4000 better. It's like an experiment to see how much people are willing to spend on diminishing returns.