Carl Decker was instrumental in this bike’s development.
During the prototyping phase, long-time Giant athletes Carl Decker and Adam Craig wanted the bike to be easier to flick around on the trail and pop onto one wheel for getting over obstacles. One area of geometry that drastically effects the Anthem’s handling is the shorter rear end. The new Anthem 29 handles the descents far better than its predecessor.
We’ll spare you the standard longer, lower and slacker diatribe, but the triple threat treatment means the bike feels far less twitchy than a cross-country bike of yesteryear- no more sweaty palms descending aboard a 29” cross-country bike with a 72-degree head angle! Full geometry is below. Boost spacing played a big role in the new Anthem. The new Anthem’s geometry is radically different to its 2013 predecessor, and Giant feel they can now create a bike that takes advantage of the benefits of the big wheels without the handling compromises of previous years. New technologies and approaches to geometry have seen 29ers get their mojo back, and Giant has incorporated these into the new bike.
Maybe this was the case in 2014, but we don’t need to spell it out that 29ers have come a long way in the past three years, across all segments of the mountain bike market. Giant were staunch 27.5″ advocates – indeed, they might have been the industry’s strongest proponents for 27.5 – proclaiming that the handling attributes of a 27.5” wheel outweighed the benefits of a 29” wheel. Why all the dramatic changes- weren’t Giant 100% committed to 27.5” wheels? Didn’t we tell you this was a dedicated XC weapon? The Anthem is back rolling on big wheels.Īpart from the move to 29” wheels, the new Anthem also sports a 100mm front end paired with 90mm of rear suspension. We know a lot of racers who are going to be very excited to see this bike back in its pure, Watt-bombing form. While Giant’s 2017 Anthems steered away from the bike’s race focused history (their 2017 model bordered on trail bike territory with a 120mm front end paired with an 110mm rear – read our review here), the 2018 Anthem 29” takes this ever-popular model back to its racing roots. Say hello to Giant’s new cross-country weapon. And so it's with open arms that we welcome them back to the big-wheeled fold, with a ripping new Anthem, a full-tilt 29er race bike. 2014 was the last year we saw a new 29" dual suspension bike from Giant, and we think it's fair to say the absence has been felt, especially in the world of cross-country racing. Go Go 2018 Giant Anthem – First Ride This is the 29er that had to happen.