Giant Anthem Advanced SX – long-term test roundup

From mud and slop-fests in Scotland to never-ending Alpine descents via some beastly jumps on home trails, our long-term test bikes haven’t had it easy! They’ve stockpiled a ton of kilometres and even more vertical metres on some gnarly trails and lung-burningly tough races. Now that the new season has crept up on us, it’s time for the testers to slam down the lawful fist of justice on these bikes and reveal how their test bike fared, and whether it’s convinced them of its value.

Robin’s Giant Anthem Advanced SX

Back in January of 2015, we held a group test of XC bikes in Santa Barbara, California. That was where I fell in love with the Anthem. Love at first ride, you could say.

Looking like a dream and featuring a clever, well thought-out and technically flawless spec, I immediately settled on the Giant Anthem Advanced SX. But so did all the other test riders! It easily dominated the group test (and the 2016 version just happens to be this issue’s one to buy!), and we realized just how popular this bike would be with our readers and that it just had to be part of the long-term test fleet.

We head out from the office on regular morning and post-work rides, so the bike had to show it was lively and nimble enough for flow trails and a quick blast of fun. It felt totally at home – and so did I. After a season on this trail whippet, I’m wondering why I’ve always picked such burly enduro bikes in the past. Less travel = more feedback + more fun riding aggressively (that’s the equation I’d calculate). Aside from a rear bearing that kept loosening (Loctite helped) and the not-quite-as-smooth-as-I’d-like dropper post with just 100 mm of travel, there were no other issues during the long-term test – so it definitely survived those metre-high drops.

But that’s to say that the Giant is designed for that sort of thing – providing you’ve got the skills, the robust spec can hold its own pretty damn well. Given the longer fork (120 mm instead of the regular Anthem 100 mm), there’s a slacker seat angle that you’ll notice on the climbs, along with the slight bob of the rear shock.

Price: € 4,300
Weight: 11.3 kg
Travel: 120/100 mm
More info: Giant Website
KMs ridden: 1,127 km
Downhill altitude metres: 17,000 m
Issues:

• Loosening bearing bolts

Would I buy the Giant Anthem SX?

The Anthem SX is a seriously fun bike with superb suspension primed for trail riding, so it makes sense for about 95% of XC riders. If you’re after a fun, lively shredder of a bike for flow trails, then the Giant is a contender!

Here you are going to find the first impression of the Giant Anthem Advanced SX and the complete test review.

If you want to follow our long-term test crew, check the long-term test timeline.

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Words: Robin Schmitt Photos: Abner Kingman