Aggies

Very nice gesture. He will be a fool to miss the offer. For what it's worth. I am only 1.87 tall, but my legs is looong. My saddle heigth is 82cm and when I am on a Large Merida (20"), the saddle is way up vs the handle bars. It was even worse on the Large Giant Anthem. XL is supposed to be to big (but then Giant recommends that the size is for riders between 6'1" and 6'5"). The XL fits perfectly, but I did feel that it was a tad too long. It got a standard 110mm stem and I first tried a 100mm stem and noticed a big diff in handling. I now have a 90mm stem and the fit is perfect. I am very comfortable on the bike. The BIG win was way better handling. I can honestly say the bike is more nimble than my Merida 96 which was a smaller bike. If you feel the GF is not nimble, try a shorter stem!! Maybe it will surprise you.

I had a 2010 Merida 96 and bough a Giant Anthem X 29er. The 96 was a large and the 29er is XL. Although the bike is much bigger, I found the following: 1. The 29er is 1,4kg lighter! 2. Handle much better. I simply cannot understand those saying a 26" bike is more nimble. I found the opposite. Maybe it is the angles/wheelbase/tapered HT/ don't know, but it works! 3. Climb way better than the Merida. 4. Technical stuff is much easier. 5. Get less tired on the 29er. 6. I now have rear suss, the Merida was close to a HT. The suss remains active under braking, etc. The only negative items I have on the 29er is that it is not easy to bunny hop - but do you realy need it? Will I buy the Merida? Not while the Giant is available. Will I buy 26"? Not while I can get a 29er. My advice to you is that you don't base your decision on what everyone has to say. Rent/steal/borrow a 29er and you will realize that the bike sell itself. You need to experience it before you make a final call. Ns. My XL dual suss 29er is 11.8kg.

I believe that you must have been quoting my post as I was the only one mentioning the tire exploding from the rim. It was the Bontrager XDX tubeless ready tire which was meant for the rear and a Jones XR for the front. When the tire came off at less than 3 bar, I did not want to trust the Bontragers anymore. What will stop it from just exploding of the rim while riding? Also did research and found these to be rated very poorly. Returned the tires and got Contitnental non UST tires. Mountain King 29x2.4 for the front and Race King 29x2.2 for the rear. It seams much better and I will try them on varied terrain tomorrow. Also will be doing 1st race with them on Sunday. My research found that the Conti's was the most realiable tire and I have not found anyone complaining about the tire comming off the rim.

Whishing you all a prosperous 2011. May all have a wonderfull cycling year. Now we just need the two South Africans to win the Cape Epic - Go Kevin Evans and David George. Yes, it is 95% possible. Why? No sponsor demands like "you need to win a stage", "you need to ride in front". They can pace themself and concentrate on winning.

Also had a Merida 96. I have long legs (93cm inseam) and found the Large just too small. Bought a Giant Anthem X 29er (XL) and must agree that the Merida is much harder. The maestro suspension is much more active.

Remember that I am referring to 29" tires. Or did you actually bought 29" tires from them? I got my 26" Crossmark LUST from the same shop for R275 a year ago.

Standard rim with Stans tape only.

It seems like it all depends on the brand of tire used. I had a Merida 96 with Rocket Rons. These were so light and the side walls so thin that you could remove and install the tire without using levels. Changed to Maxxis Crossmark LUST and boy, you battled to install/remove the tire. In a years riding, never had a puncture. The tires did loose some pressure, but it totally stopped after about a month. Bought a 29er with standard Maxxis Crossmark and the result quite the same as the Rocket Rons. Three races - 5 punctures!. Tried to make it tubeless with no result. You simply could not get air into the tire. After hours of frustration, gave up and install tubes for last race. Race done and one wheel flat again. Bought Bontrager Tubeless ready tires (Jones XR and XDX) and it seated first time. Pumped it without sealant and at 2,5bar, the XDX just exploded of the rim. Noways I will trust it. My impression is that the beading cannot compare to a brand like Maxxis or Conti. Tried to get Maxxis Crossmark LUST, spoke to the agend, will only arrive in SA the last week of January. Did my research (thanks to all the MTBikers on the Hub) and found a lot of people using the Continental tires. Also find out that they will not be making UST versions for 29ers at all. Bought a 2,4 Mountain King and a 2.2 Race King. The tires fitted about the same as the Maxxis. Also battled to get air in, but it did take. It is now a week later and it is loosing less pressure than the Maxxis Crossmark LUST. Now waiting to do the first race on these. My impression was that the sidewall thickness of the Conti's was about halfway between the non UST Maxxis and UST Maxxis.

For me, you don't need to rinse it afterwards as it will have the same effect as when I am using 32Gi. It gives me a nice runny/moaning/grunting stomach after about 5 hours. Better product than Brooklax. 32Gi does work, but I always need to ask if the pro's outweight the con's. Worst part of 32Gi. When I told the reps at the 94.7 expo that it works, but that I have some negative after effects, they all just simply said that it is impossible. Their arrogance on the matter was so bad that I would not support the product anymore. They simply could not accept the fact that it will work for some and for some not. They would rather argue that I used the incorrect amount, etc.

Spoke to Brandon Els this morning and the Crossmarks is only due to arrive last week of Jan 2011. Took the Bontragers back and got non UST Conti's fitted. Front - 29x2.4 Mountain King Rear - 29x2.2 Race King It took a bit of patience getting the air in, but once seated, seams much better. A ship of a bike is now also quite mean looking. Now for the first ride on these.

Eldron, I have had 6 punctures with my Giant Anthem X1 29er. I then tried to make the Maxxis Crossmark's tubeless. Absolutely no luck. Tried pumps at 4 garages and gave up after battling for 3 hours. Even tried to get a temporary seal with masking tape on the sides, just to get the initial air in. You simply cannot get the tires to inflate. I think the tires fits to loosely on the rims. I tried Bontrager XDX tubeless ready and it took air immediately. Luckly I did it without sealant first. At 2.8 bar the tire exploded of the rim, so I guess that it does not bead in to well. No ways I am going to trust it! Returning it first thing tomorrow! I have just double checked and the max pressure is 3.5bar. I have basically two options left. Either go for the Geax Saguaro TNT or the Conti non UST. How difficult was it to get air into the Conti's? Am I going to struggle as with the Crossmarks? What about when you flat and need to bomb, will a bomb work? Any other comments/suggestions are welcome. Ps. I really enjoyed the Maxxis Crossmarks LUST on my 26" bike and it even kept 3 bar without sealant for a day. Pity that I cannot get hold of these in 29". Neither do anyone know when it will be available.

I would love a report on how you find the bike. How does it compare to your Specialized Stumpjumper? I know it is two different bikes! I also know the Specialized is almost double the price. Since having mine, I had 5 people storming me after the last Babbas race to get info/feedback. During yesterdays Nissan van Gaalens event, at least 20 people were commenting/discussing it with me in the race. My feedback to all - if you can afford one, don't wait, get one, it's awesome.

Don't work for Giant. Neither did I save the multiple links that I used. I just own one after doing the research. The only diff is that I know how to use the internet. You just get's a lot of hits on the frame issue due to the fact that Giant USA has only now added the recall to it's news page. I did my investigation while this was hot news and I set my timelines in the search. Just for information. Giant has not recalled the bikes. It is the consumer authority in the US that decided that the bikes are not fit. Visit some US blogs and you will see how upset the MTBikers are. No frame failed - the process however works in the US that anybody can report anything to this authority. I won't be surpriced if it came from one of those other US brands that is a couple of Rk more expensive. If you need convincing - do your own homework - still doubtfull, I don't care - result will just be a person that does not benefit from what I found.

You will find all info on the Internet. Various sites and blogs. Almost 99% of frame cracks are due to seat post length (those people that goes past the maximum mark). Funny that the only Anthems that had issues was the 2010 frames (the joint is bigger than those on 2011). I know plenty of people with Anthem 2010. They all swear by it. I had a Merida 96 and I can now vouch that you only experience soft tail on the Giant. Looking back, the 96 was like a hard tail.

I've got one (XL) and was also concerned about the size of that joint. I did my research and found that the ratio at which the frame cracks to be the same as the other makes (even those with the gussets). With Giant the frame was replaced on average within 3 days. Some of the other makes took up to 3 months to replace. Already did 300km's in races and hit some of the hardest stuff - no issues. Buy a similar bike with the same components and you will pay at least R12k more. Giant gives a lifetime warranty on the frame (1st owner only) - I suggest you keep with it. PM me if you need a good deal. Big question to all the sceptics: You just mention the 29er. The 2011 26" Anthems got the exact same joint and this is not an issue????? Hats off to Giant to recall the US batch that they found to be suspect. Note - not a single frame cracked. They saw an issue with how the butt was shaped for that batch and recalled it - even without someone having an issue with a crack/break.

OLD NEWS!! - From August 2010 Only the frames destined for the US. Those that came to SA was fine and not part of the recall. It was an issue with the shape of the butt that would weaken the weld. It was recalled in August and is now again fully available in the US. It was also only on the sizes S,M and L. The XL was fine.

Same issue here. Had a look at the results of the calculator - 20" MTB frame - BULL! Been there, done that. Can say it is only a rough guide based on the absolute average person.

Had exactly the same problem. If you have short legs, you will always come with the bull story that top tube lenght is the most important. I am 1,86 tall with an inseam of 92.5cm. Had a Large (20") Merida 96 as the top tube lenght was perfect. Had to fit a 400mm seatpost. Absolutely hated the fact that my seat was so high relative to the low bars (even with riser bar fitted). Pro's want to be sitting like this, but not with a diff of two fists. Bought a Giant Anthem 29er 1 Extra Large. Height of the bike is pefect. Saddle height is an inch higher than bars - perfect. Bike did feel a bit long. Swopped the standard 110mm stem with a 90mm stem from a Medium bike. Reach perfect. Handling - even better. To any tallish rider (inseam over 90cm) or lenght of over 1.85, I would always recommend to go for the biggest frame that you feel comfortable with. Trust me, I've tried all combinations. Who is the experts? The Ultimate Hubbers? The website that does fitting based on facts for pro's? I would recon that it will be the manufacturer as they actually put in the effort into R&D. They spend endless hours on designing frame angles, etc. How much time would they spend on analyzing what size frames to produce? Have a look at the size sticker on the Giant Anthem 29er. The following for riders between x and x is mentioned. M = 18" - 5'7" to 5'10" L = 20" - 5'10" to 6'1" XL = 22" - 6'1" to 6'5" Now that is based on the absolute average leg length of people. If you are 6'1" and have longer than normal legs, you are similar to 6'3". Rather go XL than L. If you have shorter than normal legs go L as 6'1" is covered by both sizes. Ps. I really enjoy the 29er in ALL aspects. I actually found it to be better than a 26" in the categories that all will claim a 26" to be better, like short steep climbs, accelaration and tight singletrack.

What size frame? I am still playing with my 29er. What is your weight and at what pressure are you running your rear shock? I found the 29er to be much better than my 26" Merida 96 when climbing. Must still get used to the susspension as it is much more active than the Merida. Even though I still don't use close to the full travel.

No. You can run any tire tubeless, but the sidewalls of very light (racing) tires is very thin. A UST version just increase the durability of this sidewall. This is exactly the reason for this topic - to get feedback from our MTB community on running standard tires tubeless. If a lot of riders does it and don't have serious issues, I will definately convert mine. Ps. This is only due to LUST versions not being available. I have been running LUST crossmarks on my previous 26" and will not easily change to another tire.

Added a poll to the topic to assist with feedback.

I cannot get LUST versions yet in 29". Who is running the standard 60tpi or 120tpi versions tubeless and what is your opinion? Do I need to wait for LUST versions or is it "safe" to go tubeless with the standard tires?

Poor Cellphone Photo, but at least a photo. I have a 2011 Anthem X 29er 1 and you will not be unhappy!

VERY, VERY, VERY Badly, I hope.

GO PROVINCE