Giant dual susp

[KABOUS]

Would like some feedback on quality of ride on Giant Anthem carbon.Is the suspension not too soft and what pressure do you pump the shock?

[rouxtjie]

Would like some feedback on quality of ride on Giant Anthem carbon.Is the suspension not too soft and what pressure do you pump the shock?

Maestro link...considered to be a very good piece of engineering, so nothing wrong in the design. Remember though it is a 100mm XC / XCM bike....it will never be as plush as Santa Cruz V10....horses for courses.

 

With regards to pressure in the shock, forget about copying another person's settings. Get dressed in full mtb kit, with bottles and all gear...like you are just about to go for a ride. Slide the little o-ring travel indicator on the shock all the way to the base. Sit on bike but make sure not to induce any bounce or jerky movements, so doing it next to a wall or something you can hold onto is the best. You are looking for 20% sag on shock, that means that the o-ring moved 20% of its full travel. Think there might be black markings on the shock to indicate this and make you life easier. Once you get it to 20%, you can fine tune it on your next ride...take a shockpump with obviously.

[GLuvsMtb]

Maestro link...considered to be a very good piece of engineering, so nothing wrong in the design. Remember though it is a 100mm XC / XCM bike....it will never be as plush as Santa Cruz V10....horses for courses.

 

With regards to pressure in the shock, forget about copying another person's settings. Get dressed in full mtb kit, with bottles and all gear...like you are just about to go for a ride. Slide the little o-ring travel indicator on the shock all the way to the base. Sit on bike but make sure not to induce any bounce or jerky movements, so doing it next to a wall or something you can hold onto is the best. You are looking for 20% sag on shock, that means that the o-ring moved 20% of its full travel. Think there might be black markings on the shock to indicate this and make you life easier. Once you get it to 20%, you can fine tune it on your next ride...take a shockpump with obviously.

Also remember to set the rebound correctly. Set your rebound the the middle setting, go for a short loop somewhere that allows you to hit a few obstacles, a little drop off or 2 and gets you onto a short steep climb as well (short 5km XC loop somewhere will do nicely). Repeat the process on the fastest and slowest rebound setting and decide that way if you prefer a faster or slower rebound and set from middle to the direction that felt better for you. You can fine tune rebound on future rides until you are at a setting that is responsive enough, but does not feel too lively.

[KABOUS]

I come more from a hardtail and road background. Is'nt the flex in the suspension on the Giant too much- to the extent that you have loss of power. And how does the ride and power on the Giant compare to something like a Specialized ?

[quintonb]

I come from a road and hardtail background too, I now ride a dual sus mtb.

Want to go back to hardtail. I have ridden the bike for 3 years and still cant get used to the "disconnected" feeling of the rear.

 

The Giant has a great reputation, but i would say Spez is ahead of the curve, but you pay for it.

[Brighter-Lights]

Giant Anthem is one of the best working suspensions ever - barely any energy loss (IF the suspension is set up correctly) - best feeling suspension overall - can't beat an Anthem. Scalpels and Merida's have a harder feeling to them which is great for XC racing but the Anthem does everything and does it very well.

[rouxtjie]

I come more from a hardtail and road background. Is'nt the flex in the suspension on the Giant too much- to the extent that you have loss of power. And how does the ride and power on the Giant compare to something like a Specialized ?

Look, dual-sus bikes all lose power when pedalling aka bop...some less than others. Same can be said for you fork. Sure there are lockouts etc that will inhibit some of it...but not everything. If you want an efficient machine...go rigid front and hardtail...you will climb like a billy goat but its harsh and the downs and tech sections will be...how do I say sketchy. This is where the dual-sus bikes shine, they will soak up some of the clatter and hits that your body will be taking, they will also provide more traction on the downs and some of the tech ups, so you can pedal and push hard where the hardtail boys are bouncing. So you give up pure pedaling efficiency for comfort and traction...choose you poison.

Edited October 18, 2013 by rouxtjie

[Mojoman]

I come more from a hardtail and road background. Is'nt the flex in the suspension on the Giant too much- to the extent that you have loss of power. And how does the ride and power on the Giant compare to something like a Specialized ?

My first bike was a GT Avalanche, then managed to get a dual suspension Ghost 5700 and a few months later another Ghost, 7500 (Reba up front and Xfusion shock). Managed to finally get my Giant Trance and I am loving it! To the point where I no longer do the dirt roadie thing for 70 or 80kms. I just look for the worst possible path somewhere and then go and tackle it!

 

My Trance has Fox front and back and my only complaint is that the RP23 does not have a full lock out, it has pro-pedal, which to me does next to nothing BUT the suspension is good enough for me to seldom worry about lock out as I rarely go onto tar or anywhere flat and smooth.

 

The Trance definately has better suspension qualities over the Ghost but to be the fair both Ghosts were 100mm of travel, the Trance has 120mm.

 

I wouldnt go back to a HT unless I really have to but I guess it all comes down to how you ride and where you ride.

[Brighter-Lights]

I come more from a hardtail and road background. Is'nt the flex in the suspension on the Giant too much- to the extent that you have loss of power. And how does the ride and power on the Giant compare to something like a Specialized ?

 

There's very little flex in the Anthem's suspension, it's a very stiff frame. With correctly set up suspension it feels like a XC bike with endless travel, but the Spez is a harder riding bike - the Brain gives it more platform than the Anthem - but an Anthem with correctly set up suspension does everything perfectly - the RP23 or Monarch RT3 gives you endless tuning options. If you like more of a hardtail feel then just ride with propedal in #2, depending on the factory tune of the shock, but most are MM

[Mojoman]

Look, dual-sus bikes all lose power when pedalling aka bop...some less than others. Same can be said for you fork. Sure there are lockouts etc that will inhibit some of it...but not everything. If you want an efficient machine...go rigid front and hardtail...you will climb like a billy goat but its harsh and the downs and tech sections will be...how do I say sketchy. This is where the dual-sus bikes shine, they will soak up some of the clatter and hits that your body will be taking, they will also provide more traction on the downs and some of the tech ups, so you can pedal and push hard where the hardtail boys are bouncing. So you give up pure climbing efficiency for comfort and traction...choose you poison.

Exactly, my friend who has 20 years of youth over me (and thus has very little fear of crashing!) no longer keeps up with me on the downhills and on the technical uphills. He has a Scott HT.

[Brighter-Lights]

I've also raced rigid hardtail for a while - and I can tell you that a light weight full sus saves your body big time compared to a rigid hardtail, and that energy saved by far outweighs the minimal pedal induced bob ppl talk about - really it's not noticeable if the suspension is set up correctly and once you've learned to pedal in proper circles - because legs pumping like pistons WILL make anything bob... that's just what I felt when going full susp. - forces you to work on proper pedalling technique = almost zero bob.

[KABOUS]

Now this is what I call great constructive HUB FEEDBACK

 

thanks guys :clap: :clap:

[rouxtjie]

I come from a road and hardtail background too, I now ride a dual sus mtb.

Want to go back to hardtail. I have ridden the bike for 3 years and still cant get used to the "disconnected" feeling of the rear.

 

The Giant has a great reputation, but i would say Spez is ahead of the curve, but you pay for it.

Exactly the same quinton....also went full circle....was on a hardtail then had a couple of dual-sus and back to hardtail. Also couldn't get used to that "numb" feeling....look at a lightweight steel frame if you are going hardtail again...the butterzone

[dee_biker]

I had a hardtail for a while, went the Anthem route, and will never look back.

 

Better control on trails, more confidence and much easier to climb the technical stuff. Like someone said earlier, it depends on your terrain you ride or race.

 

If you do jeeptrack only, hardtail all the way.

 

If you go technical, the dualies reign supreme.

[Tumbleweed]

Which Anthem? The 29er or 27.5?

[arendoog]

I rode two anthems before i changed to a Santa cruz Tallboy .The anthems had fox and rockshox [sid ,monarch ]The better anthem had monach as a rear shock .Once setup this worked very well .Very stable, fast ,good climbing bike but lacked the nimbleness that the Tallboy offered .I lock my Tallboy,s rear CTD fox on climbs .This is noticeble and makes the Tallboy climb like a harttail .I am very happy with the money spent on the Tallboy frame ,but will happily ride an anthem again .I also have a HT that i enjoy riding ,but only for shorter distances Your legs and core work a lot harder .When it comes to undulating trackt for long distances there is nothing that beats a good dual sus .The niner DS is also a highly impressive frame

Edited October 18, 2013 by Blitzer