Giant Anthem X Advanced or Specialized Camber Comp Carbon

[darrylr]

I am looking at buying a carbon full suspension XC mountain bike and the two in my price range are the Giant Anthem X Advanced and the Camber Comp Carbon. The Giant has great components full XT while the Specialized also has excellent reviews. Any insights on which would be the better choice are appreciated?

[Goblin]

they are both awsome and you cant go wrong with either.

See if you can arrange a demo ride and ride the one you fall in love with.

[Rick Sanchez]

I would go for the Camber. Just like it more

But ride both and see which you like most

[Lodolouw]

the Camber carbon comp is amazing. I bought one and upgraded wheels to carbon roval wheels , xt brakes , xo1 crankset and sworks mini rise bar . it cost half of the sworks camber and weight the same

[darrylr]

Thank you so much I appreciate the advice. Great idea on the Camber to consider upgrading some components and the wheels.

[splat]

It depends on what kind of riding you do.

The Anthem is aimed at the Cross Country 'race' market with 100mm travel front and rear. The Camber has 120mm F&R and with the slightly slacker geometry is aimed more at the 'trail' crowd.

 

My Anthem was stolen and I replaced it with the 2016 Camber Comp (alu). I upgraded the brakes, changed to 1x11 drivetrain and added a dropper seatpost. It's an awesome bike so far. After only a few rides, I know that we are going to get on well, even though its 1kg heavier than my Anthem.

[RiverInTheRoad]

Drivetrain spec is overrated IMHO. Get the one that feels better during your demo of the bike. Personally i like the camber. Parts can be changed, geometry can't

[RiverInTheRoad]

Drivetrain spec is overrated IMHO. Get the one that feels better during your demo of the bike. Personally i like the camber. Parts can be changed, geometry can't

[Christofison]

Ooh tough choice. I was recently in the same boat, considering between the aluminium versions of those two. In the end I decided on the Anthem.

 

-Camber has more fun geometry and should be more comfortable with the extra travel. Where the Anthem will be more rigid and racier.

 

-Camber has the SWAT storage in the down tube, I would love to get rid of my saddle bag.

 

-Anthem wins on a better rear suspension design, the Camber will have a lot of suspension bob. A lockout switch might help here, although the shock isn't too far to reach to lock it up.

 

-Anthem new XT brakes will dominate the Deore brakes on the Camber.

 

-Carbon wheels on the Anthem will dominate the alloy on the Camber.

 

-Camber full internal routing is nice, only the gear cables are internal on the Anthem.

 

-Anthem new XT crankset trumps the SRAM GX by a bit. I prefer a 2X setup, but that's just me.

[darrylr]

It depends on what kind of riding you do.

The Anthem is aimed at the Cross Country 'race' market with 100mm travel front and rear. The Camber has 120mm F&R and with the slightly slacker geometry is aimed more at the 'trail' crowd.

 

My Anthem was stolen and I replaced it with the 2016 Camber Comp (alu). I upgraded the brakes, changed to 1x11 drivetrain and added a dropper seatpost. It's an awesome bike so far. After only a few rides, I know that we are going to get on well, even though its 1kg heavier than my Anthem.

[darrylr]

Thanks so much for the further advice.

[hlbeckley]

Camber is comfort and has the brain on the higher priced bikes which sounds Lekker

Anthem keeps winning awards and is solid well know with great geometry

I just made the choice between Spez Epic and a Cube AMS 100

Cube won on price and it's discrete

Go ask Trailheads in blairegowrie for a spin on the cube they have there and then melrose have a camber carbon for demo two

Best to try both and try find a giant demo and go from there

[Christofison]

Camber is comfort and has the brain on the higher priced bikes which sounds Lekker

Anthem keeps winning awards and is solid well know with great geometry

I just made the choice between Spez Epic and a Cube AMS 100

Cube won on price and it's discrete

Go ask Trailheads in blairegowrie for a spin on the cube they have there and then melrose have a camber carbon for demo two

Best to try both and try find a giant demo and go from there

The Camber Comp Carbon in his R50-60k price range doesn't come with a brain. The next model up is the Camber Elite Carbon which does have a brain and costs R80k.

[pellieg]

I am looking at buying a carbon full suspension XC mountain bike and the two in my price range are the Giant Anthem X Advanced and the Camber Comp Carbon. The Giant has great components full XT while the Specialized also has excellent reviews. Any insights on which would be the better choice are appreciated?

The new Anthem advance x 2016 comes with x1  1 x 11 group set , and sram guide brakes. 

I went through this the end last year, and the anthem won my heart , it just felt better in every way , ( for me ) 

 

the light but bomb proof wheels and the life time warranty sealed the deal , 

[NelAndre]

Camber is comfort and has the brain on the higher priced bikes which sounds Lekker

Anthem keeps winning awards and is solid well know with great geometry

I just made the choice between Spez Epic and a Cube AMS 100

Cube won on price and it's discrete

Go ask Trailheads in blairegowrie for a spin on the cube they have there and then melrose have a camber carbon for demo two

Best to try both and try find a giant demo and go from there

Oooh, I liked the look of that Cube AMS 100 at The Trailhead...saw it last year and thought it looks great. Very understated and humble with lots of firepower!

[Christofison]

The new Anthem advance x 2016 comes with x1  1 x 11 group set , and sram guide brakes. 

I went through this the end last year, and the anthem won my heart , it just felt better in every way , ( for me ) 

 

the light but bomb proof wheels and the life time warranty sealed the deal , 

I believe that 2016 SRAM build is also a whole lot more expensive than the 2016 XT build which is around the R50-60k mark.