2024 Giant Anthem Advanced 29 review: Fast, Light & Great Value - But There’s a Catch…

[@johnlindsay7301]

Such an amazing bike. I love seeing these vids.

[@gravelDave]

They really need to do the alloy version again for an affordable price.

[@the_derpler]

I wonder if that’s even the thing making it expensive. Seems carbon manufacturing came so far now that it’s cheap.

[@midwestdirt8627]

Great bikes. I built mine up custom with a frame-only. I ditched all the remote lockouts and cable clutter. It rides amazing and I raced the whole local XC race series this year and finished with a 2cd Place overall. It’s been an amazing bike and it also does pretty good as a trail bike as well. I did put a 120mm fork on the front instead of 110 so that helped a little. I 100% did not miss the lock-out at all as it pedals very well without it!

[@davidarthur]

Nice thanks for sharing

[@TurboWolf5000]

Wow now that's a proper Rat's Nest. That would drive me crazy!

[@defiancecycling]

Great review David. Fifty One did a bang up job on the Sika. I refer to it as the "modern road bike." I believe we will see more growth in this category. Most people should be this versus a Tarmac, Madone, etc. The bike looks great with 32-35mm tires.

[@richardbranton190]

I'm looking at a 2018 model of this bike. I haven't ridden a bike in over 30 years and I don't know why because I used to love it. He wants $1400 US for it but it's in excellent condition. Great review👍

[@JmeGarg]

More MTB content or a dedicated MYB channel would be great.

[@jeffreymartin7811]

Glad you compared it to the Pivot Mach 4 SL. It’s me of my fav rides. The mtb reviews are great to see. Keep ‘em coming in the channel

[@davidarthur]

Glad you like them!

[@juanhidalgo7043]

Yea giant makes some nice mountain bikes. I wish I can get one 😊

[@vendettaisl337]

Same thoughts as you on the travel comparing the spark. Torn between this, trance or an epic evo 2023. Wont be XC racing but want to hit trails and single track fast but also climb well. Thoughts?

[@scottwatson7844]

I’ve got last years version of this exact bike and it’s really quick and has fantastic handling. I also have a Revolt Advanced pro with cadex ar wheels and off road it’s faster than that unless it’s really smooth or roads. Annoyingly this year the bike for the same price is better value as it’s got a better spec than mine with XT shifters and derailleur instead of SLX and better brakes. My only real gripes are the one bottle cage and all the cables. Edit Did make me chuckle as I love that saddle but you don’t 😂

[@Toastless]

Amazed you can argue about the great value. Outside of boutique bikes, can you give an example of worse value? Baffled, it kills the industry. All the expensive grouptrain bits are SLX, so it's a £400 groupset, £800 forks (generous, these are Performance, not Factory), cheap own brand dropper, stem, bars, wheels, so about £3k for the frame? Feels like the parts haven't gone up in price, bikes just rely on having a ridiculous RRP so they can sell at half price the next year.

[@michiganstate149]

XC (and all) bikes need at least 2 bottle cages. If suspension design does not allow, put the mounts under the top tube.

[@martinkiff7577]

Looks a great trail, where is it please

[@jasonmiller5188]

Hi David. Any chance you can ride and give your expert opinion on Alberto Contadors Aurum bikes ? Im interested in these bikes, but really would appreciate your thoughts from riding one. Thanks and keep up the very informative work!

[@DEXVD]

Test the new Scalpel, based on my interpretation of other reviews its the best XC bike out right now.

[@davidarthur]

Thanks I will ask Cannondale :)

[@josephwright7925]

MTB 😍

[@Chunky246]

Canyon Lux CF 8 hell of a lot cheaper.. The only thing the Giant has over it is a dropper I guess.

[@rennie684]

any one knows weight for this bike?

[@alainpfammatter8224]

So many cables on the cockpit 🙈

[@marcopaganotto9125]

How much?! Jeezus!

[@davidarthur]

cheaper versions are available ;)

[@vzit1331]

these cables are just ungly.

[@albertkikstra]

Did you put the bar end plug in before riding? Crash and take a core sample of yourself……

[@marksandoval5361]

I wouldn't buy an XC bike if it didn't come with a 120mm fork and 66.5* or slacker HTA. The Cannondale Scalpel, Specialized Epic 8, or Transition Spur would be more to my liking.

[@LiliaHandumon]

I think you prefer trail bike

[@daniellovett6213]

£5000 good value!🤣🤣

[@that_which_is_not]

Couldn’t agree more. Cycling media is riddled with wealthy men with zero understanding of the word ‘affordability’

[@harlan3103]

@@that_which_is_not Good life advice to our kids. Finish your education, get a good job so you can afford to buy a nice bike!

[@davidarthur]

Good value doesn't mean cheap, it's about what you get for the money and compared to other bikes costing the same, that is how the term good value is achieved. We all know we could go to Walmart and get a super cheap bike if we wanted

[@that_which_is_not]

@@davidarthur I don’t think a super cheap bike from Halfords, for example, would be very good value. You’d be repairing parts and maintaining a likely not very well made bike. To assume that this type of purchase might also not be a big outlay for somebody is also very telling. I genuinely think bike media has lost contact with what most people have to spend to participate in a sport. A bike will always be expensive, but comparing it to the benefits you could get from many other activities, with much lower entry costs, i’m not sure how much value cycling offers people at the moment. It’s a shame, cycling is an incredible sport and has the power to change everyone. It’s just not very accessible in general, at the moment.

[@davidarthur]

@@that_which_is_not Not sure I'm in agreement with you here to be honest, I've done videos on much more affordable bikes here on the channel, and even buying second hand bikes where there are great deals to be had, which do make cycling accessible - it's very easy for people to pin all the problems on top of the range bikes

[@Automatic313]

No one makes aluminum full sus XC bikes for us mere mortals anymore 👎

[@Doc_Raphy]

Yeah. Specialized didn't abandon us alloy XC lovers but man that Chisel FS is still a bit on the steep side.

[@shrinkingshrimp]

Trek Top Fuel, Merida One-Twenty, GT Zaskar, Ghost Kato FS and Riot, Radon Skeen

[@Automatic313]

@@shrinkingshrimp None of those are XC bikes 🥲

[@Doc_Raphy]

@@shrinkingshrimp they're Trail bikes. You can't even fit a 38t chainring on them.

[@deedeecycles6018]

yay...another mtb with ONE WATER BOTTLE HOLDER.

[@br5380]

strap one under the top tube

[@robertstrobel7338]

Lyne dual water bottle adapter