Restoring & modernizing old Giant Anthem MTB for $800

[@cicciobambino]

14:06 I felt that "Shooooot" in my soul. I love this channel, because its a different take on all the "dream builds" you see on MTB KZbin. $10K dream builds are a dime a dozen, but these restorations are each unique with the design and execution process. Whoever got this bike got an absolute DEAL for $870. This must have been done at cost for family or friend because I count: suspension service for front and rear (200 x 2 = $400), custom frame and front suspension powder coat (at least $500, maybe more), new frame bearings installed ($100), Deore 1x11 drivetrain ($200), plus all the fresh parts (headset, brakes, handlebars, pedals, tires, etc.)

[@janeblogs324]

He said the cost was 870 (parts) and its someone elses bike he's building

[@RickPfeister]

I really enjoy watching your work. You completely overhauled the bike, even down to the bearings. Amazing work, thanks for sharing. I look forward to the next resto-mod!

[@lagvin719ify]

that's a beauty...cotton candy blue and bubblegum pink. after 10 years you can repaint it again and give it another 10 years. I'll bet on it

[@Misamasen]

Hi! We are all waiting for reviews on the new fuji... You had one of the best photo technology channels! Come back!

[@gabriellynn4418]

As a man who currently rides a 2021 Giant Trance X2 29er, I'm appreciative of all the effort you put into this! The result is awesome! Of course my bike isn't the same kind of model, but they're both Giants all the same. 😊

[@randabuffer6562]

That came out amazing! I have the same bike and wanted to update it so I used body filler on the front frame tubes to make it look like the 2017 model then sanding everything down and sprayed it basecoat/clear coat metallic dark blue.

[@ricusmate]

Did the pink blue white combo on my daughters bmx. Always looks good. Love the angleset. The stem is long for my taste and maybe a mullet setup to make it lower and slacker still. Loved the paint sticker redo. Well done on rebuilding the suspension and putting all new bearings. This is great motivation to work on my bikes today.

[@afpv]

Great inspiration.. Having this exact bike, finding a shopping list for the parts list to convert to 11 speed is awesome.. Didn't know you could change the headtube angle so easily, was expecting longer forks or cut and weld.. A wealth of information.

[@kevinross7565]

I have newer anthem. I know the anthem gets sold as an XC race bike by Giant, but I found that with a few minor tweaks to tire and cockpit setup it’s turned into quite a good all around short travel trail bike.

[@82lowe36id]

Fun video. I still ride my 2005 Giant Reign2 that I had custom built new. I really love and enjoy this bike still. About a year after I got it, I actually got into MX and put the Giant away until a couple years ago when I decided to start riding MTB again. Pulled it out, refreshed and upgraded a couple things and it is back on the trails.

[@frankthetankricard]

The color doesn't agree with me but I enjoyed the process. It looks like a '60s color theme, the original looked more modern. But this one's more unique looks like new.

[@viisory]

I think simply reversing the colors would have made it much more modern looking, but keeping his desired color scheme. Overall still a sick build.

[@TheCycleRenovator]

Great job, I also enjoy bringing a bike back to life, maybe a colab in the future?

[@MikeinCC]

Colorway is awful.

[@DavidHanks90]

I personally love the colors and the build overall is amazing. It makes me wish I had all the skills and equipment to do the same to my old bike.

[@tphvictims5101]

The powder coat comes out very nicely. I use it on my Fishing jigs. They bang rocks constantly and the chipping is minimal. The colors are mind blowing.

[@ExhumedToConsume]

Even for a bike from 2012, what a great looking ride. Really like the white/blue/black colorway. Very satisfying to watch, I love that you went with cerakote!

[@michaelw6193]

You took me on one heck of a ride.... dedication is top tier...can't wait for the next one 👍🏾

[@drmcmast]

Thank you for listing your parts and tools! Gorgeous restoration, I'm thinking of trying my hand at rebuilding/repainting/updating a 2016 Santa Cruz Heckler. It is daunting to consider all the specialty tools required!

[@ryansteiger6960]

Thanks for this calming and inspiring video 👍 I felt truly bad for you, when you had to do it all over again!

[@largeman0026]

the attention to detail is stunning.

[@adam1885282]

Nice work, I have a 2013 Anthem I want to rebuild like this (minus the paint). I'll get started as soon as my new bike arrives.

[@GRAAmusic]

Nice build. Great overhaul. I would consider doing and showing more cleaning of parts. For an example the wheels/hubs.

[@vitoonto]

Really nice work. It came out really cool!

[@Antti_Iltanen]

I clicked on this so fast as I have an old Giant Anthem and quality videos about it are rare as hen's teeth... Only to realise this "old" Giant Anthem is much more modern than my old Giant Anthem 😅😂 Anyway, quality bike build videos are still always worth a watch, thanks for doing this 👌🙏

[@joakimjb]

I've missed these episodes. Great work!

[@guustvanuden2968]

i did the same with 2 Trek bikes EX7 form 2005 haha i think everyone thinks im crazy but glad to see other people do it too!

[@serjsorrow9241]

Good retro vibes coloring

[@letriciabrowder2942]

Insane dude! You're super gifted! I know building is a skill that's learned but, you just know what look good!

[@Adroit1911]

6:55 - the King Killer Chronicles!! Such a great story, I've been waiting for book three for like 12 years now 😂

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Yeah. I've given up on that one. ;)

[@aMoneyYell]

Fantastic color scheme!

[@marcocalderonbonilla3587]

Great job and notorious skills you have.

[@CoggieBike]

'Love the colors man! Great job!

[@jadevillaflores9542]

Wow pretty awesome project, thanks for sharing.

[@LUCKYSOB]

Omg I'm glad I found your channel dude. It brought back an old itch and many memories. Especially when you had to re sandblast it 😅 in my case I had to do it 2 more times 🤣👍 now It looks like I have some binge watching to do

[@milankicin6109]

I have the very same bike, also did a job on it, though I'm not as skilled or equipped as you are. Did a 1x11 keeping the original cranks, added a dropper, shorter stem, went tubeless, new SLX brakes, had the suspension serviced. Definitely well worth the work and money. Not sure how you managed to get a 11-50 cassette into the SLX derailleur. Got the same one with 11-46 and that's the limit of that RD I'd say.

[@mattcrane]

yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssss, so stoked to watch! Glad you are making videos again!

[@mattcrane]

seriously! You have the most professional set up out of anyone building bikes!

[@lagvin719ify]

basically, it's the stickers and the paint that determine the age of the bikes unless there's an upgrade on the size of the tubes, the components, and the curves and cuts in the tubes. I have seen someone paint his 15-year-old specialized demo to the latest trend, change the decals and a few components, and still beat a couple of guys riding more modern bikes

[@shwndh]

Those are my all time favorite XT cranks. Wish I could still buy them The paintwork detail is out of this world. You blew my mind with that one. Can I send my bike to you?

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Sure :) send it over

[@mrpercussive]

Wow! Beautiful way to give a bike a rebirth!

[@jacobjarvis1335]

That re paint must have sucked! Keep up the great work, I love these videos.

[@frogrides]

I really enjoyed the video quality and shot setup. I came to the description to see if you mentioned what camera you used for your crispy visuals -- didn't see it mentioned but then I found the link to your second channel and went oh ok.. 😅

[@BuildaBetterBike]

😂

[@nickbell3546]

Great job! Btw check out a zip tie gun. It will tighten and break the zip tie in one motion!

[@BuildaBetterBike]

I know I know. I have a friend who tells me to get one after every video. :)

[@clne36]

Great build! You have incredible skills… but definitely need to work on pouring that powder haha

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Haha. Yup

[@schwimdandy3820]

My brother broke three of those Anthem frames at the top tube/seat tube weld. Finally got tired of waiting on warranty claims and went with another bike.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

My giant trance weld cracked top seat tube /seat about 2014 frame you can see it was made a bigger flared out tube join in later frames. Warranty honoured 🎖 Australia

[@chrisgenovese8188]

This is as good as a resto-mod gets. top tier work, my man. i love watching an older bike get a new life. i couldnt tell what happened with the stencil, but i liked the second version more. i also use a cameo to make stencils for painting, and i recently starting using stencil specific vinyl with really good results. its thinner, so you get less of a hard edge, its less tacky and less stretchy, so it peels off the metal like a dream. of course, i dont powder coat, so maybe it wouldnt work in the oven. anyway, you got a new fan and subbie!

[@BuildaBetterBike]

I'll have to give that a shot. thanks Chris!

[@societygates2861]

Amazing work man! I love this channel 🙂

[@Kubafalkowski97]

So good job, you've taken off every part of this bike,hell of work. But the colour.. your choice, anyway great job man 👊

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Color was customers choice, actually

[@johnbrowning1350]

Great color scheme ❤

[@andymoss]

Great refurb!

[@jonaqwerty]

Yes you are back

[@fjodorgrigorow3851]

Bravo, bravo and bravo!!!

[@aaronmoreno2492]

Hola hermano Dios te bendiga, el trabajo te quedó exelente, tienes todos los juguetes en ese taller 🤩... Curiosidad: No entendí porque no le colocaste grasa a la rosca de los pedales y porque eliminaste el lubricante que trae la cadena nueva. La potencia creo que se veía y quedaría mejor en posición negativa... Deberías montar videos más seguido. Saludos desde Venezuela 👋🤜🤛

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Thanks! The pedals were just temporary for the video.

[@purplegarage05]

ayy another amazing restoration

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Thanks!

[@alonsovaldivia2348]

Nice work ... but the color mmm the old version looks better but anyways ... the process it's great... good work.

[@SendingStache]

i really enjoyed that. thanks!

[@jaseelliott5939]

Awesome job 👏

[@onelove4458]

So so nice Great work,love your videos Greats from germany

[@baykkarl9541]

I love this kind of video

[@mykolakinash7132]

Nice video, very inspiring. I have 2008 anthem and want to modernize it, so your video kinda like guide for me)

[@AndrewYeti]

I’m currently in the same process with my Yeti 575 from 2014. Great job doing it all by yourself 🫡

[@xNeeLx]

Nice restomod, you have the skills without a doubt. Few things I would have done a bit different are: 1- fork not matching color with the rest of the frame. 2- put a shorter stem (but that depends on the height of the rider) 3- install a dropper post, that could have taken you a bit over the budget but is well worthy.

[@hannes6114]

I agree :) Also - why didn't you service the wheels completely?

[@dodecahedron1]

4- those brakes are designed for shifters with under bar gear indicators, older shifters with over bar gear indicators cannot be mounted correctly with the clamp between the brake lever contact points and must be mounted too far inboard, use the MT501 lever(but never the caliper, shimano's non-series 2-piston calipers are only compatible with unhardened resin-only rotors, the B type pads are too tall to fit on anything that isn't a resin-only wide type rotor) if you already have the shifter, buy a different shifter if you don't 5- the M6100 2 piston has resin pistons, the M6120 4 piston has ceramic pistons, the price difference usually isn't big enough to justify getting the 2 pistons

[@pauruiz5495]

I have the same whit 27,5 wheels and work perfect

[@timmcdermott815]

Looks cool man

[@MoonlightingBadger]

Looked into how much it will cost to get my old Giant Stance sand blasted. $30-$50 they quoted me. Didn't ask about how much to have it powder coated tho since I want to polish the raw aluminum. Might have rocker arm link between the seat stays and rear shock powder coated black to go with the black giant decals, but that's it. Get it clear coated and convert it to 1x12 drivetrain.

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Not a bad price. 👍

[@zulkiflinordin3878]

Awesome job

[@DryftKult]

Love your work, but please, use a funnel to fill the bottle 😂

[@nicolashuffman4312]

What a great and thorough rebuild! Question: do you have to be careful not to get the powdercoat oven too hot and mess up the heat treatment of the frame? I had an Anthem and just loved the thing. Actually, I had 3 of them. They kept cracking between the top tube and the seat tube. If anyone needs rear suspension parts from a '12 26er Anthem, let me know.

[@BuildaBetterBike]

No. Powder cures below any temperature that would compromise aluminium.

[@ericvilla6286]

Superb Build Video!

[@geronimomcbr2863]

Que buen trabajo ....quedó.muy bonita la bicicleta...cuántas horas de trabajo fueron para llegar al resultado final?

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Between 30-40

[@geronimomcbr2863]

@@BuildaBetterBike excelente trabajo, felicidades

[@yoni-tb1qy]

Magnifique bravo

[@fernandoandraderacing1808]

Best upgrade its the yeti odi grips

[@howardswd]

Hi, thanks for sharing the video. I have a 2014 Anthem 2, large frame, that I am considering replacing the SRAM/AVID groupset to a modern build. However, not sure about the crankset you have linked to. This is specced for a 148mm 'boost' rear axle with a chain line of 55 mm. The Anthem is 135 QR (or 142 x 12 if converted), so am wondering do you have any chain line issues with this set up ?

[@krisp6401]

Nice, tho i kinda felt bad for the old EC70 handlebars. I'm guessing they were a couple inches too short for today's standard.

[@andrewdilillo]

New stem!

[@michaelbondad3912]

Amazing build with the attention to detail. Saw the thunder tee! I graduated from there in 2016, can you sandblast my frame?

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Sure!

[@michaelbondad3912]

@@BuildaBetterBike Do ya mean it!? Im in Lil V area. Whenever is good for you

[@Silkl4sh]

Going from XT to Deore crankset is a huge downgrade. You'd better off buying an absolute black chainring. Also the cassette looks like some Chinese knockoff. Other than terrible drivetrain choices the rebuild is quite impressive

[@uselessspoiler7806]

I have the same bike and would also like to convert it to a modern 11 or 12 speed. I was wondering if the 11-50T cassette can be installed without special modifications? From the video it looks like it is. Sorry for the silly question!

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Not a silly question at all. Yes, no mod was necessary

[@COOLBIKEyt]

Very nice job :)

[@flavioreis1655]

Great Job !! Some questions about the angle headset: What was the previous angle? How much did you get after the Upgrade? Did it lower the front? Thank you !

[@ekeibolrd]

Awesome job!, what bb size could i use?, i'm upgrading it, to an Sram GX groupset 10s

[@ak.4369]

good job beautiful bike :)

[@anneblouin1393]

After about 3 years the last Keurig stopped working kzbin.infoUgkxBrV-RbF5Nk0Rlt9i15aao-YMzqzTG8Vf initially was able to unblock, however eventually we couldn't fix. That one was a replacement unit sent by the manufacturer after we had problems with our very first Keurig. This works fine (lol, at least for now) however I didn't realize the water reservoir was so much smaller than our prior unit. With 2 people having one or two cups of coffee each morning, it seems like I'm refilling it daily. Otherwise just happy to have the convenience of pod coffee vs. making a morning pot.

[@intraterrestrial69]

It’s weird that taper head tube bike are “old” now. Half my bikes still have threaded headsets lol

[@grogers4277]

very nice

[@zac109mx3]

I would do that and make where it's blue black then gold where it's pink

[@arcelyompoc8792]

Can i have the wheel set lol very nice work 😊

[@cobra421]

I need that crown race tool

[@dmitri1018]

Don Johnson’s bike!

[@wingnut323]

Great work... @Build a Better Bike just curious what audiobook were you listening to? Sounded like Luke Daniels my favorite audible reader.

[@BuildaBetterBike]

The Name of the Wind. It was actually read by Nick Podehl.

[@wingnut323]

@@BuildaBetterBike awesome... Patrick Rothfuss right? This has been in my to read list for a few years. I guess this is a sign to finally consume it. Thanks you again.

[@karllenin2011]

Nice job, awesome work. But the colours and the saddle o0. Otherwise love your channel!

[@RealCommando]

I’m doing that with a 2018 giant stance 2

[@volodymyrhniedash4581]

how fork works after baking? bushings an stancions fit well?

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Yup. Everything came back together smoothly.

[@leohalverson22]

Great video. Just wondering: what were you doing with the new chain? It looked like you were washing it? Just curious. Again, wonderful video.

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Thanks! Yes, new chains come with a horrible sticky grease that is good to prevent corrosion while being stored for resale, but is horrible for dusty riding conditions. It's a good idea to get rid of it with solvent and then re-lube with stuff appropriate for your riding conditions.

[@jackand100others3]

Wow the bike colorway came out amazing. Do you by chance do commission paint jobs? I recently bought a Fuji track pro 09 that is need need of a new paint job and color way. The previous owner really used it hard so there’s tons of paint chips and scuffs

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Sure do! Email me if interested

[@mountaincruiser817]

Nice build. But this is only fun for who already got a bike like this. Did you do all of it in-house?

[@dercrosscountryracer1089]

Schön gemacht, auch wenn die Farbe nicht so meins ist. Warum bist du nicht auf 12fach gegangen? Macht eigentlich mehr Sinn, da mehr Übersetzungsbandbreite und 1 Gang mehr. Ich denke, das die deore 12fach da auch gereicht hätte. Hab die auch, und schaltet sich wunderbar. Da braucht man keine SLX mehr.

[@emmetgibson6599]

Put grease on your pedal threads otherwise they are a pain to take off!

[@fragoulos]

how much time did yoy need to sandblast the whole frame?

[@liamleech4748]

Same colour scheme as my old devinci district

[@chrisnicholson3352]

How do you determine what bearings you need?

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Measure the old ones with a caliper. Inner diameter, outer diameter, width. Then just Google it.

[@rogerdale5451]

So, no derailleur/ small crank on the front? And a huge! ten on the back? That eliminates the issue with the front derailleur. Ok, I take it that's a refinement that simplifies, and hopefully eliminates, what, an oz or two of weight?

[@BuildaBetterBike]

It's not about weight. It's about performance, efficiency, decreased cognitive load, and simplified maintenance.

[@rogerdale5451]

I don't know why I said it that way. Sorry, I musta been drinking... Thanks for the info. My front derailleur on my 2012 never worked right. Thanks again. @@BuildaBetterBike

[@bagofchips55]

Can you restore/restore my old hardtail? 2001 specialized stumpjumper?! I've owned that old gal for... shoot 15 years?!

[@BuildaBetterBike]

Sure. Email me if you're serious and we can talk about it. [e-mail]

[@ellyjun12077]

I thought he will make a drill to the frame for internal cabling