The Ride
I cruised up climbs on the Anthem Advanced SX, finding energy in my legs that I thought had long-since headed for the sunset. The bike’s minimal rear travel was efficient and it’s light weight definitely took less energy to get up hills.
I noticed just a little bit of suspension motion when I left the shock fully open on climbs, but I’d say it was minimal relative to how much travel the bike has. Whereas the rear shock on a bike like the Reign might bob 10% (~16 mm) of it’s stroke, the Anthem was also bobbing 10% or so, but because the Anthem SX’s rear travel is only 100mm, that equates to only ~10mm of bob. More than anything, though, I think the SX’s light wheels and tires go a long way toward its climbing proficiency. I’d give the SX the edge over a Santa Cruz 5010 on the climbs, not by a huge margin, but it definitely requires a bit less effort. I’d attribute this to the fact that the SX has less travel in the rear than the 5010.
Having topped out my climb, I was ready to descend, and was especially excited because I still had some energy left in my legs. I was a bit nervous that the Anthem Advances SX wouldn’t be as fun or capable on the way down as the other enduro bikes I had been testing, but I was amped to still feel pretty fresh. I thought that perhaps that energy would make up for any descending deficiencies the bike might have.
Starting my descent, I flicked the bike back and forth across the trail, hard into a berm, up and over a rocky ledge, and then down into a transition to pump for speed. The Anthem responded instantaneously to my inputs, much like a sports car. The SX really felt reminiscent of a slalom bike given how well it cornered and popped off lips. It wasn’t as smooth in the rough as a 5010, but it felt a bit more receptive to rider input.
The bike felt firm, and I think I felt the fork deflect a bit under hard loads in rock gardens, but on the whole it felt adequately equipped for rough sections and drops on the trail.
It’s also worth noting that for most of the day I’d been riding bikes with the RockShox Pike and Fox 34 Float, both of which feature stiffer lowers and larger-diameter stanchions than the RockShox Revelation. Additionally, both have better sensitivity, so more loading goes into the forks’ displacement instead of their chassis. I’d love to see one of those forks on the Anthem Advanced SX, but I’d consider that a cherry on top, not a necessary change to the bike’s setup.
The Anthem Advanced SX’a rear suspension handled rough terrain pretty well, and provided cushion on drops without bottoming out hard. With only 100mm of travel, it was really hard to pick up on the nuances of the rear suspension, but it stays active in the rough and doesn’t wallow in the mid-stroke, taking a lot of abuse off the rider as compared to a hard tail.
The bike also let me cruise into the flats and keep my speed up on rolling sections, where I got bogged down on heavier bikes with more travel. The SX shined through these sections that were boring pedals on other bikes, and it held speed well, letting me hit lips that I hadn’t noticed before. In this sense the Anthem Advanced SX is quite similar to the Santa Cruz 5010. Rider position is shifted a bit more to the rear on the SX than it is on a 5010, and the SX’s handling is definitely subtly different. All in all the bikes are quite similar and I’d recommend riding both (if possible) before choosing one over the other. I think it’s hard to go wrong with either bike.
It’s tough to say how well Giant’s particular Maestro Link suspension design performs relative to other companies’ on square edged hits, or if it settles nicely into corners. The bike’s rear end performed decently in all scenarios, but it didn’t seem vastly different from other suspension designs. (I feel it’s tough to parse out the differences between designs until you start comparing bikes with at least 130mm of travel.)
Bottom Line
If you like the way a slack enduro bikes handle on descents, but live in a location with trails that require more pedaling than coasting, take a serious look at the Giant Anthem Advanced SX.
Riders coming from a XC racing background will enjoy it as their enduro bike, and downhillers will like it as their XC bike. It pedals well, provides quick, technical handling, and loves trails with lots of mini airs, rollers, and slash turns.
I just got my adv SX last week… rain snow and ice everywhere here in MD… 1st thing I did was go tubeless, remove the dropper AND seat ( I stole a Contact seat post and Tundra2 off my 2013 Advanced 29’er) and removed the stock bar for my Giant banded SLR carbon bar.. Bike was 26.2 lbs out of the box, I’m hoping it’s closer to 24lbs now. I did order a Crank Bros Cobalt 11 seat post with a 20mm setback, but a 0 setback showed up… I may actually try the 0 set back out.. as I just put 13 miles in on snowy roads and notice my but was way forward on the saddle the whole time.
Right on. Thanks for the weight info. Hope you love the bike!
My bike is a large btw
I’m interested in your thoughts, comparing Anthem 29er(what I have now) to SX ( what I’m thinking of getting). My only reservation is that I like the 29″ wheel size I have now. I’ve never ridden 27.5. Is the difference very noticeable?
I will say 1 huge pro to the 29er is the confidence it gave me while decending.. the 27.5 climbs faster and has gobs more traction at the rear wheel, the frames aggressive ride position allows you to use this traction to float the lite front wheel over roots rocks and waterbars when climbing (initially, I had to learn how to settle the front wheel down) on flats the 27.5 accelerates faster out of a corner… the new Sx is super rigid yet extremely plush, that said, I’m gonna miss my 29er, I’m hooked on the new SX..
Right now I’m trying to choose between the Anthem SX and the 5010, so your article is really helpful! I am close to your size (5’7″), and I’ve tested medium frames for both bikes. They both ride great, but I was a bit bothered by the shorter reach on the 5010, and the smaller stand-over height on the Anthem SX. Did you have the same issues? I’m wondering how much geometry differences might play into the Anthem’s better climbing ability (vs other factors like travel or weight).
Hi Jeff,
I do find a medium Santa Cruz 5010 to be short for me. They just updated it though and made it longer, so take a second look. I don’t tend to worry much about standover height, so I can’t say that I noticed an issue on the Anthem SX. If I’m doing things right I’m never straddling the top tube.
I’d peg the climbing difference as almost entirely due to the shorter rear travel on the Anthem.
The most critical point is to find a bike that fits you well. If one of the two is a better length and lets you run the stem length you want I’d suggest leaning strongly that way.