XC Ducky's Modern-Retro Carbolicious (or is it Carboniferous?) Anthem. Now with v2 Project

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
OK, so as much as anything else, this post is about showing off the diversity of MTB amazingness that Bike Of The Month candidates may be drawn from.... :)

One day in August 2014 a bloke wheeled this thing into the shop wanting an assessment of it 'cos he wanted to sell it in favour of something a bit more AM or DH-oriented. I took one look and my eyes just about fell out of my head, because I'd been lusting after these things basically from the time they were launched, but as a then-new MTBer, and on a bike mechanic's meagre wage I could never justify the price. :( Anyway, as the guy said his piece about selling it, my thoughts were, "Anthem, carbon, 26", no one else will want that", because by then 29" was well entrenched, and 27.5" was becoming A Thing, so it was already Untrendy. So I thought for a few fractions of a second, and then negotiated a deal!

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The Bike:

At its heart the bike is a 2011 Giant Anthem Advanced SL 1, although somewhere in its life before I got it, it was reframed so it's painted and stickered as the XTR-spec 0 model, but under the cosmetics is the same frame. To this day it is still one of the highest-spec carbon frames that Giant ever made. The "SL" bit refers in Giant-speak to the particular grade of carbon fibre used in the construction, but beyond that the main frame, rear triangle and upper rockers are all carbon, something which is still not especially common across The Industry. That's the modern bit; 26" wheels and classic tight, steep XC geometry (complete with 71-degree head angle), 3x drivetrain (albeit with an almost modern 10-sp. at the back) and rigid post is pushing it decidedly into Retro territory!

Aside from the graphics, when I got it, it was completely bog-standard - aluminium seat post, stem and riser bar, full Shimano M770-10 (late-model 10-sp. update to the M770 generation) XT 3x10 groupset including wheels, and Fox suspension package of F100 RLC fork and Float RP23 rear shock. However, the modifications began basically the day I got it home......

I had previously added some Nice Bits to my aluminium Anthem of similar vintage in the form of carbon seatpost, stem and handlebar, and also updated the brakes to devilishly good M666 (see what I did there? :p ) SLX, with I-spec mount M780 shifters for a cleaner bar. Those bits all went across to the "new" bike while the alloy bits (except bar, I had another carbon bar kicking around), M775 brakes and M770-10 shifters went to the now spare bike. Tyres were also changed, the previous owner had some mega chunky non-XC tyres on it, so I ditched them for my summer-use Crossmarks, while the now spare bike got the "wintermediate" Ignitors. The stock Fizik Tundra plank of a saddle got turfed immediately as well, in favour of the much more shapely Gobi I already had attached to the carbon post (the Tundra lived a while longer on tha spare bike, until Igot a good price on another Gobi, so both bikes now have decently-shaped (for me anyway) saddles.

And that's how it stayed for a while, but almost from Day One plans went in place for new wheels, it just took a bit longer to make them happen. So I sourced a pair of Carbonal 26" x 23mm internal (still narrow by modern standards, but wider than the XTs), XTR hubs and DT Aerolite bladed spokes - because I could and built them up, finished off with my own branding :)

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Somewhere along the way the rear derailleur got swapped with a M786 clutchy model, although with the clutch dialled back a little bit to keep the shifting slick, plus I'm not a particularly aggro rider, so don't need a lot of pressure on it. Finally, necessitated by breaking after a crash, but I'd been thinking about it for a while, the 600mm-"wide" FSA bar I first put on got replaced with an almost-modern (but still suitably semi-retro sub-700mm) 680mm flat bar from Carbonal, same mob as the rims, and that's how it is now.

On the trails the thing is a razor-sharp weapon, which cuts both ways; blisteringly agile and an absolute bucket of fun in its element on flowy XC trails, a good climber (I draw the line at the usual "effortless" thrown around by the journos, the only way it would be effortless would be getting towed up by an e-biker!), but on the other hand it will turn around and bite you, or just throw you on your face, on lumpy descents if you're not exceptionally careful.

The Maestro suspension is generally pretty well behaved; it does seem to be better suited to shorter-travel systems, plus I'm not especially heavy (65kg on a fat day), or aggressive on the drivetrain. In the granny gears where the anti-squat is at its strongest it will bob and kick back a little bit, but in the middle & big rings it's really well balanced; there's enough anti-squat to keep it very neutral under pedalling, but also has very good small-bump suppleness and bigger bump compliance and support.

So that's My Ride; a custom-tweaked version of an always uncommon example from a once-common series of bike. I don't care if it's not the latest trendy thing, it's a hoot to ride and I love it. :)

The Spec Details:
Frame:
2011 Giant Anthem X Advanced SL, T800-grade carbon mainframe, rear triangle & upper rockers, Medium (18.5") size.
Fork: Fox F100 RLC, 100mm travel, non-remote lockout, lockout force adjust, low-speed compression, rebound, 1 1/8"-1 1/2" tapered steerer
Shock: Fox Float RP23
Wheels: Dirty Mongrel Racing custom shop; Carbonal M623 26"x23mm carbon rims, Shimano M9000/M9010 XTR hubs, 15mm T/A front, Q/R rear, DT Swiss Aerolite spokes, brass nipples, blue Bear tape.
Tyres: Maxxis Crossmark II eXCeption 26x2.25", tubeless, BOR sealant (for now at least)
Seatpost: Control Tech 30.9 x 400mm carbon, zero mm drop.... :p
Saddle: Fizik Gobi, titanium rail
Stem: FSA OS99 carbon/alloy composite, 90mm -6-degree.
Handlebar: Carbonal 680mm flat bar
Crank: Shimano M770-10 XT 3x, 24-32-42 (M780 rings) with BB93 XTR threaded bottom bracket
Pedals: Shimano M780 XT "Race"
Rear Derailleur: Shimano M786 XT 10-sp clutched
Front derailleur: Shimano M770-10 triple
Chain & Cassette: Shimano HG95 chain, M771 11-36 10-sp
Shifters: Shimano M780 XT 3x10-sp, I-Spec
Brakes: Shimano M666 SLX, RT81 160mm IceTech rotors, finned metal pads
 
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wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
Nice Ducky. Like you said, something different. But surely you can manage more than 1 and a half photos!?!!
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
On the trails the thing is a razor-sharp weapon, which cuts both ways; blisteringly agile and an absolute bucket of fun in its element on flowy XC trails, a good climber (I draw the line at the usual "effortless" thrown around by the journos, the only way it would be effortless would be getting towed up by an e-biker!), but on the other hand it will turn around and bite you, or just throw you on your face, on lumpy descents if you're not exceptionally careful.
Be still my beating heart!

Sweet ride. Wouldn't be many around like it.
 

safreek

*******
Damn, I still recon a fella with your class needs an mcm, best carbon giant ever.
Good score though, even foxy forks
 

Daniel Hale

She fid, he fid, I fidn't
Somewhere along the way the rear derailleur got swapped with a M786 clutchy model, although with the clutch dialled back a little bit to keep the shifting slick,
how does one dial the clutch back?

PS ill have to get some photos up of the 26" turner i just acquired
 

slider_phil

Likes Bikes and Dirt
There's a Giant, then there's a Giant that's had a well thought out, tasteful build with a touch of custom componentry.

I really like it. Just before they went to the weird looking slopey tubing.

Plus, it's not a Banshee AND it's an XC bike so it's a rare fish around here
 
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