But a squishy bike lets you hit all the things and tear shit up regardless.
Including ribs!
That's a nice Giant doe. But you can get an aluminum Anthem pretty cheap sooooo....
You can do a Stance 2 for cheap. $1365 list. It's basically the same as the wife's Embolden. You don't get boost spacing or the Maestro suspension, but you get a solid enough rig.
That's a nice Giant doe. But you can get an aluminum Anthem pretty cheap sooooo....
You can do a Stance 2 for cheap. $1365 list. It's basically the same as the wife's Embolden. You don't get boost spacing or the Maestro suspension, but you get a solid enough rig.
You can do a Stance 2 for cheap. $1365 list. It's basically the same as the wife's Embolden. You don't get boost spacing or the Maestro suspension, but you get a solid enough rig.
rockchops wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:45 pm
In4 hardtails. I used to love solid forks too. It's like steering in a car. It absolutely sucks I'm some situations but fun in others, almost always more dangerous.
I hated mountain biking until I got a suspension fork.
I wouldn't go without a nice soft fork nowadays because getting older and wiser but back in my heyday I used to love the solid fork. My old school GF Wahoo with the steel fork was amazing.
Gberg2119 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 10:29 pm
I didn't realize how cheap the full squish Giants were. Maybe I should've done one of them? I paid $1300 for my hardtail.
Your bike's spec'd out much better than a $1300 squish bike, doe. Half the reason I went the cheap route with her bike was I had several parts to move over to upgrade.
Gberg2119 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 10:29 pm
I didn't realize how cheap the full squish Giants were. Maybe I should've done one of them? I paid $1300 for my hardtail.
Your hardtail has better components than a $1300 squisher.
Do the benefits of better components outweigh the advantages of full squish though? Do the components make that big of a difference?
Johnny_P wrote:
I hated mountain biking until I got a suspension fork.
I wouldn't go without a nice soft fork nowadays because getting older and wiser but back in my heyday I used to love the solid fork. My old school GF Wahoo with the steel fork was amazing.
rockchops wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 10:29 pm
I wouldn't go without a nice soft fork nowadays because getting older and wiser but back in my heyday I used to love the solid fork. My old school GF Wahoo with the steel fork was amazing.
[user not found] wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 11:29 pm
They make a bigger difference than you'd think.
They'll last longer, work better, and allow you to ride the bike without dumping money into making a bike into something you should've bought from the gun.
Also, a hardtail is less complex and more durable, and will make you a better rider over time. Spend a year or two on a hardtail then invest in a squisher.
Bolded is what I'm really after. It's why the Orbea was so appealing, honestly. Great spec for the price and it was something I thought I could learn on for a couple years without needing to upgrade anything.
Fathom seems similar, but more trail focused, which is really what I wanted in the first place. 1x drivetrain, dropper, 27.5...checks all the boxes. how the 67* head tube angle will feel, but only one way to find out. Hopefully they'll have one to try out at the MTB festival in Brown County next weekend.
I guess it depends on your riding style and where you're at as a rider. For me, full squish isn't so much about comfort as it is about maintaining traction as I hammer. The hard tails I've ridden in the past would bounce the rear pretty bad when hammering on tree roots, rocks, etc. I'm sure you can develop a riding style to accommodate, but that wasn't for me. I couldn't ride something that wasn't full squish. And if you think you're going to want a full squish eventually, you'll be flushing a lot of money away on a hard tail. Bikes depreciate something awful.
Desertbreh wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm
My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
But, agreed on quality components. Especially if you're going to ride often. Casual/easy riding probably isn't as crucial, but for frequent hard riding, you want better end stuff. In the Giant world, that's spending over $2k...which is still pretty reasonable compared to other makes.
Desertbreh wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm
My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
Detroit wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2017 9:53 am
But, agreed on quality components. Especially if you're going to ride often. Casual/easy riding probably isn't as crucial, but for frequent hard riding, you want better end stuff. In the Giant world, that's spending over $2k...which is still pretty reasonable compared to other makes.
Do the benefits of better components outweigh the advantages of full squish though? Do the components make that big of a difference?
They make a bigger difference than you'd think.
They'll last longer, work better, and allow you to ride the bike without dumping money into making a bike into something you should've bought from the gun.
Also, a hardtail is less complex and more durable, and will make you a better rider over time. Spend a year or two on a hardtail then invest in a squisher.
The fork is the biggest thing that stands out in my mind. The Orbea has one of the best forks on the market, that FS Giant has a much slimmer, more noodly fork that will ride harsher and track worse. The rest of the parts, it's all a toss up but the Orbea's parts are far less likely to break. You could spend the same amount on either, sure, but you'll very quickly end up spending repair money on the FS where you wouldn't on the hardtail.
That's the benefit of getting a hardtail vs a full suspension, until you get into the $2500 ish range.
Detroit wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2017 9:53 am
But, agreed on quality components. Especially if you're going to ride often. Casual/easy riding probably isn't as crucial, but for frequent hard riding, you want better end stuff. In the Giant world, that's spending over $2k...which is still pretty reasonable compared to other makes.
Giant really has some pricing on their rigs.
They have a lot of buying power and a gigantic factory. Equals lower price points.
I hope they can order the gray one. If I can get the 2017 advanced SX for $4k OTD I'd do it. Otherwise the yellow one is the better deal, and worth the upgrade from the regular aluminum bike because of the carbon rams and Rockshox suspension. Curiously the only frame difference between the aluminum and carbon is the front triangle. They both have alloy rear ends.
I wouldn't be opposed to an alloy one though. The Anthem 2 has a Fox GRIP fork and Float performance rear which isn't bad. If it's not good enough I'm sure a CF wheelset would make up the difference in stiffness, and a Pike fork is $800 - $300? resale of the Fox fork so $500 upgrade cost. Bikesmith and Cadence apparently have the Anthem 2's in stock, one has the blue, one has the black.
fledonfoot wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2017 9:46 pm
But the Fox34 is the OEM only Fox Rhythm fork on the Anthem 2.
It's a shame there isn't an Anthem Advanced in the middle. There's a $1500 gap in their lineup that could be filled.
Well, I think they offer a nice package with the Advanced 2 that I test rode, really. $4k gets you crabon all around, crabon ramz, RS suspension. Solid. I just don't like the highlighter yellow color, lol.
fledonfoot wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2017 9:46 pm
But the Fox34 is the OEM only Fox Rhythm fork on the Anthem 2.
It's a shame there isn't an Anthem Advanced in the middle. There's a $1500 gap in their lineup that could be filled.
Well, I think they offer a nice package with the Advanced 2 that I test rode, really. $4k gets you crabon all around, crabon ramz, RS suspension. Solid. I just don't like the highlighter yellow color, lol.
I think the AA2 is in a solid sweet spot with what you get. I kind of dig the color.
Well, I think they offer a nice package with the Advanced 2 that I test rode, really. $4k gets you crabon all around, crabon ramz, RS suspension. Solid. I just don't like the highlighter yellow color, lol.
I think the AA2 is in a solid sweet spot with what you get. I kind of dig the color.
Well I broke the goddamned Whorbea on Saturday.... Should be an easy fix, don't have time and want to ride next weekend, so I'm dropping it by the shop this morning.
D Griff wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:40 am
Well I broke the goddamned Whorbea on Saturday.... Should be an easy fix, don't have time and want to ride next weekend, so I'm dropping it by the shop this morning.
how the 67* head tube angle will feel, but only one way to find out. Hopefully they'll have one to try out at the MTB festival in Brown County next weekend.
pricing on their rigs.
highlighter yellow color, lol.
steering in a car. It absolutely sucks I'm some situations but fun in others, almost always more dangerous.
