Riding the Giant Anthem

The first noticeable thing as soon as I got on the Anthem was the feeling that the bike was always surging forward... almost as if it were pulling me ahead. This gave me the immediate thought that hill climbs would be fantastic on this bike. I remember reading reviews about how "the Anthem X3 would leave lighter bikes in its' wake on hill climbs..".
Having never rode on a full sus before, I was eager to see what it felt like in an off road situation. And when I did, my breath was taken away, not from any climbs, but from the incredible feeling (or NON feeling) of going down steps, over roots, across rutts and rocks and things. In short, the Fox RP2 rear shocks did an incredible job in absorbing whatever I threw at it. I had the whole thing recorded on my VHoldR Contour HD helmet Cam... and am embarrassed to show it to anyone cos of the hopeless "wows", "ooohs" "ahhhs"... which can be heard on video... of me in helpless wonder and amazement.
Next test as far as I was concerned are climbs. The Anthem is built for climbs, the 3 pivot on the Maestro technology is meant to maximize every single downstroke on the pedal and transfer enough energy over to the wheels, giving optimum pedal power.
Hmm.
Well, all I can say is.. I was not disappointed. It's really no wonder that the Giant Anthem X series was voted bike of the year for 2009!
No regrets, no turning back.
Now on to the bigger climbs...

Giant Anthem X3

After much hype and hullabaloo and review after review, I've finally got it. Albeit not the top end 24lb Anthem X0, but the lower end X3. Consolation is, the frame's the same and will give me a great time in slowly upgrading it. But mainly cos it's that much cheaper for the same incredibly light frame.
I've replaced the original Suntour XCR forks for Manitou R-Seven increasing my travel from 80mm to 100mm while reducing the overall weight by a hefty 0.6kg.
Got myself a set of XPEDO flat pedals weighing in at 416gms.
The weight of the bike from 29lbs down to just under 28lbs.
The great thing about this bike is its upgradability; which will eventually be the wheelset, cogs, crankset. My goal will be to achieve X0 status; long way to go tho.
Just a short test ride up the road from the bike shop (Tat Seng), and I could immediately feel the difference from my Giant Iguana. It was amazing how easy it was to ride and how fast it felt. Can't wait to get it out there and get a feel of the Fox RP2 rear shocks.
Both front and rear shocks are massively adjustable...although HOW to do it still eludes me at this point in time. (gulp!) the forks are supposed to be "air" filled at different PSIs depending on terrain. My goodness, I learnt today that that there is a specific PUMP to fill the forks with !! (gone are the days of coil springs!)
Anyway... I'll definitely keep you posted after my next scheduled ride on Saturday where I'll be taking this new thing for its first ride... Where? Beats me... but who cares !!

Later..