I built this for my fiance. This baby is 26.1 pounds.
It's a 2013 Anthem X women's edition with Monarch RT.
Fox F29 RLC 100mm
Stan's Crest wheelset with stock hubs
SRAM 1250 22-32-44 crankset
SLX 3x10 shifters
SLX cassette
XT rear derailleur
SLX front derailleur
Giant 90mm inverted stem
Giant 680 low riser bar
Avid Elixir R 160mm/160mm rotors
WTB Nano 2.1 RACE tubeless
Giant Connect seatpost + Affinity Ti saddle
Did she demo this bike or did you buy it for her as a surprise? I'm considering this for my wife or the Santa Cruz Superlight 29er in small but I can't find the Giant WS anywhere to demo for her. What to do?...
Did she demo this bike or did you buy it for her as a surprise? I'm considering this for my wife or the Santa Cruz Superlight 29er in small but I can't find the Giant WS anywhere to demo for her. What to do?...
She previously rode a Cypher/Trance so we were fairly familiar with Giant's geometry.
2012 X0 Medium frame, Monarch RCT3 shock, SID RLT Forks
Full Sram XX Groupset & Brakes
Stans Crest Wheelset, Racing Ralph tires
Easton EA70 Post
Selle Italia saddle
Ritchy WCS Carbon bars, ESI Grips
CB Mallet Pedals
2012 Anthem X 29er 1 (small frame)
X0 drivetrain, cranks, brakes (HS1 180/160mm front/rear rotors)
XX cassette, 1091R chain
Easton EC70 XC riser bar (685mm)
ESI silicon grips
Crank Brothers Cobalt 11 offset seatpost
ZTR Crest 29er laced to Chris King hubs, DT Super Comp spokes, blue alloy nipples, custom blue decals
Schwalbe Racing Ralph Evo running tubeless
XT SPD pedals
I personally don't care for the RP23's I find them to be far too active. Also the rebound damping is very fast compared to the Monarch's. When riding rp23's I end up turning the rebound damping almost all the way closed to keep from bouncing down the trail.
I have not ridden one on the Anthem X but the last two bikes I tried with an RP23 one was VPP and the other was a single pivot and both behaved the same way as I described above. I think the Monarch's are the best rear shocks for the $, just my 2 cents.
I do all my own stunts, but never intentionally...
I personally don't care for the RP23's I find them to be far too active. Also the rebound damping is very fast compared to the Monarch's.
But what if terrain ridden is multi root and small stones. Terrain looks flat but in fact You need o fly over those bumps - my feeling is that fast rebound is needed than and Monarch in my Anthem seems to be too slow.
The maestro rear matched with the monarch is one of the best rear suspensions I've ridden, in most situations, I ride lots of roots in FL too. Ive never noticed a "rebound" issue myself on the RT. If you are having trouble with rebound you might consider contacting PUSH industries.
I do all my own stunts, but never intentionally...
Here's my experience. I work for a shop (for free stuff) on evenings and they sell Giant. FYI
For two months I rode an Anthem X29er 2 with the Monarch, loved it. It pedaled great and had good manners on the trail. Compression damping was top notch.
For the last two months I've been riding an Anthem X29er 1 with the RP23. I definitely do not like how it rides. I find myself using the pro pedal often and I don't feel like I can stand up and pedal. It actually amazes me that a great suspension design can behave so differently with two different shocks. Kind of eye opening on what a shock can do for a bike. Makes me wonder how many other bikes I, or other people decided they didn't like and it could have all (or most of it) been fixed by a different shock. I highly recommend to any Anthem owner that they swap out to a Monarch.
As an aside, the Fox fork on the the 2 is unimpressive as well. For many reasons I have never found a Fox fork that rides as well as a comparable Rock Shox.
Ok i lowered the preasure about 10PSI in my Monarch and it made a huge difference - maybe because it was my weight edge. Well at my 176 LBS monarch with 200PSi seemed to be stiff but at 190PS almost all roots were eaten. Obviously SAG increased from 20 to 25% but i consider it as typical.
Here's my experience. I work for a shop (for free stuff) on evenings and they sell Giant. FYI
For two months I rode an Anthem X29er 2 with the Monarch, loved it. It pedaled great and had good manners on the trail. Compression damping was top notch.
For the last two months I've been riding an Anthem X29er 1 with the RP23. I definitely do not like how it rides. I find myself using the pro pedal often and I don't feel like I can stand up and pedal. It actually amazes me that a great suspension design can behave so differently with two different shocks. Kind of eye opening on what a shock can do for a bike. Makes me wonder how many other bikes I, or other people decided they didn't like and it could have all (or most of it) been fixed by a different shock. I highly recommend to any Anthem owner that they swap out to a Monarch.
As an aside, the Fox fork on the the 2 is unimpressive as well. For many reasons I have never found a Fox fork that rides as well as a comparable Rock Shox.
Great insights! I do like the way my RP23 smooths out the trail but do not like the feel when I get out of the saddle. I thought in the stiffest setting it would firm up better. I am even running about 5 PSI over my riding weight.
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Originally Posted by DerrickT
