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I'd appreciate feedback...... Considering choice of anthem vs Whyte for my first full suspension bike. I'll be riding mainly at Sherwood Pines / Thetford forest.....
Any input fellas?
Giant. End of thread.
+1 Anthem... 😀
I've got no experience of either BUT from what other experienced riders on STW have said about Whyte's recently... Stay well clear I reckon. Pity though, I'm a patriotic kinda guy. 🙄
Anthem is ridiculously good tbh, never happy to be just an XC bike. I've not ridden the current Whyte but it's supposed to be more of an allrounder. Looked at one for a long time, but, no bottle cage bolts, put me off a bit.
So, helpfully, I'll not narrow it down at all, but tell you to consider the Specialized Camber as well. More in the Whyte ballpark, but probably less likely to fall apart.
I have an anthem and it really is incredibly capable, I've ridden it in marathons and XC races but it can also be hammered round the forest. I'm sure the Whyte is a very capable bike but you won't go wrong by choosing the Anthem.
I've had a whyte t120 for a couple of months, raced it three times and done just under 600 miles on it and nothing has fallen off other than me. I love it, I do.
I've just bought an anthem x and it is capable of so much more than xc. I'm a swinley local so it is perfect for that sort of riding but just had it on a weekend trip to exmoor and it has handled ups and steep rocky downs without missing a beat. Very impressed. My legs hurt now though - 40 miles and 7000 ft of climbing in a day and a half is plenty for this Surrey desk jockey.
+1 Giant
Recently acquired a giant anthem SL0 and would def recommend!! 🙂
+1 for the anthem, not had mine long but love it
The Whyte is more comparable to a Trance than an Anthem, so depends on how much burl you want…
Love my anthem too. I went to the giant store at Rutland and hired an x2 for a couple of hours. I'd been considering a trek fuel from my lbs, but it felt a bit 'soft' compared to my hardtail, whereas the anthem felt right from the off. Also rode a trance in the car park, but still preferred the anthem.
I have a Whyte E-120 in large. Swapped out the brakes from Avid to XT. It's about to go up for sale as I had a bit of a whoopsie moment at Afan yesterday and bought an ex-demo 29er. If you can get down to Winchester you're welcome to test ride it along the south downs. We live at the start of the SDW.
Email rbosullivan at yahoo dot co dot uk
It depends more on how confident and skilled a rider you are. I'm an Anthem X owner but bear in mind that this is really a race bike- it's a bit twitchy, a bit nervous and is designed to be ridden fast. I live on the edge of the Peak District and ride mine around here, but when I go deeper into the middle of the Peak I take a bigger bike. It's very capable but won't flatter a rider who is relatively new to MTBing and wants to improve their skills.
The T-120, while it wouldn't be my first choice, is going to be more relaxed and a bit more versatile. For your current trails, though, it may be too much bike and might make the riding a bit dull. It will encourage you to do harder things, though, and be a bit less of a handful in technical trails.
I'd probably look at a Trance rather than the T-120. The T120 is a funny sort of a bike. If you're a relatively experienced rider the Anthem is bags of fun, but the Trance will be better if you're new to it without giving too much away on weight.
The Whyte is more comparable to a Trance than an Anthem, so depends on how much burl you want…
I've just swapped a Trance for an Anthem X, as you know! The Anthem is a little more twitchy as stock, but with a 120mm fork, it can do everything my Trance could do, plus it feels a lot faster on the climbs.
Thanks for the input fellas ...... I am now the proud owner a nice stealth satin black Giant Anthem X 29er!!!!!!
Good man
Enjoy 🙂