ANTHEM X0 TEN-OUT-OF-TEN

The December 2008 issue of the British mag Mountain Bike Rider (now on newsstands in the US!) puts four bikes to a marathon test at the Roc d’Azur: The Giant Anthem X0, the Scott Spark 20, the Lapierre X-Control 710, and the Commençal Meta Super 4.1. “Le Roc,” the magazine says, is a “…massive end of season cross-country enduro in the South of France…one massive climb in the middle, some fire road and a dash across the beach at the end, but the rest is all dusty singletrack. It’s a good test for any short-travel suspension bike because it’s so rugged.” Bottom line: Only ONE of these four bikes scored a perfect 10, which MBR translates as “SIMPLY THE BEST—without fault.” And that bike is the Anthem X0. Worth quoting: “Creating a bike that your pro team can race at the World Cup and can also be used by all-day trail riders was always going to be a compromise as both require slightly different things but Giant has pulled it off. It’s traded some of the speed of the original for increased stability and, in technical situations, better handling but the Anthem X is still blisteringly fast. It’s also lighter, feels stiff and is just as efficient.”   see entire article