Onya bike belco were awesome, and although they did not have the bike built I had a ride on the 2010 model, before I put my name on the 2011 model waiting to be built. Onya built it up the next day with a few spec changes mainly pedals, seat, and my powertap hub to be built up with a 29 rim. Onya belco did a top class job everything running smooth as silk, when it counts it is worth the extra travel from my side of town to go to the shop I perfer and I was not dissapointed.
Why the 29er, I knew all the hype etc, but I had been keen to get back on a hardtail, plus I had been doing alot of fireroad riding, I can commute through some steep hills and it just made sense for a training bike. I also like the thought of some longish offroad touring type riding where this would make a great mile eating machine.
So the bike, it has a pretty basic spec that I won't go into, but the frame and forks was were it counted for me, everything else all I wanted was reliable, and that is what you get. It took me a while before I got it out the door, I got the frameskin kit from Al (more on that later), and then the setup. I sit very forward on the bike and my first issue was that I could not quite get the seat forward enough without a 0 offset post. I had installed a straight post on my Athem so I stole it and I was ready to go. The bike is great Giant has got the geometry, spot on the the same as the Anthem only the wheelbase is slightly longer which is to be expected. The only (small) issue I have is I wish it had 2 bottle mounts. The paint is a matt black, with some different shaped tubing and has a good compromise between weight and strength. Forks are Fox nuff said, and I am impressed with the 30 speed shifting so far, and works great for the large span going to 36T.
The ride is very different to my 26 duallies and it does take some time to get use to on the single track. I did the 7 hour at stromlo single track mind race on it, before the race I had only done firetrails, but it took me about 4 hours to adapt. Going between bikes on singletrack does take some time to adapt to the other wheels but for my intended use I'm not planning on making that switch too often. But the 29er is fantastic, it really meet all my expectaions for the open tracks once you get up to speed it holds it higher without the extra effort that you need to put in for the 26er. It rolls soooo well. Steep acsents and decents it is great, on the climbs the higher hubs makes the front end stay on the ground, the rear does not want to slip with the larger tire contact patch. I was in the bike more than on it. The wheels rolled over the rocks and the wheels did not fall into the holes as much, you could almost ride the bike over anything without putting much work in. Now this all sounds great and it is in the right application.
Every positive has it's negitives when you compare a 26er and 29er. Yes the wheels roll at higher speed but it takes longer or more effort to accelerate.The wheels seem to smooth out the trail more, but they are slightly slower to react in corners and you can't pump the bike as much on dips and humps. You sit in the bike and it's great on climbs but it is not as playful on corners, and can't be thrown around as much.
In my opinion each bike has it's application, and sometimes it will be hard to draw the line and say this bike would suit this course better. Alot depends on the rider, how they ride, and size, I think it does suit the taller riders better. So in a comparison I hope I have pointed out the main differences.
All in all I'm really happy with the purchace, and the bike will fill it's role nicely. It would be a weapon with slicks on and commuting through the city on some of the tarred/conctrete path's ;).
BTW soon my Anthem will be up for sale so if you are keen give me a yell, k76wells@gmail.com
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