식사를 하고, 아직 국내에서는 시판되지 않고 있는 앤썸(anthem)에 대한 리뷰 몇개를 읽어보았습니다.

그중에 하나를 골라 핵심적인 내용만을 참고로 옮겨둡니다. 어디까지나 개인의 생각이므로 참고만 하시기를 바랍니다.

사진은 anthem 1 이며, 스펙도 자이안트 본사의 것을 빌려왔습니다.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(요약)

3인치의 트레블이 제공되는 앤썸 1을 타고 콜로라도 스프링스 주변 산을 라이딩했음.
그 산에는 수많은 언덕과 아주 가파른 경사, 수많은 내리막코스, 화강암 지대, 잘 다져진 길, 심지어 약간의 눈길도 있었음.

첫 번째 느낌은 앤썸이 무척 가볍고 빠르다는 것임. 물론 무게에 민감한 사람들은 휠셋, 안장, 헤드셋 등에서 무게를 절감한 부분은 있다고 생각함.
앤썸은 선 자세로 페달을 짓이기지만 않으면 빠르게 가속되고 바빙이 없었으며 선 자세에서 느끼는 바빙도 느끼기 힘든 정도였음 (as is the Anthem accelerated quickly and, unless you were standing up and mashing, without bob. Even standing the bob wasn’t that noticeable.)

하지만 문제는 락아웃 기능만 있고 SPV는 없는 R7 포크임. 단거리에서 전력질주할 때 포크에서 바빙이 있음. 완성차 스펙에 SPV 기능이 있는 포크를 포함시키자는 바람직하다는 것이 나의 의견임.

앤썸의 핸들 조작은 심지어 내가 정신없다고 하는 수준의 핸들조작에서도 매우 빨랐음.
대부분의 문제는 내가 너무 작은 사이즈를 탄 데서 생긴것임 (평소 20인치를 타나 앤썸은 18인치를 탔음)

앤썸으로 다운힐은 매우 좋았음.
앤썸의 진가는 꼬인(twisty) 싱글트렉에서 발휘됨.
빠른 속도로 코너의 바깥쪽 갓길을 돌아나갈 때 미묘한 자세의 변화도 효과적인 결과를 낳았음
스램 XO 트리거(방아쇠형) 변속기는 완벽하게 작동했음.

공학적인 이유로 헤이즈 브레이크를 별로 좋아하지 않지만 HFX-9 카본 브레이크 레바의 성능은 비난할게 없음.

내 몸무게에 맞게 포크를 정비하고 충격을 흡수해본 결과 SPV 기능의 포크가 장착되면 더 좋았을 것이라고 생각함. R7 포크의 락아웃 기능은 잘 작동되었으나 뒷 서스펜션과 잘 어둘리는 앞 서스펜션이 장착되었더라면 더 좋을것이라고 생각함

짧은 라이딩 경험이지만 앤썸을 레이싱용 자전거로 추천함.
앤썸은 모든 스타일을 충족시켜주는 트레일 바이크(all-purpose trailbike)는 아님.
그러나 만약 당신이 주로 XC - 레이싱 타입의 길을 다니고 거기에 적합한 잔차를 원한다면 엔썸이 좋은 선택이 될 것이라고 생각함

----------------------------------------------------
(원문)
2006 Giant Anthem 1 Review
Posted on 12.02.05 by Joey Ernst

I recently had the opportunity to spend a day upon Giant’s new XC dual-suspension race bike, the Anthem. The Anthem line includes three models that are named, aptly enough, the Anthem 1, 2, and 3. My steed for the day was an Anthem 1 – the $4000 cream of the Anthem crop. SRAM X.0 rear derailleur and trigger shifters, Shimano XT front derailleur, Race Face Deus XC cranks, Race Face stem, carbon post, and carbon bar, Mavic CrossMax SL wheelset, Manitou’s new R7 fork and S-Type SPV shock, Hayes HFX-9 Carbon disc brakes, and Hutchinson Python tires make for a sub-25-pound package when paired with Giant’s newest Maestro-suspension frame. Maestro is what Giant is calling their newest suspension technology. It’s a cutting-edge set of linkages that they use throughout their dual-suspension lineup – everything from the 3-inch-travel Anthem to the 9-inch-travel Glory – and it actually seems to work as promised. That is, same old line: efficient power transfer in a fully active suspension design. We’ve been hearing it for years, but only now is it actually becoming reality. The VPP designs on the market are close; the Maestro one-ups them just barely, mostly through tweaks in the axle path.

I took a long ride in the mountains surrounding Colorado Springs for this short-term test. The terrain included climbs – lots of them, both super-steep and easy, very technical as well as tame – an equal amount of descending (obviously), tons of loose granite, some fairly packed sandy soil, pavement, and even some snow. The Anthem I rode was an 18”; I normally ride a 20”. So some of the following handling characteristics would be different on a bike that was actually my size.

The first thing I noticed about the Anthem was how light and fast it felt. The weight of about 24.5 pounds, while not amazing, certainly isn’t bad for a stock dually. The truly weight-conscious could shave grams here and there – the wheelset, the seat, headset, etc. But as is the Anthem accelerated quickly and, unless you were standing up and mashing, without bob. Even standing the bob wasn’t that noticeable. I really had to try a terrible pedaling technique to get significant bob out of the rear shock. The R7 fork, on the other hand, has no SPV. It does have a lockout, but unless you engage that, you will get bob when sprinting. I am of the opinion that if a company spec’s SPV on one end, it should spec it on the other. But I guess the racers like their hard-n-fast lockouts.

The Anthem handles very quickly – even to the point I would call twitchy. I had a hard time keeping my line on steep ascents where it usually isn’t a problem for me. The front wheel would wander and lift, and even on lesser climbs the Anthem required constant attention to the line, lest it go off course. That said, I believe that while the Anthem is – and should be – a quick handling bike, most of the problems I was having were directly related to the bike being a size too small for me.
The longer stem, top tube, and slightly longer wheelbase associated with the next size up would center my weight more effectively and would make for a more stable ride overall. Traction while climbing was great as long as I stayed seated. When standing, it didn’t take much to break loose the scanty Pythons. However, not many race courses are as loose as what I was riding, and the Pythons are a race tire. They’d probably work great for true racers, but if you plan on buying an Anthem for just plain trail riding, swap to some Maxxis Ignitors or something – a little more bite without going overboard. Going downhill on the Anthem was great, although the tires’ weaknesses showed pretty quickly. The Anthem’s light weight and ability to efficiently transfer power allow the rider to reach the tires’ traction limits fairly quickly, especially when going downhill. The Anthem really shines in tight, twisty singletrack. Subtle input yielded effective results when whipping around bermed corners at high speed. Fun!
The SRAM X.0 trigger shifters worked flawlessly, as did the X.0 rear derailleur and the Shimano XT front derailleur. The new X.0 stuff is absolutely incredible. Great feel, great performance. It’s very telling that Shimano’s 2006 drivetrains feel much more positive than in the past – SRAM won lots of folks over with their very positive click shifting, and Shimano seems to be moving away from their old Light Action in response. Is someone running a bit scared? The Race Face cranks were very stiff and their rings shifted very well. While I’m not a big fan of Hayes for mechanical reasons (at least their older stuff), I can’t fault the HFX-9 Carbons for their performance. They have great modulation – in fact, if you’re used to a slightly grabby system, you may think the Hayes aren’t that powerful, since they have a smooth ramp of power from a subtle touch all the way to locked wheels.
After I got the shock and fork set up for my weight and riding style, I came to a few conclusions. Manitou’s S-Type shock – their new, short-stroke, light XC air shock – works well. It’s simple, the SPV works well, and the rebound damping is effective, with a nice alloy adjusting knob that has positive indents and noticeable damping increments. Manitou’s new R7 fork was, as claimed, pretty stiff for a 3” travel XC racing fork. However, I found myself missing the Rock Shox SID I normally ride. They’re the same weight and they’re both air-sprung, but the SID has a more linear feel. The R7 felt quite progressive; I thought that the fork felt harsh in the middle-through-late stages of its travel. The rebound damping was also a slight problem. I ran it full on and it was okay, but I think there needs to be more damping available. The SID has a wide range of rebound damping, and I usually run it somewhere in the middle. The R7 felt slightly fast on the rebound even with full damping. I don’t know if this is a problem with my particular R7 or if they’re all that way. Also, as I said before, I’d like to see a fork with SPV on a bike with an SPV shock. The R7’s lockout worked fine, but a balanced front and rear would be nice.
Mavic’s CrossMax SL wheels are pretty nice. They’re very stiff, strong, and not too shabby on weight either. However, there are better-engaging hubs out there – Chris King comes to mind. The CrossMax hubs aren’t bad by any means – they have about the same backlash as Shimano and many others. The bladed spokes on the CrossMax wheels sure make for a squirrelly ride in a crosswind. You haven’t been scared until you’re descending at 35 mph on pavement on a busy road and then the wind gusts from your right. Can we say roadkill? I never really thought of crosswinds as being a problem on the trail, but it was on my ride. Then again, I was riding on very exposed slopes in a wind-channeling canyon on a day with 40mph gusts. So I doubt it would be a problem for most people most of the time. Overall, I must say that I’d run a pair of the CrossMax wheels and have no qualms.

I’d like to try an Anthem in my size to make sure that the handling feels better. I’m pretty sure it would feel great. Based on my short-term test ride, I do recommend the Anthem to (a) racers – this is the ultimate dual-suspension race bike – and (b) lightweight trail riders who ride fairly tame trails. The Anthem is not your all-purpose trailbike and it’s not supposed to be. But if all you ride are XC-race-type trails and want a bike that will allow you to all but fly, the Anthem would be a good choice. Hammer down!