Bike Nirvana
Yet another cycling blog
Custom build: Giant Anthem
June 8, 2016
With the purchase of the Niner Jet 9 RDO, I am supposed to leave behind the thought of building a bike, but haunting thoughts keep pestering me. I still have a Rockshox Reba RL and Shimano Deore groupset, not to mention minor parts such as a Giant handlebar, Mortop stem, Giant saddle, and an extra seatpost from Specialized. I just need a wheelset and frame to roll.
Instead of selling those parts at a loss or some be given away, I decided to pursue the build. I wanted to compare a 650B and 29er full-suspension bikes anyway. I christened this endeavor "Project X."
My mind is made up in favor of the Giant Anthem ALUXX frame therefore, the major decision remains only for the wheelset. I've considered a few including those from Mavic, DT Swiss, Fulcrum, and Gipiemme but in the end, I settled for the American Classic Wide Lightning considering the cost and weight.
The published weight of the Wide Lightning is 698g for the front, and 814g for the rear. On actual weigh-in, they tipped the scale at 0.69kg and 0.80kg for the front and rear, respectively.
For the axle options, I chose the 15mm thru axle in front and 12mm x 142mm thru axle for the rear. The Reba RL fork has 9mm QR so I will need an adaptor. Thankfully, Bike Parts PH sells the Mavic adaptor set and I drove all the way to Sumulong highway than risk wasting my time at Cartimar.
Here it is, the adapter fitted on the thru axle. It weighs 6g (pair) and the skewer is 59g.
For the tires, Ruben of Life Cycle highly recommended the Michelin Wild Race'R Ultimate that weighs 530g. Originally, I wanted Maxxis Maxxlite which is much lighter but I was warned it's also much thinner.
I'm going tubeless so Joe's Super Sealant went into the tires.
Other bits and pieces
My Deore high-mount front derailleur is not the right part to work with the Anthem frame, so I looked around and finally got a brand new FD-M786 from a seller in a local cycle Facebook group.
In addition, the Anthem frame requires PressFit bottom bracket so my still unused threaded BB cannot be used, again. Bike Town Cyclery in Pasong Tamo has the right bottom bracket in stock.
For the rotors, I chose Ashima Ai2 which is just 66g.
I am so pleased to find out that Giant included a reducer to accommodate the 1-1/8" straight steerer of the Reba RL into its OverDrive 2 headset.
The project is taking shape. We need to replace the rear brake hose so that it can go to the internal routing of the frame.
