Maestro is gone, the FlexPoint Pro on Giant’s flagship XC bike is here

This game is now over

There is a brand new Giant Anthem, the brand's carbon fiber, 100 mm travel cross-country car, which marks a major departure from the usual full suspension concept.

Two models will initially be available in the UK, one equipped with Fox’s electronic Live Valve suspension and Shimano XT transmission system, and the other equipped with conventional Fox shock absorbers and Shimano SLX transmission system, priced at 6,999 pounds and 4,999 pounds, respectively.

For the past ten years or so, Giant's Maestro suspension link has been the backbone of almost every full suspension bike it manufactures. The rear triangle is fixed between two co-rotating links to provide a floating virtual pivot point. This is a system that provides good service to manufacturers. Over the years, its bicycles have received a lot of praise for their very smooth and comfortable rear end.

The new Anthem cancels the Maestro, and replaces it with a single-pivot layout driven by a link, with a built-in flex in the rear triangle. It is called FlexPoint Pro. It is similar to the design on many modern XC racing bikes, such as the Specialized Epic and Cannondale Scalpel, and the lower bikes in the Giant series, including Stance.

FlexPoint Pro is based on a single main pivot located behind the chainring. Flex is designed to be used at the junction between the carbon chain and the seat stay. Then they drive a composite rocker, which is said to be lighter and stronger than an alloy rocker, and drive the vertically mounted shock absorber.

By putting down the lower link and a pair of pivots, Giant claims that the FlexPoint Pro suspension link can reduce the weight by 250 grams while still providing the required pedaling efficiency and compliance.

But when you go uphill, weight is not everything-frame stiffness is essential to help transfer power from the crank to the rear wheels. As a result, Giant reconstructed the area around the bottom bracket, which is said to have added 20% additional stiffness to the bottom bracket area of ​​the PF92 Powercore.

In addition, the torsional stiffness of the frame has been increased by 7%, which helps prevent it from twisting under pedaling loads.

In addition to changing the suspension link, Giant has also updated Anthem, its shape is very modern in accordance with the XC standard.

The seat tube has been steep to 75.5 degrees-not aggressive, but on a bike with a rear travel of 100 mm, and can be quite stiff, it should feel relatively steep.

In the front, the angle has changed, and the head angle has been relaxed to 67.5 degrees. This is paired with a 110mm-travel front fork to provide a little extra travel when the track becomes more rugged-a recognition of the increasingly technical nature of World Cup XC cars.

A nice side benefit of staying away from Maestro is that Giant can also slightly shorten the rear end, shortening the chainstay to 435 mm, which may help in handling on tighter, more tortuous tracks.

For the large size, other key figures include the 465mm seat tube, which holds a 150mm dropper on the large size-125mm on the small and medium sizes, and 150mm on the XL.

There are wheelbases of 603 mm and 1,183 mm. So, in general, very up-to-date.

Finished details include an MRP chain guide to ensure the safety of the transmission system, and a new 35mm carbon fiber rod inserted into a 70mm stem.

Using the Fox 34 front fork and the long dropper, although not very "countryside", it feels that these two models are farther away from the thoroughbred XC racing we might expect.

Our British news material has two models of bicycles, Anthem Advanced Pro 29 1 and Anthem Advanced Pro 29 2. The international market will also see the higher-end Anthem Advanced Pro 29 0, which is equipped with SRAM's XX1 AXS transmission system, and the cheaper Anthem Advanced Pro 29 3.

Tom Marvin is the technical editor of BikeRadar.com and MBUK Magazine. He pays special attention to mountain bikes, but also spends a lot of time on gravel bikes. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus and was previously the technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. He is also a regular host of BikeRadar's YouTube channel and BikeRadar podcast. With more than 20 years of mountain bike experience and nearly a decade of mountain and gravel bike testing experience, Tom has ridden and tested thousands of bicycles and products, from ultra-light XC race cars to the most powerful brakes on the market. In addition to testing bicycles, Tom has also participated in a wide range of mountain bike competitions, from multi-day endurance races to 24-hour endurance races in the harsh winter of Scotland-pushing bicycles, parts and legs to the limit. He also calculated that when testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel, shaving leg hair can save 8 watts. When he is not riding a horse, he will show up on the climbing wall, in the garden or cooking food.

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