With a more relaxed geometry and longer travel (4 inches vs. 3.5), Giant's all-new Anthem X line is a slightly more trail-tuned version of its race-specific Anthem line. Theoretically, those changes should make it slower, and maybe they do, but we couldn't tell. “Feels like a full-on race bike,” said one tester after a 90-minute session on very technical Arizona singletrack. “It feels laid-back when you get on it,” said another, “but the handling is really quick in the technical stuff.” Credit the stiff aluminum frame and Fox's smooth, responsive F100RL fork. Shimano's attractively priced Deore XT components take care of the shifting and braking without inflating the final cost. 25.3 lbs, medium;
