mountain bikes: XC-Fully comparison test: Giant Anthem Advanced vs. Nicolai Saturn 11

Test: German custom forge vs. Taiwanese "mass goods", aluminum vs. carbon or conventional race fully vs. racing file with trail bike genes. The duel between the two noble racers can be played through in many areas. Both that Nicolai Saturn 11 as well as that Giant Anthem Advanced were already convincing in our individual tests. However, since both excelled in their own way, we sent them into a classy shootout. who is faster Which concept works?

The opponents in comparison

The testers – XC-Fully comparison test Anthem Advanced vs. Saturn 11

We got reinforcements for this duel. Michael Stieglbauer and Maximilian Hoffmann from Stieglbauer racing team are on national and international XC and marathon courses almost every weekend during the summer. In his more than 25-year mountain bike career, Michael has been to the XC World Cup at one point or another. Both are not only fast on the bike, but also supported us with the know-how from their everyday work in the local bike shop. Maxi works there as a master bike mechanic and Michael supports sales and in the workshop. The team of the two is sponsored by Scott, which is why they brought their Scott Spark RC team bike with them as a reference, which is certainly not the worst choice in the race fully range at the moment.

The course – XC-Fully comparison test: Giant Anthem Advanced vs. Nicolai Saturn 11

We chose the Bischofsmais bike park as a test area. The test route for our XC/marathon duel consists of the new E-Flow Uphill, the Flowcountry Downhill and the lower part of the Freeride route. Between Flowcountry and Freeride we added a steep meadow climb over the winter toboggan run. The route demands different qualities from the bikes: on the one hand, there are fast uphill and downhill passages, but also technically difficult uphill and downhill sections.

Look & equipment - XC-Fully comparison test: Giant Anthem Advanced vs. Nicolai Saturn 11

Both bikes look classy in completely different ways and make a lot of impressions. The Nicolai impresses with raw aluminum and the well-known “sweat porn”. The Giant, on the other hand, is rather noble black matt with finely processed carbon. Due to the tune parts, the Nicolai looks more like a custom build, whereas the Giant is perfectly styled with the in-house parts and doesn't look any less high-quality. We don't want to judge the optics. Both bikes are real eye-catchers in their own way.

When it comes to equipment, the two racing files are very similar at first glance. SRAM Eagle and Fox Kashima suspension immediately stand out. In terms of price, however, there is still a meager €1100 in between. You can already call the Nicolai your own for €6.499, while the Giant costs €7.599. In return, you get the SRAM Eagle in the XX1 top version on the Giant – the slightly heavier X01 version is installed on the Nicolai. The wheels are also at a high level, although the fundamental differences continue here; Giant donated its XC-Fully wheels with carbon rims, at Nicolai there's aluminum art from Tune - the two competitors don't compare much when it comes to weight.

There are also differences in the Fox suspension that you might not see at first glance. With the Fox 32 Float Step Cast Factory with 100 m and the Fox Float Factory DPS damper including remote control, the Giant has a rather sporty and firm chassis. The Nicolai offers 120mm more travel, but you have to do without the light Stepcast Casting.

Finally, it gets interesting when it comes to the weight: Can a modern aluminum frame keep up with the carbon fiber models here? Sure, the Giant (10,3 kg) is lighter, but the Nicolai (10,9 kg) is only 600 grams behind, even though the tires were factory converted to tubeless like the Anthem. There go another 300 g away. Then both bikes are almost on the same level. Of course you might have to make concessions in terms of rigidity and durability with the very light tune parts, but for a bike with an aluminum frame it is a very good weight.

So if you compare the equipment, you can't really identify any advantages or disadvantages here. Therefore, there is a fair draw here.

Ergonomics - XC-Fully comparison test: Giant Anthem Advanced vs. Nicolai Saturn 11

Although both bikes are very different in themselves, the testers felt very comfortable on the bikes the first time they tried them out. Due to the long top tube (630 mm) in combination with the long stem, the Giant is rather stretched out. The seating position is somewhat defused by the built-in riser. Opinions were divided on the handlebars. On the one hand, there was criticism that a riser does not belong on a race bike, as this makes the front feel a bit too high. On the other hand, the riser was positively received because it makes the seating position on the Giant more relaxed, which should not be underestimated, especially on long days in the saddle. The rest of the cockpit was consistently well received. Above all, the lockout remote lever for fork and damper was consistently appreciated.

Nicolai also transfers his Geolution geometry concept to the Saturn 11. As a result, the top tube (645 mm) of the bike is extremely long. So that the seating position is not too stretched, the saddle is a little further forward and a very short stem (50 mm) is installed for an XC/marathon bike. The whole thing together results in a very balanced seating position. The cockpit was also well received by the Nicolai. The ESI chunky silicone grips are always popular with racers and the Tune turn bar flat bar was just right here with a width of 750 mm.

Both are strong when it comes to ergonomics. Who is the winner here depends on individual preferences.

Compare geometries

Duel Uphill – XC-Fully comparison test: Giant Anthem Advanced vs. Nicolai Saturn 11

We beat both bikes over the E-Uphillflow route on the Geißkopf, which is actually intended for E-MTBs. With fast, steep passages and some technically extremely demanding uphill parts, the route is also a very good reference for our test bikes.

How a bike performs uphill depends to a large extent on the geometry, in addition to weight and chassis. Looking at the data sheet, we see big differences between the bikes. With a steering angle of 69 degrees and a seat angle of 73,5 degrees, the Giant is still quite conventional for a fully race bike. Nicolai goes a different way. The head angle is flat at 67,6 degrees, which is compensated by a steep 75,5 degree seat angle and places the rider centrally on the bike. In a nutshell: the head angle of the Nicolai is more than 1 degree slacker than the Giant, while the seat angle of the Nicolai is exactly XNUMX degree steeper. It will be exciting in the uphill duel.

As different as the concepts of our two opponents may be - a look at the times shows: The differences in the total time are minimal. Michael was faster with the Nicolai, Maxi with the Giant. What did you notice? Both bikes are outstanding climbers, but both have their strengths and weaknesses in different sections of the route. That's exactly why they are almost equal in the overall time at the end.

The Giant was clearly the livelier bike. When accelerating, it practically flew out of the berms and you could easily take the speed with you. In technical and steep sections, however, the Nicolai was the clear winner. With its steep seat tube angle, long chainstays (446mm) and low front end, riders are in the perfect seating position on such terrain to put full power on the pedals. With the Giant, you had to work a little more here due to the high front and adjust the seating position. 

Both rear triangles worked very well and rocking was almost a foreign word. Since both bikes are already at a high level in terms of uphill performance, it also depends heavily on the rider and his preferences. Therefore, it is again difficult to determine a clear winner.

times uphill

Downhill duel – XC-Fully comparison test: Giant Anthem Advanced vs. Nicolai Saturn 11

We tested the downhill qualities of the two competitors on the Flow Country Trail and the freeride route in the Geisskopf bike park. The result? Here, too, it's the same as before: Big differences and still a tie. Depending on the rider, the Nicolai or the Giant was again the faster bike. On paper, the Nicolai should actually be clearly ahead. A flat steering angle and 120 mm instead of 100 mm travel and a low center of gravity speak for the aluminum bike. In the test, we also found that it takes time to adjust to the geometry of the Nicolais, which is unusual for a race bike. The bike seems a bit sluggish at times, but when it gets fast it shines with a lot of smoothness. No wonder: The wheelbase of the Nicolais is almost 7 cm longer than that of the Giants and that is of course noticeable, both positively and negatively.

The rear end of the Nicolai provides 105mm of spring travel, was a lot of fun with a lot of swallowing pleasure and defused one or the other tricky situation. The Giant, on the other hand, conveys an almost fundamentally different driving experience. The 90mm spring deflection in the rear is rather tight and sporty, as you are usually used to from a bike in this class. The performance is excellent here too and the Giant is also able to reliably defuse rough trails. But it is not quite as comfortable as the Nicolai. What was noticeable with the Giant was that it tended to oversteer a bit during fast corners and changes of direction. We don't think the balance between long top tube and short rear triangle was quite right here. This was much better balanced with the Nicolai. Nevertheless, the Giant was able to keep up well even in fast passages.

Here, too, it was shown again: It simply depends on the driver, their preferences and driving style. Max felt much more comfortable on the Giant, while Michael had more fun on the Nicolai. This is exactly what is also reflected in the lap times.

times downhill

Conclusion - XC-Fully comparison test: Giant Anthem Advanced vs. Nicolai Saturn 11

total lap times

Which bike is the faster now? Unfortunately, our test could not fully answer this question. It was shown which bike is more suitable for which type of rider. Am I looking for a pure, optically stylish XC weapon with the latest technology? Then take the Giant. Light, stiff, manoeuvrable and with good propulsion. In addition to my competitions, do I also want to have fun on long tours or cross the Alps? Then take the Nicolai. Light but robust with reserves. It's also a type thing: Do I want an off-the-shelf bike or do I want some individuality? In the end it's a decision that everyone has to make for themselves, because both bikes are absolute rockets.