Training objective: 2 hour tempo ride with the cadence at 70-80 rpm's and the heart rate between 145-150 bpm's. I took out the Giant Anthem X 29er (2016 model, so 2x10 set-up) courtesy of the guys at Ride Life George. Geometry is virtually made to measure against my Shimano Bikefitting profile. This one is a bit heavier (alloy) than the model I'm looking at, but still went like a bomb. Would have liked a bit more gearing so I don't tap out the power at 85 rpm's on the flats (and much higher on the downhills), so will look at a slightly bigger chain ring. Some sections of the route were freshly graded and watered so not a perfect comparison to the previous gravel conditions but close enough. Despite only 3 hours sleep and feeling rather tired, - and this being a heavier bike - I managed to shave a few minutes off my previous best demo test times on the souped up Specialized Epic. New KOM for the full route (taking 4.5 minutes of my previous KOM on the Specialized Epic) and a bunch of new PR's and trophies for times in the top 3, 5