Giant Fathom 29: Its So Good!

The First Ride Review of my 2024 Giant Fathom 29; ITS SO GOOD!

 

Why in the world did I get a hardtail when I already have a nice MTB?!

Snowy morning 

A good month or two ago I was out riding my nicely spec'd Kona Hei Hei (custom build by The Bike Way) out at Platte River State Park (local excellent trail system) on a lightly snowy morning. After a few miles the drivetrain started making a horrible noise which I would later come to discover was the cassette, chain, and chain ring taking their last breath (they were carry-overs from my old Anthem build in ~2020). 

As I was riding with this terrible sound, I came across a local rider (Mike Custer) riding a steel single speed hardtail.  We stopped and chatted for a minute, and I started to eye-ball his bike. MAN did that make a lot of sense to have a much more basic MTB to ride in the winter! Especially if my main bike (the Hei Hei) needed work. So if my wife Laura is reading this, you can thank Mike Custer for spawning the idea that I needed another bike. :)

The Hei Hei getting rained on

As I thought more about that bike, I realized it would also be a great solution for my frustration when we take the camper trailer out. We always bring our bikes (duh), and when it is more than just me in the camper, the bikes have to sit outside overnight locked up. That means many times the bike will get all manner of weather on it, and we have even jammed the bikes under the trailer if we see something like hail in the forecast. 

Ignoring the weather, I also am just not keen on my beloved Hei Hei sitting out overnight with only a cable lock keeping it out of the hands of someone nefarious. 

On top of all that, it would be great to have a "B" bike for the upcoming Breck Epic race in August. That is a bucket-list event for me, and the last thing I want ending it is some sort of mechanical issue. Having a backup bike will be a real boon to my anxiety.

OK, have I given enough excuses to somewhat justify a second mountain bike? Good! :)

Why the Giant Fathom?

I went through so many different ideas for hardtails. I have a spreadsheet (nerd alert) with at LEAST 10 different build ideas for the perfect B-Bike hardtail. It truly is a great time to be a mountain biker as there are SO MANY excellent options! Here was my criteria:

• 29er
• At least 120mm travel front fork
• Steel, Aluminum, or Titanium frame
• 
  Modern Geometry
• Good sized dropper post
• Be able to share components with my Hei Hei to some degree
• Two bottles in the frame*

That last one has an asterisk as that was more of a nice to have then a necessity. There are so many good ways to carry more water these days off the bike that it wouldn't have been an issue.

This Giant Fathom checks all of those boxes...well, with a little modification.

Aesthetics / other subjective items

I specifically picked this Fathom model (29 2) as I love the paint job! I have the same color on my Giant Talon-E, and Logan has the same color on his Giant XTC JR.  The images on the Giant website don't do it justice, and frankly it is hard to capture it all in photos, but out on the trail that paint really looks fantastic! 

The lines of the bike are just super classy without looking old school. The little details like the handlebar and rim graphics, along with that Giant Crest fork and those hilariously sized tires just make me smile every time I step back and look at the rig. 

Gear

Truly the only thing on this bike that I would hesitate to recommend is the Shimano Deore 1X10 drivetrain. Full transparency, I am a SRAM fanboi, but even outside of that it has been MANY years since i have ridden a 1X10 setup on actual singletrack. Now did that drivetrain kill the joy while riding? Not at all, but the spread of gears and "guess if you shifted" feel while wearing winter gloves was less than ideal. If I didn't have plans to upgrade the drivetrain already, I would have been slightly bummed here. For those that want to give this bike a try, and arent hung up on the blue color like I am, spend a couple bucks more and get the Giant Fathom 29 1 model which has SRAM 1X12 SX. I've ridden that on my fat bike for years now and it is just fine.

I went into this fully expecting to not get on with the handlebar/stem setup. Everything I have heard about 35mm handlebars is negative in that folks say it is too harsh. Color me surprised as this handlebar setup is more comfortable than the ENVE setup I have on the Hei Hei! I even get along with the grips which are usually the first thing I change our (personal preference). The handlebar does scratch very easily, but the nice thing is a black sharpie will fix you right up!

The brakes on this bike were a known item for me. They are Tektro HDM 275 brakes, and everything about them screams "budget item", but I gotta say they are phenomenal. I knew this as I already had them on my ~45lb E-Bike and they do a great job of hauling that to a stop. They do not disappoint here. Loads of power, and easy to use. The only bummer is the clamp for these is not compatible with any sort of matchmaker setup, so there can be a bit of clunkiness with getting it setup on the bars in your favorite position.

As little as a few years ago I thought dropper posts were a bit silly. I am a full convert now, and even to the point of trying to optimize for as much drop as the frame and my legs will allow. This model Giant Fathom in a size large comes stock with a Giant Contact Switch dropper in a 150mm drop. I have the exact same dropper post on my Yukon fat bike, so I knew it would do just fine. That said, you can see in the photo to the right that I still have another 12mm of base post showing, so of course I have a 160mm Bike Yoke Divine dropper incoming (FYI I am 5' 11" tall with a 32 inch inseam). The Giant dropper does just fine, and truly is not something most folks should care about changing out. Very reliable, and the only downside is it is heavy (weights in the next post), and the lever has a bit of a spongy feel to it.

The Giant Crest 34 fork was a question mark for me. I had watched a Hardtail Party video (LINK) where he was riding the Liv Lurra which has the same fork. He was less than excited about it, but he also rides a lot more rocky areas than I do. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with this fork! Its an air fork with rebound adjustment, 34mm stanchions, and 130mm of travel. I really only felt some clumsiness in fast descending with rough hits in quick succession. Overall, most folks would be more than happy with this fork. Me being me...well I've never tried a Rockshox fork before...

Last but not least, these Giant wheels are actually pretty rad. I have no idea what they weigh (will get weights in the next post), but they are 30mm internal width, tubeless out of the box, and the freewheel has a nice understated tone. No weird noises or flex when going over jumps or big roots/rocks. They are pretty great actually! They are also Shimano HG for the freehub, and I just have to have an annoyingly loud freehub so there is something else incoming here. :)

The tires are hilariously overkill for what I ride, but inspire a TON of confidence.

Front: Maxxis Minion DHF 29X2.5 EXO/TR

Rear: Maxxis Aggressor 29X2.5 EXO/TR

Oh, and because no one asked but everyone is kinda interested in, it weighs 31.39 pounds exactly as I rode it today without the water bottles. That includes my Garmin Rally power meter pedals which are a chonky 455 grams (1 pound).

The Ride

Its a good thing I was riding solo, as anyone riding with me would have been super annoyed. I must have yelled out "Its so good!" at least a dozen times. The bike has a 1.5 degree slacker head tube angle compared to my Hei Hei and I was a little concerned that would make it feel odd. NOPE. This thing begs to carve turns and go faster. On quick punchy uphills I found myself out of the saddle sprinting because it felt so dang good. It doesn't feel rough at all (for a hardtail), but I am assuming a good portion of that is from the poofy tires and wheelset.

There truly is something special about a simple hardtail, and I cannot wait to get this out on more dirt! I would have a hard time recommending any other bikes to someone with a budget even around 2500 to 3000. This bike is just so dang good in almost every aspect!

I ordered this from the good folks at The Bike Way...oh, and a lot of other upgrade goodies because reasons.