GIANT FATHOM 2
£999 Strikes a good balance of speed, comfort, fun & cost
The Fathom 2 ticks almost all of the must-have spec boxes and looks the part too, so we had high hopes for its on-trail performance.
The frame
Giant build the frame from their own ALUXX SL aluminium. Unusually, the seatstays join the seat tube lower down than the top tube, in a bid to make the back end smoother over rough terrain. You get quick-release dropouts, rather than a through-axle, but at least they’re the new, wider Boost QR standard (141x9mm). The head tube is tapered, making any future fork upgrade easier. Cables are routed internally, with provision to add a front mech. On our large frame, the seat tube bottle mount (one of two) fouled the seatpost, preventing it from being fully inserted – worth noting if you have short legs.
Giant say the bike has trailfriendly geometry, and that’s borne out by the 67-degree head angle. But we’d normally expect that to be accompanied by longer reach and wheelbase numbers than the 444mm and 1,153mm of our frame.
The kit
The 650b Fathom bridges the gap between the plus-size rubber of the Cannondale and the narrow tyres of the GT with a set of 2.4in Maxxis Ardent Races. These strike a good balance between grip and rolling speed, although the low-profile tread struggles in mud. They’re mounted on mid-width (30mm) rims and set up tubeless from the factory – something that’s refreshing to see at this price, and helps make this the lightest bike on test.
You get a reliable 1x10 Shimano Deore drivetrain (with Praxis Cadet cranks), and the own-brand finishing kit includes Giant’s own 145mmtravel Contact Switch dropper post (£135 in shops). Turning to SR Suntour for suspension duties saves Giant some cash, but the 120mm Raidon 32 fork doesn’t skimp on features. The Tektro HDM brakes get an upsized 180mm front rotor.
The ride
The added flow that a dropper adds – due to not having to stop to drop your seat manually – is a real plus on any bike, but especially at this price. Another thing that quickly made itself apparent is the Fathom’s beefy construction. The taut frame feel makes it seem like every watt of power you put in is getting transferred to the rear wheel, and it accelerates rapidly – but the stiff back end can beat you up when things get bumpy.
Pedal into a rough section of trail and the Giant struggles to maintain
THE TAUT FRAME FEEL MEANS THE GIANT ACCELERATE S RAPIDLY, BUT THE STIFF BACK END CAN BEAT YOU UP WHEN THINGS GET BUMPY
momentum, not absorbing the chatter or rolling over bumps as comfortably or easily as some bikes here. That means more rider fatigue when you’re trying to maintain a decent pace, which isn’t ideal on longer rides. It’s not all bad though, because the stiff frame also makes the Fathom feel relatively rapid and responsive when you’re letting gravity do the work. It reacts well to aggressive flicks and hard pushes in turns, and gives a feedback-rich, accurate feel when you most need it. The pinpoint handling does mean you need to work relatively hard to keep the bike in check when tackling really rough sections though.
That less comfortable ride doesn’t just come down to frame feel. The Suntour fork isn’t the most sophisticated unit, in terms of control, and we had to run more pressure than recommended to help it maintain its ride height on descents and stop it diving through its travel. This reduced the suppleness of a fork that was already relatively reluctant to get moving. The Tektro brakes lack power and bite too, which can catch you off-guard if you need to scrub off serious speed before a turn.
The Giant felt reasonably wellproportioned on both the climbs and the descents. Ideally, we’d like a slightly slacker head angle and longer reach, but this is a bike you can ride all day on most types of terrain without major issues, once you’re used to the unyielding ride feel. With an upgraded fork and brakes, it could be improved dramatically.