Interesting comments on the Giant. I will check out the geo compared to others out there, and see what it is that Giant has done that makes it so good. A quick glance at the specs shows a longer chainstay than I would have expected, given your comment on it being a good climber. Interesting.
As for weight, I really don't pay much heed to that anymore (to a point). As you said, lightness costs money, and I am not a racer so there is no direct correlation for me there. For a strictly recreational bike, give me a stronger rig that can take some solid hits and some drivetrain pounding, than one that's a kilogram lighter that I have to pamper and baby all the way along the trail. Besides, from the results your teammates were getting on your bike, I'd say that weight really matters far, far less than geometry, suspension design, and other factors (low rolling resistance, drivetrain/hub friction, etc.).
BTW, for the money, it looks like Giant is putting better components on their bikes than they used to a few years ago. I made this comment before, that when we were looking at new bikes about 3 or 4 years ago, the Giant models just didn't measure up to others with their component specs, dollar for dollar. That seems to have changed, judging by what I see on your Anthem and its MSRP. Nice. I might have to look at their models next time I'm in the market for a new bike (which may be sooner than later, as the soft rear triangle on the Paragon is really starting to annoy me -- talk about a power drain).
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