There’s an awful lot of choice out there for anyone after a good mountain bike for around £1,000, so Giant’s Fathom 2 – sitting at £1,099 – is going to be up against stiff competition. Thankfully, at first look the aluminium framed, 120mm travel trail bike looks like a well-specced and made machine.
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While the Fathom range only consists of two bikes, if you’re after something that’s set for a little more rough and tumble than the usual cross-country focused bikes at this price point then it’s well worth taking a look at, thanks to more relaxed angles for a trail riding focused vibe.

This Fathom 2 is joined by the Fathom 1 at £1,299, though both share the same sculpted and hydroformed aluminium frame and also also get a 120mm fork up front – well, 100mm on the smallest size frames – and roll on 650b wheels shod in fat 2.6″ tyres.

This bike might be the entry to the range, but it’s well specced, with a SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain offering plenty of gearing plus an own-brand dropper post to boost the fun rather than race-focused credentials. SR Suntour provides the air-sprung Raidon fork, which gets a proper tapered steerer and a 15mm through-axle too.

It’s also nice to see decent rubber, with Giant’s own brand, Boost spaced wheels with 30mm rims being wrapped in tubeless-ready Maxxis Ardent Race tyres. They might be a little light on tread for sloppy Uk winter conditions, but they should be right up to the task of ripping around all the dry trails we’re due soon (please).

It’s also good to see a relatively dinky stem matched to a 780mm wide low rise bar. Tektro hydraulic brakes do the stopping, with 160mm rotors at either end.

There are also some nice and neat touches on the frame itself, with internal cable routing, flattened welds and a nice matte paint job making it look like a more expensive machine than it is.

We’ll be getting out on the bike soon, so check back for a full review soon.
