• This topic has 27 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by gonzy.
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  • Giant Reign 650b Riders need your thoughts
  • johnski15
    Free Member

    I’m currently looking for a new bike, frame really, have seriously considered a Santa Cruz Nomad CC, but frame is incredibly expensive looked at buying a YT Capra, am not keen on the new builds, colours and don’t really need the components, plus frame warranty is 5 years.

    So I’ve now looking at other framesets. I really like the look of the Reign, especially the advanced composite.

    So, what are they like to ride in comparison to the bikes you used to own?

    Also, need to know if the headtube is a standard, rather than the ‘different’ overdrive Giant developed one.

    Thanks, John

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    A lot more like a downhill bike than a lot of other bikes in its category – even those that are slacker. The low BB and leverage ratio that emphasises grip as opposed to pop means that its the most planted 160mm bike Ive ever ridden.

    If you’re an ex DHer they just click – A lot of the other Enduro bikes dont for me – eg the Whyte 160 (feels like a flight XC bike to me) , the YT etc etc, the only poppy…ish bike that has clicked with me has been the Mega 275.

    trauty
    Free Member

    I owned about 4 different full suss bikes over past 6 years and currently have reign. My previous bikes were: canyon strive ( first generation linkage driven singlepivot) Rocky mountain slayer (horst link variant), trek remedy 9.9 ( full float single pivot) and now the reign.

    strive –
    decent antisquat ( minimal pedal bob) linear leverage ratio ( blow through travel with large air volume shock – but also super plush and loads of traction) , brake jack – suspension locked under braking , pedal kickback noticable. cornered really nicely – low bb , low standover clearance was wee bit annoying

    rm slayer –
    nice progressive linkage system – no brake jack or pedal kickback but fair amount of pedal bob ( not issue with added low speed comp or propedal) – very good overall- I miss that frame actually – very well designed proper dh slayer 😀

    trek remedy – no brake jack , apparent pedal bob , decent bike just not so good for proper dh enduro ( not too slack headangle). I would have kept it if it was possible to install works components headset to slacken it down to 65. bottom bracket was too high and reach was not too long so I did not feel too confident on bike on steep stuff , however excellent allrounder.

    giant reign – very high leverage ratio ( requires loads of pressure in shock for correct sag) brake jack is noticable , pedal bob is acceptable, pedal kickback not issue , currently running it with coil shock and it performs rather nicely compared to stock rt shock ( 500 coil/ 28% sag) – really nice great traction yet poppy when needed . bottom bracket is low , headangle is slack , reach is good also. corners well . this is my first 650b frameset. bike requires proper attacking position to really get best from it as all my previous bikes were shorter in reach value by about 25 mm so still getting used to it. bike is fast!
    headtube is standard taper!
    What is your current frame?

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    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    Contary to popular opnion you want a bit of brake jack

    http://linkagedesign.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/grafica-anti-rise-tutorial.html

    As it helps to keep the chassis balanced under hard rear braking.

    trauty
    Free Member

    i know that site well.
    my previous remedy or slayer performed better under braking – wheel kept tracking the ground , but on reign it suddenly feels like hardtail almost. sudden loss of traction

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    I was under the impression that those two words are interchangable – if you make the suspension leverage independant of braking forces (eg using a floating caliper) then it will tend to cause the bike to dive forward under braking.

    I prefer my bike not to dive, coming from hardtails I don’t care so much about rear traction coming into a corner – it’s the front that I don’t want to tuck under.

    I like the Reign (especially since I put a coil in the Pike) because it allows me to pretty much quit worrying about sudden loss of front grip/tuck under and really weight the front of the bike up. The slight lack of independance to the rear braking, ties in nicely with the low BB, the support I’m getting from the coil and my somewhat mismatched sag ratios (21 front, 30 rear). It’s a good bike for riding the front and letting the rear do it’s thing.

    The Reign starts to make sense when you try to ride it like a rally car.

    trauty
    Free Member

    yeah coil fork is nice ( been using marzocchi 55 coil fork last 2 seasons) but now i am getting lyrik 650b. I plan to get vorsprung luftkappe soon too. should make it behave almost like coil ( i had vorsprung corset air can on my remedy and it was very good) basically it will increase negative air chamber to increase small bump grip of fork and simultaneously add more progresivity of suspension also.

    deviant
    Free Member

    Sounding like a stuck record but get a trance, put a 160mm fork on the front and swap the 200×51 shock (140mm tavel) and replaced with a 200×57 one giving 156mm of rear travel…..there’s your 160mm bike without it seeing like a lifeless sled.
    It’s what I’ve done and it’s brill.

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    I ran a Reign for about 2 years (both alu & carbon).

    I cracked one of each. My bikes tend to lead a hard life though. The carbon one cracked after a season in Whistler. Giant were awesome to deal with for warranty though. A few pictures & a replacement frame in a matter of days.

    Ride quality wise – I came from a Nomad 650b & went onto the Reign. When I demo’d the Reign in Canada the year before I jumped on it via the science of Strava, I was instantly quicker on anything downwards than the Nomad, before I had really even got used to it.

    I subsequently moved to a Patrol carbon, which IMO wasn’t as good a bike.

    Things that annoyed me; The seat angle. No getting away from the fact it’s slack. I was near bang on for the L, but it pushed me back a long way on the bike. Climbing wise it was average as a result. Suspension when rolling was great – the Maestro system is awesome. It’s a fast bike. Cable rattle & routing was cack. Linkage hardware looks like they stole it from £99 Argos bike (tip – flip the lower linkage bolts so you don’t need to take the cranks/chain device off to remove the shock).

    They are a great bike, if a little bland (my inner snob).

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I’m another former Reign owner who swapped it for something more fun that turned out to be slower (Process 153 in my case).

    My review of Reign here: http://unduro.co.uk/mtb/review-giant-reign-2015/

    Nutshell: Fast, stable, no fun on flat trails, not much character.

    My current Radon Swoop manages to be engaging and at least as capable as the Reign. Just thought I’d mention that.

    richwales
    Full Member

    Sounding like a stuck record but get a trance, put a 160mm fork on the front and swap the 200×51 shock (140mm tavel) and replaced with a 200×57 one giving 156mm of rear travel…..there’s your 160mm bike without it seeing like a lifeless sled.
    It’s what I’ve done and it’s brill.

    Interesting – any issues with tyre hitting the frame etc at full travel

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    Deviant – I didnt know they did 200x57mm metric shocks with trunion mounts…..

    mattherby
    Free Member

    I’ve recently come from a Nukeproof Mega TR 26″ to a Reign Advanced 1. So first 650b bike for me. I have only had the Reign for a month but so good.

    Again, by the science of Strava I have instantly been quicker and I am yet to get fully use to the bike. Front end needs a bit more weight but the bike is lot longer than my large Mega TR.

    I am more than happy with my decision to get the Reign over the Commencal Meta I was looking at. I don’t think there has been many Reign owners who have been dissapointed.

    gonzy
    Free Member

    me and a few friends spent a whole day testing the new transition patrol, santa cruz bronson c, mondraker dune, radon swoop and a yt capra cf pro…we were meant ot get hold of a reign too but that fell through at the last minute so we ended up with a trance

    i’m 5’8″ and all the bikes on test were a large apart from the capra and swoop which were medium
    all the bikes were very good however
    the trance felt out of place in a big way in this company but that doesnt mean its a crap bike. the fit for me was really good but some of the other guys found it a bit short with the 35mm stem. the rear end was very smooth and quite…but we all agreed that it was more of a trail bike that could do a bit of enduro
    the patrol felt really good. the large with the 50mm stem was spot on for me. initially in the shop it felt like it would be a bit small but on the trail it wasnt. very planted and very aggressive…only downside was £4k+ for an alloy version
    the bronson was as i expected good but even the large with its 32mm stem felt odd. this was probably down to it running a 150mm pike instead of 160mm. it just felt like too much of my body weight was leaning over the front. however it felt the most playful but also felt a bit skittish when it was right on the limit
    the capra was very plush…seemed very agile and nippy…seemed to do pretty much everything well…only downside was that the medium felt short even for me
    the radon was the real surprise….it descended like a beast and steered etc really well…on the climbs it felt a bit sluggish which reminded me of my old reign and the medium felt a tad bit big to me
    the mondraker i’d ridden before…it was on a par with the patrol…the large was too long for me
    the radon suffered a bit of pedal bob on the climbs as did the capra
    brake jack wise all the bikes seemed to feel pretty much the same but to be honest i wasnt really paying much attention to it.

    so i ended up eliminating the swoop, bronson, capra and mondraker due to size issues.
    it was now between the patrol and reign.
    cue heading down to the LBS.
    i was stuck between the large with a 35mm stem and the medium with a 50mm stem.
    i tried the alloy reign 2 in medium and it felt like my old bike size wise…it was good though…climbed well, very little pedal bob and was quite responsive
    then i tried the large advanced 1 and boy was it a big difference. there may only be 200g weight difference but when you include the carbon wheels and the lighter hubs…the advanced moves very quickly. the steering felt very sharp and responsive and even when leaning into turns you could feel the stiffness of the chassis more than on the alloy one
    this was every bit as good as the patrol but felt lighter and just as planted. the thing that swung it in the reigns favour was the price…the reign had a better spec for me and felt just a bit better…it was a lot cheaper too
    i’m taking it out for a proper ride this weekend so i’ll feed back more on it next week

    gonzy
    Free Member

    deviant – are you based in the midlands? only reason i ask was i was speaking to someone who is selling his norco sight and he showed me a picture of his friends trance which is running a 160mm travel set up similar to yours

    johnski15
    Free Member

    Some really good information there Lads, many, many thanks!

    I’ve also had ‘several’ bikes, currently I’m riding my Nukeproof Mega 275 TR (great bike, but Trail orientated http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2129626/) and I had my 2015 Demo 8 until last week.

    However, as I was very rarely getting out on the Demo, and am always on my HT (with my 8 and 6 year olds) or Mega, I’ve decided to (and have in the case of the spesh – getting there with the mega) sell the Demo and the Mega Frame/Forks and build my self an Enduro that I can enjoy out with my biking mates, and at places like BPW etc..

    I really, really like the Reign advanced 1 and have found it full bike for a superb price, I’ve been down to JE James in Rotherham and the Giant Concept Store in Sheffield to have a look at their stock and try sizes – the only thing that I’m not too keen on is the cable management at the BB – it looks absolutely bollocks, I just can’t understand why you would have internal routing and pop it out under the BB???

    Has anyone had any issuse with the Cable routing?

    Also, I don’t like the 130mm/160mm dual position Pikes – I know these are a custom 46mm offset, however, again, I’ve got some 160mm 2016 Lyriks – these arn’t 46mm off set but 42mm – but I’ve read this makes the bike feel a tad slacker anyways and better for it… Thoughts on that??

    Thanks,

    John

    johnski15
    Free Member

    @chakaping

    Nice review mate, it made me piss myself at the bottom when you’d sold it after 6 months hahahahahaha

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    I prefer the 46mm offset, some don’t – the wheel feels further out in front of me and the bike feels more balanced on steep terrain – yet the steerings lively enough to be fun.

    In regards to the DPA – you could just put a coil in the fork.

    Never had an issue with the cables beneath the BB.

    tomaso
    Free Member

    Previous FS bikes Enduro 29, Pitch, Stumpjumper, Pitch, old Reign, Giant AC.
    I bought a XL Reign and it’s been great, but in hindsight perhaps a large would’very been better.

    I struggle on tight switchbacks e.g. Nan Bield pass. Perhaps I am not boss enough with my body English..

    It smashes through stuff better than I have balls big enough to do so.

    The length seems to aid climbing steep loose lumpy mountain passes that need a winching style – better than a 29er Enduro.

    If you’ve got the umph it can be muscled along awkward nadgery stuttering trails like Ullswater shore at quite a rate.

    Alloy frame is tough and dependable. Giant wheels were cheese and tyres useless, but everything else was spot on.

    I want to swap my XL for a Large…

    Loves the back wheel

    gonzy
    Free Member

    the only thing that I’m not too keen on is the cable management at the BB – it looks absolutely bollocks, I just can’t understand why you would have internal routing and pop it out under the BB???

    Has anyone had any issuse with the Cable routing?

    its funny you should say that….i had the bike wrapped last week and the guy who did it (Shack Wrap) said it was the best cable routing he’d seen on a bike in a long time

    gonzy
    Free Member

    Tom_W1987 – we may have had disagreements in the past…but i’ll give you your dues here and say you have impeccable taste in bikes 😉

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    The cable routing was cack. Mine after a year looked pretty beat up under the BB. Given the choice I would exit them from the top side of the DT.

    At least they kept the brake hose away from that area.

    It would have been better if they offered both internal & external for the brake like the alu frame – internal brake hoses are a totally moronic idea.

    The odd offset seems to have been quietly dropped by Giant now – they are spec’ing bikes with normal offset forks.

    johnski15
    Free Member

    Have noticed that the 46mm offset is not mentioned on the fox float or lyrik spec’d bikes for this year.

    So, I’m sure swapping them out is nothing, especially as I won’t eve ride the 46mm offset pikes.

    Isn’t it funny that one man’s gripe….cable routing….is another man’s gold.

    I totally agree with the notion of having them pop out of the DT at the side/bottom like the brake hose… so much better,

    tomaso
    Free Member

    No problems with the cable routing on the alloy one, and I clatter plenty of rocks into my shins so the bike must catch some too.

    The DPA Pikes can be sorted with a regular solo air spring for £30.

    deviant
    Free Member

    Richwales and Gonzy, no rear triangle clearance problems, it’s almost like Giant made it to be and then remembered they had the Reign in their line up and had to scale the Trance back to a 140mm rear!

    The only issues some owners have had is with large reservoir cans fouling the down tube…i alternate between an X-fusion RLZ 200×57 for general riding and a TF tuned 200×57 Fox DHX air-5 for uplift days.

    I tried the Reign (Pedalon in Basingstoke) were very accommodating but ultimately as Tom said, it’s a DH bike in all but name, I wanted a long travel trail bike.

    RickDraper
    Free Member

    The DPA Pikes can be sorted with a regular solo air spring for £30.

    Im afraid its not that simple by a long shot. They would need a new solo air CSU as well as the full air spring side parts.

    gonzy
    Free Member

    right so i took the bike out for its first proper outing on Sunday.
    perfect muddy weather for it too!!
    the night before i spent a bit of time making sure all the suspension settings were as i wanted them…here came my first shocker!!
    the fox x2 shock is the performance model….so it only comes with low speed rebound adjustment…only the factory elite model gets both low and high speed rebound adjustment
    after getting over this i set the suspension up and went to bed still feeling very giddy about the following day
    got to the meet point to meet the rest of my buddies who were dying to see my new steed in the flesh…it would also be a good test to see how it performed against the fleet of bikes that were there that day…an intense tracer 275 palmer lt edition, 2 mondraker dunes, a carbon cube stereo and a borrowed carbon scott spark
    first section of the ride was a monster fire road climb and i was surprised that given the bikes angles how well it climbed…the front didnt wander too much and i kept up with the rest of the group…the only thing slowing me down was my lack of fitness
    the next section of the route was a series of boggy trails that had mix of short climbs and descents with plenty of rutted and loose bouldery sections
    the bike took everything in its path with ease….the only time it fell short was when the tyres got too bogged down with thick mud on the climbs…to be fair this was the same for all the bikes
    the front end tracked really well and the steering felt sharp and responsive.
    all of this riding up until this point was done with compression dial on the shock in the firm or middle setting….i rode one section down in the firm setting but the shock is so good that i didnt even notice id left the shock locked out
    when it came to the massive descent towards the end of the route…i opened up the compression fully on the shock and let it rip.
    open fast rocky and loose was the terrain.
    all i can say is hat a machine…the bike really came alive!!
    the mondraker boys are always the quickest on this section but this time they couldnt shake me off. they were pedalling away to try and get away from me but they couldnt shake me off….and i wasnt even pedalling! the bike just took everything in its path with absolute ease…the rear end just floated over everything like it wasnt there and the front just went wherever you pointed it…i overtook the mondraker boys as soon as i decided to start pedalling and they only caught up when i slowed down near the bottom.
    we went back to the top of the descent to try that section again and the result was the same.
    we then went and found some new sections to try out and again the bike left me with a huge grin on my face.
    in comparison to my old reign the new one was obviously lighter…luggage scales put it at 28.2lb but it felt just as planted on the trail
    the suspension on my old reign was always very plush but also felt a bit wallowy mid travel…but the fox x2 shock is an amazing piece of kit…it just works how you want it to
    i’ll admit that the bike feels a bit more wooden on the climbs and some of the gentle stuff but once you get it going and start to work the bike it just comes alive.
    next ride out will be the Big Day Out at Lee Quarry on the 5th March…cant wait!!

    gonzy
    Free Member

    OP…if you want to save a bit of cash and dont mind an alloy version…a mate is selling a large 1 ride old 2017 reign 2.
    its tricked out with hope brakes, pedals, wheels, stem and a carbon bar…he’s looking for £2200 but will entertain serious offers

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