I've read lots of stuff about the Meastro sussers being very good and I found the limits of my Soul on a recent holiday in the Alps with the White room. I'm keen to go back to the Alps next year with something that will be better suited to the DH runs and skip over the rocks instead of rattling my fillings out 😀

Top of my list at the moment is the Reign, and some have suggested that it will cope with a bigger fork than standard, so is it worth getting one with a fork that adjusts upwards for "big days" as realistically I'm only on holiday in the mountains 1 or 2 weeks of the year max?

Ta TR

If all your going to use it for is the Alps then jsut buy a cheap 2nd hand downhill bike before you go, then sell it when you return.

Ive heard the Reigns are meant to be good though and a newer improved model is/has just been released.

As for running a shorter fork, seems a bit pointless and it probably wont ride great.

Maybe a better option would be something like an Orange 5 that rides nicely with a 5 inch fork but then wind it out to 6 inchs for the Alps?

Reigns have 6/7 inchs of travel so unless you are riding pretty gnarly stuff over here, they will be overkill.

Reign is a perfectly good (if total overkill) everyday riding bike. Mine had 160mm Vanilla 36's which suited it perfectly. Excellent climber and descender.

I've got a 2006 Reign which has been ace in the Alps. I've turned it into a mini DH bike with FOX 36 VANS (which slackened the head angle), 50mm stem, Monkey DH bars, Super Tacky tyres etc. It will get a chain device next time I go as I'm now fast enough for me to lose my chain!

I found trying to run it as a trail bike the rest of the year was too big a compromise. I keep reading each year how Giant have removed XXkg out of the Reign frame and slackened the head angle so it might be different now. Meastro system is great. I've had travel adjustable forks on other bikes but found I never used it, riding at full travel felt right even on the ups.

I have a 2008 Reign with Talas 36 fork.

This was the year they made them lighter. In 2009 they also slackened the HA a degree.

It's a great bike, perfect for UK riding such as the Lakes because it's light to pedal/carry up, good on the flat and the suspension handles rock gardens brilliantly.

Would have been brilliant for a lot of the riding I did in the Portes du Soleil this summer, but bear in mind it's still very much an XC bike at heart – even with a 60mm stem and wide-ish bars it still puts my weight further forward than I'd like on very steep sections.

Of course the newer model may be more confident downhill, but also may not be as good on the flat or may not take a 160mm fork so well. Swings and roundabouts.

No one mentioning the fact there are two versions of the reign? The 2010 promises to be a beast of bike offering all that travel in such a lightweight package. The only problem with the maestro is that it behaves badly under braking.

The only problem with the maestro is that it behaves badly under braking.

Why do you say that? I've had three Maestro bikes and have found them all very composed under braking.

I assumed the OP meant the Reign rather than Reign X. Even now it's a lot lighter it would still probably be a bit big for an only bike, which seems to be what he wants.

Agree it does look a beast.