After selling my Orange Five last year and sticking with my HT, i am begining to miss my full bounce.

Ive settled on a Giant Reign and i never really got on with the Five and ive always loved my previous Giants.

Im looking at either a 2011 Giant Reign 1 or a 2012 Giant Reign 2, depending on what money i can raise.

I would just like to see other peopls reigns and how they find them. I mainly ride around the Peak District and North Wales Trail Centres. My main concern is what they are like on the climbs so opinions would be nice.

Cheers

Ian

I mainly ride around the Peak District and North Wales Trail Centres

the word you’re looking for is a trance no?

why?

lighter, more fun

Here is my Reign about to get some ‘sick air’ at Stile Cop.

Here is my Reign in the nud as it is nowadays…

Here is my Reign in the….rain at Penmachno.

Here is my Reign up to its bars in some crops in deepest Warwickshire, hideous riding.

I really rate the Reigns to be honest. I used to have a Heckler after deciding to downsize from a downhill bike. I found the Heckler flexy in the rear for the riding I do and the Reign fitted the bill nicely.

Most of the time I can be found ragging it down at Woburn or pootling round Cannock, Llandegla etc, which it copes with brilliantly. It climbs really well but would be better still with a fitter person onboard, but it really seems fine to me. You won’t be first up the hill in a group of shaven-legged xc whippits, but you’ll be first down 😉
I guess the front come up a bit at times but usually only when I’ve not wound the fork travel in for climbing.

I take it on the odd uplift day at Bringewood/Hopton/Cwmcarn/FOD and again, its spot on. I’ve taken it to Morzine for two years now and only the intense braking craters of the 10/10 on Le Pleney may have left me feeling a little underbiked, but the that used to rattle me fillings on my dh bike too to be fair.

I have a coil shock which I stick in for Alps trips etc but usually leave the air shock in. If I could change the bike, I would firstly make the headangle a little slacker as its on the steeper side, though I think the newer models are slacker. I’d also perhaps make it easier to change the shock out as to switch to my coil shock I have to remove the cranks/chainring to get access to the pivot bolts.

I run mine with a single 32t ring on the front with a Blackspire chaindevice and a 36t cassette on the back.

Fantastic bike, although I have been drawn to a NP Mega and a Saracen Ariel lately, due to the slight increase in slackness and ability to change the shock without touching anything else.

You won’t regret the Reign…

Giant rep advised me against Reign for much of UK (especially Surrey Hills). Designed more for the Alps etc.

Was going to demo Trance and Anthem but had a chance to demo Anthem 29er and was blown away especially and surprisingly on steeper, tighter, rooty trails. Took me 3 hours to stop smiling.

I am not even going to bother demo-ing Trance. The Anthem felt perfect for everything I need – XC/TrailQuest/AR – trail centres and the Lakes

I have an off the shelf Reign from 07, 160mm Talas upfront and similar rear travel, not sure how that compares to current models. I like the bike very much, it pedals pretty well no bounce (usually don’t bother with pro pedal) and except on very steepest climbs I don’t wind the front down. Solid chuckable bike, has served me well on two trips to Alps. Fact is its overkill for my local riding inc Surrey Hills given my lack of airtime. When I got it I was torn between Trance and Reign and as @greeble says I think a Trance will probably serve you better.

@teamhurtmore – if you go on a Nirvana ride you’ll see why something like the Reign is good for Surrey Hills, it’s just I can’t jump for sh1t ….

@teamkayak has it spot on … if you want to start riding like he does it’s a good choice.

Reign X with u-turn Lyriks.

I absolutely love it

Here’s my Gladys, a 2008 Trance with a 140mm Maxle Pike in her front end. With the longer fork it’s very capable but I’m not carrying extra bike around with me. It’s slackened off the HA a little too. She wears a shorter-than-stock 70mm stem 711 Sunline bars which works really well.

As said, consider whether you need 6″ of travel for what you do. Not trendy, but the Maestro works like a charm!

pretty much the same as my setup there Herman Shake. I love it such a fun bike

jambalaya – Member

@teamhurtmore – if you go on a Nirvana ride you’ll see why something like the Reign is good for Surrey Hills,

Yes, I’m sure. I probably ought to try one but the Trek EX experience even put me off the Trance. But do I really need to spend the £50 if its not a realistic option for me?

Now for those old pitch pros out there?

My old Reign X…

Really liked that bike and was sad to have to sell it, but truth of the matter was it just didn’t get used. For most of my riding it was too heavy, and too bouncy, and that includes UK trail centres. Sure, they go uphill ok in the end but unless you’re riding full on gnarly stuff all the time, you don’t really reap enough of a benefit on the downs to compensate for the ups IMO. That said, it was bloody good fun to ride!

Can highly recommend the stifness and action of the Giant Maestro platform though, as others have said, in your position I’d buy a Giant Reign X and fit a 130-140mm travel fork such as a Revelation/Pike/Sektor and it will offer 95% of the performance on the downs as a Reign/Reign X, but be significantly lighter and more manageable elsewhere.

Abigale loves hers

Here is my X1 does everything from red/black to Fort Bill

Cheers for all the advice people.

I personally now would not go any lower than having 140mm travel riding in the peaks.

The trance is a good bike but i used to have a Spesh FSR XC Pro which was 120mm travel. Great bike but i always felt like i needed a bit more travel to smash through the rough stuff.

Im quite an aggresive rider and are my mate who all ride 140+ travel full sussers.

I am going to buy a reign but im going to hang on a bit and look for a good second hand one.

Cheers

I have a brand new 2010 reign frame in Large if you’re interested. Looking for £700 or so, willing to negotiate because it’s still here after a couple of weeks of having it advertised.

Me and my 2011 Giant Reign…
http://www.rootsandrain.com/photos/229778

Brilliant bike! Climbs and descends way better than the 5 and spicy i’ve had before. Had a Trance X just before getting the Reign last year. The Reign doesn’t climb nearly as well, but more than makes up for it when you go back down. Fairly light bikes (mine is 13kg) capable of all types of riding. Only problem with 2011- is they have a push fit bb and no iscq mounts. I run a single chainring upfront and found just a top guard isn’t enough so I now run a bashwidge (2 light bashrings). Not a problem if you run 2 rings up front though.

I’ve got a 2008 Reign 1 with Wotans on the front. It’s a fabulous bike when it’s pointing downhill and is brilliant for the Alps, uplifts, etc but I find it a chore on flat or up and down trails, especially if riding with mates on lighter bikes.. It climbs very well (albeit steadily due to the weight) but it doesn’t come alive on anything but the downs. I could build it lighter but I’ve got another bike to do home and trail centres so I’m happy.

I have a 2007 Reign 0 and its a great bike.

Before it i had an Orange 5 for year which i gradually hated more and more.Crude,poor climber with a really ropey finish.I was riding my £350 hardtail more than the Orange as it was more enjoyable.Sold the 5 and took a chance with a Reign bought over the internet.
The first ride showed i’d wasted a year of riding on the Orange as the Reign was so much better.
The finish and detail is great.Rear suspension far smoother and an excellent climber for its weight.
The best thing for me though is the bikes balance.I seem to be sat in the perfect position for pedalling and the front end feel is way more than the Orange.
My only gripe would be that its a bit underforked with a Fox 32 but it highlights how good the rear suspension is.
If i was looking at buying again it would probably be a Trance X but definitely another Giant.