Ragley Bikes is back back back for 2016 – with Video

It may have escaped your notice, but Ragley have been a bit quiet of late – but now they’re back, back, back, with their full range of hardtails in both 29in and 27.5in flavours – let’s take a look at what’s up:

Can’t see the video? Click here (opens in Youtube)

Ragley think that the best way to get faster is to ride a hardtail – and certainly there’s merit to that view. Hardtails require you to pick lines more carefully; to use your legs more to absorb trail obstacles and to ride more cleanly. If you do switch back to a full-suss you can certainly notice the difference.

The modern Ragleys have been designed with an eye on modern developments. While they’re all hardtails, they cater to different riders with different wheel sizes, frame materials and fork travel and whathaveyou… and you can get them as frame only or as a complete build.

But they’re all touted as being “long, low and slack” – as slack as a modern full-suss, but taking the rigidity of the back end into account, which promises much trail-type fun. Shiny.

Bluepig 27.5”

The Blue Pig is a sort of enduro, none-more-slack 150mm travel hardtail, with a nice slack head angle (64 degree static, stealth routing, 142×12 back end; all the good stuff. It’s made from 4130 cromo steel.

“The new Bluepig is a blend of DH stability and uphill tenacity”, it says here. “It will descend and climb with such contradiction that you will be left scratching your head.” Well, that much is true… looks pretty nice, tho.

• Custom triple butted 4130 Chromo steel
• Optimised for a 150mm fork
• 44mm Headtube
• Head Angle: 64˚Static (66˚ Sagged at 25%)
• 27.5” wheels
• Stealth dropper cable routing
• 142x12mm Through Axle
• ISCG 05 Tabs 
• 5 Year Warranty and lifetime crash replacement

Piglet 27.5”

The Piglet is like the Blue Pig, but.. er.. less aggro. It’s got a steeper head angle by a degree and a half (so 65.5 degree static), it’s optimised for a 130mm fork and has 135mm QR dropouts. Made of the same stuff as the Blue Pig, tho – 4130 cromo.

• Custom triple butted 4130 Chromo steel
• Optimised for a 130mm fork
• 44mm Headtube
• Head Angle: 65.5˚Static (67˚ Sagged at 25%)
• 27.5” wheels
• Stealth dropper cable routing
• 135mm QR
• ISCG 05 Tabs 
• 5 Year Warranty and lifetime crash replacement

Mmmbop 27.5”

Essentially an aluminium Blue Pig. Specs are pretty much identical apart from build material. We think it looks rather lovely.

• Custom butted 6061-T6 Heat treated aluminium tubing
• Optimised for a 150mm fork
• 44/56mm Tapered Headtube
• Head Angle: 64˚Static (66˚ Sagged at 25%)
• 27.5” wheels
• Stealth dropper cable routing
• 142x12mm Through Axle
• ISCG 05 Tabs 
• 5 Year Warranty and lifetime crash replacement

Marley 27.5” 

The Marley is the alloy Piglet, basically. At least, frame wise, with all the same features apart from the 6061-T6 construction. The complete bike is a bargain-tastic £899.99, though, with some pretty decent kit for the cash. We liked the last one we rode rather a lot.

• Custom butted 6061-T6 Heat treated aluminium tubing
• Optimised for a 130mm fork
• 44/56mm Tapered Headtube
• Head Angle: 65.5˚Static (67˚ Sagged at 25%)
• 27.5” wheels
• 135mm QR
• ISCG 05 Tabs 
• 5 Year Warranty and lifetime crash replacement

Bigwig 29”

And here’s the 29er. It’s got some pretty aggressive geometry numbers for a big-wheeler. No idea where the name came from, but it used to be a Tamiya RC Buggy from the eighties which experimented (unsuccessfully) with streamlining… But anyway. The BigWig is a steel number, built for a 130mm fork, with a slack 65 degree static head angle and 142×12 back end. No prisoners taken, here then…

• Custom triple butted 4130 Chromo steel
• Optimised for a 130mm fork
• 44mm Headtube
• Head Angle: 65˚Static (66.5˚ Sagged at 25%)
• Frame designed for 29” or 27.5+” wheels
• Stealth dropper cable routing
• 142x12mm Through Axle
• ISCG 05 Tabs 
• 5 Year Warranty and lifetime crash replacement

For more details, take a look at the Ragley website.

We’re heading over to Northern Ireland to take a look at the new machinery next week – we’ll keep you posted!

Barney Marsh

Barney Marsh takes the word ‘career’ literally, veering wildly across the road of his life, as thoroughly in control as a goldfish on the dashboard of a motorhome. He’s been, with varying degrees of success, a scientist, teacher, shop assistant, binman and, for one memorable day, a hospital laundry worker. These days, he’s a dad, husband, guitarist, and writer, also with varying degrees of success. He sometimes takes photographs. Some of them are acceptable. Occasionally he rides bikes to cast the rest of his life into sharp relief. Or just to ride through puddles. Sometimes he writes about them. Bikes, not puddles. He is a writer of rongs, a stealer of souls and a polisher of turds. He isn’t nearly as clever or as funny as he thinks he is.

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