Propain is a direct to consumer bike brand based in Germany. A lot of you will know the Propain name from the World Cup DH circuit, where the likes of Phil Atwill and David Trummer have piloted the Rage downhill bikes at the highest level of the sport.
With a history of making bikes that were more toward the aggressive end of the scale, in April last year Propain launched its first 29in wheeled bike – the Hugene.
Propain’s 29in-Wheeled Hugene
Squarely aimed at the trail market, the Hugene uses an evolution of Propain’s PRO10 suspension system to deliver 130mm of rear end bounce. That’s paired to either a 140mm or 150mm travel fork up front, depending on model and spec.
With fairly conservative geometry by modern standards, the Hugene has been designed as an all rounder. From fast flowing singletrack, to all day expeditions, the Hugene has been designed to take it all in its stride.
The Hugene is available in three pre-specced models – Start, Performance, or Highend – Propain also lets you pick and choose components to get your dream build. From upgrading the suspension, to changing the colour of the decals, there are plenty of options to chop and change the spec to get exactly what you want.
Our test bike is a Highend build, with top drawer components and dripping with carbon fibre and Kashima.
The Hugene comes in four sizes – S, M, L, XL – and will suit riders from around 156cm up to 201cm. I’m around 183cm which puts me slap bang in the middle of Propain’s recommended height range for a size large, so that’s exactly what I’ve been testing here. From looking at the geo charts I was initially unsure about choosing between a L or XL bike, but after chatting with the good people at Propain I decided to stick with the L.
Now, I’ve generally always preferred gravity assisted riding to spinning away for miles. After a couple of rides that didn’t involve the usual steep, steep and more steep style of tracks, but instead consisted of flowy singletrack where momentum and quick turns were the order of the day, I started thinking about geometry – again. I couldn’t help thinking that maybe the ‘slacker and longer’ vibe isn’t always better, and this is exactly where the Hugene comes in.
The Bike
One look at the Hugene and you can tell that the frame is a full carbon affair, with swoopy lines and a mega low standover height. This top end model also benefits from carbon rims and carbon bars which, with all this added black stuff, helps keep the weight to a more than respectable 28.6lbs (12.97kg) for a size large.
The frame features internal routing for all cables and hoses, keeping things nice and neat, and the addition of internal foam sleeves stops the cables from rattling around inside the frame. There are also nice moulded down tube and chainstay protectors to ward off rock strikes and chain slap when things start to get rowdy.
Where a lot brands have been really pushing the geometry boundaries in recent times, the Hugene by comparison could be considered relatively conservative. With sub-65° head angles and super long reach figures becoming common place on ‘trail’ bikes, the Hugene has a relatively modest reach of 457mm on a size large (with the 150mm fork) and a not-so-slack 67° head angle.
Although it may not be longest bike in terms of reach measurements, the Hugene has decent 445mm long chainstays giving it a reasonable overall wheelbase. The other figure of interest is the 74.5° seat angle. Although this is not the steepest of angles nowadays, combined with the reach it gives a comfortable seated riding position.
The Hugene uses an iteration of Propain’s PRO10 suspension system to deliver 130mm of rear travel. Since the Hugene is designed as an all-round trail bike to be pedalled up as much as down, climbing has been taken into account as much as descending. As such, Propain has designed the system to deliver 100% anti squat for efficient pedalling.
Once gravity takes over though, the suspension is designed to have a progressive nature to allow for good small-bump sensitivity, but with a good amount of ramp at the end of the stroke to combat harsh bottom outs.
Suspension on the Hugene is a full Fox Factory affair with Kashima everywhere you look.
The shock is a Float DPX2 unit with a 45mm stroke. It offers three positions of compression adjustment – open, medium and firm – and the fully open mode also has a further 10-clicks of low speed compression adjustment for fine tuning.
Up front is a stout stanchioned Factory 36 giving a mismatched 150mm of confidence-inspiring suspension. The Factory Series 36 features Fox’s amazing GRIP2 damper and has all the adjustment anyone could need. On top of individual high and low-speed compression adjustment, you also get individual high and low-speed rebound control in order to get the fork set up exactly how you want, and for what you ride.
With this being the ‘Highend’ build kit, the wheels are a suitably high end set of Reynolds Blacklabel Enduro 29 featuring 28mm internal asymmetric carbon rims laced to Industry Nine hubs, with 28 spokes both front and rear.
Both front and rear wheels come shod with British winter approved Schwalbe Magic Marys in the Addix Soft compound for plenty of wet weather grip.
Other spec highlights include a Fox Transfer 150mm dropper post in Kashima flavour and a full SRAM XX1 Eagle 12-speed drivetrain. Stopping is taken of by a set of Magura MT7 Pro brakes with four-pot callipers at both ends, with a 203mm rotor up front and 180mm out back for plenty of power. The cockpit is provided by Sixpack racing with a Sixpack Millenium 785mm wide carbon bar and a 50mm Sixpack Leader stem, finished off with a set of own brand Propain grips.
Setting Up
I fall right into the middle of Propain’s suggested height range for a size large – 5ft 9in to 6ft 2in – and straight out of the box the fit was pretty good. Not quite as long as a lot of bikes I’d been riding recently, but it didn’t feel overly cramped while seated.
After a few initial rides though I felt a bit low on the front end, and although things felt good for climbing, something was lacking and I wasn’t overly confident when descending. I swapped the stem to a shorter 35mm length Spank stem and added some higher rise Renthal bars and things felt much better. This gave a more upright riding position, and for me, a better position for all round riding.
Suspension setup was a tale of two halves. The fork set up was relatively straightforward and Fox’s online guide and recommended settings weren’t too far off.
I initially started with around 85psi in the fork (Fox recommend 80-90 psi for my weight) which gave me around the recommended amount of sag, but after a bit of fine tuning to get things feeling good, I dropped a couple of psi.
Rebound and High Speed Compression were set using the recommended setting on the back of the fork, and since the first couple of rides all I’ve done is back off the HSC a click or so and add a click of rebound.
Getting the shock set up was a somewhat more involved affair though. Fox recommends between and 11mm and 13mm sag (25-30%) for the shock, depending on whether you want a firmer or plusher ride.
Ideally I wanted to start with a firmer set up and adjust things from there as needed, but to get anywhere near the 25-30% sag guidelines I was having to put so much pressure in the shock that it was close to the shock’s pressure limit.
The knock-on effect of riding with so much pressure in the shock was that it felt overly harsh on pretty much everything, and there was a distinct lack of small bump compliance.
Back to the workshop then, where I added a large volume spacer to the shock, which allowed me to drop the air pressure a good 50psi and get the sag set correctly. I ended up with around 12-13mm of sag which Fox states to be on the plusher end of the scale for this shock, but I’ve still found it to feel quite firm.
With this setup the rear suspension achieves a good platform underfoot, which isn’t overly active while climbing yet still responsive for pushing it hard on the descents.
Propain Hugene Review-The Ride
My first couple of rides on the Hugene, to be honest, left me a little unsure. Swapping the bar and stem certainly helped, but after spending a lot of time riding longer and slacker bikes the Hugene felt a bit unnerving when ridden hard on steep, tech trails.
And this was the issue. It’s not an enduro bike, and isn’t designed for that style of riding.
Get it away from overly steep tech fests though and the bike starts to shine. Yes, it can be ridden on those sorts of tracks (and I’ll come back to that later) but that’s not really the point. Propain does have other bikes in its range that are better suited if that’s your bag.
The Hugene is an unashamed trail bike, designed for going up and along as much as down.
Climbing,
Going up, the Hugene’s firm suspension and anti-squat make for a really efficient, and actually firm platform. The rear end certainly stays taut when spinning up climbs or when in and out of the saddle on steep techier climbs.
The climbing position is fine, although a slightly steeper seat angle wouldn’t go amiss to give a better seated pedalling position. While the Hugene’s reach isn’t particularly long, the good length seat stays mean you’re fairly centred in the bike giving decent amounts of grip for climbing.
Coupled with the wide-range Eagle drivetrain, the grippy Magic Mary tyres, and light overall bike weight, I’ve managed to climb up pretty much anything I’ve pointed the Hugene up. I even actually cleaned a couple of local sections that I’ve never made it up, or ever had any desire to try before.
The suspension certainly isn’t as supple and ground hugging as some designs, but the overall weight, high anti-squat and decent weight distribution seem to compensate for that and let you get the power down to winch up steep, loose climbs. Not once during the test did I feel the need to have the shock set to anything but fully open.
Once the terrain levels out a bit, the Hugene really comes into its own and is actually a ton of fun to ride. Stamping on the pedals there’s a noticeable lack of pedal bob, and each pedal stroke feels like it’s pushing you on.
Fast, swoopy singletrack is definitely a highlight on the Hugene, it’s quick and easy to get up to speed and then rolls really well with fast changes in direction taken in its stride.
The relatively conservative head angle and cockpit length lets you easily weight the front for fast direction changes and the low weight allows you to pick the bike up and over trail obstacles with ease.
I found myself looking for mini gaps and doubles in the trail. The firm suspension platform also encouraged me to pump every little rise and hollow in the trail to eke out as much speed from rolling terrain as possible.
Descending,
Once gravity starts taking over and the trail points down that theme continues. It might only be a ‘trail’ bike but the Hugene likes to go down things at a good pace. The stout 36 up front lets you ride into rough trails without thinking too much, and it does a great job of keeping the front in check, while the DPX2 out back does a great job of managing the rear. The class-leading damping qualities and stiff chassis let you pick a line through rocks and roots and pop off any you lip you can find.
The stiff carbon wheels, combined with the firm suspension platform, don’t give the plushest of rides, but they do give a good amount of feedback from the trail and let you really push into fast corners and compressions.
And while super steep isn’t this bike’s forte, it can certainly get down things with just a slight change of technique. After riding much longer and slacker bikes that reward riding the front, I found myself having to shift weight further back on the Hugene to compensate. Add rough into the mix, and the Hugene does start to feel a little out of its depth.
On steep, blown-out descents it can get a little overwhelmed as you’re hanging off the back, trying to maintain traction with the front, while not pitching forward. But, as already mentioned, that’s not really what this bike is designed for.
I’ve ridden pretty much every sort of trail I could find on the Hugene. From flat-out eye watering moorland singletrack, to chunky, rock strewn sunken paths, to super super steep rutty trails. Although there are limits to what is the Hugene’s comfort zone, it’s had a good go at everything I’ve thrown at it. Overall, I’d say ‘fast’ and ‘fun’ are definitely what the Hugene is about.
While it can feel slightly twitchy at warp speed, whether you’re on tight singletrack or fast berms, the conservative head angle and short stem give a sharpness to the handling, and before you know it you’re on to the next corner. Coupled with the light weight and zippy ride, the Hugene is a bike that you can happily ride all day, or go and dick about in the woods on for an afternoon of jumps, berms and turns.
Durability Notes
The test period of the Hugene has been relatively trouble free with only a couple of annoying little niggles. The first (and second) being punctures. Within the first couple of rides I managed to puncture both front and rear wheels on relatively tame terrain. Considering this is the Highend model, with tubeless ready carbon rims, then it would be nice to see the tyres come set up tubeless.
The only other slight issue was a sometimes sticky dropper. The Transfer sometimes had to be weighted and unweighted to return to full height rather just returning with a push of the lever. This wasn’t a brand new bike though and had previously been tested so I suspect that it is just in need of a bit of TLC.
Three Things That Could be Improved
- Steeper seat angle
- Longer reach
- With so much customisation the option of a higher rise bar would be nice
While the whole longer slacker thing can sound a bit cliched now, I really think that a couple of tweaks could make an already good bike even better, and it would be difficult to do one of these changes without the other. A steeper seat angle would give a better seated position, and although I certainly managed to climb everything with the current geo, a bit steeper and it would be even better. Steepening the seat angle would also shorten the top tube measurement though, so increasing the reach would compensate for this when seated, but also give a bit more high speed & rough trail stability and give you a bit more room to move around.
Three Things I Loved
- Light weight
- Top-end spec
- Sharp handling
Overall
The Hugene is a really fun bike to ride. It’s light, fast and capable on most types of trail. It’s just as happy being redlined on woodland singletrack as it is pedalling for miles over the moors.
It may not be the most on trend in terms of numbers, and people who just want to ride or race steep tech should look elsewhere in the range. But for those who want an all round bike for everyday riding the Hugene is definitely worth a look.
2019 Propain Hugene Highend Specifications
- Frame // Full Carbon Fibre, 130mm Travel
- Fork // Fox 36 Float Factory Series, GRIP2, 150mm Travel
- Shock // Fox Float DPX2 Factory Series, 190x45mm
- Hubs // Reynolds x Industry Nine, 6-Pawl Freehub, 110x15mm Front & 148x12mm Rear
- Rims // Reynolds Black Label Carbon 29 Enduro, 28mm Internal Width
- Tyres // Schwalbe Hans Dampf Addix Soft 2.35in Front & Rear
- Crankset // SRAM XX1 Carbon Eagle 175 mm w/32t Chainring
- Rear Mech // SRAM XX1 Eagle 12-Speed
- Cassette // SRAM XG1295 10-50t 12-Speed
- Brakes // Magura MT7, 203mm Front & 180mm Rotors
- Stem // Sixpack Leader, 50mm Length
- Bars // Sixpack Millenium Carbon, 785mm Width
- Seatpost // Fox Transfer Factory Series, 150mm Travel
- Saddle // Selle Italia XR
- Size Tested // Large
- Sizes available // S, M, L, & XL
- Weight // 12.97 kg / 28.6 lbs
- RRP // €6,470
Review Info
| Brand: | Propain |
| Product: | Hugene |
| From: | Propain |
| Price: | €6470 |
| Tested: | by Rosss Demain for 3 months |
Comments (2)
Comments Closed
That sizing chart looks like they need to bump everyone up one size and add an XXL for those over 6’4. I suspect that slack seat tube means it’ll make the ETT too long though.
Hmmm, This or the Transition Smuggler for my next “I’m going to get one of these” bike.
Bit more saving to be done.