If anyone has ridden any of the above I woul really appreciate your thoughts on how they pedal and descend.
I want a bike for general big mountain duties, one that I can still pedal uphill and keep up with my mates at trail centres, can handle occasional uplift days and as much big stuff as a mediocre rider can throw at it.
I don't want to sit on reviews.
The Froggy is bigger travel yet some say it pedals well. Are Domains any good? Is the high front end a real problem?
I am leaning towards the remedy as it looks lovely and gets good feedback.
Sorry for such a boring question...
Mate has a remedy and its fine for trail centre stuff and most riding but he's looking to get something burlier as he plans on doing more uplift and dh stuff and us finding the bike to be the limiting factor.
My mate rode a Froggy round Whinlatter as a hire/test bike and found it pretty hard work getting up hills. Remedy is a more sensible everyday XC bike but won't be as much fun on an uplift. You pays your money you takes your choice. 🙂
I had a Froggy for a while, I thought it pedalled surprisingly well. I never did any all-day epics on it but did the odd lap of trail centres on it just fine. That said I'd probably get something like a Canyon Strive instead now.
I have a 2008/9 Reign with 160 forks and it's perfect for what you describe. I imagine a Remedy would be quite similar but I'd consider factoring in some big forks for Alpine stuff. The Froggy has to be too much bike for an all-rounder.
Bought a Reign 0 new in 2007 and can't see anything i'd change it for.
I had 3 Oranges previous to this and the Reign is far better in every area.
Riding in southern Spain week in week out really tested the bike.Nothing broke or dropped off,and the finish stood up to the rocky terrain really well.
Even without massive forks,140 mm Floats,the bike was really composed and riding position and balance were spot on.Climbed better than my previous single pivots on rocky steep paths with a weight of around 30 pound.
Changed all the pivot bearings myself for 20 odd quid,with only 2 showing any wear.
You don't need long forks,just strong forks.140's are enough for virtually everything,just get a bolt thru' or 15 mm.
If i was in the market for another bike it would definitely be a Giant,but probably a Trance X,as i think the Reign is too much travel for most of the stuff in the UK.
They'll all be too handicapped to descend well if you don't drop your saddle.. 😉
Remedy or Reign
Frooggy to bad on climbs and Domains are heavy and clumbersom..
Had the strive for a bit and although it was good climbing and pedaling, 160mm was a bit too much for UK stuff. 150max would be best for you..
I have a Reign X0 - the slightly slacker Reign guise with 36's. Super easy to pedal,as happy doing trail centre laps as doing DH shuttle runs. Took it to the Alps and never felt underbiked.
OK so if you love climbing you might have an issue but for me its perfect winch and plummet material
I'd go for a Spicy or the new specialized enduro. Both more than capable or going up and going down fast. I own an enduro and my mates gotta spicy and their both great bikes for what your after
ST mag did a winch and plummet bike review last year, at Wharncliffe Woods: Trek/Reign/Slayer. The Slayer just pipped the Reign, I think.
I got a Remedy from alpine at inners for a test spin. Couldn't believe how well it climbed, really felt direct.
I use a remedy 7 for guiding. Pedalling ability uphill is really important to me and the remy does it very well. Pointing down its a stable and reassuringly well handling bike. It would have limits for heavy downhill use but for trail DH and technical descending its fine. Handles small jump and drops really well.
The floating shock makes a big difference compared to other FSers I've owned and the QR bolt thru style rear drop out is a neat solution combining the rear pivot.
Not tried it but it has adjustable geo. slack and low or taller and steeper.
I put DH brakes and stem on. Much better than the stock.
Looks sweet.
The niggle i have is the drive side chain stay. Its really low so the chain device has to be further round and is exposed to rock strikes.
It's great to hear the comments above thanks a lot. The DH stuff is not proper downhilling, just an interest in doing some uplift days to hone my technique. I'll start the search for a good remedy or reign. I guess it sounds like there is not much between them so whichever is local and cheapest for the build!
Thanks again.
I run a Remedy with coil Lyriks and it's very capable. Did a week in the Alps no problem. ProPedal works really well on the ups and the frame is a good balance between nimbleness on singletrack and DH solidity. A proper maxle rear end improves it too. Not ridden the others but I'm happy with mine. I've got a Van RC shock to go on so we'll see how that fares.
The Reign is awesome. Had mine for several years and rode it for everything. Took it out to the Alps twice which it coped with great, brilliant at Woburn etc, great for trail centres and 'real' xc too..
I got rid of mine eventually as I thought slacker angles would be better. I regret that now actually, it was a great bike....