Best for what, exactly? I love my Bottle Rocket. I use it as kind of a heavy duty AM rig, with some drops, lots of technical singletrack, and the odd DH day. Other bikes I considered- Giant Reign/ Reign X, Knolly Delerium (NOT cheap, which is why I didn't get one) Rocky Mtn. Slayer SXC, Preston. I went with the BR primarily because it had the geo I wanted, and also since it was beefy, wasn't too expensive, and had a great company backing it up. I'd have gotten the Knolly, but I didn't want to sell a kidney.
i second that. whats not freerideable about the reign? Giant may list it as an AM bike but talking with their rep, they intend it for going big and all day lift served riding.
dealing in both at my shop it would seem there is not a whole lot of difference in quality and the warrenties are almost the same. a couple hundred of what you pay for with the sxt is that berrecloth rides one.
Did not know Giant has a lifetime warranty. I have not ridden the reign x so I can't really comment on it but the sxt is really nice if you get out and ride one. Handles rock gardens with ease, is stable in the air and not difficult to get in the air either. It is really stable and fast on single track and easy to throw around. It really is more like a mini dh bike. I bought the frame only and built it the way I wanted so yes it gets expensive but Specialized does spec their completes out nicely and for less than if you built it yourself. Bad part is they are sold out till aug when they start rolling out the 08's The fact that they were sold out awhile ago must mean something, they did a great job with the 07
The difference from a geometry standpoint with Reign X is the chainstay length, the Reign has longer stays. Wheelbases are about the same, so front to center on the SXT is a bit longer. The Reign X has a lower BB height, and the weight is carried lower in the frame.
Suspension wise, the SXT squats more. Braking feels about the same. Reign X does a better job with square edge hits.
I almost bought an SXT (it was either that or a Demo 7), then I tried the Reign X1. I could have gone the EP route on a Specialized through my old shop, but wound up paying close to retail for the Giant because I liked it better.
You won't be disappointed with either, but I prefer the Reign X as my "mini dh bike".
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