After 2 months of riding I’m ready to write down my thoughts on the Reign X1. So far it’s been stellar, handling DH runs at Mammoth, Teton Pass, and Pacifica as well as all day epics in Marin.
Build:
Spec is good for the price point, however I didn’t buy the bike because of price and some upgrades were in order. The stock bar was woefully skinny, and I immediately swapped it for an EA70 low rise, ditched the heavy and long Easton Vice 70mm for a 50mm Thompson, and popped on some Oury lock on grips. The Race Face Ride cranks felt really nice and stiff, but they were heavy for my needs so I swapped those out for my XTs and an E13 charger. The stock wheels were Formula/WTB Dual Duty FRs; I swapped to my Marzocchi/WTB Laserdisc Lite/Ryno Lite XL set. I really like the WTB Pure V, although a lighter Ti version will be a future upgrade, along with a lighter seat post. The Hutchinson Barracuda tires were a huge surprise; they corner really well in the loose over hard pack conditions around here thanks to the super stiff side knobs, and the soft compound sticks really well. The Juicy 5s with a 7” front and 6” rear aren’t enough stopping power for this bike; I lost the rear brake twice doing DH runs at Mammoth. 8” in front and 7” in the rear will help but I think the Juicy is better suited to XC then DH. The top headset race is really tall, I may replace it in the future if I decide to drop the bars more. The lack of ProPedal and high speed compression fine tuning adjustment on the DHX 3.0 worried me a bit before I bought the bike, but has turned out to be a non-issue; the stock settings do a great job and you can still set the air pressure to get the overall characteristics where you want them. The Van R is stiff and plush, although there’s a tad bit more low compression speed damping then I’d like. Overall the spec is just fine to get riding, but there’s still room for tweaking. A top end coil equipped bike would be nice in the Reign X line-up at some point.
Geometry:
Geometry is the best aspect of the bike. My medium measures out to a 45” wheelbase (44.9 according to Giant) with 17.3” chainstays and a 13.6” bottom bracket. I haven’t measured the head angle but I have no reason not to believe the 67 degrees claimed by Giant. All together what you get is long and low DH handling. At high speed is where this bike really shines, especially in the corners. It actually feels a lot like the 02 Turner DHR that I “long term borrowed” a few years ago. Negotiating berms is incredibly easy with this bike. Even though the chainstays are a bit long pulling up the front end is no problem either. The bike feels very neutral in the air, no surprises.
The downsides of the geometry are when you’re riding really tight twisty technical woods sections – the long rear end can create a lot of work. The geometry inspires a lot of high speed confidence which can be dangerous if you forget the head angle is 67 degrees instead of 65 degrees when you suddenly come across a rock waterfall at DH race speeds.
Suspension:
I’m impressed with the Maestro suspension. It squats a bit less then the FSR bikes I have owned and doesn’t have any of the nasty pedal kickback I got with my high single pivot bikes. It also handles square edge bumps much better then the FSR bikes did. During DH runs I haven’t ever felt the need for more rear suspension, but there have been a few times when I’ve wished I had a 7 or 8” dual crown.
Overall:
I have to say, this is the best frame I’ve ever been on all-around. For years I’ve been wanting a short travel DH frame that takes a front derailleur and has an emphasis on high speed cornering – this is that frame. Two big thumbs up.
Build:
Spec is good for the price point, however I didn’t buy the bike because of price and some upgrades were in order. The stock bar was woefully skinny, and I immediately swapped it for an EA70 low rise, ditched the heavy and long Easton Vice 70mm for a 50mm Thompson, and popped on some Oury lock on grips. The Race Face Ride cranks felt really nice and stiff, but they were heavy for my needs so I swapped those out for my XTs and an E13 charger. The stock wheels were Formula/WTB Dual Duty FRs; I swapped to my Marzocchi/WTB Laserdisc Lite/Ryno Lite XL set. I really like the WTB Pure V, although a lighter Ti version will be a future upgrade, along with a lighter seat post. The Hutchinson Barracuda tires were a huge surprise; they corner really well in the loose over hard pack conditions around here thanks to the super stiff side knobs, and the soft compound sticks really well. The Juicy 5s with a 7” front and 6” rear aren’t enough stopping power for this bike; I lost the rear brake twice doing DH runs at Mammoth. 8” in front and 7” in the rear will help but I think the Juicy is better suited to XC then DH. The top headset race is really tall, I may replace it in the future if I decide to drop the bars more. The lack of ProPedal and high speed compression fine tuning adjustment on the DHX 3.0 worried me a bit before I bought the bike, but has turned out to be a non-issue; the stock settings do a great job and you can still set the air pressure to get the overall characteristics where you want them. The Van R is stiff and plush, although there’s a tad bit more low compression speed damping then I’d like. Overall the spec is just fine to get riding, but there’s still room for tweaking. A top end coil equipped bike would be nice in the Reign X line-up at some point.
Geometry:
Geometry is the best aspect of the bike. My medium measures out to a 45” wheelbase (44.9 according to Giant) with 17.3” chainstays and a 13.6” bottom bracket. I haven’t measured the head angle but I have no reason not to believe the 67 degrees claimed by Giant. All together what you get is long and low DH handling. At high speed is where this bike really shines, especially in the corners. It actually feels a lot like the 02 Turner DHR that I “long term borrowed” a few years ago. Negotiating berms is incredibly easy with this bike. Even though the chainstays are a bit long pulling up the front end is no problem either. The bike feels very neutral in the air, no surprises.
The downsides of the geometry are when you’re riding really tight twisty technical woods sections – the long rear end can create a lot of work. The geometry inspires a lot of high speed confidence which can be dangerous if you forget the head angle is 67 degrees instead of 65 degrees when you suddenly come across a rock waterfall at DH race speeds.
Suspension:
I’m impressed with the Maestro suspension. It squats a bit less then the FSR bikes I have owned and doesn’t have any of the nasty pedal kickback I got with my high single pivot bikes. It also handles square edge bumps much better then the FSR bikes did. During DH runs I haven’t ever felt the need for more rear suspension, but there have been a few times when I’ve wished I had a 7 or 8” dual crown.
Overall:
I have to say, this is the best frame I’ve ever been on all-around. For years I’ve been wanting a short travel DH frame that takes a front derailleur and has an emphasis on high speed cornering – this is that frame. Two big thumbs up.