Mountain Bike Action Febbraio 2011

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FEBRUARY 2011 MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION • FEBRUARY 2011 • www.mbaction.com •BEST TIRE TIPS•

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Smooth sailing: With 6 inches of travel, the Giant Reign 0 is a versatile bike that flies on technical descents.

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All-Mountain, All Of The Time The Giant Reign 0

he all-mountain trailbike category is really starting to come into its own. In recent years, all-mountain bikes were versatile, yet often compromised designs that climbed and descended reasonably well but not great. With the implementation of lighter materials, long-travel air-sprung suspension and new gear ratio combinations, all-mountain bikes can practically go toe-to-toe with shorter-travel crosscountry-oriented trailbikes uphill, and then spank them on the descents.

Giant has two takes on the all-mountain category with their Reign line of bikes. The Reign X series has 6.7 inches of travel and components catering to more aggressive riding. The regular Reign series uses the same design, but gives it 6 inches of front and rear travel, more traditional trailbike gearing and lighter weight suspension and componentry for all-day adventures. We got our hands on Giant’s flagship Reign 0, which is a proven all-mountain design equipped with some of the latest performance trailbike technologies.

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WHO IS IT MADE FOR? With 6 inches of travel, the Reign 0 will shine in the hands of a rider capable of soldiering through harsh climbs to reap the rewards of a lengthy technical descent. To get the most out of the Reign 0, you need the lungs and stamina of a dedicated cross-country rider for tackling steep uphills and the descending skills of a downhill specialist to push the Reign to its maximum potential.

WHAT IS IT MADE FROM? The aluminum-framed Reign 0 features Giant’s Maestro dual-link suspension. The Maestro design is engineered to maintain efficient pedaling performance, but also remain active when you’re on the brakes. The Reign frame has a tapered head tube and includes Giant’s OverDrive front end for frame stiffness. Giant offers three Reign models ranging in price from the $2150 Reign 2 to our $4750 Reign 0 test bike.

The Reign is also sold as a frameset for $1699.

WHICH COMPONENTS STAND OUT? In the high-end all-mountain segment, there are a handful of components that a bike needs to be taken seriously. They are: a wide handlebar, and adjustable-height seatpost, tubeless-ready tires and a thru-axle fork. The Reign 0 checks each of these boxes with a sufficiently wide 27.25-inch handlebar, the Joplin 4 seatpost, DT Swiss Tricon M1700 wheelset and Fox 32 TALAS FIT RL fork with a 15QR thru-axle.

It’s a wild time in the drivetrain world right now. Some companies are hanging their hat on 2x10 systems, while others opt for the rangy 30-speed configuration. Giant opts for Shimano’s 30-speed Dyna-Sys XT drivetrain. Giant’s lock-on grips are some of our favorites.

HOW DOES IT PERFORM? Ergonomics: For a rig considered to be “long-travel,” the Reign has an upright feel and positions the rider in the center of the bike. The Giant Contact handlebar is comfortable and well matched to Giant’s 70-millimeter Contact stem.

Pedaling: With Shimano’s XT Dyna-Sys 30-speed drivetrain and efficient Maestro suspension, the Reign accelerates quickly with plenty of gear options to choose from. The Fox RP23 shock has three ProPedal settings for pedaling performance, but these are only really useful if you’re riding a fire road.

Once sag is properly set on the shock and fork, the Reign sits smoothly into its shock travel and there is minimal unwanted movement when riding on a trail. It’s important to remember that this bike has 6 inches of travel. If pedaling efficiency is your primary concern, an all-mountain bike likely isn’t for you.

Climbing: The Kenda Nevegal tires are very versatile and have a lot of grip on our SoCal trails. The 2.35-inch rear tire digs in with every rotation of the cranks. The Fox 32 TALAS fork has two travel settings: 4.7 and 6 inches. Despite the fact that the lower setting puts the rider in a more comfortable climbing position, the Reign motors much more easily uphill fully extended. We tested this feature on every ride, and the consensus was the same.

With the shorter setting it felt like there was more drag or tension on the drivetrain. We’ve been debating the reason for that sensation for years, but we definitely experienced it on this machine.

With drivetrain companies literally encouraging cross-chainings these days with their 10-speed rear cassettes with a 36tooth low gear, it’s amazing how much ground you can cover when climbing in the 42-tooth big ring. Only on rough and very steep climbs did we resort to the two smaller rings. One would think a 6-inch-travel rig with a 70-degree stem wouldn’t climb well. Not true. Slightly exaggerating your weight forward over the handlebar keeps the front end from wandering. The Reign cruises uphill on par with lighter, shorter-travel trailbikes.

Cornering: The supple and balanced suspension keeps the Reign 0 on rails through high-speed corners. With meaty Nevegal tires and 6 inches of suspension, the hardest part about cornering aboard the Reign is to convince yourself you’re not going too fast to maintain traction, because it smoothes the trail so well. The Fox TALAS 32 and FIT February 2011 / MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION

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Giant Reign 0 damper are incredibly supple, so the front end sticks to the ground at speed and won’t push during slow, tight corners. We recommend running the full 25-percent sag on the shock to help the Reign’s 14-inch-high bottom bracket settle into corners sharper.

Braking: The Avid Elixir CR brakes have an easy-touse dial for adjusting lever reach from the handlebar. New for 2011, the high-end Elixirs have a detented pad contact adjuster that does a good job of keeping the pad contact point where you choose, as opposed to spinning freely like last year’s version. The 7-inch front rotor matched with a 6-inch rear rotor is spot-on for keeping the bike under control.

Braking forces influence every suspension design on the market—some more dramatically than others. The Maestro design keeps the rear end pretty active when you have to brake on rough trail chatter, but it’s still best to brake before technical sections and let the suspension do its job off the binders.

Descending: All of the aforementioned attributes of the Reign are grand and wonderful, but the reason you hammer an all-mountain bike uphill is so you can challenge yourself on descents. The Reign 0 doesn’t disappoint; it mows down rocks, ruts and roots with very balanced and active suspension. Need to charge a rutted, unfamiliar section of trail? No problem. Does the trail require some agile bike handling through rock gardens?

Done. The Reign answers the call of the most technical trails.

We can’t say enough about how good the 2011 Fox suspension feels. They’ve always had quality products, but the forks this year are suppler than ever and ramp up smoothly and progressively. The 15QR axle also helps keep you on your desired line in unpredictable terrain.

Performance build: The Fox 32 TALAS FIT RL fork with a 15QR thru-axle. Giant’s Maestro dual-link suspension and Fox RP23 shock. The Avid Elixir CR brakes, Giant XC lockon grip, and the handlebar remote for the Joplin seatpost.

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Fluid style: From head to toe, the Giant Reign 0 is well spec’ed with rugged performance parts.

TRICKS, UPGRADES OR TIPS? Adjustable height seatposts, like the Reign’s Joplin 4, allow allmountain bikes to reach their full potential. Unfortunately, the Joplin still has the tendency to rise when you don’t want it to and fall while you’re climbing in the saddle. It helps to “burp” the system, but it doesn’t cure the problem.

The trick DT Swiss Tricon M1700 wheels are tubeless-ready.

Take advantage of this to save rotational weight and greatly reduce ride-stalling flats.

BUYING ADVICE Giant’s latest rendition of the Reign 0 is one impressive machine. It climbs like a cross-country bike, yet has supple suspension that eats up technical terrain at will. From head-to-toe, the Reign 0 is spec’d with all-day, physically challenging rides in mind.

It delivers in both performance and price. ❑

GIANT REIGN 0 Price Country of origin Weight Hotline Frame tested Bottom bracket height Chainstay length Top tube length Head tube angle Seat tube angle Standover height Wheelbase Suspension travel Suspension travel Frame material Fork Shock Rims Tires Hubs Brakes Crankset Handlebar Shifters Front derailleur Rear derailleur Chainrings Cassette Highest gear Lowest gear Pedals

$4750 Taiwan 29.5 pounds (805) 267-4600 Medium 14" 17.2" 23" 67.5° 73.5° 31" 44.5" 6" (front) 6" (rear) Aluminum Fox 32 FIT TALAS RL Fox RP23 DT Swiss Tricon M1700 (26") Kenda Nevegal 2.35" DT Swiss Tricon Avid Elixir CR Shimano XT Dyna-Sys Giant Contact (27.25") Shimano XT Shimano XT Dyna-Sys Shimano XT Dyna-Sys Shimano XT Dyna-Sys (42/32/24) Shimano XT Dyna-Sys (11-36) 26 feet (per crank revolution) 4.5 feet (per crank revolution) Weighed with Shimano XT