Long Term Review: Ragley Bagger 288

Over the last few years my riding proclivities have shifted from an emphasis on chairlift & car shuttled big bike riding to self propelled solo trail excursions. Familial obligations and the associated narrow windows of opportunity have reshaped my current modality. Given the amount of climbing I’d been doing, I came to realize my narrowly focused mini quiver consisting of one dh and one freeride bike was sub optimum. I wanted something that would go up as well as down with minimum cash outlay. The search for an ideal balance of value, durability, light weight and performance had me looking at the current crop of all-mountain-y hardtails. Though I hadn’t ridden a hardtail in a few years, the new aggressive geometries seemed conducive to my needs, so I figured I’d give one a go. Also, I’m a bit of a minimalist, and hardtails have always appealed to me for their stripped, elegant simplicity.

I spend most of my riding time on the North Shore mountains, and wanted something with geometry oriented towards steep & technical trails. I’m a fan of slack & slammed bikes, so I set my sights on finding the laziest frame I could. Looking to afford my aging body a modicum of respite from punishment, I skewed my search towards steel frames, and to make use of my existing parts inventory I also set my search filter to 26” wheel diameter. Though they seem to be a dying breed, I still think there’s room for nimble small wheeled playbikes. A good bit of googling later, I found the best combination of specs and value for my requirements – the Ragley Bagger 288. Details are in my Gear Shots segment, but in summation – this is one of the slackest steel bikes available, with a neat set of features that ticked off all my need boxes.

I built the thing with a rotating assortment of parts, finally arriving at a nicely balanced omni-trail basher. Current weight is a bit under 29lbs with Maxxis EXO casing tires. Here’s a build chronology.

Build evolution: a pictorial voyage of all-mountain discovery.

  1st iteration: bomber mode; bits stolen off my 7″ freeride bike. Totem lowered to a more appropriate 160mm. 

  2nd iteration: shedding some weight, dropping travel to 150mm. Perhaps there’s something to light, climbable bikes. 

  3rd iteration: embracing the trappings in all-mountain fashionability. The first time I’ve run a front derailleur and clipless pedals in well over a decade. And the dropper post thing is pretty novel as well. A fun, versatile setup.

Let’s take a closer look at the frame. Construction quality is generally quite good. Most of the welds are tight, but some are a little sloppy, though not terrible by any means. Paint and alignment seemed to be spot on. The only glaring issue I found was a noticeably ovalized headtube. There was no sign of shipping damage, so I assume it was deformed in the manufacturing process. Pressing the headset in straightened things out, but it did require a bit of effort. The frame shipped non-stickered with a decal pack allowing personalization. I generally hate graphics, so this is a welcome relief from clearcoated unpeelable decals.

I like the 44mm headtube. Slimmer than a 1.5, and still able to fit any current steerer tube – my first build used a 1.5 steerer, and the current iteration has a tapered steerer; not a problem. I like open source designs; this frame certainly seems geared towards versatility. Similarly, the DMR licenced Swopout dropouts may be swapped with a stout 12mm through axle variation, or even a horizontal singlespeed option (though the brake mount is fixed, so caliper to disk alignment may be tricky if you go this route). The bolt on cable guides are neat. There are a few options: running the rear brake line on the top or down tube, adding a dropper post remote, front derailleur, or none of the above. No zip ties required, though loosening hardware might be a possible detriment; I never had an issue. The 30.9mm seatpost diameter is about as standard as it gets these days. I wish all other sizes were summarily purged from existence.

Putting on my neurotic aesthetician hat: I’m not completely enthralled with the aesthetics of the frame; the bent top tube, clunky box heatube gusset, and seat stays attached above the line of the top tube lend a slight awkwardness. This is, however, a moment where my form fetishism was over-ridden by functional design and value driven practicality. It happens sometimes. It’s not pretty, but it works. I can accept that. 

  Mud clearance is huge. The (optimistically sized) 2.5 Maxxis DHF is positively swimming between the stays. Lack of conventional chainstay & seatstay bridges contributes to great mud shedding; a not unsurprising attribute for a UK designed frame, I suppose. I’m tempted to try 650b wheels at some point; seems to be plenty of room for them.  

  Cable mounting detail. Tidy. 

  DMR Swopout dropout. It’s Swopable!

  Neat chainstay brake mount keeps things tucked away, and – I’m postulating – allowed for the usage of a smaller diameter seatstay (that does’t have to endure braking forces) for added compliance.

On to the ride. The transition to hardtail mode took a little acclimatization, but was not overly traumatic. I’ve done a bit of self abusive hardtail hucking and DH racing in the past, so was not unfamiliar with the concept, just a little wary of how my body would welcome the lack of squish. It’s been a while. Thankfully there is a perceptible compliance with this frame I’ve not experienced with previous aluminum frames I’ve ridden. I’m assuming the small(ish) diameter curved seat stays contribute. It’s not suspension, but I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of beating I received. 

  Good times hammering through tight singletrack. Photo ~ Dave Smith

Despite a not so svelte weight, the bike is a rocket on the trail. It’s really surprising how efficiently hardtails put the power down if you haven’t been on one for a while – hammering out of the saddle is fun when the wattage isn’t being absorbed by saggy suspension. And the cockpit layout is spot on for climbing; a relatively lengthy top tube (~23.5″ on my 18″ frame), and a steeper seat tube angle (~74.5°) that weights the slack front enough to keep things from wagging too much on steep climbs. Bottom bracket sits at about 12.75″ as built. Reasonably low while providing adequate clearance for pedalling through the rough. 

  Decently slack geometry makes it confident on tech lines as well. Photo ~ Dave Smith

The bike is currently sitting on a 150mm fork that puts the head angle at around 65.5°. Seemingly slack on paper, but makes for spot on lively trailbike numbers under sag; I think hardtails should be a couple degrees slacker than equivalent suspension bikes and the Bagger hits the mark there. Transitioning from full suspension, I was more cognizant of fork dive on the hardtail, so tuned with a bit more spring rate & low speed compression than what I typically run on a dually. The bike felt comfortable on steep technical lines as well as fast flowing trail. Stable yet nimble. The bike ended up being more capable in the tech than I had anticipated. I was able to ride most of the same lines as my suspension bikes – albeit at a more sedate pace through the chunder. 

  Moment of picturesque melancholy brought to you by Digger. Photo ~ Dave Smith

Overall, I’m impressed with this frame; great value, versatile, super capable and fun. As an aggressive all-mountain / trailbike it fits the bill perfectly. With a burly build and longer fork it can handle dh / freeride duties as well. The inherent durability and lack of maintenance of a stout hardtail like this is endearing. If not always as a primary ride, it’s nice to keep about as a backup to mix things up, or as a winter thrasher when you’re tired of wearing out suspension bits in the slop. I’ll be keeping this one for a while. 

  At home in the deep dark North Shore forest. Photo ~ Dave Smith

Nukeproof Components

Nukeproof shares the same distributor – Hotlines UK – as Ragley, and I conveniently had a few bits shipped with my frame. I went over the technical details in the Gear Shots segment, so won’t reiterate here. In summation: everything performed solidly with no issues. Well built, no flash, good value stuff. No complaints. Here’s a brief summary. 

  Nukeproof Warhead bar and stem.

There’s not much to say about the Warhead bar and stem; they performed their respective duties without fail, looking and feeling good while doing so. I like the bend of the big (800mm) flat bar, though trimmed it to a more tight tree friendly 30.5″. The stem clamped the steerer and bar tenaciously, while presenting my knees with unthreateningly smooth radii. The headset spun glitch and maintenance free for the season. 

  Nukeproof Neutron pedals.

I ended up really liking the plastic Neutron pedals. A rare example of a product that checks all three boxes: light weight, durable, and inexpensive. I loved the wide, low profile platform, and the plastic bodies fended off countless rock strikes without incident. All pins remained intact as well. The bearings seem to be decently sealed; I’ve yet to have to re-lube. My current favourite pedals; no reason to spend more.

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Have you ever experienced a hardtail renaissance? Does the Bagger appeal? Discuss below…