any giant reign owners (2015)

lots has been written about this bike so one can get a good general impression, and the size and geometry speaks for itself. i'm sure some of you guys have the bike and i'm wondering about it's climbing prowess and seat angle. is it steep enough for your liking and relatively comfortable to winch up hill at length?

2 of my regular riding partners are on the new Reign , decent bike they really like them a lot . as for climbing , i know they both end up using the lever on the rear shock and one uses the fork lock-out as well .

i did some climbing on a 2016 and i found the bike really low in the front as it was in climbing position , i do know the BB height is pretty low one guy has pointed out he is more sensitive with timing pedaling in areas

I've been on one since June. It climbs very well for what it is, but the low bb and long wheelbase makes it challenging at times as a trail bike. Lots of pedal strikes in undulating terrain and off camber tech stuff. Really have to watch you stroke timing. I'm 5'10" on a medium with a 40mm stem and it still feels as long as I'd really want it too, that took a bit of getting used to as well.

I've been riding one since January. I echo pretty much everything Flipfantasia has stated. It won't climb like a trail bike on tech stuff, but if it's spinning up the road on Fromme or something similar, it's pretty efficient. I'm faster up the road than I was on my previous bike (Slayer). Slow tech moves, you'll notice its length, but it's manageable.

I've been on one since June. It climbs very well for what it is, but the low bb and long wheelbase makes it challenging at times as a trail bike. Lots of pedal strikes in undulating terrain and off camber tech stuff. Really have to watch you stroke timing. I'm 5'10" on a medium with a 40mm stem and it still feels as long as I'd really want it too, that took a bit of getting used to as well.

Flip, what crank length do you have? I think a lot of the new long travel bikes with low bb are ill spec'd with 175mm cranks. I had 175's when I had the new Nomad, but quickly swapped for 170mm. It helped a fair amount. And it's even better on my new Process (higher bb). I think 175's are a throwback to the old days; the whole leverage thing, which has pretty well been debunked.

jbv: I have a couple friends with the Reign, one stock spec, one with and Elevensix and a fox 36. They love the bike. The stock spec'd one, however, does sit low and is super active while climbing. He climbs with the climb switch:) if you want a big travel carboner sled, try the Nomad as well.

I have a buddy with one… Loved it . (2015) matte green with green\yellow
problem being that the frame cracked and Giant has no warranty frames available. he has been bike-less for 4 weeks now . and last i heard ( last week) no solve in the immediate future..

He did love His Reign .. loved it way more than the Slayer it replaced.. did a lot for his fun factor on the mountain as well

I have a buddy with one… Loved it . (2015) matte green with green\yellow
problem being that the frame cracked and Giant has no warranty frames available. he has been bike-less for 4 weeks now . and last i heard ( last week) no solve in the immediate future..

He did love His Reign .. loved it way more than the Slayer it replaced.. did a lot for his fun factor on the mountain as well

2016S are out he should be able to get one of those frames , i,d be all social media that will help him get a frame faster .

I have a buddy with one… Loved it . (2015) matte green with green\yellow
problem being that the frame cracked and Giant has no warranty frames available. he has been bike-less for 4 weeks now . and last i heard ( last week) no solve in the immediate future..

where'd it break? guess I should keep an eye on mine. Giant has always been an industry leader in customer service/warranty replacement, hopefully that continues…

I hated mine. Sold it to a friend. Im a fat bastard so that was probably part of it. Bottom bracket was way to low for me. Constantly stuffing the pedals in corners and hitting ever rock I came across. Got to a point I felt freaked out when riding it. Was fine on the buffed trails but slow turning in tight conditions. Probably a great bike for most, but I was not fan.

I think 175's are a throwback to the old days; the whole leverage thing, which has pretty well been debunked.

:orly:

I had to mount the largest tyres I could find in search of pedal clearance and in doing so went down to a 28 cr and you're saying that now losing 5mm off the length of my crank arm won't make a difference grunting up steep pitches?

Right.

Bottom bracket was way to low for me. Constantly stuffing the pedals in corners and hitting ever rock I came across. Was fine on the buffed trails but……….

This is exactly the issues I've had with my current ride. These marketing fucks in the bike industry pushing "new" genres do they think consumers are all novices riding new school trails or sumpin'?

Imo bb heights have fallen into the basement to the detriment of the sport.

Bike geometries certainly seem to have gone from one extreme to another, and bikes aren't built for North Shore trails any more. We've gone from short wheelbases and 15+" BB heights to huuuuge wheelbases and 13"BBs in some cases. Who cares about actually riding the bike as long as you are 'on trend' ;)

My experience has been similar to the above. I'll flip the switch on the rear shock to climb. I'll drop the fork if I am climbing something technical. I'm 5'9" on a medium and the length has been great, but most of my limited height is in my upper body. I find it climbs pretty well. The low bb took some getting used to, but timing pedal strokes get's me past most of the issues.

It's a hell of a bike for the price considering that it was nearly $1k cheaper than most of the comparables.

Bike geometries certainly seem to have gone from one extreme to another, and bikes aren't built for North Shore trails any more. We've gone from short wheelbases and 15+" BB heights to huuuuge wheelbases and 13"BBs in some cases. Who cares about actually riding the bike as long as you are 'on trend' ;)

Trends are largely consumer and rider driven and proven long before they go to production so I'm skeptical that any advancement in frame geometry is merely throwing numbers into the wind and seeing where they land.

For what it's worth, short wheel bases and high bbs were driven by riders almost 2 decades ago to meet the demand of riding skinnies and ladder bridges with low speed steep exits and sharp corners. Since this type of riding has all but disappeared, the need for such bikes has followed suit.

Today's style of riding is not only faster due to new trail types being constructed but also due to the level of skill the new generation of riders exhibit and the preferred trails they ride. Faster speeds require stability which comes from some geo changes like lower bbs, longer FCs, and slacker HTAs.

If you're pining for old school bikes, better start cruising the buy and sell for 2002 VPS frames. Probably not too hard to find something.

Anyone have the bb drop for the current Reign? Giant doesn't have it on their geo chart.