Demo Large Reign X

[Reedster]

Does anyone know of a dealer with a demo Reign X in size Large. I suppose a demo Reign would work too.

I'm in the process of trying to buy a new bike. I want something with around 6" of travel that is burly enough to do jumps and stunts to 5' and that will still pedal fairly well and isn't too heavy. Yea, that's a lot of stuff, but I also don't want it to be too expensive. I think my wife will go for $2,000, but I think I can push it to $2500. Anything more is probably not going to happen right now.

One of the bikes at the top of my list is the Giant Reign X, but I can't find a dealer who has a demo. I've called a few shops, and they all have said that they sold their '08 demos and are waiting for the '09s.

I'm open to considering other bikes too, but they need to be in the right price range and be strong enough to handle burly riding.

Thanks for any help.

~R

[mfoga]

PM bryguy17 maybe he would be nice enough to let you try his.

[davidB]

have you tried Fullerton Bicycles?

[Reedster]

Originally Posted by davidB

have you tried Fullerton Bicycles?

Yea, they had me call their Buena Park location. They told me that they had sold their '08s already.

~R

[vandyketom]

They had a couple in there this week. The have Reign X2 for 1700.

[tkblazer]

the regular reign would do the job for what you are asking and it can be under 30 lbs. depending on the build

[Bryguy17]

if you don't break it or anything attached to it, you can try my reign X out for a little if you don't find any other means.

Gotta keep in mind that it's a more FR/DH build than the stock ones though. the HA is slackened to about 66*, and it isn't the lightest one out there (35 lbs is damn good for what it is though).

how much do you weigh BTW? I have a limited selection of coils (if fact, only one right now).

I will say, the dang thing just works though. super-smooth one way, dang efficient the other.

drop me a PM and we can probably work something out.

oh, and here she is going down? (shameless bike pr0n)

/shameless plug

[stinkyrider]

Originally Posted by Reedster

Does anyone know of a dealer with a demo Reign X in size Large. I suppose a demo Reign would work too.

I'm in the process of trying to buy a new bike. I want something with around 6" of travel that is burly enough to do jumps and stunts to 5' and that will still pedal fairly well and isn't too heavy. Yea, that's a lot of stuff, but I also don't want it to be too expensive. I think my wife will go for $2,000, but I think I can push it to $2500. Anything more is probably not going to happen right now.

One of the bikes at the top of my list is the Giant Reign X, but I can't find a dealer who has a demo. I've called a few shops, and they all have said that they sold their '08 demos and are waiting for the '09s.

I'm open to considering other bikes too, but they need to be in the right price range and be strong enough to handle burly riding.

Thanks for any help.

~R

Awesome! Good to see more riders jumping on the Maestro bandwagon.

I would go Reign X. Take it from me as a 2008 Reign owner. The Reign is basically a 6" trail bike with a 69* head angle. The Reign X is much more huck friendly and can be built sub-35 lbs fairly easily with an Air shock. Both bikes pedal extremely well. Of course the Reign is a better climber but the Reign X doesn't do too bad either.

[Reedster]

Originally Posted by vandyketom

They had a couple in there this week. The have Reign X2 for 1700.

Thanks for the tip. I might be going through there this weekend.

~Reed

[mfoga]

I will agree with the fo for Reign X over the Reign, it actually climbs pretty well, even if it was an out of shape rider trying to get it around the loop. They are kinda heavy unless you go with the X0 but then again its not some light XC bike.

[Reedster]

Originally Posted by mfoga

I will agree with the fo for Reign X over the Reign, it actually climbs pretty well, even if it was an out of shape rider trying to get it around the loop. They are kinda heavy unless you go with the X0 but then again its not some light XC bike.

Yea, I totally agree about the X. I know it will be harder to climb, but it's just more training, right?

What do people think of the Kona Dawg? 5 inches this year and 6 inches for 2009.

~R

[Bryguy17]

with regards to the X, the real weak link for climbing is the fork. I find the rear to be very efficient on the climbs (moreso than my 5" trek with an open shock). If you are looking to make it more of a trail bike, I'd go with something adjustable travel. i.e. lyrik 2-step, TALAS 36, 66 ETA, etc.

Also, FWIW, they can be built very light. Mine, with a rather heavy DH build comes in at 35.5 with clipless pedals. you can easily lose a\up to a half pound off those by going with lighter ones (i.e. crank bros, mine are 380g/pair shimanos). I'm hoping I can get a ti spring, which should bring things down to 35 or under.

You could pretty easily drop a half pound or more off that by going with XT, hone, or SLX cranks instead of my saints. You can definitely go lighter than what I have for wheels, while still maintaining a good deal of bulletproofness.

you'll save .75 lbs going with, say, a 36 talas as opposed to my 66. then you lose the slightly slacker angles that I like so much, but i'd say ride both and see.

i will say I have some pretty light brakes (formulas), and a fairly light cockpit as well, and that stuff adds up a fair bit.

Just saying, if you build it up yourself and take the time to choose parts wisely, you can have a really, really sweet bike that will take most terrain, but still only weigh not that much. From what I just mentioned, i could get down to just north of 33 lbs, while sacrificing next to nothing in terms of rideability. sure, the HA is a bit steeper, but it'll still handle fine there. If you went all out, and stuck with single ply tires, went with lighter components, started going WW and replacing bolts, you could EASILY bring that bike down to 31 pounds with good rideability. pretty damn good if I do say.

[DISCO]

Dawg is a sweet bike, I was the only one who did not go down today. It has seriously saved my ass more time than I can count, just get a platform (RP2/Monarch) shock; mine's a coil and it pedals like a pogo stick. The only other gripe is the tire clearance is tight with a 2.4 on the back but the newer scandium ones are likely better. I really like the Spec; Hayes strokers and shimano pods, none of that SRAM garbage. I did have a giant reign as well and was not a fan of the maestro, but folks here seem to prefer it to the faux bar.

Don't rush your decision, ride a lot of different bikes and see what fits your style best. I think the GT force may be my next bike, six inches of squish, slack angles, two step fork, and no pedal bob.

[newpos]

check two wheels one planet () in costa mesa. i know they demo giants...

[Reedster]

Originally Posted by Bryguy17

If you are looking to make it more of a trail bike, I'd go with something adjustable travel. i.e. lyrik 2-step, TALAS 36, 66 ETA, etc.

you'll save .75 lbs going with, say, a 36 talas as opposed to my 66. then you lose the slightly slacker angles that I like so much, but i'd say ride both and see.

I definitely like the idea of a travel adjust fork because I do like a steeper head angle for climbing. It would be great if I could take you up on your offer to ride yours sometime. I am more interested in how it rides as a trail bike, so I wouldn't be trying anything too severe on it. I think I'm pretty busy this weekend and next, but maybe sometime after that we can meet and do a ride together and I can try your bike a bit.

Originally Posted by DISCO

Dawg is a sweet bike, just get a platform (RP2/Monarch) shock;

Don't rush your decision, ride a lot of different bikes and see what fits your style best. I think the GT force may be my next bike, six inches of squish, slack angles, two step fork, and no pedal bob.

Thanks for the input. I plan on trying as many bikes as possible before making my decision. The Path has a demo Dawg (at least they did 3 weeks ago) and I am hoping to give it a ride soon.

The Force is an option I've considered as well, I just want to make sure the frame is strong enough.

~Reed

[strobelite]

chauvinist youth just bought an 08 demo x-1, give him a call. i know that some people are kona lovers, but compared to maestro, kona is just dawg poo and coiled poo. my opinion, and we all know what opinions are like.......

[Chewyeti]

Reign vs Reign X... now you got me thinking :?

[Reedster]

Originally Posted by Chewyeti

Reign vs Reign X... now you got me thinking :?

I think you might be a good candidate for a Reign X as well. Then Ricky wouldn't give you so much sh!t for having only a 6" bike, you'd be at 6.7"

~R

[BFloFoxRider.]

Here's My $.02 and my thoughts on this.

Giant Reign X- All around great bike. Burly, yet not too over the top heavy. The Maestro Suspension give's great feedback, and you know, and can feel and predict what the rear suspension is going to do. This bike Pedals Great, considering It is a burly bike. It makes a great all mountain bike, and would work great for climbing with an airshock and a lockout fork. A Propedal coil shock such as the DHX coil will also work great, and comes on one of the models OEM.The Reign X2 Is priced at $2000 at the shop i work for, which is the maximum reccomended retail price FYI. I think it is a great bike for the 2 Grand you spend on it. I know you are 6 Feet tall, but i reccomend riding, or testing a medium, since to me, the Maestro bikes seem to run a tad big on size. Im about 5'11" and rode a medium Reign X and felt a little spaced out.

Cannondale Rush- People Have their opinions about Cannondale. You either love 'em or hate 'em. I, for one, did not care for them. This was up until i was in dire need of a bike to race cross country and My first super D race at fontana, and the Cannondale Rush was the only bike Incycle could loan me that weekend. I absolutely fell in love with the bike. The bike pedals great, and i found that the suspension alowed for good pedaling, and super effecient. It wasn't as great on the downhills compared to the Maestro, But i was suprised i had the shock Super Stiff, and the downhills were easily rideable. With that said, i would say go look at the cannondale rush, and ride one before you judge it. THink you're gonna be too heavy or beat the heck outta the Rush? CHeck out the Cannondale Rize, which looks to be a sweet rig.

Orange Cycles 5- Never ridden one. In fact, up until a month or so ago when the shop i work for recieved one, and i think it is the most awesomest frame. Yes, i said awesomest. I like how it looks, because it is somewhat exotic looking. Well, It is a single pivot, But a buddy of mine bought the Orange DH bike, and said that the Bike pedals better than his other bikes of the same genre. It is also said to not suffer from brake jack for the most part.

Titus El Guapo- I rode the El Guapo Ti, and i love it. Its a little burly, and i think a Moto Lite would be better for pedaling and even Fontana style DH. Although it is burly like the reign, i though it pedaled great for a bike that could easily be hucked off most of the drops that were thrown at it, and handled the Dh like an 8 inch travel bike. The suspension was very smooth, plush, progressive, and seemed endless, since it did not bottom out once!

Hope i could help a little bit, Just wanted to break down some options a little more in depth.

-Brandon

[Reedster]

Originally Posted by BFloFoxRider.

Here's My $.02 and my thoughts on this.

Giant Reign X- All around great bike. Burly, yet not too over the top heavy.

Cannondale Rush- THink you're gonna be too heavy or beat the heck outta the Rush? CHeck out the Cannondale Rize, which looks to be a sweet rig.

Orange Cycles 5- i think it is the most awesomest frame.

Titus El Guapo- I rode the El Guapo Ti,

Hope i could help a little bit, Just wanted to break down some options a little more in depth.

-Brandon

Thanks for the input. I read your earlier stuff about the size on the Reign X and I'll be sure to try the Medium as well as the large.

I have a Cannondale roadbike and like it. I think the Rush wouldn't cut it, but I'll see if I can find a Rize to check out.

I think both the Titus and the Orange are going to be more than I have availabe to spend, but thanks for the suggestions.

~R