2010 Giant Reignx X prototype,

Its an easy Fix, you just swap the Crown Race.
either way you would swap the crown race, now it will be a 1-1/8th crown race that flanges wider to meet the 1.5 headset, its what i use on my glory, since my boxxer doenst have a tapered headtube.

And DIno, plus, if Joe SHmoe who bought a bike that wasnt right for himself, what makes you think he would be smart enough to even have a spare fork, let alone swap it outt? :wave:
Its an easy fix, really. To me it makes plenty of sense.

Anti Brake lock on a car, the seasoned car racer will not use it, since i'm sure he knows how to use his brakes and gearing accordingly, but the Newb may not know how to use his or her brakes correctly, which is where this would pick up the slop for him or her without him or her ever knowing it most of the time.
Same thing with this stiffer design, many of the newbs wont notice it as you said, but it will help their riding technique and ability.

Go Giant :bang:

 

Just run a reducer headset on the bottom. :?:

 

yeah, running a 1 1/8" fork is not really the problem with tapered headtubes. the problem is with the companies specing OEM builds with tapered forks. makes it harder to sell the fork, harder to swap it to a different bike, etc. that's my only beef with it.

from a building a frame up from the ground angle, though, it's not that bad. you get plenty of options, and can run a zero-stack lower cup, a taller 1.5 cup, or whatever you like. with so many bikes going tapered, you'll likely see options for headsets that will be tapered from the get-go.

with regard to straight downtubes, it's not that hard. honestly, if I were designing a new reign, I would leave the DT the same as before, eliminate the shock hole, and make the shock driven from the lower suspension link. keeps the shock low on the frame (low CoG), keeps a cleaner/lighter DT profile (a straight tube covering the same distance is shorter than an 'S', ergo lighter), and still keeps the clearance for bigger shocks.

also something I wanna know: will they allow you to put a friggin 8" DC fork on these without penalty? honestly my bike begs for so much more than a 160mm fork, but I don't wanna break my face much. would make it a great option to something like the slopestyle.

 

lol, kinda looks like MY 08 trance X2. I always knew it was a good design!!