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Giant Reign Modifications (Not Reign X)

277K views 729 replies 164 participants last post by  kurtis1984 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello,
The purpose of this thread is to hear of modifications people have made to their giant reign to find out what works and what doesn't.

I am very interested to know about switching the rear shock for something other than the DHX air. I have also heard of guys changing the stroke legnth on the rear shock to gain more travel ie...from 2" stroke and 6" travel to 2.35" stroke 6.75" travel. Anyone tried this?

Here's my mods;
2009 Giant Reign 0
-36 Fox Talas , brings my head tube angle to 66.5 and the BB just over 14". I really like this setup, makes the reign much more capable on gnarly descents but just as versatile for climbs, XC type stuff. It comes with a 1lb weight penalty.
-KS i950r adjustable seat post with 5" travel. For me this was necessary because as you know the interrupted seat tube on a reign did not allow for maximum extension for climbing AND total drop down for downhill. this post is awesome, adjust on the fly and have the seat right where you want it depending on what your riding. it comes with a 1/2lb weight penalty.
-RaceFace Bashgaurd
-Chromag 50mm Ranger Stem for better control downhill and less of a felling like i'm going over the bars
-Chromag Fubars OS 730mm for extra stability, less twitchyness

Post your Mods!!!!!!!!
 

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#198 ·
Hey guys, not sure if I have set up my bike wrongly or what but I am riding a 2009 small Reign 2, my current shock is a FOX DHX Air 5.0 7.875 x 2.25 but when I full compress the rear shock, the seat tube and the swing arm is knocks into each other. Anyone else having this problem?
 
#200 ·
Reigning Monarch

Fun title anyway. Was out for a ride the other night, and despite a few trail side adjustments I could not get the front and rear suspension to feel right.

On the previous ride, I had added about 5 psi front (Talas 36) and back (RP23), and it felt good, great actually. So I checked the pressure and made sure it was at the same level and off I went. The climb up on the fire road felt okay, but no real test on the suspension. The decent was a technical XC blast that varied from slow root and steep roll slopes to fast flowing and bumpy section, littered of course with a few climbs as well. It could have been one of those days where nothing was going to feel right, but it really felt like I was getting bounced around a lot more than the usual.

So impulse buy to the rescue, I ordered a Rock Shox Monarch RC3 Plus for my 2010 Reign. Went with a medium tune with the regular air can. From what I was able to search out the higher volume air cans are not as good on the Reign or most bikes with a leverage ratio of over 2.5:1. Hopefully, this will end up being one of those, "WOW, I am glad I did that" moments and not one of those "What the hell was I thinking"

Will report back in a week or so when the shock gets in.
 
#201 ·
I just picked up a reign about 3 weeks ago after having owned a 4" travel trance for going on 5 years. The trance did me well, but I honestly wanted more as I started gaining more confidence. I can safely say now after about a dozen rides that I made the right decision. Nothing too crazy mod-wise yet, but anyways-

- M970 XTR cranks, very soon to be X0 2x9, Just waiting for my blackspire bashguard to arrive.
- candy 2 pedals (I have some mallets for lift-assist days)
- EA90 stem, 100mm 0 rise for most days, Havoc 70mm/10 for big days.
- EA70 monkeybar, mid-rise.

I'm lacing up a set of Hope pro2's to Arch rims as we speak, I just need to pick a tire to run with them. I'll probably keep two wheelsets for normal and Dh'ish days. I enjoy wrenching to a fault, so swapping parts doesn't bother me much at all.

I'm also highly considering ditching the stock seat for a fizik pave. I don't know what anyone else thinks about running a road saddle on an AM rig, but I'm still not used to the seat-shape, and switching from road to mountain sends my backside into complete confusion.

pics-



 
#215 ·
I was looking for a nice and cheap chain device for my GFs 2012 Reign 2. I knew there were some solutions on the market, but Specialized Dangler was not available locally, Bionicon C-Guide was too expensive, IMO and Exustar... local distro didn't even know such product :|
So, I went through shop's warehouse, found some reflective lights clamps, some rubber strips and some bolts. I assembled everything together and I got this :)



Rubber silencer wears pretty fast, coz it's regular rubber, but it's replaceable.
Money spent - zero :)
 
#216 ·
frango - nice work. I am kicking myself that I didn't think of that. I just ordered a C-Guide from my LBS. Perhaps I will built one of the ghetto c-guide for my big bike. I have a stinger on it to keep from dropping a chain, but still have some chain slap.

Do you need to run the soft rubber grommet at all. The harder plastic is likely similar to what is used in the official C-Guide.

Again, props for putting forward such a simple solution and cost effective solution that no one had come up with. :thumbsup:
 
#217 ·
Thx, rideitall. I was really surprised how it all nicely fitted the bike :)
My GF spend just two days riding on some light DH tracks, but I think the device did its job. I will disassemble it for city rides, coz the chain will certainly eat lower clamp.
Oh, upper clamp diameter is 30mm (original from Reign and other Giant bikes with 30,9 seatpost) and lower i 22mm (from a kids bike).
 
#219 ·
2010 Reign Updates

Here is my 2010 Reign 0

I got the bike as a frame only and transferred gear from my previous trail bike.

Sun Charger Expert wheels run tubeless with Schwalbe tires
Replaced my older XT with a newer set
Replaced RP23 with Monarch RC3, have one ride on it.
Added Bionicon C-Guide

Off to test it out tomorrow after work.

I am quite happy how the bike is setup, built to take some abuse, with some pretty heavy duty rubber to handle the steep, rocky and muddy terrain, and still just above 31.5 lbs as she sits. Here is how she looks now.

Cheers
 

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#220 ·
This may have already been posted, and obviously there are guides like the bionicon to purchase. But for a quick fix to chain drop that is super cheap...

if im not mistake i believe that is the "zip tie" chain guide seen here
ZIP TIE Chain Guide how to - Pinkbike Forum
Sorry for the delay,guys,I've been out for the weekend ;)

The chainguide was found at Pinkbike (it's good for something after all!),just follow the link posted by nyrangerfan222,it's very easy to build.

Here's a closer look:



Now for the shocking truth: IT WORKS! :eek:
Weights next to nothing,and in my case,didn´t cost a cent. So what if it doesn't look good,it's a keeper!
 
#224 ·
here is my mod :)

Frame: 2011 Giant Reign
Fork: 2012 RS Lyrik Soloair DH 170mm
Crank: Race Face Turbine 24/36 + bash
Chain Guide: Bionicon C.guide
Front Derailleur: Shimano SLX 3x9 (for now)
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT 10 Speed
Cassette: Shimano XT 10 Speed
Shifter: 2012 Shimano XT 10 Speed
Rear Shock: Fox DHX Air 5.0
Wheelset: 2012 Mavic Crossmax SX
Tires: Schwalbe 2.25 Nobby Nic UST
Steam: X-tasy 70mm (gift from Tomas Slavik)
Handle Bar: Easton EA 70
Seat Post: Kind Shock 100mm travel
Saddle: Fi'zi:k Gobi XM (Giant LTD Edition) w/ K:ium Rails
Brakes: 2012 Shimano XT Trail
Rotors: Hope Saw Floating Disc red 203mm front & 183mm back
Pedals: Shimano PD-M647
 

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#225 · (Edited)


My 2008 Reign 2. Owned since new. Love the way it rides, and is still virtually unchanged.

Recently converted the stock WTB Laserdisc Trail wheels to tubeless with some WTB Prowler MX 2.3 front and rear. For the pedals I went with some SPD clipless, but after those recently had a bearing failure, I went with some Eggbeaters.
 
#233 ·
shock choice

Depending on the riding style but I ride up and down hills so I LOVE my DHX 5.0 Air. I put it on last year (used) and haven't EVER had a problem. I weigh 230. If you use the boost valve PSI as a mid range adj, you can get it feeling close to a coil with half the weight!! I found a good shock tutorial on MTBR and it has helped immensely. I also bought an extra 1/4 inch stroke length on purpose to give me an extra 3/4" travel. It works. Here's the tutorial . FOX DHX AIR 5.0

I find it odd that this shock gets thrashed in the ratings so much. People keep talking about the air pressures they use... does anyone read the manual? I love the shock and if you use is right it will last (6 m for me and counting).

Main chamber 50-300 PSI (start with 200)
Boost chamber 125-200 PSI (start with 125)

Basic Tune:
1)Set sag (25% of travel). Add/subtract 10-15 pds increments to the main chamber.
2)Set bottom out adjustment. This effectively changes the size of the boost chamber. Larger chamber= less spring rate increase and more likely to bottom out. Smaller chamber= rapid spring rate increase and more bottom out resistance.
3)Set Boost chamber pressure. Here is where tuning comes in... More pressure here= more mid stroke pre-load

Set rebound to taste.

Hope this helped.
 
#235 ·
What's the PSI for the boost valve and main chamber? Any decent coil has both w/out having to worry about the "correct spring." Or maybe .....sounds like you let your LBS work on that stuff. Putting a coil shock on an AM bike is pretty ridiculous (imo). That would be the reason people ask, "What style riding are you doing?"
 
#236 ·
thought i should post mine little beast
2012 reign 1,

mods,
x9 2x10 cranks 26/39
race face atlas low rise bars

thats about it so far,
coming soon
70mm stem
works angel set, going to rake it out to 66*

longer term mods im trying to work out
650b, maybe in a year or two. if anyone has done a 650b with the revelation give me a shout, trying to figure out what rubber will fit under. planning to use ZTR rims
 

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