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Pro's needed!! Did I buy the wrong bike????

960 views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  kapusta 
#1 ·
just purchased a Giant Reign X1(love the Glory but out of my price range)..... Im a big guy coming in at 6'4" 265lbs. this was the most comfortable bike that I tested(in back alley ways and sidewalks) . Just got into downhilling/resort riding this year and love it!!!!! With 6.75" of travel i'm not sure this was the best choice after hitting Winterpark Co USA yesterday? Lets say I was a shovel and dirt was my best friend. Thank god for helmets and pressure suits... My set up is stock except the mavick high rollers that the previous owner put on the bike. Could tires make that big of difference?????? It just didn't feel as plush as the Kona Stinky I rode a few months back. Can I get it to feel plush????? Very discouraged with my ride yesterday and need help to keep the dream alive!!!! Might want to try racing just to have some fun. Is there a better bike for a monster like me? HELP PLEASE!!!!!

P.S. If anyone has any specs to set up my machine please let me know. tire pressure, tires, fork settings, shock settings etc.....

Thanks Guys
 
#2 ·
The High Rollers are pretty well regarded tires. The wider ones (2.35 and up) would be well-suited to DH. Did you crash because the tires felt sketchy? or because the bike wasn't set up plush enough?

Don't have experience with the Stinky and Reign X, but I'm familiar with Kona and Giant lessor-travel bikes, and in my opinion the Konas do feel more plush. That's not to say that the Reign couldn't be better set up to suit you. Maybe the shock has too heavy of a spring, or maybe you have damping set too high?
 
#11 ·
icon27 said:
and love it!!!!! With 6.75" of travel i'm not sure this was the best choice after hitting Winterpark Co USA yesterday? Lets say I was a shovel and dirt was my best friend. Thank god for helmets and pressure suits... My set up is stock except the mavick high rollers that the previous owner put on the bike. Could tires make that big of difference?????? It just didn't feel as plush as the Kona Stinky I rode a few months back.

Thanks Guys
I don't think the Stinky is a good benchmark for the Reign X. The Stinky (the two that I've ridden) is a pretty dedicated FR/DH bike, the Reign is an AM bike. In other words, the Stinky is made to point down, the Reign both up and down, with an emphasis on down. Try turning the two bikes around and start pedaling back up the hill. Don't let the travel numbers fool you (as another poster pointed out, they are almost the same) the setup and geometry of the bike make a huge difference. I've ridden a 7" Stinky set up for DH/FR at a resort and I cannot imagine any AM bike (that I would want to climb with) handling like that. I've ridden a pretty beefed up Reign, and while it was not an X, it was a world away from the stinky.

That said, I'm sure there are things that you can do to make it handle better. When I took my AM bike (Azonic Saber) to a resort I switch out the stem and that made a big difference. Were I to keep doing it, I would have gotten a larger set of tires than the 2.35's I was running at the time.
 
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