Giant have just released two long travel gravity inspired 27.5″ machines for MY2015; the re-born 27.5″ 160mm Reign, and the updated 200mm 27.5″ Glory. These new eye-popping machines put a final nail in Giant’s 26″ MTB coffin and enforces Giant’s total commitment to the midsize wheel being their bike of the future.
Set in the magical backdrop of the Pemberton valley in Canada, Flow was invited to two days of information and bike riding on the new gravity machines. We got to both see and ride both bikes and put them through a brief test on the rough, dry and dusty trails. Flow spent more time on the Reign than the Glory and look for our First Bite on the Reign to appear real soon.
[divider] Here Comes the Reign Again [/divider]
Missing from Giant’s lineup in 2014 the Reign has returned, and better than ever. Striking in looks and aggressive in design, the Reign pushes the boundaries of all-mountain capabilities. Maybe even blurring the lines of what we think a downhill bike is. To add weight to that statement Flow caught up with Giant Enduro World Series racers Josh Carlson and Yoann Barelli just a few days prior to the official lunch in Pemberton, Canada and got their honest opinions of the new bike.
“It’s a downhill weapon”, stated Yohun. “You can really just point it and the bike will take care of the rest.”
Both Josh and Yoann were equally amazed at the Reign and its descending abilities and they also make mention of it’s all-day riding capabilities, as it’s something they generally have to do in their race environment.
Our test and show bikes were the top of the line Reign Advanced 0 with a carbon front triangle and aluminium rear end. We think the bike looked good with a bold new colour and decal scheme and clean lines enhanced with internal cable routing. Other features include the removal (or some may say reversal) of the OD2 steerer standard, 142mm rear end, 1x set-up, 50mm stem and 780mm bars. Aesthetically the bike looks a million dollars and at $7599 it should do too.
The 2015 Reign has been in development for years and is more than a re-hash of the previous models. Giant admitted that it took some time to get the geometry right and went to pains to ensure it actually rode well. It’s lower, slacker, and has a shorter rear end than its 26″ predecessor and the Reign comes with a custom 46mm offset fork (versus 42mm) to ensure that better ride. It’s with noting that this offset is custom to Giant at the moment.
For those who like the numbers here are a few (size M):
Head Angle: 65 degrees
Seat Angle: 73 degrees
Chainstay: 434 mm
Wheelbase: 1191 mm
Stack: 577 mm
Reach: 444 mm
We got to spend a couple of days on the Reign and we’ll soon have our first impressions posted in more detail however as a summary the new 2015 Reign is a really great bike, it’s that simple. It is an aggressive all-mountain machine, it munches up rocks and obstacles, descends very well, and actually wasn’t bad to climb (we even had climbing challenges on our rides). Yeah, we know, that’s what they say about every bike, but it’s true, we found that the Reign really can be ridden everywhere and felt surprisingly light. Did we notice the new wheel size? No, not really. We have been riding the tween wheels for a long time now and it’s not going to be noticeable. Also, of we’re going to be picky we’d fix the cable rattle noise that can be noticed (only occasionally) . We know it’s not a big issue but for $7500 we really would be looking for perfection.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the bike will fit into the Australian terrain but it’s definitely going to make you think about your next bike choice if you’re gravity oriented. It you’re an Enduro racer then this is a perfect bike, and if you’re sitting on fence of DH vs all-mountain/Enduro then we too think this is perfect.
Available in Australia will be 4 models of the Reign, ranging from $3299 for the aluminium Reign 27.5 2, up to the top of the range Reign Advanced 0 team at $7499. Also, note that the brakes on out test bike are Code’s however they will come spec’d with new SRAM Guide.
[divider]Glory, Glory Hallelujah[/divider]
The new 2015 Glory has grown bigger wheels however it’s also grown a longer shock (240×76), has a longer front/centre, but shrunk at the rear end and has a lower bottom bracket than its 26″ predecessor. It also has has some other changes to include revised cable routing, an integrated fork bumper, bearings on the upper shock pivot – amongst others.
The 27.5″ Glory has been in development for a few years however it was only after the World Cup in Leogang last year where the final touches to the geometry were completed for production. Constant feedback from the Giant team riders pushed the development to that last point as the new wheel size meant some difficult adjustments. In early blind testing the 27.5″ Glory was immediately quicker than the 26″ however the rider feedback was less convincing. So, Giant took the time to ensure that not only was the bike quicker on the clocks, but comfortable for the riders.
The magic number for the Glory (M) are:
Head angle: 63 degrees
Seat angle: 63.6 degrees
Toptube length: 584mm
Chainstay length: 439mm
Wheelbase: 1219mm
Stack: 594mm
Reach: 426mm
We got to throw our legs over the new Glory only briefly on a few lifted runs on the rocky trails of Pemberton and early impression are too juvenile to warrant lengthy comment. Yep, the bike was fast and fun, it took big hits, but more time on the bike will yield better information.
The Glory will only be available in aluminium and a carbon version is something we would have liked to have seen. Giant do counter this by saying that their Glory is actually lighter then other carbon downhill offerings but carbon is just sexy and who wouldn’t want a sexy DH bike?
The Glory will come in 3 models for Australia and be priced from $2899 – $5999.