Carlson's Samoens CrusherOne of the great things about the EWS series, and about enduro racing in general, is that it pits competitors from different backgrounds together. This fact makes for some widely varying setups that can have the machines of the World Cup downhill circuit looking pretty boring in comparison. Yes, a top downhill rig is an impressive thing, but when you're asking a six inch travel bike to go nearly as fast over terrain that varies much more than a taped-off downhill track, as well as to perform well over a five or six hour day, you're going to end up with all sorts of different styles of bikes.
With a few notable exceptions, we've seen a lot of racers turn to air shocks, handlebar-mounted pedalling aids, and mid-weight but relatively fast rolling rubber and wheels. Giant Factory Off-Road Team's Josh Carlson is usually on the opposite end of the spectrum, though, preferring a burlier setup that's all about traction and more consistent suspension performance, things that he's happy to pay a weight penalty for. And while a lot about his 160mm travel Reign could be called off the shelf, there's certainly a few things that have his Giant standing out from the crowd.
Suspension SetupThe weight difference between a 27.5'' Pike and 27.5'' Lyrik is said to be just 144 grams, so it's no surprise to see Carlson on the 160mm travel Lyrik given that the fresh chassis is claimed to be more rigid. Yes, the 35mm stanchions are the same diameter as a Pike, but RockShox says that the gains in torsional stiffness come via redesigned lowers and their Torque Cap design that provides more contact between the end of the hub and the fork dropouts. If that idea sounds familiar, it's because in 2009 Specialized debuted 28mm hub endcaps that were designed to do the same thing, albeit in a quick release system. The new Lyrik can be run with either Boost 110, Torque Caps, or with a standard 15mm x 100mm thru-axle, and it appears that Carlson has gone with the latter.
Josh has spent quite a bit of time on a dirtbike in the past, which is a world where many guys are running suspension that a mountain biker would find extremely stiff, and the Solo Air fork and Vivid R2C shock on his Reign are set up in much the same way. The Lyric is using an extremely high spring rate (he wasn't sure of the exact air pressure) that makes it firmer than even Barel or Graves' forks, and it's a setup that mirrors how Carlson's Pike has been ran at previous EWS events.
One thing he does tinker with, though, is the Bottomless Tokens, switching between two or three thread-in orange volume spacers depending on how much travel is being used.
A coil-sprung RockShox Vivid R2C is employed on the back of the bike, with Carlson being one of the few EWS racers to not use an air-sprung shock on a regular basis. His thinking is that running an air shock as stiff as he prefers would make for a less active ride, and therefore less traction, whereas using a coil shock and a stiff setup will provide more suppleness at the top of the stroke that will help his tires stick to the deck. The 450 in/lb spring is from EXT and is a steel composite unit that's said to be lighter than a titanium version of the same rate.
Bike SetupThe burly theme continues elsewhere on Carlson's Reign, with a set of Schwalbe's Magic Mary tires mounted up at both ends. Rolling speed obviously isn't too high on Josh's wishlist while racing in France this weekend, as the Magic Mary tires are all about clawing into the ground rather than carrying momentum for long periods of time, although it's Carlson's strong fitness that allows him to take a different approach. The front tire is even Schwalbe's softest 'Vertstar' compound, while the rear is a slightly faster rolling, longer lasting version. Note that he's not using Schwalbe's interesting Procore system, either.
A man-sized 36 tooth chain ring means Josh will alway have something to push against, even when the speeds get high, and he's using a minimalist MRP chain guide to prevent a race-ruining mechanical. He has chosen to not use a traditional chain guide - there is no lower roller - but there is a bolt-on taco guard to protect that big 36 tooth ring. Other notables include 180mm rotors for his Guide Ultimate brakes (
no 200mm up front), and a clever computer mount that sees his GPS unit attach to the stem cap rather out in harm's way on the handlebar.
Edit: And make it f*cking 26"
Not.
Biased much?
It's not a bearing, it is a POM spacer. Super alloy springs come in one size to fit all shocks. S-A springs (company run by Date Garland....Josh's mechanic) provide you with the spacer to fit your shock.
It is NOT the same bearing system as brake-for-cake describes.
Imbeciles.
Nice one brake for cake.
So you're full of shit hey?
lets just be clear on this.
Brake for cake is full of shit.
sounds nice, honestly
i believe adam craig had a similar shock setup in rotorua maybe?
Lighter than low end Ti springs. Slightly heavier than high end Ti spring.
Some spring weight for comparison: www.sicklines.com/weights/rear-spring
decent torsional rigidity being good.....something the rs1's don't have much of so therefore not so great...
quote from bikeradar review "The RockShox RS-1 boasts a lot of technology as well as a steep price tag, but it still suffers from many of the same torsional flex issues as past inverted suspension forks"
a*sholes. They've created more choice with new standards 27.5, 27.5+, 29 etc… give me a break.
2" stroke for 6.5" travel is daft.
It's one of the reasons I sold mine a couple of years ago.
Of course it's not a reign x! (agree with those above). Not knowing the fork settings, frame size, rider height and weight, stem length, bare width (and so on) is simply sloppy. @mikelevy we're bike geeks, please tell us what we want to know. After all, where do you expect us to find these minor details if not on this outstanding website? Please be more thorough, we care about the finer details!
They had different lower pivots (burlier) but i think all reigns started to get them after they had issues with cracked lower pivots on non-x frames.
I'm pretty sure the main differences was just a longer stroke shock and rear axle was a through axle, where normal reigns got qr rear axles.
My '14 trance 27.5 is twice the bike my '12 reign x was.
Makes me want to try one of these new reigns with updated geo.
A giant reign X
flag dropoffsticks (5 hours ago)
So downhill riders are starting to use air shocks and enduro riders are starting to use coil sprung? WTF?