Giant Reign 0 vs. Trek Slash 9

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Giant Reign 0 vs. Trek Slash 9
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flag SlickRiQ
O+
Posted: Sep 29, 2013 at 12:53 Quote
Howdy.

I'm new to the forum, but wanted to get your guys' opinion on something.

The "x vs y" is obviously a popular subject, and often the difference is preferential. But I'd like to describe what I'm looking for, and what your takes is on some consideration points.

I'm an aggressive trail rider. I once cut my leg on a bad landing, but I put too much effort into getting to the top that I wasn't going to let that wreck my fun so I rode hard the rest of the ride down - and then went to the emergency room after to get stitches Smile .

I've dumped my 120mm in search of the mystical do-it-all-bike. My typical weekend is toughing out brutal climbs here in the San Francisco Bay Area, but a few times a year going to a bike park (NorthStar in Tahoe and China Peak). I'm not an advanced rider, but I'm crazy enough to take a 120mm trail bike down black diamonds/expert (which is brutal mind you Smile ). I just want to constantly push the limit of where I'm at.

Now I'm looking for something that can handle the bike parks, but is on the edge of do-able with the local trails (I don't care how slow I go uphill, just as long I as I can make it).

Having said all that, my top two choices at the moment are the 2012/2013 versions of the 150mm Giant Reign 0 and the 160mm Trek Slash 9. I know the Reign X might be a closer category to the Slash. But I'm thinking the Reign is more on side of weekly versatility, and the Slash 9 might be right off the edge of that weekly versatility?

I'm looking at used bikes at the moment. Was at a Trek dealer, they said there's no inventory in California for the Slash's until December. And Giant got rid of the Reign (not the X), and replaced with the Trance SX. The Trance SX I thought was an interesting contender, but it's 140mm in the back and 160mm on the front. And some early reviews of it didn't sound too positive.

Unfortunately it's not like you can just rent these bikes to try it out for real - so pinging the community for those who might have tried these bikes. Most of the dealers around me don't even have it to try out in a parking lot (they have the more mainstream models like Trance's, Remedy's, Fuel EX's, older unsold Reigns, etc...).

Thoughts?

Thanks!
flag brianl
Posted: Sep 30, 2013 at 12:57 Quote
I haven't ridden the Trance X 26 or 27.5, but I had the first year Reign X - it pedaled pretty well, and got traction on the ugliest technical climbs, It had 160mm front/6.7" rear so it was well balanced - is a Reign X an option? (or a Nomad?)
flag ElTaco
Posted: Sep 30, 2013 at 17:44 Quote
I don't have any experience with the Reign but I did just finish building a 2013 Slash this weekend. All I can say is wow! The thing is a beast, and in all honesty I can't complain about climbing, as in my opinion it climbs really well, especially for such a burly bike. The CTD on the rear shock is awesome, allowing you to pretty much lock it out during a climb if you wish. I have a RC2DH 170mm Lyrik in the front, and run a 34T x 10 speed drivetrain. To me, the bike is just a bomb and destroys anything that you throw at it!

photo
flag SlickRiQ
O+
Posted: Oct 2, 2013 at 13:06 Quote
ElTaco wrote:
I don't have any experience with the Reign but I did just finish building a 2013 Slash this weekend.

Wow your bike looks awesome!
flag ihatetomatoes
Posted: Oct 3, 2013 at 0:15 Quote
Been on a Reign x for 3 years riding burly rooty PNW trails. Gotta say that this is the funnest bike ever to go down on. Just makes you want to pop of every bump and just corners soooo good. I demo'd some $6000 AM rigs lately as I've been thinking of trying a new bike but it just left me wanting to keep riding mine and not sell it (Helps I got a warrantied frame this year) Lots of guys ride the remedy in our area and like the bike. All I can say is that if you want to push your limits of downhill go with the Reign x over the regular reign.

As far as choosing I haven't been on a Trek remedy or slash and I'm sure they would be both great but I find that guys who ride Reign x's seem to fawn over how much fun the bike is more than guys on the trek.

Hope this helps
flag ElTaco
Posted: Oct 4, 2013 at 16:45 Quote
SlickRiQ wrote:
ElTaco wrote:
I don't have any experience with the Reign but I did just finish building a 2013 Slash this weekend.

Wow your bike looks awesome!

Thanks dude!
flag bigbadbikeman
Posted: Oct 5, 2013 at 18:24 Quote
No experience on the reign but the slash 9 is a beautiful bike. My LBS has one I just test rode last weekend it handled well. My problem with it was that it seemed to not like the square hits but roots were swallowed up nicely by the suspension. I liked the endure I rode more for the bigger hits. What matters in the end is that you get the bike YOU like not what other people tell you THEY like! good luck with picking a new bike!
flag brianl
Posted: Oct 7, 2013 at 13:29 Quote
bigbadbikeman wrote:
No experience on the reign but the slash 9 is a beautiful bike. My LBS has one I just test rode last weekend it handled well. My problem with it was that it seemed to not like the square hits but roots were swallowed up nicely by the suspension. I liked the endure I rode more for the bigger hits. What matters in the end is that you get the bike YOU like not what other people tell you THEY like! good luck with picking a new bike!
I suspect how a given bike rides "over square hits" vs roots etc is more dependent on suspension setup than the suspension design. If you did one test ride, most likely its setup was in the ballpark, but may not have been dialed in for you.
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