Mckay Vezina's Giant Reign: EWS Bike Check - Crankworx Whistler 2017

Aug 10, 2017
by Mike Kazimer  

Giant Reign 2018
BIKE CHECK
Mckay Vezina's
Giant Reign

Fresh off a 16th place finish at EWS round 6 in Aspen, Colorado, 21-year-old Mckay Vezina is hoping to make his way even further up the rankings this weekend in Whistler. He'll be aboard Giant's newly updated Reign, although his bike will be undergoing a few modifications to transform it into an even burlier race machine, one that's ready to take on the steep, long, and rough tracks that await racers on Sunday.

In McKay's words, “It's a beast. As the week goes on we're getting rougher and rougher on the track, so we're upping fork size, going up to 180 millimeters of travel, and Code brakes are going to go on with 200 millimeter rotors front and rear. It's basically turning into a mini-DH bike. I've never done a race that's going to be this rough before, so I'm excited to see how it goes."





Rider: McKay Vezina

Team: Giant Factory Off-Road Team
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 180 lb
Frame Size: Large
Giant Reign 2018


Giant Reign 2018
By the time race day rolls around Mckay will be rocking a 180mm RockShox Lyrik set up with 78 psi and 2 tokens.

Giant Reign 2018
In the rear, there's a Schwalbe Nobby Nic inflated to 26 psi...
Giant Reign 2018
...And a Magic Mary up front, inflated to 24 psi.


Giant Reign 2018
Giant Reign 2018
Mckay ran SRAM's Guide Ultimate brakes in practice, but those will soon be swapped out for a set of Codes in order to have the maximum amount of stopping power, a necessity on the technical course.



Giant Reign 2018
A 40mm Descendant stem is clamped to Truvativ Descendant bars, with a OneUp EDC tool tucked into the fork's steerer tube.


Giant Reign 2018
A 400 lb Super Alloy Racing sping has been installed on a RockShox Super Deluxe Coil, complete with a remote lockout.
Giant Reign 2018
Coil sprung shocks are going to be a very common sight this weekend, and the remote will help on the punchy mid-stage climbs, as well as the long uphill transfers.


Giant Reign 2018
A length of rubber tubing has been installed over the rear portion of the derailleur housing to help protect it from the rocks and debris that'll be flying once Mckay's on course.


Mckay's bike setup is fairly close to what any rider could purchase from their local shop, and he says, " I ride it pretty stock; I don't run anything too special. I like the bikes just the way they come - Sparky my mechanic does a really good job setting it up."





Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Bike Checks Crankworx Enduro World Series


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66 Comments
  • 82 7
 Wait wait wait - in the last sentence, does he mean that proper setup of a basic bike is more important than buying bling and cutting weight? That approach will not make you popular on large group rides...
  • 4 0
 Definitely all about the set up.
  • 10 0
 Nah, the most important thing is to be in good shape to pedal up and have a nice bunch of skills. If you lack the former you can always take some kind of stimulant to improve your performance free of punishment here
  • 83 0
 No, he's really saying "what the hell would I want to change on a $10k bike other than the brakes, tires, shock spring, grips, handlebars, stem, fork travel & seatpost!".
  • 12 0
 Large group rides? Scary.
  • 3 1
 I kept clicking upvote but it didn't go...
  • 8 0
 Nowhere near as important as fashion though, my multi-neon clownsuit is what makes me fast. Mainly because I'm running away from all the people laughing at me all the time so they won't see me crying.
  • 3 0
 @bogey: Bang on.
  • 7 0
 @bogey: At some point I think they must just be joking. They all say it, and none of them appear to be running a mostly stock bike. Maybe they just don't remember what the bike looked like stock.
  • 2 0
 No point looking good if you are to fast for people to see it. Ha ha. @shredteds:
  • 1 0
 That's exactly what I changed on my reign@bogey:
  • 57 3
 How in the bloody hell does he plan on racing a nobby nic with 26 psi in the rear? Can someone confirm that he's running some sort of insert. If I so much as look at a nobby nic with less than 30 psi it'll get a pinch flat.
  • 31 1
 There's now way he'll be riding that piece of fettuccine of a rear tire at Whister. If he does, he deserves what he gets.
  • 7 25
flag pulDag (Aug 11, 2017 at 1:20) (Below Threshold)
 I am asking the same thing.. That tire is designed for ladys, from what i saw.
  • 17 0
 It's likely the super gravity version that's avaliable to sponsored riders.
  • 5 0
 @panaphonic: Would love a super gravity Nobby Nic. Pinched the sidewalls on a Snake Skin so had to use something else.
  • 2 0
 I really hope they release the tyre with super gravity casing, I like the tread but I can't use such a fragile casing, and the same applies do Vezina...i think..!
  • 3 0
 The new (2015) Nobby Nic PSC, 26 psi and Procore is my all year rear tire and I haven't cut a sidewall the last 1,5 years...and I'm a fat bastard compared to these EWS guys.
But I don't think he'll run it without any kind of insert too.
  • 3 0
 Isn't that the new Addix version of the Nobby Nic with the orange line on it?
I wonder if something has changed between the previous model and the new addix version.
  • 2 0
 He's not gonna make it thru stage 1 on a knobby nic... Put it on the pile behind tge shop, then put on another MM gravity casing
  • 2 0
 @panaphonic: I would love a 2.25 SG NN... My 2.25 double defense one I only use when I will need to pedal a shit ton and want to take it easy going down.. which never happens anyway haha.. I ve been lucky a no flats so far.
  • 2 0
 @panaphonic: Check the pictures of the tire casing, I was surprised at what I saw. You can see it's not the super gravity, just the tubeless easy snakeskin. I've got the same tire on the read of my trance right now and I'm going to run it at a bike park this weekend. We will see how it feels. Luckily I'm only 145lbs so I may be able to get away with it.
  • 2 0
 This has been my luck with NNs - unacceptable as a rear tire for anything more than "easy" xc riding. This has happened to three tires now. I'm going back to Maxxis.

www.pinkbike.com/photo/15039681
www.pinkbike.com/photo/15039684

The casing is gossamer thin.
  • 1 0
 Even a DH casing MM at 26 psi won't last the first stage without some sort of insert or a whole lot of caution. The tracks were so rough and blown before practice, it's only going to get more wild!
  • 1 0
 @reks: this has happened to nearly every single Schealbe tyre that I have owned, I even managed to achieve that with center knob on a climb. But I may try Schwalbes again with procore inside. After all the durability is their only downside, important but still. Their grip to rolling resistance ratio is astonishing in my eyes. The other XC tyres don't exist for me, the grip on Schwalbe semi slicks is ahead of anyone else. We'll see. Minion dhf maxxgrip has been THE pause best tyre that I have ever owned. I'm eager to try MMary in soft
  • 1 0
 @reks: I did exactly that to a Thunder Burt 20 minutes into my first ride on it.

Disappointing!
  • 1 0
 That's exactly what I thought! Nobby Nic rear on 180 lb enduro rider??? Gotta be kidding!
  • 19 0
 When the Pro's slap a 180mm fork on a bike designed for a 160mm fork do they do anything else to keep the geo stable or do they just go with a slightly higher BB, run a little more sag and everything is fine? I'd be interested to know as usually bike companies say putting a 180mm fork on a 160mm bike will result in a fiery death...
  • 4 3
 Whistler is very steep so when he is slotted into that steep terrain, the bike's geometry is preserved as compared to a 160mm fork where it would dive more than wanted creating steep head angle
  • 2 0
 @ibishreddin: Yes that's kind of my point, it seem to work fine...
  • 3 0
 They don't adjust the sag any differently. It works just fine, the manufactures use that as a disclaimer for people putting ridiculously long A2C forks on which can break the headtube off. They don't seem to care as much these days, as the frames are much stronger than they were 5 years ago.
  • 21 0
 Same tyre combo as me! I'm well pro me
  • 17 2
 180 for enduro? Two years ago it was 160 so if they keep it going like that it will be 200mm next year .....oh wait they doing it already it's called downhill or something like that
  • 26 1
 You should follow the UCI WC Enduro Series. It's a single stage and the liaison to the top is via chairlift. I believe you're allowed tech support at the top, too. I think Red Bull might even cover it live...
  • 9 0
 @MTBrent: I heard that's where the fast guys in enduro start in, to prepare for their illustrious EWS careers.
  • 7 0
 I love how these racers say ..yeah I pretty much run stock bike.. they play it off like all cool and shit like it aint no big thing you to the consumer can have all this with a low low low price of 9k++ ..i'd be like f*ck ya I got the bling and a mechanic to dial it all in. just be honest!
  • 10 0
 The Nicky Hayden 69 on the water bottle is a nice touch.
  • 5 0
 Absolutely... RIP Nicky Hayden (69 forever)
  • 1 0
 @Superbike2001: saddest thing all year. he's been a favorite for about a decade now.
  • 4 0
 Interesting that at 5' 9" he's on a 2018 size large! The reach on that is relatively long 473mm (18.6in) .

By relative, I mean, compared to a 2018 Spesh Enduro that's 3mm longer than their XL i.e. its 740mm. Their Large is 450mm.

Yeti's SB6 XLarge is 466mm.
  • 2 0
 I was wondering that too. At 5'11", even the Medium is rather long and i usually wouldn't even consider a Large. Guess i'll have to test ride one.
  • 1 2
 Still on the shorter side compared to many modern bikes that are pushing 470+ in large now though.

435 sounds like an average medium for this kind of bike currently.
  • 1 0
 The Medium Reign has 459mm of reach though.
  • 1 0
 I'm 5'8 and have a 472 reach Mondraker. If a bike is intended to have long reach then it will feel good. I'm guessing the Reign is intended for it.
  • 3 0
 That Nobby Nic has an orange strip, that would make it an Addix Soft compound Nobby Nic. According to Schwalbe website there's no such a thing.
www.schwalbe.com/it/offroad-reader/nobby-nic.html
NN is only available to public in the blue Speedgrip compound.
Ergo, it's a prototype and as such it could be easily in Supergravity construction or whatever.
Personally, I'd be partial to a SG NN. Yup.
  • 1 0
 400lb coil spring ? seems too light for his weight . What size is this shock e2e ? is it longer now to decrease leverage force so he can run just 400 lber ? i have 550 coil spring 28% sag on 2 year old reign ( 85kg/190lbs)
  • 1 0
 New Reign has different leverage ratio. Shock has 62.5 stroke vs 57 in previous gen.
  • 4 1
 Even the SRAM sponsored racers can't get ahold of the new Reverb remote eh?
  • 3 0
 Are they hard to get a hold of? I have a brand new one sitting at home and didn't have a hard time getting it, but maybe I got lucky? Genuinely curious about this.
  • 1 0
 Uhhh all the new bikes that I've seen speced with a reverb have the new remote.
  • 1 0
 @YouHadMeAtDrugs: Yeah, that is my experience as well. Just bought a new Santa Cruz and it comes with the remote.
  • 1 0
 @neologisticzand: well. maybe just maybe he likes old one better !?
  • 1 0
 @trauty: maybe! It also means a little bit less on the handlebar. The reverb 1x remote would be a lot going on.
  • 4 0
 Cool idea with the tube! Gotta do that.
  • 4 1
 What's that fine beigey/brown effect especially on the wheels and lower parts of the bike? Looks most unusual.
  • 2 0
 I believe it is a customization down by the racers themselves to kinda make their bikes a little more unique. Most of them call it "dirt"
  • 2 0
 Surprisingly he is not running the latest lyric's internals. What's with that McKay?
  • 2 0
 #longlivechainsaw #rideonkentuckykid

Dude has got the right inspiration.... Miss those two wheeled legends mad :'(
  • 1 0
 Would love to see this coil clad rig in a scaled down all-mountain-trail bike size! After I rcently went coil on my trail bike doubt I'll go back to air.
  • 3 0
 Sweet looking bike
  • 2 0
 Of course they are getting flats running 24 psi....
  • 2 0
 Hmm nice setup.
  • 1 0
 Oops - I meant the XL Enduro is 470mm not 740mm
  • 1 0
 racing EWS is easy..its looking good thats the hard part
  • 1 1
 It seems like enduro is going coil shock, and downhill is going air shock ....
  • 1 0
 That water bottle, tho!







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