Big Mountain Riding

The Giant Reign 1 is ready to aim and fire. Photo - BIKEMAGIC.COM

Review: Randy King

Photos & Video: Doug King and Randy King [Coming Soon]

We who live more than a day’s drive to Moab have a choice to make as we prepare for our pilgrimage: Ship the faithful rig that you know like an extension of yourself, or rent a dream machine / fun wagon while you’re in the mountain bike playground? My vote: rent the dream. On my last trip to Moab I rented a Giant Reign 1 for four days of tecchy riding on the rocks, sand and ledges – a.k.a. the gnarl.

Picking a bike built for the style of riding you’re seeking ups the fun factor. Back east I ride a trail bike, a Trek Fuel Ex 9. In Moab, my brother and I seek out the ledges and technical terrain and ride the rocks. We’re not big hucksters, but we do seek out rougher lines and push our personal limits on the gnarl. The Giant Reign 7 is purpose-built for those all-mountain kinds of days.

Friends, you do not want to realize too late that you brought a knife to a gunfight. Not two hours after my first pedal stroke in Moab, I questioned whether I was in over my head. We had climbed Amasa Back and then taken the extension out to Pothole Arch. From there we completed our loop via Rockstacker and Jackson trail.  Less than 200 yards into Rockstacker is when my serious questioning began. The trail dropped over a six-foot-high rock. I almost lost it trying slide down this beast with my bike. Dig dropped in on his older Reign, rolling down the grippy sandstone. Ah, I had brought a gun. I got back on the Reign and committed to be a worthy rider – or at least to remember that I had the firepower for the task at hand. We proceeded to tackle one of the most technically fun trails ever. Rockstacker and Jackson drop down the side of the Colorado River rim on the opposite side of the river from the infamous Portal Trail. Exposure, ledges and slots abound. The Reign was stable on serious steeps, and handles drops precisely – a key when dropping onto a narrow, exposed trail. The Fox suspension performed as I have come to expect of Fox, very competently.

The Reign 1 was competent and bold in the gnarl.

The Giant Reign 1 is a well-designed, well-kitted all-mountain rig. Hung with a Fox DHX Air 5 shock and a Float fork with through-axle, the bike can mix it up with the gnarl. However, it also climbs well for a beef-cake. Getting it up Amasa Back and Bartlett’s Wash was not as much of a chore as I had feared. In fact, it climbed well. The Maestro suspension design has aged well and is efficient under pedaling forces.

The Reign’s components and drivetrain held up well to a week of hard riding and less than tender loving care. Even after an almost total submersion in the creek at the bottom of the Jackson trail, a tumble or two on Killer B trail, and plenty of little ledges and hasty down shifts, the Reign remained in good working order. It did everything you’d expect of an all-mountain bike, and had that extra bit – it was a fun bike to ride.

The Reign is an all-round performer, which is just what I want in an all-mountain bike. Suspension platforms and design can hide heft and make riding a 6-inch (150MM) travel, 30-pound bike up the hill easier. And when the trail turns downhill and the rocks and ledges are coming fast, the Reign will make you happy that it is not too knife-like. It blasts through rough terrain. On the legendary Porcupine Rim descent I powered over the babyheads and off of small ledges, confident that the Reign could make up for minor mistakes on my part.

I liked the Reign. In Moab I loved the Reign. While I don’t know that I’d want to push the extra pounds around for every ride on the local trail system at home, I miss not having that firepower at my disposal when I’m out in the big mountains and it is time to go downhill. And when I go back to Moab, I’ll rent again … It may just be another Giant Reign.

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

Day 2, slept in to recover from 1,000 miles of driving and 3 hours of sleep topped off with two rides on our first day. Headed north of town to try out the newer M-O-A-B brand trails. If you go, drive past the first parking lot and down to the parking lot at the end of the dirt road. Saves you a mile or so of gravel road riding.

Bar M proved disappointing, a fireroad, mostly. Rockin’ A was weavy but easy. We rode the O on Circle O, a tight 25 foot diameter clay banked circle. Bar B has a fun first half. It climbs up a small hill and then winds down through the rocky and sandy desert. Along with lots of rock riding, it features a sidehill countour line trail too. We rested at the entry of the Killer B to have a Clif Bar.

The rest of Bar B was another fire road and boring. After breaking a chain and fixing it, we rode the rest of Bar B and back on the first leg of it again back to Killer B.

Killer B is gnarly. It drops 650 feet in less than a mile. The trail is very narrow and has its share of exposure. Rock stair steps drop into tight switchbacks edged by 30-foot deep rock choked canyons. We managed most of it … though I did hug a rock and send the bike down the trail. Killer B got the heart going with several of sketchy descents into switchbacks.

The ride back ended on a paved bike path. With the exception of the first 1/2 of Bar B and Killer B, these trails are blase. If I was Moab, I’d want my name back.

Attack of the 650B-wheeled Carver Killer B

Compiled from the Dirt Rag Blog, twentynineinches.com and MTBR.com

Oddball bike sets the big wheel world abuzz

Think Goldilocks and the Three Bears: 650B wheels may be "Just right." - from twentynineinches.com

Talk about trial by fire: Dirt Rag’s Karen Brooks rolled her test bike directly out of the office and up to the starting line of the brawny Shenandoah 100, lingering only long enough to swap out a few components on the demo for more familiar ones. Luckily, the Killer B from Carver Bikes is an adaptable rig that lends itself to easy transitions for riders of 26″ or 29″ wheels – the 650MM wheel diameter translates to roughly 27.5″. Speaking of adaptability: following the Shenandoah 100, the Dirt Rag stripped the Killer B down and headed west for the Single Speed World Championships (SSWC) in Durango.

Just like 29″ wheels did, the 650B diameter is sure to draw staunch critics, blind worshipers and a whole host in-between – as well as a lot of “Huh? 650B – what’s that?” And with cycling consumers already primed for the revolution following the rise of the 29-er, the 650B wheel meets both more ready acceptance and more competition for critical comparison.

It seems that much of the reaction to the 650B wheels depends on whether the reviewer is throwing a leg over the Killer B after dismounting from a 26″ or a 29″ bike. To draw on Karen Brook’s Goldilocks analogy – whether the 650B porridge is warmer or cooler depends on which porridge dish you last sampled. Regardless, it seems for a swath of both wheel-size-camps, the 650B may be “just right.”

For those tuned to the 29″ style, the 650B opens dialogue on where “smaller” big wheels might fit in. Karen Brooks was happy with the way the Killer B snapped about in the brutally tight and twisty SSWC course and in the narrow, tree-lined singletrack of Shenandoah Mountain.

“I might choose something like this for an ultra tight, technical course with a fair amount of climbing,” allowed Guitar Ted, from twentynineinches.com.

Killer B's drop-outs come with a d-hanger or slotted for SS

Testers liked: the Killer B’s fast handling in tight turns and technical sections. This from 29-er folks, giving the mid-sized wheels their due. Meanwhile, a shorter reviewer, coming from 26″-wheels, liked the way the bigger wheels hooked up and stayed connected in corners and climbs without overwhelming their bike’s small frame. “[The Killer B] Climbs like a demon on steroids,” enthused a reviewer on MTBR.com. The smooth, stiff ride of the titanium frame and the no-charge customized sizing options also drew praise. “Out on the trail I thought, ‘Gee, this feels pretty good.’ in that fast, nimble sort of way,” said the reviewer for twentynineinches.com

Testers disliked: That 650B wheels rode a bit harsher, and struggled for traction more than 29″ wheels would in the same situations. Guitar Ted felt that that 650B wheels do not generate the momentum and the roll-over capabilities that converts so many to the big wheel faithful. “On wet roots, I still might prefer to go big (in wheel size, that is),” said Karen Brooks. Currently, there are not many options for off road tires and wheels, meaning no narrow knobbies for purchasing traction in the snow or the mud.

Indie bike, Indie attitude: Killer B rocking the mono-cog

SPECS:

- 3/2.5 Seamless Aerospace Titanium with X-Rayed Welds
- Machined box section head tube gusset
- S-bend chainstays and seat stays for clearance up to 2.6″ tires
- Choice of threaded bottom bracket or EBB, derailleur hanger or single speed dropout
- 27.2 seatpost size and 1 1/4″ front derailleur size
- 13″, 15″, 17″, 19″. 21″ and 23″ sizes
- Custom sizing at no extra cost
- 6 mm. water cut dropouts with rack mounts

Cost –

Frame: $1099.95 Full-Build: +/- $2000

Read the full Dirt Rag Review.

© 2009 Big Mountain Riding