PB’S GIANT REIGN E+ 1
MONTH 2: Chasing your tail is all part of bike set-up… but PB is finding it difficult to go round in circles on the Reign
£6,299 / 29/27.5in / giant-bicycles.com
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Even though it’s had its maiden flight, the Reign E+ 1 is in a bit of a holding pattern this month and that’s because I haven’t got it fully dialled in. With 160mm of travel, it’s totally capable, but on flatter turns I can’t quite weight the front wheel sufficiently and the bike doesn’t turn-in like I want it to. Yes, the size L has a 30mm longer front centre than claimed, so that could explain it, but the balance seems slightly off to me.
I was thinking about dropping the handlebar slightly to put more weight on the front, but the Reign has a pretty long reach, so I actually want the handlebar higher and closer, not lower and further away. Alternatively, I could firm up the rear suspension, but the problem is it already feels pretty progressive and I’m also not getting full travel. There may be some volume spacers in the rear shock, so I could remove them and run a bit more spring pressure, which would prop the bike up, without it ramping up as much. I’ve asked Giant if there are any volume spacers in the Fox Float X2 shock, because removing the shock and aircan to check is quite an involved process (one of the negatives of Giant’s Co-pivot design) and there’s no point doing that if there’s nothing inside.
The third avenue for exploration is to run less air in the fork and increase the low-speed compression damping. But again, that will lower the bar height relative to the saddle, and since the Reign came with a 150mm dropper post rather than the 170mm it was supposed to (Giant is sending a replacement) the saddle is already pretty high when I’m descending. It sounds like I’m going round in circles, right? And in a sense, I am. But to be fair, most of this is typical when setting up a bike for the first time.
I’ve also been fiddling with the controls, especially the position of the rear brake and the small Ridecontrol Ergo 3 remote. I like this compact remote, but not the way it dovetails with the Shimano brake lever. I run my brake levers flatter and further inboard and if I do that the Ergo 3 remote ends up pointing downwards and the dropper remote also gets farther away from the grip. The other annoying thing about the remote is that it’s held in place by a Torx T-15 bolt, which clamps a tiny shim against the bar, and if you unwind the bolt, the shim can fall out.
I’ve also put a couple of parts into storage, well the attic, to be precise. First were the grips because they were rock-hard. I also swapped the Giant alloy handlebar for a Race Face bar because the stock one didn’t feel that resilient, and when I took it off, I noticed it weighed quite a bit, a good sign it’s thickwalled. Small details, though. The main priority now is to get the suspension dialled so I can bank hard into flat turns with more confidence.
WHY IT’S HERE Race-ready e-bike with alternative motor & battery technology
Size tested Head angle Seat angle BB height Chainstay Front centre Wheelbase Down tube Seat tube Top tube Reach