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Reign 1 vs Trance 1 - I Shouldn't Choose Because Of The Colour!

1632 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by NICKHOBBS, Jul 23, 2006

Hezza

Discussion Starter · Jun 24, 2006 (Edited)

Hi,
In the next two weeks i intend on buying either the Reign 1 or Trance 1....

...I am 6'1" and 13stone (180lbs).

I ride aggressive trails mostly, i like going up as much as down, bit of northshore, small jumps, drops (nothing big - 4' tops i guess) and need a new bike for it all!

I think the Reign is the sensible choice, but i cannot get over how much better looking the Trance is - the white is :thumbsup:

Is the trance going to meet my needs? Or am i going to get bored and want something more?

:madman: I just cannot make a choice.

Also....which has the better kit for the money, as they are both the same price.

Please help!
:madman: :madman: :madman: :madman:

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Jet-Mech

· #2 · Jun 24, 2006 (Edited)

Hezza said:
Hi,
I ride aggressive trails, i like going up as much as down, northshore, jumps, drops (nothing big - 4' tops i guess) and need a new bike for it all! Also....which has the better kit for the money, as they are both the same price.

Hezza, with the sort of riding you are doing, I would say that the Reign or the Faith is the sled for you. I really don't think Giant intended or designed the Trance for any Northshore style riding or jumping business. It would be certain to end in tears if you did subject a Trance to such abuse. I think about the maximum jump to flat you could do on a Trance would be 3 feet. The Trance could probably handle 4 feet to flat, but you would really have to be very smooth when landing. Repeated jumps from 4 feet would be sure to limit the life of a Trance.

As for UK component spec look below, all good stuff for the intended purpose of each respective bike. Giant do give good value for money and I couldn't really say if either the Reign or Trance was better value for money. I have no idea of the price you are paying in Old Blighty, but the Reign 1 and Trance 1 go for $AUS 4499 and $AUS 4999 respectively in Australia.

MODEL Trance 1
SIZES 14.5", 16", 18", 20", 22"
FRAME ALUXX butted aluminium, Maestro suspension system, 4.2" travel
FORK Fox FRL, 100mm travel, lock out
SHOCK Fox Float RP3
HANDLEBAR RaceFace Deus XC
STEM RaceFace Deus XC
SEAT POST RaceFace Next Composite
SADDLE WTB Rocket V Stealth
PEDALS N/A
SHIFTERS Shimano XT 27 speed
FRONT MECH Shimano XT
REAR MECH Shimano XTR
BRAKES Hayes HFX 9 XC Composite
BRAKE LEVERS Hayes carbon
CASSETTE SRAM PG990 11-34
CHAIN Shimano HG 73
CRANKS RaceFace Deus LP X-Type 22/32/44
BOTTOM BRACKET RaceFace X-Type
RIMS Mavic CrossMax SL
HUBS Mavic CrossMax SL
SPOKES Mavic CrossMax SL
TYRES Hutchinson Bulldog Airlight folding, 26x2.1"
WEIGHT 12kg/26.4lb

MODEL Reign 1
SIZES 15", 16", 18", 20", 21"
FRAME ALUXX butted aluminium, Maestro suspension system, 6" travel
FORK Fox 36 Talas R, 20mm thru axle, 120-160mm travel
SHOCK Fox Float RP3
HANDLEBAR RaceFace Evolve XC
STEM RaceFace Evolve XC
SEAT POST RaceFace Deus XC
SADDLE WTB Pure V Race
PEDALS N/A
SHIFTERS SRAM X.9 27 speed triggers
FRONT MECH Shimano XT
REAR MECH SRAM X.0
BRAKES Hayes HFX 9 XC Composite
BRAKE LEVERS Hayes carbon
CASSETTE SRAM PG990 11-34
CHAIN Shimano HG 73
CRANKS RaceFace Evolve XC X-Type 22/32/44
BOTTOM BRACKET RaceFace X-Type
RIMS WTB LaserDisc Trail
HUBS WTB LaserDisc
SPOKES DT Competition
TYRES Kenda Blue Groove/Nevegal folding, 26x2.3"
WEIGHT 13.5kg/29,7lb

Anyway, those Trance 1's do look very nice in White :thumbsup: !

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Hezza

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 24, 2006

Yeh, i take your point....slightly changed my original post, no extreme northshore - just nice and easy stuff, but yeh the Reign does seem to have more suitable specs!

If only the Reign came in white

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Haggis

· #4 · Jun 24, 2006

Odd, the NZ R1 has nicer kit: Crossmax XL, Pike Air UTurn, Deus crankset, Juicy7...

Someone posted a shot of their Reign powercoated white with custom graphics, but I can't find it. Was v pretty.

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LyNx

· #5 · Jun 24, 2006

Hezza, sounds like by your discription that your riding style more suits the Reign. The Trance is a great XC/Aggressive XC/AM type bike, but not designed to take hits over 3ft on a constant basis and would prob not end happily. Seems like you'd definitely have more fun with the Reign and have some room for growth.

Specs on both look good, only thin you could do to tune them would be to either buy a frame and build it specifically with the components you want, OR buy a lower end version - 2,3 - to get the colour you like then part it out and sell what you don't want and then kit it out as you like. Remember the frames are all the same, just the shocks and components are different.

AND yes you are right, the new White Trance frame's do look ubber sweet :thumbsup:

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Clutchman83

· #6 · Jun 25, 2006

I agree, Reign sounds like it suits what your talking about. It offers that safety cushion where you hit something that you didn't mean to, and it will save your ass. I've climbed, dropped and crashed hard with that bike and it puts a smile on my face every time I set it on the ground for a ride. It XC'ries like my hardtail, but with seriously less punishment to my aft end, and soaks it up when I get off-line inadvertently. I may be a low poster, but I've logged a couple miles on this bike and it can take everything. If you want a do-it-all bike with minor compromises in terms of hardcore XC and DH this bike is it. To me it embodies what All Mountain is all about, it will climb, descend, ride the flats and soak up everything in between, which sounds like what your looking for.

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Kaizen

· #7 · Jun 27, 2006 (Edited)

I heartily echo Clutchman's sentiments.

Additionally, I asked the very same question of more experienced MTB friends vis-a-vis the Trance/Reign and they all suggested that I go with the all-mountain bike. I did. And I have had absolutely no regrets! The Reign is just an amazing ride and it climbs so nimbly that it begs comparison to the Trance, etc in that category; and far exceeds in the DHs.

One last note, I chose the Reign 3 because of a color preference. And since, have upgraded almost every component to meet preferred specs. Bike weight now is 13.5kgs. So, if that is a concern for you, it is conceivable to have a very capable All-mountain ride with XC weight advantages.

Cheers.

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NICKHOBBS

· #8 · Jul 23, 2006

Trance Or Reign???

Aye Hezza,
Im in Australia and have just purchased the Trance three after much deliberation due to the fact that all the stores seemed to be out of Reign stock:madman: . I have tested both and am generally doing cross country but occasionally being silly and jumping of whatever..

i can say that the riding i am doing sounds relitively similar to that which you are and the trance suits me perfectly:thumbsup: ... for some time i felt bad that i should have got the reign but after some use i am happy with the climbing ability and ease of manoevering the little brute through the single track

its a sweet ride and ive got to say even though i could only afford the trance 3 it has still exceeded my expectations..

i vote trance.. but if you feel the need for the Xtra cushin in the pushin then by all means

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