[sicwombat]

Does anyone have any views on either the reign 1 or prophet 1000. I live in Australia and am trying to decide between the two bikes. We haven't seen the maestro range here yet, 3 weeks away, so I'm alittle in the dark on which is the better bike. rign 1 speced with avid juicy 7 discs and rockshox pike team air. I realise this is the giant forum, so any response may be biased, but I am keen to hear any views regarding these two bikes. I have also posted a similar thread on the Cannondale forum.

thanks.

 

[ronny]

Liking the Giant these days.

Does anyone have any views on either the reign 1 or prophet 1000. I live in Australia and am trying to decide between the two bikes. We haven't seen the maestro range here yet, 3 weeks away, so I'm alittle in the dark on which is the better bike. rign 1 speced with avid juicy 7 discs and rockshox pike team air. I realise this is the giant forum, so any response may be biased, but I am keen to hear any views regarding these two bikes. I have also posted a similar thread on the Cannondale forum.

thanks.

Here is an un-biased response coming from a guy who is looking for a trailbike also. I have owned a Cannondale Gemini and thought it was a great bike and I like Cannondale. The Prophet is basically a Gemini on a diet (although some Prophet owners do not like to hear this as they think they are getting a newly re-designed bike from the ground up) From what I have heard and witnessed, the Prophet is a solid ride thus far and is getting good reviews. It is a bike that is meant for aggressive trailriding not unlike the Reign in this department of trail bikes.

I do not have much experience with Giant but I do know that the Reign is getting rave reviews and the re-designed suspension technology is as close to bob free as it gets without having a hardtail or vpp bike. Reign riders are loving the rear suspension of the Giant and I have heard nothing about good things in terms of performance of the Reign, especially regarding the rear suspension design. I thought that the reign line was spec'd with the Nixon fork and not the Pike. Regardless, the Pike fork has been getting excellent reviews since its inception a year ago.

I dont think you can go wrong with either bike, but I am leaning towards the Giant for being a slightly better bike. The rear suspension design of the Giant is what grabs me about the bike. The Cannondale is a true sp and will be less maintenance but other components on the Prophet are specialized to Cannondale, ie lefty fork and will require you to only deal with a Cannondale dealer if something goes wrong. Just something to think about.

My opinion and .02.

Good luck.

 

[bikeCOLORADO]

I've been a Giant rider from the get-go. I've had great experiences with the products and warranty support.

There is one big thing that leans me toward the Prophet and that is the adjustable head angle...the Reign is fixed at 69.5 while the Prophet can morph between 67 and 69. Depends on how you intend to ride it. The Prophet is set up to be a little more aggresive on the downhill side of things.

Of course the Maestro suspension trumps the single pivot hands down. Just more information to bend your noodle.

 

[ronny]

Hmmm

I've been a Giant rider from the get-go. I've had great experiences with the products and warranty support.

There is one big thing that leans me toward the Prophet and that is the adjustable head angle...the Reign is fixed at 69.5 while the Prophet can morph between 67 and 69. Depends on how you intend to ride it. The Prophet is set up to be a little more aggresive on the downhill side of things.

Of course the Maestro suspension trumps the single pivot hands down. Just more information to bend your noodle.

I forgot about the Prophet having an adjustable ha, which is a bonus for sure. I am wondering though, if the Giants ha would slacken when the fork is at 5.5" of travel or if the ha is measured when the fork is in its longest travel which would leave the ha at a steepish 69.5dg.

 

[bikeCOLORADO]

And then there's the Specialized Enduro...in the same class as the Reign and Prophet, but also with an adjustable head angle (but not as slack as the Prophet).

Runs from 69.5 to 70.5 which would put it more on the XC side of the house than either the Reign OR the Prophet. I don't know the ins and outs of the Enduro, but the frames are sweet looking and they're spec'd nicely.
http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkFamily.jsp?sid=05Enduro&JServSessionIdroot=0yrtbc1h5a.j27003

 

[sicwombat]

Thanks guys for the feedback. Ronny the reign 1 is specced with the pike forks in Australia. Giant have begun advertising the maestro range in Aussie magazines and although they show the bike with the nixons, they note at the bottom of the add that it is actually specced with the pikes.
Bike colorado, thanks also. The maestro suspension does sound great but all those pivot points and bearings could lead to alot of maintenance problems. The single pivot on the prophet seems less hassle. I have considered the specialized enduo with its new 2005 frame, but the specs seem a little lower than the prophet and reign for much the same money. I've also heard that enduro is a nightmare on the climbs.
The reign has some advantages in specs over the prophet, xt, xt derailers compared to lx, x9. and crossmax xl compared to xm819.
I,m still a bit up in the air, but would appreciate any other comments which might help make up my mind.

 

[reignyoregon]

Thanks guys for the feedback. Ronny the reign 1 is specced with the pike forks in Australia. Giant have begun advertising the maestro range in Aussie magazines and although they show the bike with the nixons, they note at the bottom of the add that it is actually specced with the pikes.
Bike colorado, thanks also. The maestro suspension does sound great but all those pivot points and bearings could lead to alot of maintenance problems. The single pivot on the prophet seems less hassle. I have considered the specialized enduo with its new 2005 frame, but the specs seem a little lower than the prophet and reign for much the same money. I've also heard that enduro is a nightmare on the climbs.
The reign has some advantages in specs over the prophet, xt, xt derailers compared to lx, x9. and crossmax xl compared to xm819.
I,m still a bit up in the air, but would appreciate any other comments which might help make up my mind.

This may sound dumb but I've seen a lot of used Prophet's for sale - may be nothing but I have not seen one used Reign for sale. People get hyped up, buy and then regret it later.

 

[ronny]

Maybe, Maybe not.

This may sound dumb but I've seen a lot of used Prophet's for sale - may be nothing but I have not seen one used Reign for sale. People get hyped up, buy and then regret it later.

There are a ton of used Hecklers for sale but it still remains the most popular trail bike on the market right now. The Prophet has been out for a while longer than the Reign line also. The hype may have something to do with it. A lot of people will spring a lot of money for a bike only to realize they cannot afford to own it after the bills start to come in.

I know of two soon to be divorced guys over on the Cannondale site that are selling their Prophets for financial reasons.

 

[reignyoregon]

There are a ton of used Hecklers for sale but it still remains the most popular trail bike on the market right now. The Prophet has been out for a while longer than the Reign line also. The hype may have something to do with it. A lot of people will spring a lot of money for a bike only to realize they cannot afford to own it after the bills start to come in.

I know of two soon to be divorced guys over on the Cannondale site that are selling their Prophets for financial reasons.

Agreed...(Heckler)

I've only made a simple observation based on the short amount of time both bikes have been on the market.

I have a long history with Cannondale - my first full suspension bike was a Cannondale Super V 1000 that I loved and kind of miss to this day (polished with carbon rear swingarm). I've also owned a couple of Cannondale hard tails so I'm certainly not bashing Cannondale by any means. Oh, and my wife basically owned all the same bikes as me just a little smaller. So you might say we have a little stock in Cannondale from back in the days of CT.

I just bought the Reign and one of the bikes I considered was the Prophet which I test rode at River City Bikes here in Portland. I based my decision on the fact that I wanted a bike that can handle my weight (190lbs) and pedal somewhat efficiently for 20+ mile rides. The Giant felt more efficient to me and is certainly able to handle my big butt. If I were going to buy an all day bomber I probably would've chose the Prophet. The Giant feels more like an "all-mountain" bike to me and the Prophet seems to be more of a true "freeride - big hit" style bike. Just my $.02.

 

[sicwombat]

I test rode the R1 today. I must have this bike, Give it to me now ! Kicks butt over the prophet. The R1 is one very sweet ride, Pikes, Crossmax and feel of the maestro suspension all very sweet. Now to fork out the cash !

 

[joshanonymous]

I test rode the R1 today. I must have this bike, Give it to me now ! Kicks butt over the prophet. The R1 is one very sweet ride, Pikes, Crossmax and feel of the maestro suspension all very sweet. Now to fork out the cash !

That's awesome! I'm in Sydney and was told that the shipment has been delayed for another month, so it won't be for another few more weeks before the LBS even gets them in. Have you got any pics? The Sydney 24hr is on this weekend, hopefully someone will have one that I can have a look at.
I can't wait, think I'll be ordering an R2 ASAP.
Good luck with convincing your wife that it's worth it.
cheers,
josh

 

[sicwombat]

Short supply of maestro bikes

Still in high level talks with the wife, an outcome should be soon. If you are looking at getting an R2, be quick. Most have already been sold prior to the shipment arriving. I heard that only 300 maestro bikes have been assigned for Australia. This spreads them out pretty thin. I have also heard that there will most likely be another shipment due October or November this year as 2006 stock. Some specs may change but largely the same bikes overall.
Good luck with the R2, the Thai green paint job is actually a better look than the black cherry of the R1. An R2 frame with R1 spec would be mighty sweet !

 

[mtic]

important difference between prophet and R1 is also weight. prophet is almoust 1,5 kilos lighter than R1!

 

[sicwombat]

Yes but.....

But the reign 1 accelerates and pedals better than the prophet. Probably due to the crossmax xl wheelset and the maestro suspension system.

 

[gambo2166]

R2 all the way!!

I have a R2 and it rocks. Iv owend over 25 mt bikes been in the biz for almost 20 years. The R2 climes like a 4" travel bike but goes down like it has 7". Im @ 200lbs. and the bike is like a rock.

 

[Bjern Fita]

Lygon Cycles in Melbourne (not heaps of help to the Sydney guys sorry) have had Trance and Reign on display for about a week now. They are my LBS and awesome to deal with.

I'm not sure how they approach mail order though, if any Sydney-siders were considering it.

 

[joshanonymous]

Reign 2 on it's way

Well, I've ordered a Reign 2 and it's on it's way. I spoke with a number of bike shops across Sydney today, and they all pretty much said the same thing: they're hard to get a hold of. So when I spoke to Paul at Cranks (North Sydney Cyclery) and he mentioned that he had one R2 left in a 20" frame, I was off to go see it. I had a ride of an R1 at the Sydney 24hr on the weekend just for a quick spin in the dirt, and it was awesome. Had a quick ride on the already assembled R3 at the bike shop this afternoon, and that confirmed that i simply had to put my money down on the R2 before somebody else got it. So now I just have to wait til Saturday to pick it up when it's fully assembled, though I might call tomorrow and see if I can pick it up thursday... even that's too long to wait. The Thai green does look good in real life, the pics just don't do it justice.
I'll post again when I have it and have a few pictures of it.
Thanks for those who helped me decide, particularly Jwiffle, sicwombat and Warp.

Josh

 

[Spongedog]

I am a dedicated Giant fan. I had 2 NRS 1's and now on a VT1. I went to a demo day out at a local part the other day and sat on the Enduro from Specialized. I have to say that I was pretty impressed. Don't think you can go wrong with Giant...great bikes, great components, and best of all, great support from Giant! My bud just order a Prophet, another great ride. I think that it is always a good idea to test ride them all.

 

[Chris Crash]

Feedback on R2 for freeride / AM!?

I have a R2 and it rocks. Iv owend over 25 mt bikes been in the biz for almost 20 years. The R2 climes like a 4" travel bike but goes down like it has 7". Im @ 200lbs. and the bike is like a rock.

Hey Gambo,

I am considering selling my Norco 6 (42lbs) for a lighter more versitile Freeride/ All Mountain bike. Seriously considering an upgraded Reign 2. Just a little liery of all the XC parts and on it and 69.5 deg HA considering how capible it is supposed to be. What kind of riding do you do and how is your bike spec'd? I am thinking of a Fox 36, 8 inch front rotor and beefier wheels, cranks and controls etc. I ride in BC but don't huck more than 4-5 feet without a tranny. Would be nice to have a bike I can take deep into the woods for hours and maybe the odd endurance race (with a lighter wheelset).

Thanks for the feedback,

Chris Crash