Giant Reign 3 2005 Custom Spec *Updated 07/03/2012*

reevie25

Hi,

I thought it was time to get into some rougher riding so I bit the bullet and bought this from eBay.

It's a Medium Giant Reign 3 from the good ol' year of 2005. The spec has been changed from stock by the previous owner.

Current Spec:

Frame: Medium Giant Reign 3 2005 150mm Travel
Forks: Fox Vanilla 32R 140mm Medium Spring
Rear Shock: RockShox Ario RL High Volume
Bars: PRO Atherton 20mm Rise
Stem: KCNC Bear Arm 70mm
Headset: Superstar Integrato
Grips: Lizard Skin Peaty Lock-on
Bar Ends: Hope

Front Brake Lever assy: Hope Mono M4
Front Caliper: Hope Mono M4
Front disc: Hope Floating Black 203mm
Rear Brake Lever assy: Hope Mono M4
Rear Caliper: Hope Mono M4
Rear Disc: Hope Floating Black 203mm
Hoses: Hope Braided

Shifters: Shimano Deore 2 Way Release
Cables: Standard
Front Mech: Shimano SLX
Rear Mech: Shimano Deore LX Rapid Rise
Chain Device: N/A

Saddle: Charge Spoon
Seat Post: Easton EA 50
Seat Post Clamp: Hope Q/R

Cranks: Shimano Deore Hollowtech II
Chainring(s): Shimano Deore
Chain: KMC X9 - 93
Cassette: Shimano Deore HG61
Pedals: HT Components Nano Thru-pin
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Deore Hollowtech II

FRONT

Rim: Alexrims DP20
Spokes: Black
Hub: Formula
Tube: Presta, unsure of brand
Tire: Maxxis Minion 2.35 Kevlar Single Ply 60a
Dust Cap: KCNC Silver

REAR

Rim: Alexrims DP20
Spokes: Black
Hub: Formula
Tube: Presta, unsure of brand
Tire: Maxxis High Roller 2.35 Wire Single Ply 60a
Dust Cap: KCNC Silver

Weight: Light Enough

Pics:



















I've been on two rides since picking it up on Sunday and I was speechless when riding it. It does weigh more than my Scott Hardtail but it just climbs so much better, I was riding up some silly steep hills in the wet which I couldn't get up in the dry on my Scott. On the downs it devours drops like no other bike I've ridden. The shock is very basic but it does the job fine for me. The rear lockout really does work and when coupled with the Maestro Suspension design it feels similar to a hardtail! I love it!

Please share your thoughts...

sheepsteeth

i used to have an 05 reign and i flipping well loved it, i keep thnking of buying nother just for old times sakes.

i agree that the maestro system is excellent, i had a trance once upon a time that was also superb.

thats a really nice build, i migh go and have a look on ebay for a reign too.

reevie25

Cheers,

I got mine for £600 which I thought was amazing value! There were many more out there when I was looking.

hucking_fell

Bargain-tastic

Reevie25 wrote:

I was speechless when riding it.

I'm usually speechless when riding because I'm breathing out my ar$e.

Valy

Looks sweet - like a good old frind. (not that the bike looks old!)

leaflite

Nice! I had a go on my mates 2005ish reign a while back and loved the rear suspension-it was unbelievably plush!

bluechair84

You're kidding you paid £600 for all that :?: :!:

Nice bike, love the location for the photo shoot too. I'd change the tyres though - I've had them before and thought that just about anything was better, including celotaping slugs to your rims. IMO of course

reevie25

bluechair84 wrote:

You're kidding you paid £600 for all that :?: :!:

Nope, not kidding! spotted it on eBay for £600 buy it now or best offer. A few people were making offers but I didn't want to let it go, too much of a bargain!

Cheers for the comments, I'm finding the tyres to be ok at the moment but this could just be because it's my first full sus bike and the rear suspension is helping out in terms of grip. Bit skint at the moment but what would you recomend I change them to?

bluechair84

Reevie25 wrote:

but what would you recomend I change them to?

Holy crap don't ask that here!! What the hell are you doing man!! Don't you know what happens when you say that?? Oh... you don't? Let's watch...






Conti Rubber Queens, 2.4s - come up bigger than other brands and are more like a 2.5 Maxxis. Awesome at everything but expensive.
Cheaper option but my second fave tyre is the 2.3 Maxxis Highroller.

reevie25

Not sure I want to go that wide regarding tyres, a friend uses a 2.5 and it slows him down so much!

I was thinking around 2.3, maybe a Nobby Nic 2.25 or a Bontrager XR4 2.35? I'm really not sure what would be best as I've never bought any tyres of this size before.

bluechair84

it all depends on what you do with the bike. The Giant Reign is worthy of big knobblies so you can make the most out of the descents. The Nobby Nics are XC tyres - so they'll limit the capacities of the bike in that respect.
A good halfway house is a big knobbly on the front and a narrower tyre on the rear. This way you get grip where you need it and low rolling resistance when sat down. It's a win win situation.
The last thing you'll want is to be pushing the boundaries of the bike and the tyres washing out.

reevie25

Cheers for the advice!

I suppose I should put some good grippy wide tyres on it, after all, I've got the Scott for XC. I don't really want to end up with two XC bikes.

I see what you mean about the Michelin All Mountain Tyres. It was my first outing in some propperly muddy conditions today and the grip was just not there.

reevie25

Update!

I've replaced a few things on the bike as the old bits were looking pretty worn and tatty.

Haven't really got any detailed pics, just some arty ones.







New Parts:

Shimano Deore Hollowtech II Chainset
Shimano HG61 Cassette
KMC X9 -93 Chain
Shimano SLX Front Mech
Charge Spoon Saddle

Unfortunately I won't be doing any more upgrades for a while because I need to save up some money to get the rear shock and rear wheel serviced.

kdawg74

damn nice looking bike dude, and for £600 is one hell of a brucie.
Loving the pics too always fun trying to arty with them.

bluechair84

Reevie25 wrote:

Hmmm that's a nicely taken shot. If you were a little further away so the bike didn't take up so much of the shot this would be just perfect.

reevie25

bluechair84 wrote:

Hmmm that's a nicely taken shot. If you were a little further away so the bike didn't take up so much of the shot this would be just perfect.

Cheers ,

I shall take you're advice on-board. I was just having a little mess about with a friends DSLR. I took a few shots with some sky in but the camera was focusing in the wrong places. Maybe I'll have another go.

reevie25

Soooo,

What colour pedals?

reevie25

The rear wheel now has some new cartridge bearings in it and the rear shock has been service so it feels even better now!

I went for black pedals from Ready to Ride Cycles in the end because I think the Logo's look better on those but that's IMO . I also swapped the Black spacers for silver.

This is pretty much ready for my holiday in Wales now. What do you guys think?

reevie25

added a few new parts to the bike so here's an update.

Maxxis Minion DHF 2.35 Kevlar
Maxxis High Roller 2.35 Wire
Superstar Integrato Headset
KCNC Bear Arm 70mm Stem
PRO Atherton Bars

Pics:







Thanks for looking!

wilb123

hey im in england , i have a giant reign 3 xc , with race face mods , i have just purchased a new bike and would like a quick sell on the reign , im looking for £400 which is a exellent price for this great bike , it has few minor usage marks but nothing outstanding or big , it is a great bike so if any 1 interested email me , wburnett67@yahoo and i will send you pics etc

reevie25

Hi wilb123,

Think you might want to post that in the Mountain Bikes For Sale section of Bikeradar to get a better response.

wilb123

hey thanks , i will do that now didnt relly notice where i hd put it ,
thanks tho

reevie25

Update!

So the Ario rear shock decided to break on me which gave me a good excuse to get a nice new shiny one. I went for a Rockshox Monarch RT3 from TF Tuned which is such an improvement. I also had some Amazon vouchers to use and as the pedals have never been as grippy as I was first expecting. I bought some 10mm M4 socket bolts to replace the 8mm stock ones, what a difference!







And finally some riding shots from a very muddy Carlton Bank....

1mancity2

Looks good, bet that shocks changed the ride for the better.

reevie25

Yeah, it's in a different league to the Ario. I can run it at a lower pressure which improves small bump compliance yet it still copes well with the big hits as it ramps up progressively through mid stroke whereas the Ario would just bomb through all it's stroke and bottom out. The floodgate works well aspecially for technical climbing. My only gripe with it is the slightly limited rebound adjustment but it works well enough.

I required the High Compression tune for the Reign frame as it is quite a high leverage ratio. I'm just glad I did my research and went through TF Tuned. I was going to buy one from Tredz at first with it being £15 cheaper but TF supply theirs with mounting hardware so I think it worked out cheaper anyway.

reevie25

Hi,

I Bought an XT rear mech for the bike after realising that the old LX rapid rise one is now 7 years old and I don't think the jockey wheels had ever been replaced. Got a replacement mech from Flatout Cycles. Can't recommend them enough, great condition, price and delivery. Next on the list will probably be wheels because I don't know how much longer this Formula freehub will last and I bet there's some weight saving I can do there.

Here's some pics: