First ride on the Reign 69er - awesome!!!

Posted this on MTBR.com...

Well, I built my 29" wheel (TN719 with Geax Saguaro tyre) and swopped out the fork (Manitou Minute 29er 100mm travel with 20mm through axle) in place of the Fox Float 140mm).

Cut the steerer down to 225mm (compared with 200mm on the Fox), but used spacers on top so the bars were more or less the same height as before. I didn't flip the stem and all in all, the geometry and riding position was pretty much unchanged (the lower travel and the the extra wheel size cancelling each other out).

Went out on the local trail (Terry Hills: Perimeter, Long, Cowan, sniggle, viewsite, jump loop, etc)- mostly undulating firetrail - a mix of hard, sand, waterbars, fixed and lose rocks, small drops (1 to 2 foot).

Steering felt a little different at first - seemed very easy to turn the bars.

As expected it felt really smooth - even with the brand new fork (Manitou states that it takes 20 hours to run the fork in) and rolled well over everything.

What surprised me is how stable it felt - absolutely flying through the rougher patches, and I felt faster through the corners than ever before. My confidence was much improved - allowing me to focus on what was coming up, rather than what was under my wheels.

The steering felt rock solid - I don't know how much this was due to the 20mm through axle, but it is just great - not only laterally, but somehow vertically too. The bike felt very responsive too, though I could feel I had a bit more weight on the front.

I had the Geax tyre (with a tube) running at 32psi, whereas I was using Racing Ralph 2.25 tubeless at around 27psi before. Will try ghetto tubeless and lower the pressure next (I find 5psi makes a big difference in traction).

Didn't miss the lost 40mm travel at all. I think I am a convert...

Nic