[AM] 2016 Giant Reign Advanced 1

[teK--]

2015W42 production for your kit is well after the SKF seals were introduced. I guess we have to keep waiting for the new seals to come out with the service kits.

After re-checking my forks it would appear it has the old RS wiper seals, not the SKF ones :mmph:

More info here: http://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspension/long-term-report-rockshox-pike-charger-damper-961615-3.html

 

[teK--]

A few pics from another trip the other week to Buller. The trails are in such good nick we can't get enough

One highlight of the trip would had to have been almost arriving home and hearing something hit the road then dragging along. We feared it was one of the bikes off the roof. Luckily it was only a muffler which had rusted out and fell off :loco: Unfortunately duct tape couldn't fix.

 

[fedor346]

bugger about the muffler. Looks nice out there though.

 

[slowmick]

Awesome pictures from Buller. what trail is that?

 

[haydenw]

Interesting with your thoughts on the PF bb's regarding wear... I'm about to slot in my fourth new one simply due to bearing wear

 

[teK--]

Awesome pictures from Buller. what trail is that?

Thanks mate. They are all on the final descent of the Epic trail.

Interesting with your thoughts on the PF bb's regarding wear... I'm about to slot in my fourth new one simply due to bearing wear

How much mileage do you do? I hit about 2000-2500km year on any one bike. That said I haven't had to replace a BB on any bike and I've kept each one for about 2 years.

 

[haydenw]

Thanks mate. They are all on the final descent of the Epic trail.



How much mileage do you do? I hit about 2000-2500km year on any one bike. That said I haven't had to replace a BB on any bike and I've kept each one for about 2 years.

Honestly man I have no idea, I should probably keep track of that but I very rarely ride with my phone/use strava

 

[teK--]

A few updates;

In first post I mentioned that they moved the rear triangle crossbrace to one side to clear the front derailleur mount, but this allows a shitload of debris (and rocks) to be flung into the lower swingarm and bearings. Some of the rocks get stuck between the swingarm and the frame.

So I made a guard out of the same stuff as the rear mudguard:






Also never liked the Shimano Ice Tech rotors. The aluminum/steel disc is soft as cheese and when it gets out of true they are a pain to straighten due to the aluminium spider. Swapped for the SRAM Centerlines. I had a set on the Trance and they never let me down. Super smooth, stiff, but easy to straighten.




It was always precarious clamping down on carbon with the workstand. Not so much the clamp itself but when you knock the bike or crank down with some tools it would put unnatural stress on the frame. Yakima Tube Top solves this problem nicely:

 

[Bigleggy14]

Air tokens in forks

Hi mate, great reviews, I also have this bike I was under the impression you couldn't put tokens in these forks? As I read from your review you added 1 token, so is it as simple as popping a normal token in? Thanks ryan

 

[teK--]

Thanks mate. The dual position forks use a specific bottomless token they are widely available now. They are as easy to fit as the Solo pike. 2 should have come with the new bike in a separate bag.

 

[teK--]

Picked up a few goodies in Tokyo.

Outdoor Space MTB shop in Shinjuku. Small but lots of good high end gear, and friendly staff had a bit of a chat with help of Google translate. We are lucky in AU with a tonne more places to ride than they do there.

 

[Bigleggy14]

How to fit the tokens

Cheers for the reply just wandering if you can explain how to install the tokens as I can't seem to understand how to open the top of the fork up. I can see clearly on my mates rct3 that you just open it with a socket. Cheers Ryan

 

[teK--]

Cheers for the reply just wandering if you can explain how to install the tokens as I can't seem to understand how to open the top of the fork up. I can see clearly on my mates rct3 that you just open it with a socket. Cheers Ryan

Sorry for delay in reply things got a bit crazy after just getting back to AU,

let all air out of fork
use a socket wrench to remove the nut around the air valve I think it's 15mm
lift off the travel adjust lever
use a socket 24mm (Should be a modified one with the chamfered edges machined off, since a normal one might strip your fork cap), to take off the top cap off the fork cap.
whole air tube assembly slides out of fork leg.
use some slick honey or thin suspension grease in/on the token and slide up to the top of the air tube.
reinsert air tube assembly to the fork leg and reassemble everything in reverse order making sure to torque the top cap correctly to 28Nm otherwise you might end up with crown creak or air leak.

sounds complex but really quite easy with correct tools shouldn't take more than maybe 10mins if u are careful and take your time.

 

[teK--]

Had a ripper weekend at Bike Buller last week. 5th Year in a row we always look forward to the next year

Weekend started with a bang. Since they were waving cars through the booths this year when entering the mountain, one of my mates got distracted and forgot he had a bike on the roof. There goes the head tube, brake hose and lever from his demo bike :embarassed: Guess he didn't read Moorey's post from the other month warning about this

No mechanicals or injuries this year except on Saturday in the 35Km XC it was so muddy and wet that I had to stop twice to re-lube the chain which was looking more like a bunch of slimy tree roots, and sounded like a tractor. Everyone was swearing that they would probably have to replace their drivetrain after that day.

Did the 16" kids bike race which was a hoot. Mates did much better than I did as I just couldn't figure out how to stop with only a coaster brake hah. Maybe their alligator suits helped them stop faster. Crashes galore!

Sunday's 4Hr Brakeburner was blessed with super super grippy trails after the previous day's rain. Crammed in more runs than any other year and didn't see any gruesome crashes which is a plus

Also am finally over my irrational fear of carbon bars after seeing what they can go through even when scratched and gouged to within an inch of their life. Love the Renthal Fatbars shape so it only made sense to get the carbon version now they've finally released the 780 wide.



Demo bike versus low clearance ceiling


Flying croc


Who woulda thought a kids bike would be so hard to ride??


Perfect conditions for Brakeburner next day


Copperhead


Gang Gangs


We all made it to the bottom unscathed. Bonus!


Fatbar Carbon

 

[aidd07]

Wicked bike mate!!!!! Loving the colour..

 

[darsh]

Awesome review and lots of really helpful advice/ info
Pick mine up this afternoon:whoo:

 

[teK--]

Awesome review and lots of really helpful advice/ info
Pick mine up this afternoon:whoo:

Awesome mate post up some pics when you get her home!

 

[teK--]

The low BB is great for corners but not so much for charging through rock gardens.

Picked up a 28-32T back plate for the bash guard, to replace the stock 32-36T (with plans to re-use the existing skid plate and top guide). Wasn't until after the back plate arrived that I found MRP had changed the design of the back plate and skid plate in 2016. Further confusion was caused by Giant spec'ing this bike with a 2016 top guide, but 2015 back plate and skid plate.

A few weeks later I also receive the 2016 skid plate.

So anyone wanting to do this conversion just bear in mind it's not that much more to buy a whole new 2016 kit instead of trying to retrofit like I did.


Pre-2016 backplate and skid plate:


2016-on backplate and skid plate:


Thought at first the parts would be backwards compatible, but they changed the bolt spacing:


258mm ground clearance:


268mm ground clearance:

 

[teK--]

Awesome weekend of riding with Alpine Gravity last weekend at Barjarg.

Weather forecast was looking torrential rain and storms but we decided to push ahead with our plans to camp overnight and ride both days. Trail conditions were soft/muddy in some areas but the remainder was primo dirt and the second day with no rain at all until late arvo it was near perfect all-round.


First day was rain all day it was not a good feeling heading up to the top!



With many no-shows we had the mountain to ourselves; no shuttle wait times.



Enduro 1 track



Weekend is a wrap! Not looking forward to having to clean off this mud...



The only thing I don't like about Maestro suspension is that dirt and mud collects around the bottom wishbone and does this;



And this...



One of the 4 bearings that were seized which I was able to clean and regrease. Next time it will be new bearings.



Shock was full of sludge

Also serviced forks, dropper post, and basically pulled apart everything that had bearings or moving parts. The muddy shit was everywhere! But it was worth it :whoo:

 

[teK--]

Disappointingly, the Giant dropper has hardly lasted the first month of Winter. Mostly due to its crap wiper seal; after one weekend away it was full of mud and had worn half the anodising off the stanchion. Even after overhauling it, and replacing the remote cable inner/outer, it doesn't stay fully extended sometimes.

Out with old in with new.

Fox Transfer. Very happy with it; the wiper seal looks like it will do the job but you'd think so coming from one of the biggest fork manufacturers out there. It springs back quickly and with a solid clunk as it tops out. Nice firm lever pressure and very easy to modulate the post return speed. Zero side to side play in the saddle.