2023 Giant Reign Offers Three Geometries & Mullet Compatibility

Giant has released the long-awaited 2023 Reign, a 160mm travel enduro bike with a thoroughly modern geometry that is meaningfully adjustable, with 29″ or 27.5″ rear wheel compatibility to boot.

On the Reign Advanced Pro Carbon models and Reign Aluminum models, 160mm of rear wheel travel is paired with a 170mm fork. There’s also something for the freeride contingent; the Giant Reign SX gets a reinforced aluminum tubeset for a 190mm travel dual-crown fork and a longer stroke shock that boosts rear wheel travel to 165mm.

Earlier this season, we saw the Reign Alloy prototypes of Youn Deniaud and Mckay Vezina at the Giant Factory Off-Road Team Pits. Indeed, the two EWS Pros played a big role in the development of the new bikes released today, with Youn Deniaud taking 5th at the final round in Loudenvielle. Let’s take a closer look at these demonstrably capable enduro bikes.

2023 Giant Reign

The 2023 Giant Reign is an entirely new beast, boasting an additional 14mm of rear wheel travel over its predecessor, a three-position flip-chip for geometry adjustment and a storage cavity in the downtube. Both the Advanced Pro Carbon models and the Reign Alloy models benefit from those top-tier frame details.

• Bike: 2023 Giant Reign
• Intention: Enduro Racing
• Fork Travel: 170mm
• Rear Wheel Travel: 160mm
• Wheel Size: 29″ or 29″/27.5″
• Frame Material: Carbon or ALUXX SL Aluminum
• Starting Price: $3,600 USD

The Reign retains its use of Maestro suspension, a twin-link platform wherein two short links co-rotate in a clockwise fashion as the bike is pushed through its rear wheel travel. On the Advanced Pro Carbon models, the rocker link that drives the shock is made using Giant’s Advanced Forged Composite high-pressure molding process, adding stiffness and helping to keep weight low. The new Reign is said to have a 39% stiffer rear-end as compared to its predecessor as a result of that and the Advanced Composite that comprises the front and rear triangle.

“We spent more than a year getting everything just right with the new Reign,” said Youn Deniaud. “I got more and more comfortable with it throughout the season and had my best results later in the year. I think a lot of that has to do with the bike, which is really helping me push new limits.”

A welcome addition for team riders (and prospective customers) is the storage compartment located inside the downtube, accessible via a hatch on the top side. The cavity will help out those yearning for a packless setup, offering up space for an innertube and other essentials for trail side repairs. 

So, what is (are) the new geometry (geometries)? 

As you might imagine, the 2023 Reign is longer, lower and slacker than its predecessor, in line with its increased travel numbers set to make this an altogether more capable mountain bike. Thanks to the three-position flip-chip and mullet compatibility, Giant has served up one of the most complex geometry charts we’ve seen this year. There are four frame sizes; S, M, L and XL, and Giant has taken the time to list the three possible geometries for each, as well as the alternate reach, bottom bracket drop, head and seat tube angles that would arise from use of a 27.5″ rear wheel. Much to pore over!

To simplify: the flip-chip at the seatstay-rocker interface allows for adjustment of the Reign’s BB height in 5mm increments. That gives three possible BB drops of 35mm, 30mm and 25mm, with corresponding seat tube angles of 78.3°, 78.7° and 79°, and corresponding head tube angles of 63.5°, 63.9° and 64.2°. Those numbers pertain to the Reign in its stock configuration with a complete 29″ wheelset.

Referring to the Mid position only, the Reign boasts a reach of 430mm, 460mm, 480mm and 510mm in Sizes S, M, L and XL. Switching to the Low or High position reduces or increases the reach by 4mm, respectively. Seat tubes are short(ish), allowing for the fitment of long travel dropper seat posts. The Advanced Pro models are spec’d with adjustable travel TranzX seat posts; 120-150mm on the Small, 140-170mm on the Medium, and 170-200mm on the Large and XL.

For 2023, the Reign gets longer chainstays, a change they say was necessary to boost the Maestro suspension to deliver 160mm of rear wheel travel. The rear-center is consistent across the size range at 445mm in the Low position, 443mm in the Mid position, and 442mm in the Low position.

New for this model year is mullet-compatibility; all sizes of the 2023 Giant Reign can take either a 29″ or 27.5″ rear wheel, though all bikes are shipped with the former. Giant tells us that riders preferring a 27.5″ will most likely choose to run the bike in the High or Mid flip-chip positions, while those preferring a complete 29″ wheelset will benefit most from the Mid and Low positions. That said, there is nothing stopping you from running the Reign in 29er or mullet mode in any of the three flip-chip positions.

The Giant Reign SX, clearly intended for Bike Park laps, is sold as a mixed-wheel bike only, not recommended for use with a complete 29″ wheelset. This one gets a 190mm dual-crown Fox 40 fork with the GRIP Damper and a 205mm x 65mm Fox DHX2 Performance Elite shock that delivers 165mm of rear wheel travel. Giant’s geometry chart for the Reign SX indicates it should be used in the Mid and High positions only. It is also only available in Sizes M, L and XL.

Pricing & Availability

In the US, only the 2023 Giant Reign Advanced Pro 1, Reign 2 and Reign SX models will be available initially, with the range-topping Advanced Pro 0 model dropping in March 2023.

The Advanced pro 1 retails at $6,800 USD. It comes with a Gloss Black Diamond/Matte Carbon finish and boasts a Fox 38 Performance Elite Fork with the GRIP2 Damper and a Fox Float X2 Performance Elite Shock. It rolls on Giant’s own TRX 2 Wheelset with Carbon Rims fitted with a Maxxis Assegai EXO+ and Maxxis Minion DHR II DD pairing. Other highlight components include a SRAM GX Eagle 12-Speed Drivetrain and Shimano SLX 4-Piston brakes.

For complete information on specs and pricing, head to the Giant website.

The 2023 Giant Reign is also available in Australia.

giant-bicycles.com