I might be purchasing my first full squishy in the near future and am considering these two bikes, primarily because of performance and reasonable price. I already did a search on STR and MTBR, but wanted to know your thoughts on these bikes because you are men of distinction and have opinions I respect.

wow on going debate....I had this issue someone else did as well...what kid of riding will you be doing?? There is also the Trance X which kinda falls in between....

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pretty sure ec liked his. but he's on a hardtail 29er now...

i think the trance would be a better "all mountain" type bike. the reign is damn heavy. borderline freerider IMO. trance x would be the best bang for the buck, cheapest with one with a fox fork : )

Just your typical xc riding....with some downhill thrown in, nothing too gnarly. I'd like a bike that's a decent climber too and I hear the Trance has the edge on that.

Is an All Mountain bike the same thing as a "trail" bike? Is it just me or is the term "All Mountain" super ghey?

AFAIK, trail bike == all mountain. It should be able to climb and descend well without specializing in either.

Why Giant?

haha, an all mountain bike is one tha tclimbs well and has good travel. If you dont Huck off of giant rocks Id vote the Trance, I have an 05 Trance with aPike up front, so the angle is more for descending, but because of the Uturn function on the Pike the bike quickly changes to more of a climbing bike. Its 4.2 in the rear is stable when pedaling, and is active will going though bumps, its one of my favorite bikes...That Maestro is brilliant. and the Pike with a 20mm thru axle kicks some serious trail but...I think at most I would up grade to a Trance X, even though the Reign makes my mouth water, I dont see myself hitting big bear or Mammoth anytime soon. From all you have said it sounds like the Trance might be for you....

Another option is 29er...muahahahaha

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true, the market lingo is ghey, because one brand's AM bike is equivalent to another's freeride bike. trail/all moutain is kind of the jack of all trades, master of none bike. usually about 5" travel and a bit heavier than xc bikes.

I think most will agree it depends on weight and suspension travel.

0"-4" - cross country, jumper, urban, 4x, dual slalom, slopestyle (depending on frame architecture)

5"-6" - trail/all mountain

6"-8" - freeride

8" or more - Downhiller

Thanks Thai, very helpful. I hear great things about the Maestro. As for the 29'er comment, I got a Monocog 29'er so I'd like something different.

To answer your question, Ldood, on why Giant, the answer is simple - it's affordable. You can find deals for Trance2 and Reign for under 2k which is my pricepoint. Giant is not as sexy as some of the other "hot" brands right now but reviews for Trance/Reign are generally very good.

look into the Trance X, an 08, they are pretty light and I heard really nice things about them, at 5 inches in the rear it should take on most trails you ride. Many underestimate Giant, Socalers ride expensive bikes, I live near Aliso and the 3K bikes are all over the place. Now if only Giant made a Niner FS....hmmm

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Dude- My 2005 Reign was the best bike I've ever owned. If I were you, I'd go Trance X for sure. Its got most of the bene's of the Reign, but lighter.

My only qualm with the Reign was the weight. I ride on Wednesdays with a dude on a brand new Trance X, and he loves it. Great value too.

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