A slack head angle, long top tube, short stem and 150mm fork are just some of the key ingredients that make Ragley’s Blue Pig such a laugh on the trails. We’re trying to remember the last time we had this much fun, we probably need to go back to our early years riding a bmx inappropriately on trails in the local woods to get somewhere close.

Ragley made quite an impact with their range of hardtails when they first launched a couple of years ago. They offered well priced frames with a distinctive look and several unique details that helped them to stand out, never an easy thing in such a crowded market.

They’re now offering the Blue Pig (and Piglet) as complete bikes, so if you’ve been put off by the prospect of having to buy a frame and build it up yourself, you need no longer worry. There’s two builds on offer and we’ve been riding the cheapest of the two, the  £1250 SRAM X7/RockShox Sektor model.

We took a first look at this new release recently, so rather than go over the same old ground again here; we’ll just point you to that article which you can read here. Just make sure to come back here and read our first ride impressions afterwards.

How does it ride?

First things first, our test bike was a 16in, which is smaller than we would have preferred (but that’s all that was available) for the trail riding we do. Despite this however, with the long top tube and even with the short stem fitted, we found a decent stretch to the bars and it didn’t feel at all cramped.

So the seat was a bit lower than would normally be desirable (damn our long legs) but we spent most of our time riding the Blue Pig with the post dropped down low anyway, and engaged in ‘finding the steepest techiest drops we could’ mode. It doesn’t take long to get used to the Blug Pig, we instantly felt at home. At slower speeds though you have to manhandle the Pig, it can feel a little slow, a bit switched off. But ramp up the speed and tip the trail down and it all comes together, the slack head angle, long 150mm forks and wide bars combining to great effect. It rips through technical trails with such authority that you’ll be smiling from ear to ear when you reach the bottom.

Turn the elevation around and you’ll be surprised at just how well the Blue Pig scrambles up the hills. It’s not the lightest ever hardtail, it’s got a heavy build designed for surviving aggressive riding, you won’t reach the top first, but the steep seat angle does push you forwards over the bike which helps to make climbing less of a sufferfest. It’s actually very civilised, and the large Maxxis tyres find so much grip that even the most technical climb is only limited by the overall weight and your fitness.

But what you loose on the way up you’ll more than make up on the way back down. Winch to the top, drop the post and slam down the hill. And repeat to exhaustion. That’s how the Blue Pig needs to be ridden.

So we said it’s not the lightest build, but we’re thankful for the all the choices that have been made. Yes a change here and there would drop a little weight, but that would be missing the point of the riding the frame offers. The wide Maxxis tyres give stacks of grip once up to speed and survive harsh trails, and the forks were simply awesome out of the box, smooth, controlled and stiff.

The Blue Pig is perfect for the rider that wants a bike that needs to be engaged with to get the most out of it. It needs to be grabbed by the scruff of its neck and shown down the fastest and roughest trails you can find. For a hardtail it’s truly surprising how much you can get away with; it’ll take massive roots and rock gardens in its stride, rail berms and hti jumps with such confidence. It’s just so much fun, that’s the one thing we’ve taken away from every ride we’ve had on the Ragley Blue Pig so far.

It’s all in the details

It’s great to finally see the Ragley bikes being offered as complete packages for those who fear the prospect of building one up from scratch. They’ve hit the nail on the head with the build kits, or test bike ibuilt up with a specification that we can’t see will need any changes before embarking on the first ride.  SRAM’s excellent X7 transmission in 3×10 guise with Hayes Ryde brakes bringing the bike to a reliable stop is a good choice.

Rolling stock was a highlight; Ragley’s own Turning Circle XC wheels stiff and durable and the excellent Maxxis High Roller 2.3in tyres providing massive levels of grip as well as shrugging of, surely no better choice for the Blue Pig’s trail hammer attitude.

Filling all the remaining spots on the build are Ragley branded parts, the stem, bar, saddle and post all finished with the brazen decals you see in the pics. Distinctive looks aside (which we like by the way) the bars are a perfect width with an agreeable sweep and the stem is just the right length – you could go shorter but we were happy on the supplied stem. The seatpost was the only niggle, proving an exceptionally tight fit in the frame and required a fair amount of brute force to extract it.

Verdict

If you want a bike that’s easy to ride fast down a technical trail, look elsewhere. It needs to be ridden hard to get the smiles flowing though, hardtails like this – long forked, fat tyres and short stems/wide bars – often do, but engage an aggressive stance when you hit the trails and it’ll pay you back with a hugely rewarding ride.

There are some bikes that are nice to ride, and there are some that are huge fun and bring a smile to your face every time you ride them. Ragley’s Blue Pig, as I’ve found out, falls into the latter category. If you want a grin-inducing bike, check out the blue Pig.

The complete bikes will be available at the end of the summer (which summer we’re not sure…) More at www.ragleybikes.com and www.hotlines-uk.com