FAST BIKE FRIDAY – RAGLEY BLUE PIG

This week for our Fast Bike Friday feature we’re taking a look at a truly ‘hardcore hardtail’ – the Ragley Blue Pig. This sort of setup has been a staple of the UK mountain biking scene for many years now with brands like Ragley realising their potential pretty early on compared with the rest of the global MTB community. Yes, for once this was one design and development race where the U.K. was ahead of the pack! A no-nonsense hardtail typically made from steel (sometimes made from alloy) is a fantastic option for the UK riding scene where tracks and trails can be particularly steep, tight and technical; whether you’re threading your way through twisty forested singletrack or are finessing your way down a loose, rocky track packed full of switchbacks in the Lake District this sort of mountain bike just makes sense.

In the U.K. hardcore hardtails just make sense to a lot of riders…

A hardcore hardtail tends to attract a certain type of rider too; for someone who prefers to spend their time out on the trails in all weathers, getting rowdy rather than having to factor in long hours in the workshop swapping out rear suspension bushings and bearings they just make sense. Built to handle abuse, a steel hardtail with all the right frame angles will ride fairly closely in feel to a full-suspension trail bike and stands up well to those moments where you have to bail out quickly only to see your bike tumbling down the hill. Hardtail fans will talk about a more connected feel to their riding with the most gifted of riders amongst us able to carve super-smoothly down some of the most technically demanding trails out there.

Made from triple butted 4130 Chromoly the Blue Pig is ready for rowdy riding…

Ragley have been at the forefront of hardcore hardtail development from the very beginning and as that type of aggressive trail riding has evolved so have their bikes. During the past few years Ragley have continued to push the boundaries when it comes to progressive geometry on hardtails, with the Blue Pig now boasting a super-slack 63.75 degree head angle to keep you in control at high speeds and on steep drops. The seat tube angle is fairly steep at 74 degrees making riding back up to the top of your favourite downhill trail that more comfortable and chainstay length is nice and short at 425mm to help you weave the compact backend through tight turns and pull the front wheel up easily to manual through stutter bumps with style and ease (skills allowing!).

That head badge is a work of art! The relaxed 63.7 degree head angle makes a lot of sense too…

Before we go any further it’s worth pointing out that the Blue Pig is Ragley’s 27.5” wheel option; when it comes to hardcore hardtails, you’ll probably be aware that a lot of bike brands are now running the larger 29” wheel on almost all of their trail bikes regardless of whether they’re hardtails or full suspension bikes. The trend for larger 29” wheel makes sense in most cases thanks to their faster rolling capacity; now that manufacturers have refined their geometry to accommodate them they’re a good shout in a lot of cases. However, there’s still a strong argument for a hardtail spec’d with smaller 27.5” wheels; we still have lot’s of riders who want this wheel size for hardcore, aggressive riding and time spent jumping in their favourite bike parks. As a side note Ragley do also produce a 29er option – the Big Wig with the same price and built kit with a steel frame.

The small bridge from the top tube to the seat tube adds strength and allow Ragley to make the frame more compact…

At the heart of the Ragley Blue Pig is the beautifully crafted custom triple butted 4130 Chromoly tubing steel frame. As you’d expect from Ragley this tough chassis features everything you’ll need from a modern hardcore hardtail including internal routing for a dropper seatpost, a 148x12mm boost rear end and ISCG tabs to enable you to run a chain protector should you want to. As well as the slack headtube angle and short seatstays there’s a nice low 305mm bottom bracket to keep your ride stable at speed and there’s bags of tyre clearance in the rear of the frame to let you run a fatter, more durable wheel and tyre combo.

Nice details like the flattened-off chainstay yoke caters for fatter tyres and accommodates the Blue Pig’s drivetrain with no problems… 

There’s a lot of craftmanship that’s gone into this steel hardcore hardtail…

Seatstays are spaced nice and wide for plenty of tyre clearance…

As well as being tough and durable there’s a great ride quality to 4130 Chromoly steel too…

When it comes to a burly suspension fork up front Ragley have spec’d a very capable Rockshox Yari RC with a whopping 150mm of travel; this fork will handle the roughest rooty or rocky terrain you encounter and as long as your legs can keep up (acting as suspension for the rear of the bike) you’ll be able to plough through most situations in confidence and in control. A long-travel fork spec’d on a hardtail sometimes needs some sensitive adjustment to compliment the bike as much as possible. To prevent any potential for fork dive on some of the steepest descents it’s worth playing around with the compression and running the fork a little firmer to balance out the bike as a whole and help prevent any unwanted dive. All said, the combination of the slightly smaller 27.5” wheel and the longer travel 150mm fork makes for a very cable hardcore hardtail.

With 150mm of travel the Rockshox Yari RC will have you floating over rocky and rooty terrain with ease…

150mm on a hardtail is a lot of travel but Ragley have done a great job with their frame geometry to accommodate it…

When it comes to the Blue Pig’s groupset Ragley have gone for a very selective mix-and-match approach, using a mix of Shimano SLX and Deore components. The drivetrain is bang-up-to-date with a 12 speed rear cassette matched with a single 32T chainset upfront; the Deore rear cassette features a huge range of gear ratios from a tiny 10T to a huge 51T so there’s no more excuses for getting off and walking back up to the top of the trail you’re sessioning, this setup will encourage you to stay in the saddle and twiddle back to the top with your mates.

Shimano’s 12-speed groupset gives you all the gears you’ll need, uphill or downhill…

In a clever move Ragley have upgraded from Shimano Deore up to Shimano SLX for the Blue Pig’s rear derailleur and trigger shifter meaning that you get slightly lighter components that are not only more durable but are also more accurate in their gear selection. Shimano’s drivetrains are so good now it’s pretty much a case of fit and forget, you may need to change the gear cable every once in a while but that’s it. Needless to say, the SLX rear derailleur features a clutch mech to help keep your chain tight and securely located on the chainset and rear cassette.

A 12-speed SLX rear derailleur with clutch mech keeps gear selections precise and secure even on the roughest terrain…

Ragley have spec’d a Shimano SLX 12-speed shifter to give you a huge range of gears at your finger tips…

A 32T chainring on a Shimano Deore chainset is spec’d specifically to work with a 12-speed drivetrain…

With a wide ratio cassette there’s very little excuses left for getting off and pushing uphill…

It goes without saying that a hardcore hardtail like the Blue Pig needs a powerful set of disc brakes to help you scrub off speed quickly and effectively when you’re riding on the very edge of control. With this in mind you’ll not be surprised to see 4-piston hydraulic brakes rather than the less powerful 2-pistion options found on more traditional, cross-country-focused hardtails. The Shimano Deore hydraulic brake levers feel great and allow for powerful one finger braking keeping more fingers safely wrapped around the handle bars for added security through the rough stuff. The Deore levers are matched with those Deore 4-piston brake calipers we’ve already mentioned and to ensure maximum bite and braking effectiveness Ragley have included a big ol’ 203mm disc rotor on the front and a slightly smaller but no less effective 180mm rotor on the rear.

Compact, powerful Deore hydraulic brake levers cater to controlled one-finger braking…

Powerful 4-piston hydraulic brake calipers scrub speed off quickly and in control…

When it comes to wheels and tryes on the Ragley Blue Pig you’d expect a tough pair of wheels that can handle all of the forces encountered by fast, frenetic riding on really challenging terrain – dropping into rough singletrack at speed, landing flat on jumps or that moment when your rear wheel lifts slightly and slams into a tight berm as you weave your way downhill. This is were the slightly smaller wheels come into their own with a pair of 27.5” Nukeproof Neutrons more than capable of handling all of the rowdy riding that the Blue Pig will no-doubt be subjected to.

Tough 27.5″ Nukeproof Neutron wheels can handle rowdy riding…

We’re not surprised to see a pair of Maxxis Minion DH tyres spec’d on the Blue Pig; with the kind of aggressive riding that Ragley had in mind when they designed and built the bike it’s a bit of a no brainer really. Upfront there’s a nice wide 27.5×2.5” Minion DHF tyre with a super-grippy triple compound tread pattern and EXO+ 120 TPI puncture & sidewall protection. Complementing this tyre on the back is the slightly slimmer 27.5×2.4” Minion DHR with the same triple compound and puncture protection; both tyres are tubeless ready.

That triple compound and aggressive tread pattern gives you plenty of grip and control on everything from slick rocks to loamy singletrack… 

A widely spaced, square profile tread pattern help keep you in control at speed, even in tight, loose turns…

Finishing kit for the Ragley Blue Pig includes the brand’s own alloy handlebar with a 25mm rise at 780mm wide on bike sizes small and medium and 800mm wide on bike sizes large and extra-large. There’s a Brand X Ascend stem and dropper seat post which again is sized proportionally to suit the dimensions of your chosen bike size – 125mm drop for the small, 150mm for the medium and 170mm for the large and extra large bikes. The Ragley lock-on grips are nice and secure and feel good with or without gloves thanks to their soft compound and knurled grip pattern while a Ragley saddle features a comfortable profile, extra protection from scuffs and abrasion on the saddle sides and Ragley’s head badge motif embossed into the saddle surface.

A Brand X Ascend dropper seat post instantly turns the Blue Pig into an even more agile hardcore hardtail…

Ragely’s own-brand saddle is comfortable and hard-wearing and will stand up well to the inevitable scrapes and knocks…

The Ragley Blue Pig is a really versatile hardcore hardtail, the spritely steel chassis is a work of art that’s built to take its fair share of abuse and features all of the modern geometry numbers you’d expect from a bike like this for a stable but agile ride. If you’re looking for a no-nonsense, one-bike-does-it-all machine the Blue Pig is a great option; with the dropper seat post up you can put in the miles, riding a mix of terrains to and from sections of your favourite wooded singletrack. Alternatively the Blue Pig is perfectly suited to a day spent on the really rough stuff, negotiating super-steep, loose and rocky descents in the Lake District; with the dropper down and the saddle out of the way, 150mm of plush suspension travel, fat puncture-proof Maxxis downhill tyres with sidewall protection, wide handlebars and that progressive geometry this Ragley machine is built to meet the demands of this type of riding.

The Ragley Blue Pig is a hardcore hardtail that’s more versatile than it first appears…

The Ragley Blue Pig is available in-store and online now…

Full Specification:

• Frame: Custom triple butted 4130 Chromoly tubing, ISCG 05 tabs, a 44mm head tube, internal dropper routing,148x12mm, boost rear end, 63.75 degree head angle
• Fork: RockShox Yari RC Motion Control, 150mm, Boost, 46mm Offset
• Head Set: Token ZS44/28.6, EC44/40
• Shifters: Shimano SLX SL-M7100 12 Speed
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano SLX RD-M7100
• Cassette : Shimano Deore CS-M6100 10-51T, 12-speed
• Chainset: Shimano Deore FC-M6100, 170mm, 32T
• Brakes: Shimano Deore BR-M6120 4-piston, 203/180mm rotors
• Wheelset: Front – 27.5” Nukeproof Neutron 15×110 Hub
• Wheelset: Rear –27.5” Nukeproof Neutron 12×148 Hub
• Front Tyre: Maxxis Minion DHF 27.5×2.5”, Tubeless Ready, 3C EXO+
• Rear Tyre: Maxxis Minion DHR II, 27.5×2.4” Tubeless Ready 3C EXO+
• Stem: Brand X Ascend 31.6mm, S 125mm drop, M 150mm drop, L/XL 170mm drop
• Handlebar: Ragley Alloy Handlebar, 25mm Rise, S/M 780mm L/XL 800mm
• Seat Post: Brand-X Ascend 31.6mm, S 125mm drop, M 150mm Drop, L/XL 170mm drop
• Saddle: Ragley Tracker

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

 

Want to see more fast bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…