First Look Review : Pete’s 2022 Ragley Piglet.

Ragley’s do-it-all steel hardtail, the Piglet, returns in a dazzling orange hue and Pete gives his opening thoughts on the well-specced machine.

Courtesy of some supply chain chaos that we’re all too familiar with, Ragley’s 2022 edition of the Piglet has just landed. Pete gives his opening thoughts on the steel tangerine.

Photos by Pete Scullion.

Key features:

  • Rockshox Revelation 130mm fork
  • Shimano SLX 12-speed drive
  • Shimano Deore 4-piston brakes
  • Nukeproof Neutron wheels
  • Brand X Ascend dropper
  • £2,199.99 RRP
  • RagleyBikes.com

The new Ragley Piglet is the shortest travel, smallest wheeled bike in Ragley’s steel offering. With a view to being more of an all-rounder than the Big Wig Pete tested a year or two back, whilst continuing the Ragley theme of being silly money for the spec.

A custom butted 4130 tubeset with some rather slender chain and seat stays offer a very Ragley-like silhouette, with the bright orange paint job definitely being eye-catching. Attached to it are the usual offering of solid kit that just works with limited frills.

Shimano’s excellent SLX 12-speed makes up the drivetrain, with Deore 4-pot anchors and crank. A Rockshox Revelation RC fork benefits from the trickle down effects from higher models, featuring a DebonAir spring combined with the older Motion Control damper. Nukeproof Neutron wheels are shod with EXO+ Maxxis offerings for extra cushioning. Cockpit is a Ragley alloy affair, as is the saddle, rounded out with the updated Brand X Ascend dropper. Simple, yet effective.

Geometry

The Piglet is available in Small, Medium, Large and XLarge, with the Medium being tested here.

Reach on the Medium is 435mm combined with a 420mm seat tube. Head angle is 65.5 and seat tube angle is 73 degrees. Chainstays are 425mm on a wheelbase of 1163mm.

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Opening moves

With the Revelations only having straight compression rebound adjust and the handy sag dials on the stanchions, setup was pretty straightforward. I wound the brake levers in to suit and away we went, the 2.6″ Maxxis rubber giving a solid hum along the road to the first trail of the day.

On the ups, the Piglet happily spins away despite the chunky rubber fitted and that the bike doesn’t feel particularly light to lift, so you find yourself at the top of the next trail quicker than you might think. Anyone going into the wilds on the Piglet may wish to drop the front chain ring size to help winching abilities.

When you send it downhill, the Piglet comes alive. The well-balanced fork and EXO+ Maxxis rubber does a solid job of smoothing out all but the roughest trail chatter, while the steel tubes have a delightful twang to them that helps soften the bigger hits.

It’s very nice to see 4-piston Shimano brakes fitted as they’re effective and reliable units, although the resin pads fitted do struggle on the longer downs where the hardtail might start to make you feel like the going is getting tough. Some sintered numbers might well improve the Piglets descending capabilities.

Despite the short chainstays, the Piglet doesn’t feel too keen on back wheel, which is fine by me. You just have to ride a smoother line across the deck to get the most from the bright orange flyer. Otherwise, the geometry feels spot on for a big of singletrack blasting and some larger missions into the unknown.

So far so good then for the Piglet, we’ll be back once we’ve had a proper chance to get some miles under its wheels.

You can check out the new Ragley Piglet over on their website here.


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