I have this bike in almost the same setup except I have mechanical GX and Magura brakes. The Magura brake make a huge difference. Great stopping power and still have modulation. We have a lot of short punchy steep sections where I ride and this bike is great for going both up and down them
YES! I grabbed my coffee and watched this as soon as I saw it drop! Another great review!! Hugene has been on my list for a couple of years now, but haven't had a chance to ride it, nor any other Propain. A few questions: How would you compare the Pro10 suspension design compared to Yeti and DW-link? Similar Feel? Similar efficiency? Also, though it's not in your test, how would you compare the Hugene to the YT Jeffsy? I do think the conservative HTA is similar, if not a little slacker, than the Switchblade's HTA, at least on paper. I'm excited to hear how those 2 compare specifically.
P.S. thanks for the comment on sizing. I'm your same height and according to their sizing chart, I was between sizes. Glad to hear your recommendation.
More traction in the initial stroke but not as efficient, definitely heart of a free rider in mind! But still has a good pop in and out of corners! YT is even more traction oriented! Switchblade review drops tomorrow!
Mo, great review...but these brakes deserve a closer look. I've been on the Cura 4s for a year, very similar to Code RSCs with all the adjustments and POWER, with more modulation. Best of all, nearly ZERO maintenance at a waaaaay lower price. Full set for $290.
I had Code RSCs fall apart on me within one year. I have Had multiple Magura levers fail with membrane damage. I'm now running cura4s on all of my bikes (including my Hugene) and have not had a single worry with any of them in multiple years. Absolute bargain those things!
Great series! I demo'd one of these at NW Tune Up and it was tough to like it. I have a slight bias against it because the one I got for the demo was so damn clapped out. The rear caliper (the Curas) had two pistons stuck out, so I was riding the brake 100% of the time (realized part way down on the descent). The headset was creaking so much that it had me worrying. That aside... the seat doesn't go down enough with their sizing. I was constantly feeling the seat smacking my rear. It was already all the way down to the collar, so it wasn't a matter of a different sized seat post. While the brakes (the rear particularly) were in poor condition, they also did not feel like they had much stopping power. Perhaps if they were fresh and properly maintained I would have a better opinion. The day before the Eugene, I tried out the Evil Offering...since then I've been fighting my urge to buy one. First ride on it and I had gotten a damn PR on one of my regular trails. That's how comfortable it was.
I wish you had Marin on your test list. It's the bike I'm very interested on because it very adjustable. The Marin trail Xr piqued my interest the most.
@moandhannahtravel I'm looking for a short travel trail bike,more like a long-legged XC,and came across a used Hugene frame. My idea is mounting a 130mm Fox 34 and reducing the travel on the shock. Geometry would put the bike on ~66HA,77SA,lowering the BB (many reviewers state it being a bit high). What's your thoughts on that? My playground is steep but short,twisty,with the ocasional rock section. Thanks!
It's weird to me that the rear shock was designed upside down. The shock will probably heat up then wear out faster since oil sits opposite side of the shock.
The Rocky has long chainstays but you said the bike was playful. Why do you think that is? This looks like an inverted Horst Link to me... so both designs work similarly.
Rocky chain stay is a 440 in in the mode I spent most of my time testing and the Hugene is a 445. Reach is longer on the rocky as well giving way to a bit more play fun feel because I felt like I was riding off the back a little more with those ratios. Hugene has a bit shorter reach but longer stays so nimble comes from the front but stability comes from the rear if that makes sense?
@@moandhannahtravel The Rocky is a bike with the rider directly over the pedals and a lot of bike out back. This bike must feel really long behind you. It must be hard to manual. I had to raise my front stack 5mm to make it easier to lift the front end of my Instinct and get my hips back to the rear axle.
You can customize and choose specific components but not Shimano nor other forks besides SRAM or Fox. A true “build up your own” is a nice concept but I haven’t seen anybody doing this “comprehensively” as direct to consumer.
Some people like the Curas but you have to ride them with the sintered green pads. With the stock organic pads they are mediocre. Hope V4 is still the king of value aftermarket brakes.
Hopes are 290$ ea at MSRP, idk if you can call that king of value lol.... Shimano SLX, SRAM Maven Bronze, Formula Cura 4 are all ~ 185$ ea MSRP and provide much better value imo. Don't get me wrong, Hopes are amazing brakes and are a beautiful piece of machining that you can rebuild yourself if you are mechanically inclined but they certainly aren't cheap which docks them in the value category.
Sram Guide RSC is much cheaper now and xt as well. imo those two are best value brakes. If you can get pass the plasticky feel of the magura MT 30, I'd say that's the top best value brake. It has the power of MT5 MT7 (with the right rotor and pads). 2nd are tied the shimano XT and Guide RSC and last are the Hayes Dominion if they go only sale for 149$ like last year. I was able to catch an MT7 for 255$ front and rear and 280$ Dominion A4 2 sets for 2 of my bikes. Some store going out of business and I was able to scoop these brakes.
@@5dayMovingAverage I have the Dominions. They aren't user friendly. btw I said value, not "for the poors". if you're poor then disregard all my posts. Best brake for the poors is SLX single piston on merlin right now for $100 a set.
@@trentvlak bruh "Best Value" is always for the poors lmao. You are talking about "Best Brake that doesn't involve burning money for no apparent reason"
Mo, i appreciate all the hard work you and your team put into this series!
Thank you so much!!!!
Hi Mo,
Bravo for all the professionalism you show in all these tests !
Appreciate.
❤
I love my Hugene. I got mine with full fox factory suspension and Magura MT7s, I highly recommend it
I have this bike in almost the same setup except I have mechanical GX and Magura brakes. The Magura brake make a huge difference. Great stopping power and still have modulation. We have a lot of short punchy steep sections where I ride and this bike is great for going both up and down them
Such a fun bike!!!
YES! I grabbed my coffee and watched this as soon as I saw it drop! Another great review!!
Hugene has been on my list for a couple of years now, but haven't had a chance to ride it, nor any other Propain. A few questions: How would you compare the Pro10 suspension design compared to Yeti and DW-link? Similar Feel? Similar efficiency? Also, though it's not in your test, how would you compare the Hugene to the YT Jeffsy?
I do think the conservative HTA is similar, if not a little slacker, than the Switchblade's HTA, at least on paper. I'm excited to hear how those 2 compare specifically.
P.S. thanks for the comment on sizing. I'm your same height and according to their sizing chart, I was between sizes. Glad to hear your recommendation.
More traction in the initial stroke but not as efficient, definitely heart of a free rider in mind! But still has a good pop in and out of corners! YT is even more traction oriented! Switchblade review drops tomorrow!
Mo, great review...but these brakes deserve a closer look. I've been on the Cura 4s for a year, very similar to Code RSCs with all the adjustments and POWER, with more modulation. Best of all, nearly ZERO maintenance at a waaaaay lower price. Full set for $290.
@@birddog76 I’ll definitely give them another shot! Would be awesome to talk to those guys!
I had Code RSCs fall apart on me within one year. I have Had multiple Magura levers fail with membrane damage.
I'm now running cura4s on all of my bikes (including my Hugene) and have not had a single worry with any of them in multiple years.
Absolute bargain those things!
Which bike would you ride an epic all day journey on? Thanks 🙏 I’m planning on purchasing the Stumpjumper
Conclusion video coming soon!
Great series!
I demo'd one of these at NW Tune Up and it was tough to like it. I have a slight bias against it because the one I got for the demo was so damn clapped out. The rear caliper (the Curas) had two pistons stuck out, so I was riding the brake 100% of the time (realized part way down on the descent). The headset was creaking so much that it had me worrying.
That aside... the seat doesn't go down enough with their sizing. I was constantly feeling the seat smacking my rear. It was already all the way down to the collar, so it wasn't a matter of a different sized seat post. While the brakes (the rear particularly) were in poor condition, they also did not feel like they had much stopping power. Perhaps if they were fresh and properly maintained I would have a better opinion.
The day before the Eugene, I tried out the Evil Offering...since then I've been fighting my urge to buy one. First ride on it and I had gotten a damn PR on one of my regular trails. That's how comfortable it was.
I wish you had Marin on your test list. It's the bike I'm very interested on because it very adjustable. The Marin trail Xr piqued my interest the most.
Marin sounds rad!! They should submit a bike for the next one!
@moandhannahtravel
I'm looking for a short travel trail bike,more like a long-legged XC,and came across a used Hugene frame.
My idea is mounting a 130mm Fox 34 and reducing the travel on the shock.
Geometry would put the bike on ~66HA,77SA,lowering the BB (many reviewers state it being a bit high).
What's your thoughts on that?
My playground is steep but short,twisty,with the ocasional rock section.
Thanks!
Hi what decal Kit is on your bike
Yeahhbuddayyyyy ❤ love them bikes… remy got me wantin em
Great bikes!!!
It's weird to me that the rear shock was designed upside down. The shock will probably heat up then wear out faster since oil sits opposite side of the shock.
*side note* you should review there gravel bike
In the works!
Ive been searching for tires that are damper than the usual Maxxis that are on everything, or is Maxxis still the best?
Schwalble is the tire for that! But I prefer Maxis for how they ride!
@@moandhannahtravel Hmm not sure if its worth the trade off then.
isn't this bike 3+ years old now? wasn't it first sold in 2021 as a 2022 model?
Yes
@@armystrong123g bleeding edge vintage
The Rocky has long chainstays but you said the bike was playful. Why do you think that is? This looks like an inverted Horst Link to me... so both designs work similarly.
Rocky chain stay is a 440 in in the mode I spent most of my time testing and the Hugene is a 445. Reach is longer on the rocky as well giving way to a bit more play fun feel because I felt like I was riding off the back a little more with those ratios. Hugene has a bit shorter reach but longer stays so nimble comes from the front but stability comes from the rear if that makes sense?
@@moandhannahtravel The Rocky is a bike with the rider directly over the pedals and a lot of bike out back. This bike must feel really long behind you. It must be hard to manual. I had to raise my front stack 5mm to make it easier to lift the front end of my Instinct and get my hips back to the rear axle.
You can customize and choose specific components but not Shimano nor other forks besides SRAM or Fox.
A true “build up your own” is a nice concept but I haven’t seen anybody doing this “comprehensively” as direct to consumer.
Some people like the Curas but you have to ride them with the sintered green pads. With the stock organic pads they are mediocre. Hope V4 is still the king of value aftermarket brakes.
Hopes are 290$ ea at MSRP, idk if you can call that king of value lol.... Shimano SLX, SRAM Maven Bronze, Formula Cura 4 are all ~ 185$ ea MSRP and provide much better value imo. Don't get me wrong, Hopes are amazing brakes and are a beautiful piece of machining that you can rebuild yourself if you are mechanically inclined but they certainly aren't cheap which docks them in the value category.
@@MarshallWolf Value compared to Trickstuff or Intend. Merlin has Hope V4 for $217 per.
Sram Guide RSC is much cheaper now and xt as well. imo those two are best value brakes. If you can get pass the plasticky feel of the magura MT 30, I'd say that's the top best value brake. It has the power of MT5 MT7 (with the right rotor and pads). 2nd are tied the shimano XT and Guide RSC and last are the Hayes Dominion if they go only sale for 149$ like last year. I was able to catch an MT7 for 255$ front and rear and 280$ Dominion A4 2 sets for 2 of my bikes. Some store going out of business and I was able to scoop these brakes.
@@5dayMovingAverage I have the Dominions. They aren't user friendly. btw I said value, not "for the poors". if you're poor then disregard all my posts. Best brake for the poors is SLX single piston on merlin right now for $100 a set.
@@trentvlak bruh "Best Value" is always for the poors lmao. You are talking about "Best Brake that doesn't involve burning money for no apparent reason"
Formula “cure-ah” brakes.
However you pronounce them, I didn’t like them 😬
@@moandhannahtravelfair enough! Keep up the great work!
For what it's worth the hugene is pretty old, the new one should be dropping in 2025.
This is the bike they submitted, rode pretty awesome! Can’t wait to see the new one if that’s true!