Chromag Reazon
Wheel Size: 29’’
Suspension Travel:
- Frame: 135 mm
- Fork: 160 mm
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: S, M, M/L, L, XL
- Headtube angle: 64°
- Seat tube angle: 78°
- Reach: 485 mm (size M/L)
- Chainstay length: 438 mm
Frame Material: Steel front triangle; aluminum rear triangle
Price:
- Reazon Frame: $2,750 USD
- Complete Bikes: $5,300 to $7,300 USD
Intro
Chromag’s journey to launching their first full-suspension bikes was a winding one — which we detailed with Chromag engineer, Joe Swann, back in Ep.184 of Bikes & Big Ideas — and now the family has grown a little bit. The new Reazon slots in between Chromag’s other two adult full-suspension models, the Darco and Lowdown, as a 135mm-travel All-Mountain bike. We’ll be getting a Reazon in for review before too long, but in the meantime, let’s check out what Chromag has cooked up:
The Frame
The Reazon frame draws inspiration from the Darco and Lowdown, which it joins in Chromag’s full-suspension lineup (along with the Minor Threat kids’ bike). The front triangle is steel, paired with an aluminum rear end, and the suspension features a Horst link layout with a vertically oriented shock to produce its 135 mm of rear wheel travel, which is meant to be paired with a 160mm-travel fork.
The kinematics are largely similar to those of the Darco, too. The Reazon’s overall leverage ratio is a little lower, but both feature similar overall progression (~29% for the Darco vs. ~31% for the Reazon), in a relatively straight line. Anti-squat starts at about 120% and falls off to 74% by bottom out, again in a nearly straight line, and the anti-rise curve is pretty flat, at around 75%.
There’s not a ton that stands out there as being particularly out of the ordinary, in a good way. If anything, the Reazon’s leverage curve is a little more progressive than average for a 135mm-travel bike, which we’d generally expect to help make it feel on the more planted, grippy end of the spectrum (and play well with both air and coil shocks, which Chromag specifically endorses).
The other frame details are delightfully no-nonsense. The bottom bracket shell is threaded and features chainguide mounts; the cable routing is fully external, apart from the derailleur housing going through the chainstay; there’s a bottle cage mount on the downtube and an accessory one under the top tube; and normal standards everywhere else (44/56 mm tapered headtube, 31.6 mm seatpost, 180 mm brake mount, etc.) There aren’t any geometry adjustments or other bits to mess with, either, though Chromag is working on an aftermarket rocker link to convert the Reazon to a mixed wheel setup.
Fit & Geometry
Chromag offers the Reazon in the same five sizes as the Darco and Lowdown — S, M, M/L, L, and XL — and at first glance, its geometry is extremely close to that of the Darco, in particular. But there are some important differences if you look closer.
The Reazon gets 64° headtube / 78° effective seat tube angles and 438 mm chainstays across the size range. The reach figures start at 445 mm on the small and grow by 20 mm per size, up to 525 mm on the XL; the stack comes in at 626 mm on the S and M, 635 mm on the M/L, and 644 mm on the L and XL. The bottom bracket drop is 35 mm.
That’s the same headtube and seat tube angle as the Darco, and the Reazon’s chainstays are just a few millimeters longer; the Reazon’s static bottom bracket is also slightly higher, but its extra suspension travel should roughly cancel that out at sag. The notable tweaks are to the reach and stack — the Reazon’s stack heights are appreciably higher, and the reach figures have been reined in slightly to match. The Darco’s (and to a lesser extent, the Lowdown’s) stack heights are pretty low by modern standards, and the Reazon’s numbers look like a nice update without going off the deep end.
The Builds
Chromag offers two builds on the Reazon and, per usual for them, they’re all-SRAM affairs. In fact, both get all the same parts outside of the drivetrain, where you can pick between an Eagle 90 Transmission and an X0 Transmission setup. Either way, you get SRAM Maven Silver brakes, RockShox Lyrik / Super Deluxe suspension in the Ultimate tier trim, and a Chromag finishing kit including their own wheels.
Reazon Eagle 90 ($5,300 USD):
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver w/ 180 mm rotors
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Wheels: Chromag Phase30 with R4 hubs
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
Reazon X0 Transmission ($7,300 USD):
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver w/ 180 mm rotors
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Wheels: Chromag Phase30 with R4 hubs
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) I really clicked with both the Darco and the Lowdown when I reviewed them, but they’re both notably aggressive, game-on descending bikes for their respective travel ranges. Chromag is talking up the versatility of the Reazon as a do-it-all All-Mountain bike — maybe more than they do with the shorter-travel Darco — so where does it land on that spectrum?
(2) How significant do the tweaks to the fit / body positioning of the Reazon feel compared to the Darco and Lowdown — both of which favor a relatively forward stance?
(3) Will Chromag’s full-suspension lineup continue to grow from here?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Chromag has long been known for making aggressive, descending-oriented hardtails, but their full suspension bike lineup is growing, and the Reazon looks like an intriguing (and rather burly) take on an All-Mountain bike. We’ll be getting on one this fall, so stay tuned for our take as we get to know the Reazon.