Propain Tyee Trail
Wheel Sizes:
- S: 27.5’’ front and rear
- M–XL: 29’’ front; 27.5’’ or 29’’ rear
Suspension Travel:
- Frame: 145 mm
- Fork: 160 mm
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle: 64.2°
- Reach (size Large): 476 mm
- Chainstay length (size Large): 444 mm
Frame Material: Aluminum and carbon fiber versions available
Price:
- Complete bikes starting at $3,299 USD (details in Builds section below)
- Frame kits starting at $1,899 USD (details in Builds section below)
Intro
Propain’s Tyee and Hugene stand out in their respective categories for unique feature sets, but there was a big travel gap between the 130 mm travel Hugene and the 160 mm travel Tyee. Propain clearly agreed — enter the new Tyee Trail. Rather than a ground-up new frame, Propain has made some clever tweaks to the existing Tyee (now called the Tyee Enduro) to drop travel and shift geometry towards Trail intentions. Let’s dig into the details of the new Tyee Trail.
The Frame
The Tyee Trail is based around the same frame as the Tyee 6.1 that we reviewed last year. In the case of the Tyee Trail, it gets just four size options (S–XL) rather than five of the Tyee Enduro, but still offers both aluminum and carbon options. The Small takes dual 27.5’’ wheels, while the Medium through XL have the option of either mixed wheel or full 29’’ setups, with geometry normalized between the two via a flip chip.
Unlike some bikes that use a shorter stroke shock to shorten travel over a longer travel version, the Tyee Trail keeps the same 210 x 55 mm shock of the Tyee Enduro, instead using a different upper link with a lower leverage ratio to cut the available travel to 145 mm. That shorter rear travel is mated to a 160 mm fork, which cuts 10 mm over the Tyee Enduro’s 170 mm one. Suspension kinematics are in the charts below, featuring high-ish anti-squat (over 100% until the very last bit of the travel) and anti-rise that starts at just over 100% but falls consistently through the travel.
The same finishing details of the Tyee 6.1 are here too, meaning a 200 mm post brake mount at the rear wheel and a choice between headset cable routing or more traditional internal routing. There’s still no in-frame storage here despite the new Hugene having it, though there is an accessory mount under the downtube.
Fit & Geometry
Changes to the Tyee Trail’s geometry are fairly minimal over the Tyee Enduro, mostly reflecting the impacts of a shorter 160 mm travel fork.
For a size Large, the reach measures at 476 mm, with a 633 mm stack height and 621 mm effective top tube length. The 64.2° head tube angle is just 0.3° steeper than the Tyee Enduro’s, but the shorter travel of the Tyee Trail should mean running less sag, creating a slightly higher ride height that likely also quickens handling a bit more than the head tube angle implies. Where the Tyee Enduro’s effective seat tube angle was perhaps a bit slacker than average by current standards, the Tyee Trail’s steepens up a bit to 77.2°.
Propain doesn’t advertise the Tyee Trail’s flip chip as a geometry adjustment, instead suggesting that it be used when toggling between wheel sizes. It’s worth noting that Propain advertised the “Shred Setting” as an option for the Tyee Enduro, which created a rather slack and low-slung bike when running the flip chip in its “Low” setting in combination with mixed wheels. That’s technically still possible with the Tyee Trail, but it’s a bit harder to see the appeal of a very slack head angle and very low bottom bracket on a true Trail bike.
The Tyee Trail’s full geometry chart is as follows:
The Builds
Propain hangs its hat on offering extensive customization options, allowing buyers to buy pre-configured builds or go all-out on a custom build. On the custom side of things, Propain says that the Tyee Trail’s configuration options can range from $3,299 to $9,400. That range covers both aluminum and carbon fiber frames, with the aluminum frame being $800 less than the carbon fiber one.
Two pre-configured builds can either be bought outright or used as a starting point for customization — the Signature 1 and Signature 2. Both builds are identical between the aluminum and carbon fiber frame options.
The Signature 1 build matches a RockShox Psylo Gold RC fork to a Deluxe Select shock, while SRAM’s Eagle 70 group handles shifting duties. SRAM’s DB8 brakes are also used along with a OneUp V3 dropper, DT Swiss E 1900 wheels, and Schwalbe Albert Trail Radial tires front and rear.
The Signature 2 spec sticks with the SRAM-heavy theme, jumping to a Lyrik Ultimate fork and Super Deluxe Ultimate shock with the XL air can. Shifting goes electronic with SRAM’s GX Transmission group, and brakes get upgraded to the SRAM Maven Base, but the DT Swiss E 1900 and Schwalbe Albert Trail Radial tires remain.
Full build details are as follows:
Tyee Trail Signature 1 (AL: $3,449 USD / CF: $4,049 USD):
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle 70 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM DB8
- Fork: RockShox Psylo Gold RC (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select
- Wheels: DT Swiss E 1900
- Dropper post: OneUp V3 (M: 150 mm, L: 180 mm, XL: 210 mm)
Tyee Trail Signature 2 (AL: $5,399 USD / CF: $5,999 USD):
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Base
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Wheels: DT Swiss E 1900
- Dropper post: OneUp V3 (M: 150 mm, L: 180 mm, XL: 210 mm)
Frame kits are also available, starting at $1,899 USD for the aluminum frame and $2,699 for the carbon one.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) How much does the new upper link of the Tyee Trail alter the overall suspension feel as compared to the bigger, but rather energetic-feeling, Tyee Enduro?
(2) Adapting a shared frame across two travel brackets is increasingly popular, but can come with compromises. How does the Tyee Trail ride as compared to some of the other leading options in the Trail category?
Bottom Line (For Now)
We can’t say we saw the Tyee Trail coming, but it’s interesting to see Propain filling out their catalogue with a mid-travel Trail bike. While it shares a frame with the more aggressive Tyee Enduro, the Tyee Trail looks to have rather sensible geometry for an all-rounder Trail bike, and we’re curious to see how it stacks up in the crowded Trail category.
Such cool bikes, and not too crazy on the pricing. Looking forward to hearing more!