Propain Hugene 3 CF
Wheel Size: 29’’
Travel:
- Frame: 130 mm
- Fork: 140 mm
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes Offered: Small, Medium, Large, XL
- Headtube Angle: 64.8°
- Seat Tube Angle: 77.5° (effective)
- Reach: 483 mm (size Large)
- Bottom Bracket Drop: 36 mm
- Chainstay Length: 445 mm
Frame Material: Carbon Fiber
Price: Complete Bikes $3,999 to $6,499
Intro
We’ve seen a lot of do-it-all Trail / All-Mountain bikes creep up in suspension travel in recent years. To use the Santa Cruz Hightower as an example, what was originally a 135mm-travel bike when it launched about a decade ago is now a 150mm-travel one with a 160 mm fork — numbers that would have qualified as an Enduro bike in the time of the V1 Hightower. That’s just one example, but it reflects the direction many bikes have been trending in over the last couple of years.
So it’s quite notable that the new Propain Hugene has 10 mm less travel at each end than the version it replaces, with 130 mm in back, and a 140mm-travel fork. Propain’s take is that they wanted to make a bike that’s light, agile, and efficient, in contrast to a lot of the more gravity-oriented options out there. But they haven’t just XC-ified the Hugene, either — the new one has (slightly) more aggressive geometry than its predecessor, and the combined package looks pretty interesting. Let’s check it out.
The Frame
There aren’t any huge surprises in the design of the Hugene. Like its predecessor, it’s offered in carbon fiber only and is a dedicated 29er. Propain’s typical Pro10 suspension layout — a dual mini-link arrangement that drives the shock from both ends — is here too, and the vertical shock placement leaves ample room for a water bottle inside the front triangle across the entire size range.
The Hugene’s industrial design hasn’t changed a ton either, though there are some notable updates if you look closer. The seat tube has been widened at the base to allow for more seatpost insertion (Propain says that you can bottom a 200 mm RockShox Reverb AXS to the collar on even the Small frame), and the headtube is now a straight 56 mm affair to leave room for headset cable routing (or an angle or reach adjustment headset, potentially), though, mercifully, there are ports in the downtube so that you can skip that option. And, unlike the outgoing version, the Hugene now features downtube storage via a hatch under the water bottle bosses.
The other frame details are straightforward and sensible: you get a SRAM UDH for Transmission compatibility, lots of rubber protection on the chainstay, seatstay, and downtube, and stainless steel bearings with secondary sealing in all the pivots. The rear brake mount is sized for a 180 mm rotor.
The Hugene also gets a full set of chainguide tabs (which are removable / replaceable), a threaded bottom bracket shell, and strategically placed bolt-on cable guides to keep things rattle-free.
The Hugene gets its 130 mm of rear wheel travel from a 210 x 47.5 mm shock, but kinematic details aren’t specified.
Fit & Geometry
The new Hugene is offered in the same four sizes (Small, Medium, Large, and XL) as the outgoing one, and most of the geometry figures haven’t changed too dramatically, either. The headtube has been relaxed to 64.8°, and the effective seat tube steepened to 77.5° (from 65.5° and 76.5°, respectively); the reach has grown a touch (starting at 433 mm on the Small and growing by 25 mm per size, up to 508 mm on the XL); and the relatively long 445 mm chainstays stick around unchanged.
[The figures for the prior-gen Hugene are with a 140mm-travel fork; the optional 150 mm one slackens it a touch and lops a little off the reach.]
The steeper seat tube on the new bike results in slightly shorter effective top tube measurements for a given size, despite the reach growing slightly, and the bottom bracket drop has been increased by a couple of millimeters (to 36 mm), though that should roughly get canceled out at sag due to the decrease in suspension travel.
The Builds
Propain offers a number of different builds for the Hugene, which vary by region. The two North American spec options are listed below; for details on the options in your area, check Propain’s website.
Per usual for Propain, the builds on the Hugene are also highly customizable — the base options are just starting points. The configurator on their site lets you put together your own ground-up build if you’re so inclined, tweak one of the standard options, or just run with one of Propain’s suggestions.
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle 70 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 w/ 200 mm rotors
- Fork: RockShox Pike Select
- Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select (Linear XL air can)
- Wheels: DT Swiss M1900
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle 70 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver w/ 200 mm rotors
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate (Linear XL air can)
- Wheels: DT Swiss M1900
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) There’s a ton of variety in the general category of mid-travel Trail bikes that the Hugene occupies, from relatively XC-oriented options (e.g., the Pivot Trailcat siblings) to mini-Enduro sleds (e.g., the Forbidden Druid V2), with a whole lot of different options in between. Where does the Hugene land on that spectrum?
(2) Does it feel like there’s a notable gap in Propain’s lineup between the Hugene and the 160mm-travel Tyee Enduro bike? Propain says that one of their goals for the new Hugene was to differentiate it from the Tyee — fair enough — but how big is the gap between the two?
(3) What other traits does the Hugene bring to the table, and what sorts of riders is it going to work best for?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Propain has bucked the trend of increasing suspension travel on their do-it-all Trail bike, but has also given the new Hugene slightly more aggressive geometry to go with it, and the end result looks quite promising. We’ve spent a good chunk of time on the new Hugene already, so check out our take on how it’s going so far.
Flash Review: Our Initial On-Trail Impressions
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Flash Review: Propain Hugene 3 CF
The variety of ride traits across mid-travel Trail bikes is wider than ever, so where does the new Propain Hugene slot in? We’ve got some thoughts after about a month on board the updated Hugene 3.
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Well, as we’re at the end of a heat wave, I’ve parsed this First Look more than usual, so apologies in advance:
“the new one has (slightly) more aggressive geometry than its predecessor” Picking nits, for sure, but I’d argue that the geo is more relaxed, not more aggressive.
“though, mercifully, there are ports in the downtube so that you can skip that option” Praise be unto the entity of your choice!
“The Hugene gets its 130 mm of rear wheel travel from a 210 x 47.5 mm shock” That seems like a pretty short-stroke shock for 130 mm travel (my Top Fuel uses 55 mm for 130 mm). Is that due to the compressing from both ends rear suspension design?
Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate: An absolutely lovely fork, but on a 130/140 build, I’d probably argue that the Pike is more than adequate (and uses the same damper).
Thanks for reading!
On the “aggressive” geometry note, I think we’re actually saying the same thing — the new one is a little longer, slacker, and lower (i.e., more aggressive-descending-oriented).
Re: the Lyrik vs. Pike, you can build one with a Pike if you want — that’s the beauty of Propain’s custom configurator.
As for the shock stroke, it’s maybe a touch shorter than average for a 130 mm travel bike, but not by that much. A lot of 130 mm bikes use a 50 mm stroke one.
Almost seems like they’re planning a lunch ride version with more fork and a bit of extra stroke.