2023 Propain

Rage CF 29 Performance

As raced by Phil Atwill and his Propain Positive World Cup team mates, and ridden by YouTube star, Remi Metailler, the Propain Rage is built for the roughest tracks, gnarliest features, and biggest jumps. So how does it stack up against other big-hitting direct sales downhill bikes? Such as the YT Tues and Canyon Sender that we’ve brought together for this test? Buckle up to find out; it’s going to be a wild ride! Instead of having a fixed model range, Propain takes a slightly different approach with the Rage 3 CF downhill bike. You start with the basic build at £3,999, then if you want to spend more money on a higher specification, you simply customise the bike with the Performance or Highend parts packages. You can also choose your preferred frame colour, graphics colour and MX or full 29in wheel options. There’s even a full custom option if you want to mix and match all three build kits. Given the £6k target price point of our direct sales 29er DH bike group test, we went with the Rage 3 CF 29 Highend build.  With Fox Factory suspension and 29in wheels the spec closely matches the YT Tues Core 4 and Canyon Sender CFR 29 which are in the same test. Propain Rage 3 CF 29 Highend need to know Carbon frame DH bike with 215mm travel Flip chips for 29in or MX wheels Three frame sizes, M, L, XL Chainstay length adjustment: 445mm and 460mm Highend build gets Fox Factory suspension Fox 40 fork has 203mm travel SRAM X0 DH 7-speed drivetrain Magura MT7 brakes Stans rims, Schwalbe tyres Entry-level bike for £3,999 Frame and geometry We’ve already mentioned that the Rage 3 CF comes in 29in and MX options, and Propain accommodates both wheel sizes with flip chips in the swingarm where it connects to the upper suspension link. The key takeaway here though, is that the flip chips do not correct the geometry 100% for the MX option, resulting in a slightly lower BB height and marginally slacker head angle when running the 27.5in rear wheel. Keep that in mind, because we are going to come back to it later. DH bikes are highly evolved and highly focused machines, so it should come as no surprise that the static geometry of the Rage 3 CF in full 29in is pretty much identical to the YT and Canyon in almost every way. With a whopping 215mm rear travel though, the dynamic geometry of the Propain should sit slightly lower and slacker with the same percentage of sag. Again, keep that in mind. The sizing spread on the Proapin is slightly different to the YT and Canyon. Again the carbon frame comes in three sizes, this time M, L and XL. And to match the reach with the smallest options from Canyon and YT we went with the size L Propain. That put us dead centre in the sizing recommendation for Rage 3 CF frame and it also …Continue reading »

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A capable downhill bike that thrives in the park and on the race course

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Propain has done a great job of making a downhill bike that can transform into just about anything you want it to be, which we think is important in this modern era of downhill bike use.

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