Ragley's Piglet is a do-it-all trail bike that’s happy over most terrain. This latest iteration has some important updates including more modern geometry, a laterally stiffer rear end that’s also claimed to be more compliant due to tubing changes, and a host of modern kit.
Built from 4130 chromoly, the Piglet has classic skinny steel tubes, which are triple-butted and tweaked to provide a comfier ride. The chainstays are asymmetrical where they’re welded to the threaded bottom bracket (BB) shell, to allow chainring clearance, and ISCG-05 chain guide tabs are provided.
While the cables are mostly externally routed, allowing for easier maintenance, there is a port for a ‘stealth’ dropper post cable at the base of the seat tube.
Ragley Piglet geometry
Geometry straddles the line between modern and conservative. My large size has a 65.5-degree head angle, 455mm reach and relatively short 425mm chainstays.
These are combined with a 1,187.5mm wheelbase, 311mm BB height and 73-degree seat angle. While these figures put the Piglet firmly in the ‘trail bike’ bracket, its burly kit suggests it has the potential to go bigger.
| | S | M | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat angle (degrees) | 73 | 73 | 73 | 73 |
| Head angle (degrees) | 65.5 | 65.5 | 65.5 | 65.5 |
| Chainstay (cm) | 42.5 | 42.5 | 42.5 | 42.5 |
| Seat tube (cm) | 38 | 42 | 46 | 50 |
| Top tube (cm) | 60 | 62.29 | 64.57 | 68.84 |
| Head tube (cm) | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Bottom bracket drop (cm) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Bottom bracket height (cm) | 31.1 | 31.1 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1,139.20 | 1,163.30 | 1,187.50 | 1,211.60 |
| Stack (cm) | 60.54 | 61.45 | 62.35 | 63.27 |
| Reach (cm) | 41.5 | 43.5 | 45.5 | 47.5 |
Ragley Piglet kit
For the price, the Piglet has an impressive list of branded parts, and savings in sensible areas help keep costs down.
Up front is RockShox’ proven 130mm-travel Revelation RC fork with Motion Control damper. You get a 12-speed mostly SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain with 11-50t cassette and its powerful Guide T brakes.
SUNringlé Duroc 35 Comp tubeless-ready wheels are shod with Maxxis Minion DHF and DHR II tyres (running tubes). A 150mm-travel Brand-X Ascend dropper post is provided on the large size, although there’s room in the frame for one with a longer drop.
The bar, stem, grips and saddle are all own-brand parts.
Ragley Piglet ride impressions
Ragley Piglet climbing performance
The Piglet feels stiff and taut on the climbs, and nimble over rocks and roots when ascending. But the pay-off for this direct-feeling ride is that it doesn’t smooth-out bumps as well as steel bikes are known to.
The ride isn’t harsh, instead feeling ‘dead’ rather than twangy. Despite Ragley’s claims of improved compliance, the bike isn’t that comfy when riding fast.
It also has a fairly aggressive seated riding position, due to the 50mm stem, 645.7mm top tube and low 623.5mm stack height. While this feels good when digging deep on climbs or grinding out flat sections, when I wanted to cruise I found it hard to get comfortable. A shorter stem or higher-rise bar would fix this.
I was never short of gears, even on the steepest climbs, ably assisted by the Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR combo, which gives ample grip on trail-centre surfaces. But I couldn’t find a comfortable position for the shifter, an SX Eagle downgrade with a bulky bar clamp that isn’t compatible with SRAM’s MatchMaker system, and had to move my hand closer to the paddles to use them.
Ragley Piglet descending performance
On the descents, the Piglet’s low front end makes tackling steeper terrain harder – with less weight on the rear wheel, it’s tricky to get traction when braking.
The 35mm-stanchion Revelation fork impressed, handling weight transfer through slow compressions and down steep descents well, thanks to the two volume spacers in the DebonAir spring.
On repetitive hits, the damper can get overwhelmed, but overall, the fork performs well. The 650b wheels can’t smooth-out slow-speed trail chatter as well as bigger hoops and were the heaviest on test, making the Ragley slower to get up to speed than the 29ers. But it feels pretty composed when riding quickly.
The wheels don’t feel that stiff, but with inner tubes fitted there’s a noticeable reduction in tyre compliance compared to the bikes that come set up tubeless, and lower pressures are required to achieve similar comfort.
Ragley Piglet bottom line
Overall, the Piglet is a solid performer, but more suited to trail-centre laps and undulating singletrack than hardcore sending.
How we tested
We put four of the latest sub-£2,000 aggro hardtail mountain bikes to the test to see if front suspension is really all you need to tackle hardcore trails. Terrain ranged from trail centre loops to hairy enduro descents.
Also tested
- Saracen Mantra Elite LSL
- Radon Cragger 8.0
- Vitus Sentier 29 VRX
Product
| Brand | ragley |
| Price | 1800.00 GBP |
| Weight | 14.5400, KILOGRAM (L) - without pedals |
Features
| Fork | RockShox Revelation RC, 130mm (5.1in) travel |
| br_stem | Ragley Stubbing, 50mm |
| br_chain | SRAM NX Eagle |
| br_frame | 4130 chromoly steel |
| Tyres | Maxxis Minion DHF 3C Maxx Terra EXO+ TR 27.5x2.6in (f), Maxxis Minion DHR II 3C Maxx Terra EXO+ TR 27.5x2.6in (r) |
| br_brakes | SRAM Guide T, 180mm rotors |
| br_cranks | SRAM NX Eagle, 34t |
| br_saddle | Ragley Tracker |
| br_wheels | SUNringlé Duroc 35 Comp Boost rims on SUNringlé Duroc hubs; Butted stainless steel spokes |
| br_headset | FSA |
| br_shifter | SRAM SX Eagle |
| br_cassette | SRAM NX Eagle, 11-50 |
| br_seatpost | Brand-X Ascend 150mm dropper |
| br_gripsTape | Ragley lock-on |
| br_handlebar | Ragley, 780mm |
| br_bottomBracket | SRAM 73mm BSA |
| br_availableSizes | S, M, L, XL |
| br_rearDerailleur | SRAM NX Eagle (1x12) |
