Propain Hugene Review! (A Trail Bike For Freeriders)

[@scottk8967]

Mo, i appreciate all the hard work you and your team put into this series!

[@moandhannahtravel]

Thank you so much!!!!

[@tracymcmanus550]

I have this bike in almost the same setup except I have mechanical GX and Magura brakes. The Magura brake make a huge difference. Great stopping power and still have modulation. We have a lot of short punchy steep sections where I ride and this bike is great for going both up and down them

[@moandhannahtravel]

Such a fun bike!!!

[@birddog76]

Mo, great review...but these brakes deserve a closer look. I've been on the Cura 4s for a year, very similar to Code RSCs with all the adjustments and POWER, with more modulation. Best of all, nearly ZERO maintenance at a waaaaay lower price. Full set for $290.

[@moandhannahtravel]

@@birddog76 I’ll definitely give them another shot! Would be awesome to talk to those guys!

[@ShoneDaddy]

I love my Hugene. I got mine with full fox factory suspension and Magura MT7s, I highly recommend it

[@JCaleb3718]

YES! I grabbed my coffee and watched this as soon as I saw it drop! Another great review!! Hugene has been on my list for a couple of years now, but haven't had a chance to ride it, nor any other Propain. A few questions: How would you compare the Pro10 suspension design compared to Yeti and DW-link? Similar Feel? Similar efficiency? Also, though it's not in your test, how would you compare the Hugene to the YT Jeffsy? I do think the conservative HTA is similar, if not a little slacker, than the Switchblade's HTA, at least on paper. I'm excited to hear how those 2 compare specifically.

[@JCaleb3718]

P.S. thanks for the comment on sizing. I'm your same height and according to their sizing chart, I was between sizes. Glad to hear your recommendation.

[@moandhannahtravel]

More traction in the initial stroke but not as efficient, definitely heart of a free rider in mind! But still has a good pop in and out of corners! YT is even more traction oriented! Switchblade review drops tomorrow!

[@tonkshred]

Yeahhbuddayyyyy ❤ love them bikes… remy got me wantin em

[@moandhannahtravel]

Great bikes!!!

[@hardmtnbiker]

You can customize and choose specific components but not Shimano nor other forks besides SRAM or Fox. A true “build up your own” is a nice concept but I haven’t seen anybody doing this “comprehensively” as direct to consumer.

[@ninjazzrhythm400]

It's weird to me that the rear shock was designed upside down. The shock will probably heat up then wear out faster since oil sits opposite side of the shock.

[@trentvlak]

Some people like the Curas but you have to ride them with the sintered green pads. With the stock organic pads they are mediocre. Hope V4 is still the king of value aftermarket brakes.

[@MarshallWolf]

Hopes are 290$ ea at MSRP, idk if you can call that king of value lol.... Shimano SLX, SRAM Maven Bronze, Formula Cura 4 are all ~ 185$ ea MSRP and provide much better value imo. Don't get me wrong, Hopes are amazing brakes and are a beautiful piece of machining that you can rebuild yourself if you are mechanically inclined but they certainly aren't cheap which docks them in the value category.

[@trentvlak]

@@MarshallWolf Value compared to Trickstuff or Intend. Merlin has Hope V4 for $217 per.

[@petedog9581]

The Rocky has long chainstays but you said the bike was playful. Why do you think that is? This looks like an inverted Horst Link to me... so both designs work similarly.

[@moandhannahtravel]

Rocky chain stay is a 440 in in the mode I spent most of my time testing and the Hugene is a 445. Reach is longer on the rocky as well giving way to a bit more play fun feel because I felt like I was riding off the back a little more with those ratios. Hugene has a bit shorter reach but longer stays so nimble comes from the front but stability comes from the rear if that makes sense?

[@petedog9581]

@@moandhannahtravel The Rocky is a bike with the rider directly over the pedals and a lot of bike out back. This bike must feel really long behind you. It must be hard to manual. I had to raise my front stack 5mm to make it easier to lift the front end of my Instinct and get my hips back to the rear axle.

[@edlorenz1552]

Formula “cure-ah” brakes.

[@moandhannahtravel]

However you pronounce them, I didn’t like them 😬

[@edlorenz1552]

@@moandhannahtravelfair enough! Keep up the great work!