Ragley Big Al first ride review
Can Ragley’s Big Al deliver large on the trail?
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At its heart, Ragley’s 29in-wheeled Big Al shares much of the same DNA as its pricier counterpart, the Big Wig, although it sports an alloy rather than steel frame and is specced with a more wallet-friendly build kit.
Ragley Big Al frame
The Big Al boasts the same geometry as the Big Wig, and Ragley has aimed to create an ultra-capable trail bike for “people that ride with their saddle up as much as down”.
That translates to a slack 65-degree head angle, 435mm chainstays to balance stability and manoeuvrability, and a low, corner-carving 305mm bottom bracket height.
All of this is based around a 130mm-travel fork.
If ever you were unsure what the Big Al was designed for, you only need to take a closer look at the tube shapes and junctions.
To keep the front-end feeling nice and solid, the top tube and down tube meet early, with masses of weld overlap, before making their way to the head tube.
There’s also a small reinforcing gusset between the top and seat tubes. In contrast, the seatstays are quite skinny in a bid to add a bit of flex and comfort to the ride.
Ragley Big Al kit
It’s great to see decent rubber on a bike at this price. The WTB Vigilante and Trail Boss tyres proved themselves in a variety of conditions, as well as staying puncture-free throughout testing.
The Recon RL fork uses RockShox’ Motion Control damper, which isn’t the most sophisticated unit but does the job well enough. The only omission from the spec sheet is a dropper post.
Ragley Big Al first ride impressions
Straight from the off, the Big Al feels like a bike that costs twice the price, and its geometry encourages you to really get trucking. That’s not to say it’s perfect though.
Hit any battered trail centre section at pace and you’ll notice that the frame doesn’t offer the most forgiving ride over trail chatter, so I soon found myself dropping tyre pressures a touch to take the edge off the buzz. However, it’s not unpleasantly harsh, and really only becomes apparent at speed.
Thanks to the well-proportioned angles and well-balanced rider position, the Big Al feels very natural and easy to ride fast.
Fire it into technical singletrack and it’s in its element. The wide 780mm bar and stubby 50mm stem deliver plenty of control and leverage, while the big 2.5in front tyre lets you carve a camber and hold a line when you need to most.
Point it uphill and it’s clear the Big Al isn’t the speediest of climbers, due to those grippy tyres. I’ll take traction over rolling speed though.
The 1×10 Deore gearing favours fitter riders, especially when tackling steeper pitches. On technical descents that low-slung geometry simply encourages you to get rowdy. Pummel into big repetitive impacts and the Recon fork can get a little overwhelmed, but otherwise it does a decent job of keeping the front wheel tracking the trail’s undulations and feels supportive enough.
Overall, the Big Al is a real blast to ride. It just needs a dropper post to boost trail flow.
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Product Specifications
Product
| Price | br_price, 5, 3, Price, GBP £1000.00 |
| Weight | br_weight, 5, 6, Weight, 13.67kg (M) – Without pedals, Array, kg |
| Brand | br_brand, 5, 10, Brand, Ragley |
Features
| Available sizes | br_availableSizes, 11, 0, Available sizes, M, L, XL |
| Brakes | br_brakes, 11, 0, Brakes, SRAM Level DB, 180mm rotors |
| Cranks | br_cranks, 11, 0, Cranks, Suntour Zeron cranks (1x10) |
| Fork | br_fork, 11, 0, Fork, RockShox Recon RL, 130mm (5.1in) travel |
| Frame | br_frame, 11, 0, Frame, 6061 aluminium alloy |
| Handlebar | br_handlebar, 11, 0, Handlebar, Ragley, 780mm |
| Rear derailleur | br_rearDerailleur, 11, 0, Rear derailleur, Shimano Deore |
| Seatpost | br_seatpost, 11, 0, Seatpost, Ragley |
| Shifter | br_shifter, 11, 0, Shifter, Shimano Deore |
| Stem | br_stem, 11, 0, Stem, Ragley, 50mm |
| Tyres | br_tyres, 11, 0, Tyres, WTB Vigilante TCS High Grip/Light 29x2.5in (f) and Trail Boss TCS High Grip/Tough 29x2.4in (r) |
| Wheels | br_wheels, 11, 0, Wheels, WTB STp i29 rims on Formula hubs |
Authors
Rob Weaver is BikeRadar's technical editor-in-chief. Rob manages all of the testing here at BikeRadar and across our magazines, Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus. Rob first graced the pages of MBUK back in 2001 when working as a freelance writer and went on to start testing bikes for the title in 2007. In 2010 he joined the team full-time and has been keeping a close eye on all things test-related ever since. Rob’s expansive knowledge of bikes comes courtesy of his passion for racing. He cut his teeth racing cross-country mountain bikes in the early 90s before finding his feet in downhill. After many years competing on the UK national circuit (including a year attempting to race UCI DH World Cups), Rob realised his know-how and passion for bike setup, tech and writing clearly outweighed his racing ability. A degree in sports technology and decades of riding experience all help to give Rob a thorough understanding of what’s needed to create a great bike or product. While Rob’s a mountain biker at heart and never happier than when he’s sliding down a Welsh hillside, he’s more than happy to put the miles in on the road or gravel bike, too.
