Usually, when a brand drops a 120mm-travel bike, the marketing department is quick to slap a “Downcountry” sticker on it and call it a day. But Forbidden isn’t most brands. And the new Reya definitely isn’t that kind of bike. It’s not XC, it’s not Downcountry, it’s just a mountain bike for riding in the mountains.
I’ve fallen for the short-travel trail bike genre lately, and with bikes like the Transition Spur opening the doors for this category, the Reya is a really, really cool progression of the scene. Very few gimmicks here, just a really cool mountain bike that could handle just about every trail you want to explore – given you have the gumption to pick the right lines and hang on.
Forbidden Bikes
Forbidden Reya Overview
- Complete Bikes Starting at $7,699
- Travel: 120mm Rear / 130mm Front
- HeadTubeAngle: 65-Degrees
- SeatTubeAngle: 77 degrees
- BB: 73mm BSA Threaded
- Wheel Size: 29”
- Sizes: S1-S4
- Learn More at Forbiddenbikes.com
Born from the same loamy, gravity-fueled DNA as the Druid and the Dreadnought, the Reya is Forbidden’s take on a short-travel trail bike. With 120mm of rear travel and 130mm up front, it sits in a category that usually emphasizes grams saved over smiles earned. But Forbidden has never been one for the “climb like a goat” clichés. They wanted to make a bike that you actually love riding back down after you’ve put in the work on the way up.
The heart of the Reya is, of course, the Trifecta V3 suspension system. For those who haven’t been following the high-pivot revolution, Forbidden has built its reputation on a rearward axle path. On the Reya, Forbidden maintains its focus on suspension behavior but now places less emphasis on the axle path and more on achieving better suspension characteristics for such a short-travel bike.
No high-pivot, no idler, just a lightweight, 4-bar Horst-link bike without flex-stays and some impressive geometry numbers that encourage doing whatever you want to do. Bikes with Idlers and high-pivots are great in the right application, but there’s something to be said for the humble 4-bar when done right, and pulling from years of experience making high-pivot bikes, Forbidden took a bold swing at this simple design. Although I’ve not ridden one, I can assume they knocked it out of the park here.
Forbidden Bikes
View the 2 images of this gallery on the
original article
Geometry
One of the things I truly appreciate about Forbidden is its approach to geometry. Forbidden scales the rear-center lengths proportionally across the size range (S1 through S4). Whether you’re a vertically gifted human or someone a bit closer to the ground, the weight distribution and handling remain consistent. They’ve also given the Reya significantly taller head tubes than what you’d find on a typical XC-adjacent bike, which puts the rider in a much more confident position, instead of the low and long XC attack mode often seen on shorter travel bikes.
Forbidden
And I have to mention the chainstays here. A 464mm rear center on an S4 with a sub-500 mm reach and a 639mm stack seems like a formula that a lot of riders would be frothing for – myself included.
To that point, if you aren’t looking at the largest size, the geometry is fairly average, for the most part. I think the standout here is how the rear-center changes across sizes, and the relatively short reach numbers for a bike in this travel range. As a tall person, I’m certainly curious about how a 120mm-travel bike would feel with such massive chainstays.
Build Kits
On the spec side, the Reya doesn’t pull any punches. We’re looking at a full 29-inch wheel platform and builds that favor durability and performance over weight. The Tier 1 build gets Fox Factory suspension, a OneUp V3 Dropper, SRAM Motive ULT brakes, SRAM XX SL drivetrain, DT Swiss 1500 Carbon rims, 240 EXP Hubs, and OneUp Carbon Bars and V3 Dropper.
Forbidden Bikes
The Tier 2 build gets RockShox Ultimate suspension, SRAM Motive Silver brakes, SRAM GX AXS Transmission, and alloy OneUp bars, a V3 OneUp dropper, and DT Swiss 1700 Alloy wheels with DT Swiss 350 hubs.
Forbidden Bikes
The Tier 3 build features RockShox Select+ suspension, SRAM Motive Bronze brakes, an SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission with a TransX dropper, and DT Swiss 370 hubs laced to DT Swiss 1700 Alloy rims, with Forbiddens’ own-branded alloy cockpit.
Forbidden Bikes
Is it an XC race bike? Nope. Is it a trail bike? Not quite. Forbidden describes it as a mountain bike, and I appreciate that. We have enough semantics to argue over in the MTB world, and keeping the Reya outside of the boxes warms my heart. Looking at the numbers, it seems like the perfect tool for those massive missions where you need to cover 30 miles but still want to rail the descents with questionable line choice.