I recently was able to take out a Reid Tract 1 and ride on one of the mountain bike trails a few miles from my house. 
When I first jumped on the bike, I was impressed with how well it handled. It responded quickly without being overly twitchy. To do a comparable head-to-head test, I took out my Cannondale F29er the same day and road as well. The F29 if it were still made today would likely retail for 2 to 3 times more than the Tract 1. I also took out my old nearly entry level 26-inch Giant Rincon mountain bike.
The Tract seemed to be a happy medium between the other two bikes. It handles closer to the F29er. It was faster at responding than the Rincon but not quite as fast as the F29er. This is probably a good thing since the person who will be buying the Tract will likely be just dipping their toes into mountain biking. This bike would make a perfect mountain bike for people to see if they enjoy mountain biking. It will be a bike that can grow with them for a while and if they get really into it, upgrade to a higher end mountain bike. I have had several shop owners ride the Tract as well and they have commented that they like the handling of the Tract over the other options they stock at similar price points.
This was my first ride on Shimano’s new Cue’s drivetrain, and I am very impressed. The down shifting was especially noticeable. I was able to wait longer before down shifting and consequently had more power when hitting short steep climbs. On other bikes I have to anticipate a down shift a little before needing to shift in order to not have my cadence fall to near single digits. With Cues I was able to wait until hitting the climb before starting to down shift and consequently climb faster. I could wait until my cadence started to slow ever so slightly and then down shift. I didn’t lose nearly as much of my cadence waiting for the chain to drop. This meant I was able to keep more even pressure on my pedals during the whole climb.
I have heard that pro riders who were sent out to test the new cassettes after riding on them have told Shimano that they do not want to go back to the old cassettes. I can clearly see why they say that.
The Reid Tact offers more bang for the buck than any other brand currently. The Tract retails for $700. The other major brands are at least $40 more expensive at retail. Most of the time dealers are also getting a larger margin on the Reid. And many times, competitors do not come with a lock out shock at that price.
This bike would also be a great starter bike for kids wanting to get into NICA. It might not be as flashy as the higher end bikes but it would be great for kids to get started and see if they like the sport without having to sink a ton of money into a bike.
The more I ride the Reid bikes that we have to offer this year, the more impressed I am with the line. This is another bike that I have ridden that if I didn’t already own something similar, I would consider keeping my demo. Reid hired a new designer a few years ago and he has now gone through nearly every bike and drastically improved the designs.
- Kyle Jaeger, Territory Sales Manager for Olympic Supply Co.
Get your hands on a Tract 1 here - MSRP $699.99