Should i repace my mini...

[Ant]

Reign X = 6.8lbs

Mini DH = 9.5lbs

and the giants are supposed to be stronger.

[chrissturch]

That's where i'm at the predicament of wanting something with 6" travel, but not a XC bike, but also, not a DH bike. Something in the middle.

Sounds to me like you have the right bike now. You've pretty much described a MiniDH/Supreme there.

Reign X = 6.8lbs

Mini DH = 9.5lbs

and the giants are supposed to be stronger.

Is that based on the few dodgy 09's that cracked though? I don't believe that the Reign can have 30% less material and be stronger. Its just not possible. Maybe its because the Mini is used for DH so has a higher failure rate, whereas the Reign is used for XC so has an easier life.
Something else to consider, would you want to ride downhill on a Meta 5? Thats the same frame weight as a Reign.
For all day riding the Reign will be better, but for downhill the Mini is a better bike. The thing to consider is that a Mini can easily be used as an all day bike but can a reign be used as a downhill bike? I don't know how seriously you do downhill, but you might find the Reign will hold you back and take the fun out of Downhilling.

The last thing to consider, for £900 you could get a pretty reasonable hardtail bike that would suit the all day rides, and you could keep the Mini for DH. That way you don't compromise on anything. Thats what I would do if I had £900 burning a hole in my pocket.

[tank_rider]

Also, while 3lb is nothing to be sniffed at, it's not going to make a world of difference.  The main difference you'd find would be loosing some weight from your wheels.  Maybe even have two sets, one for xc and one for DH.  Would cost a lot less than the new frame and would make the mini feel a lot more sprightly round the trails.  I lost a large chunk of weight from my wheels and it made a huge difference to the feel of the bike.  something like pro 2s and 719 rims with single ply tyres would do the job really well and still take a good amount of abusive trail riding.

If you put the same wheels on the reign then it would still feel pretty much the same for acceleration.

[iain1775]

and the giants are supposed to be stronger.

Ben hasnt broken his yet
3-0 Giant!!

[chrissturch]

Ben hasnt broken his yet
3-0 Giant!!

His were all dodgy 09 Meta's though weren't they? Thats not really a fair comparison, they were held together by bluetack and spit. 

[Ant]

You know what...

Did an uplift on the commy today, and i'm back in love with it. Don't think i'm gonna get a new frame now. Got myself a coil shock in the post to me too.

Going to get my brakes serviced, and all working well again (Brakes are DESPERATE for a bleed, had some major fading issues today), and it'll be perfect for summer riding.

Oh, and two pricks who wouldn't slow down when i was shouting at them to, because of one of the guys were sat in the middle of the trail with a snapped wrist were riding new giant Reign X's, and that put me off too..

They were also the two youngest riders there.. No respect for other riders...