Transition Patrol Safety Orange build

bennyy

A few who have seen my old enduro thread, know I bought myself a new frame, I wanted a new 27.5 bike and it was between the Transition Patrol and GT Sanction. I came to the conclusion the Sanction was too 'downhill' focused, whereas the Patrol, would be slightly more of an allrounder.

I wanted something that fit my style of riding better, ie biased towards descending, but still a fairly decent climber and I thought the patrol would fit the bill nicely. My old Enduro Expert Carbon was a great bike, but was too evenly balanced between ascending and descending, seemed to get hung up on the rough stuff a little.

So plan was to buy myself a new frame, wheels and forks, and move over all the rest from the enduro.

onto a few pics, didn't get many of the build though



couldn't resist to stick on my old 26" wheels and forks and go for a rip, even though it was just one rip, as they were sold and had to be removed the next day for shipping








today I got the first piece of the 650b puzzle, my tires




I was originally going to stick a pike up front, but after running one on my covert last year, as good as it was, I fancied something different, so I am going to pick up a 2015 Fox 36 RC2 tomorrow, and my Hope Tech Enduro wheelset should arrive in the next couple of days

I havnt ridden it in much anger yet, but first impressions, rear shock needs a little more support in the mid range, feels a little wallowy, however I am nearly 14st geared up, but I am very impressed with how the thing gets airbourne, seems much more happy to get airbourne than my enduro, I will let you know on the rest once I get it all 27.5'd up.

full spec
Transition Patrol 2015 medium
Rockshox monarch plus rc3 debonair
Fox 36 RC2 2015
Hope headset
Renthal Fatbar carbon 780mmx20mm
Renthal Apex 40mm stem
Shimano XTR crank + raceface narrow wide
E thirteen upper chain guide
Shimano XTR shifter
Shimano XTR shadow plus rear mech + One-Up RAD cage
Shimano XT brakes - Uberbike race matrix pads
Shimano XT cassette, One-Up 42t cog
Hope Tech Enduro wheelset, Hope Pro 2 hubs
Magic Mary snakeskin trailstar front, Rock Razor super gravity trailstar rear
Rockshox Reverb Stealth 150mm
ODI Troy Lee Designs Grips
DMR Vault pedals

more pics up once the final build gets underway

rockmonkeysc

Very nice. Im in negotiations with the wife to get a Scout. These new generation Transitions are really excellent, they have got the suspension and geometry spot on. The build quality is reallt nice as well.
I was tempted by the Patrol but just thought the Scout would be better for me.

bennyy

I thought I had a duff one at first, once built I was getting a squeak once it passed 40% sag, at first I thought it was the shock, so unbolted it and still making the noise, noise seemed to be coming from the pivot behind the chainring, I thought maybe it was a tight bearing or something, then I just noticed, upper chain guide just catching the chain stay on compression, panic over

Not much of an update, but I got these beauties fitted tonight, no pics as it was dark,



IVe got some work on down near London Thursday and Friday, hoping when I get back I should have some wheels waiting for me, ready for taping, tire fitting then it's first 650b ride, cannot wait.

I have just had to order the hope 183 brake adapter to fit my 203 front rotor, as its a 180 post mount fork, the +20mm mount I had is just short, need the +23mm from hope.

Herdwick

this is a sick build man!!! 8)
Hope you get it sorted soon and go ride!

bennyy

So got my forks fitted, really happy I think they suit really well, the heritage decals are a perfect colour match for the frame

My wheels arrived and are waiting for me when I get home tomorrow, so just waiting on reverb stealth 150mm for it to be finished (is it ever finished? )

Few pics on old 26" wheels

bennyy

Got my wheels set up tubeless and on, not theveasiest to get up, not sure if tires of rims, but never had this problem with stans, and did first ride yesterday, real happy with the bike, rides like a dream.the forks really are awesome.really suprised how well the rock razor did on greasy steep tight trails, bit drifty with not much braking traction but dug in nicely when cranked over.

rockmonkeysc

Nice. I have just ordered a set of tech enduro wheels with blue hubs.
My 26" tech enduro wheels with Specialized purgatory tyres went up with a track pump.

bennyy

Mine did eventually, rear went up easiest, still a pain, front had to have a tube in it to seat one bead before it went up

Bike rides awesome, so happy overall

elliotmarzo

Thought you was having some pikes? the 36 look sexy though, especially on the Patrol. I've just ordered a new ride with RTC3 Pikes.

elliotmarzo

Sorry mate. Totally missed the section about the forks

bennyy

Yeah was going to go for pikes, but change of plan and really glad I did, the forks are awesome, wouldn't be fair to do a direct comparison as I haven't ridden them back to back, but from what I can remember the fox are definitely better, I have one orange spacer installed, 85 psi, giving 25% - 30% sag, cannot remember exactly but around 10+-1/2 clicks of lsc and hsc and they are awesome, I have ridden the bike properly twice, my local downhill spot and the new line in greno woods, and completely forgot about the forks, which can only be a good thing, means I am not noticing the could do anything better, they track the rough perfectly, damping is brilliant, butterly smooth, ride nice and high in their travel with no excessive brake dive and ramp up nicely towards the end of the travel without them feeling harsh

For a slack bike, it corners really well, and really good getting airborne, the biggest surprise for me is how well the rock razor is going in the slop, I was expecting it to stay reasonably dry/damp when I bought it, however had non stop rain and very wet/sloppy, braking traction isn't there, but is definitely better than expected, but lean it over nice and hard and it digs in and absolutely rails, mine is the trailstar compound, so is nice and sticky over roots and rocks, but being low profile means it isn't too draggy, happy with it and it can only get better as it dries out (can't get any wetter)

For me, the downsides include the cable noise, for anyone looking into internal routing, I would suggest wrapping the cables in something like electrical tape, to damp some of the noise the plasticy cables make, also the rear end can sometimes feel a little harsh over certain bumps, the majority is bang on, but there's a specific part I noticed it feeling a little harsh under foot, not sure if it's shock set up or frame design, I'm pretty sure tiebreak end is doing its job and sticking to the trails, but just doesn't quite feel perfect.

Suprised how well the bike climbs too, fully open running 35% sag there is virtually no excessive pedal bob, I tend to only firm it up for fireroad climbs, cannot tell any climbing difference between this and my old enduro, but it's definitely better on the downs and getting it airborne, just seems to fill you with confidence, which the enduro never did for me. I'm sure it's a great bike, just maybe never suited m.

brucie45

Saw one of these and the Scout in the LBS yesterday, how I walked out the shop without buying it I don't know, I only went to pop a mates wheel in for him.

Absolute beast of a bike and exactly the spec I would build one with + a dropper but I'm sure you'll have that covered.

Enjoy.

bennyy

Thanks buddy, reverb stealth 150 be here tomorrow for fitting over the bank holiday weekend

elliotmarzo

Hey, looks like my new bike will be coming with some shiny new Fox 36 Talas RC2. Got an email today saying the pikes are not in stock for another 8 working days! So for £245 extra for the Fox 36 I decided it would be worth it. Also they are in stock so a sooner build! (Sorry bank account)

bennyy

The fox 36 really are an awesome fork, I'm so happy I chose them, the bike rides so well, so confidence inspiring I feel like I can push harder and harder then I ever did on the enduro.

Few finishing pictures, I may well go for an 11speed xtr at some point and some saint brakes, but thats well into the future when I get bored.

Dick Scruttock

That looks lovely. Meant to be a awesome ride

bennyy

big compliment coming from you

Dick Scruttock

bennyy wrote:

big compliment coming from you

Really got a massive soft spot for the new Transitions, they look great and are selling like hot cakes!

ej2320

Dick Scruttock wrote:

bennyy wrote:

big compliment coming from you

Really got a massive soft spot for the new Transitions, they look great and are selling like hot cakes!

What about the old transitions..

But thats a sweet patrol mate

rockmonkeysc

The old Transitions were awesome as well :-) I would still buy a Covert.

elliotmarzo

That looks awesome mate! Proper smart build.

elliotmarzo

How are the Hope Tech Enduro Wheels?

bennyy

They seem bang on to me mate no complaints

rockmonkeysc

elliotmarzo wrote:

How are the Hope Tech Enduro Wheels?

I think they are quite under rated wheels. Not particularly light but very strong. I had them on my Mdga TR and now on my Transition Scout and theyre so strong that the rims off my Mega are now on my dowmhill bike and holding up better than my old Mavic EX721's

elliotmarzo

Might buy a pair in the future. The new bike is coming with Mavic Crossmax Enduro and I've read a lot of mixed reviews so I'll see how they hold up. But yeah hope make top quality products so no surprise they are good!

bennyy

Only a very slight update.

After a few rides I am in love with the bike more than any other I have owned, its so fu*cking fast.I have found running the shock right down at 40% sag seems to work best for my type of riding, which is mainly dh, it does give very slight pedal bob when climbing, but it's worth it for me for the control you get on the descends.

Fox forks I initially set them up nice and plush, since then I have added a couple of clicks of hsc and lsc, feels so fast now, kind of like a racecar, but still way off being 'firm'


Wheels are holdings perfect, not a single problem, I am real impressed with the rock razor, it's nice and dry now, and is so fast it's unreal, just keeps picking up pace, but I used it in the slop when I first built the bike and still impressive, it only let go once on a fairly fast slight turn, seems I didn't have enough lean angle to engage the big side knobs.

I have been riding the steel city track a lot lately, few times per week, although I couldn't get a race spot, I wanted to see how I was doing, so I got on the strava hype, and I ran a 9th for the whole track and KOM'd the middle section so pretty happy

Really am so happy with the bike, it gets airborne so well too, jumps loads better than the enduro, really gives you the confidence to hit anything.

bennyy

Few pics of my new brakes, couldn't resist some saints












And the guard dog

Dick Scruttock

That looks great.

I have just bought some saint brake levers for my nomad as the xtr/saint combo sometimes pump up and I cannot fix it.

bennyy

They are great as you can imagine, the negligible weight gain is worth it for me.

mike hunts alpine

That bike looks brilliant.