Transition Patrol

rockmonkeysc

New bike time! After a couple years on the Transition Scout I fancied a change and the only bike for the job was a Patrol.
A mate offered me this year old frame at a bargain price so I had to have it.


So far it's built up with all the parts from my Scout but I'm planning on fitting a coil shock and fitting some four piston brakes, maybe Hope.

swod1

Looks good so you changed your mind from just doing dirt jumping then?

What brakes do you have on the bike already? I find the xt brakes that I have on the mega tr are fine, did think to change them to something better when I was building it though.

lostboysaint

Like.


A lot!

rockmonkeysc

I've got my old Deore brakes. They're getting a bit tired now and just not as good as they once we're even after a service and bleed.
I was going to stick with dirt jump until a mate offered me this and I found out a new bike park is opening five miles away.

swod1

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I've got my old Deore brakes. They're getting a bit tired now and just not as good as they once we're even after a service and bleed.
I was going to stick with dirt jump until a mate offered me this and I found out a new bike park is opening five miles away.

I see you could probably get a set of saint or zee brakes for a good price if you shop around that's unless you really want to treat yourself and buy some hopes.

poah

bro in law has saint on his patrol, I've got them on my suppressor.

DCR00

"Couple of years"

rockmonkeysc

DCR00 wrote:

"Couple of years"

I get bored of most things after a couple years. Cars, bikes, jobs, life etc

eric_draven

I run XT 8000's on mine but they did suffer a bit in the alps on really long descents during a trans alp trip i did,wish i had gone for a set of Zee brakes instead,plus maybe should of stepped up to a 203mm rotor on the rear instead of the 180mm,as you can tell it got a tad warm

poah

I run 203 F&R on my suppressor with saints. bro in law runs 180's & saints. I can tell the difference in braking.

rockmonkeysc

First ride on the Patrol today. I went to Triscombe, on the Quantocks with the intention of a mix of xc and DH trails but that all went out the window when I bumped in to some mates on downhill bikes. Just to be sociable I ended up pushing up instead of riding the climbs!
On the descents this bike is awesome. I have no idea why but I could push the front end so hard in the turns and it just refused to run out of grip. The shock still seems to be bedding in, the stiction in the seals seemed to improve through the day.

poah

how you finding the shock, been lots of complaints about it. I'm quite happy with mine with no bands, 30% and in trail mode. how are you finding it compared to the scout?

rockmonkeysc

It's not as good as the DB inline on the Scout. To be fair, it's still bedding in, my mate who I got the frame from is sponsored by Marzocchi so he never used the shock. I'd still quite like a coil shock.

poah

you running it at 35% sag?

rockmonkeysc

Yes. Seems to work ok. Seals are still a little tight so I may reduce that after a few more rides.

eric_draven

Run mine at 30% in trail mode as well just it makes it a bit more pedal friendly on long ups,but hey are stunning bikes to ride pretty much faultless on every descent i did in the alps as well as some of the bikepark stuff as well

rockmonkeysc

Today I rode it up a few hills. Took a bit more effort than the Scout but we got there!
Still not 100% sure I like the shock. I think I'll get a coil but keep the air shock for bigger mileage rides.


Spec is currently :

Large 2016 Patrol aluminium frame
Rockshox Pike RCT3 fork
Rockshox Monarch Plus shock
Hope Tech Enduro wheels 650b
Specialized Butcher / Purgatory tyres (tubeless)
Shimano Deore brakes 203 / 180
Raceface Atlas 785 bars / 50 stem
ODI ruffian grips
XT pedals
Rockshox Reverb 125 post
SDG Bel Air ti rail saddle
FSA Orbit headset (rubbish but free!)
XT rear mech
XT cassette
One-up 40t expander ring
Blackspire 32t oval narrow wide ring
SLX cranks
XTR bottom bracket

rockmonkeysc

The old Deore brakes have got past their best. They just won't bleed as easily or as well as they used to. I suspect seals are starting to wear.
I've ordered a set of Shimano Zee brakes. Really fancied a set of Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes but just couldn't justify the extra cost.

swod1

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The old Deore brakes have got past their best. They just won't bleed as easily or as well as they used to. I suspect seals are starting to wear.
I've ordered a set of Shimano Zee brakes. Really fancied a set of Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes but just couldn't justify the extra cost.

That will be quite a difference going to 4 piston brakes, did you order from Merlin cycles they had them on offer last week for 175.

I have thought of upgrading from the xts now I have the mega tr, you was right about the uberbike floating discs had to change them warped after a few months use.

poah

got zee's on my hornet, good choice.

FishFish

I bought a set of zees to replace Elixr5s that had just got stuck. Fanstastic reviews but to be honest I was not that impressed. A lot of travel before the bite - maybe just the set that was delivered to me.

poah

most are like that, simply take the wheel out and pull the lever a couple of times. This moves the pads in thus reducing dead volume.

rockmonkeysc

I had Zees on my downhill bike and really liked them so they were the obvious choice for me.

BigAl

Nice.

It's not a bike for me - way too much, but nice all the same.

While I understand why you're changing them - it just shows how good Deore brakes now are that you'd even run them on a bike like that. And for only around £40 each. Sometimes we forget just how good cheap stuff can be.

I've just bought a set for my lad's Orange Five - to replace the (PITA) Avids he's had for a few years