With Halloween just behind us, most of you are probably sick of Bottle Rockets. However this is no ordinary bottle rocket. This is a 5.5 inch travel free ride/ slope style bike, called the Bottle Rocket. A bike built for new school trails where stunts are big and smooth , but you may need to pedal up to the trail head. The Bottle Rocket is built by the rider owned
Transition Bicycle Company based out of Ferndale Washington in the U.S.A.
I picked up my Bottle Rocket today, and now with one extremely wet ride under my belt this is my first impression of the bike. “Out of the box” the first thing I noticed is how sharp the bike looks, I have the Kelly green colour with a Fox 36 Vanilla R. With the clean cable runs beefy gussets and chain stays, the bikes is simple but it looks like it was built with purpose. I then noticed how light it is, with stock components the Bottle Rocket weighs in at 39.6 Lbs. (by staying within my budget, I am stoked to have a ride under 45lbs, and you can expect that as I save my pennies again, I'll be shaving weight from the bike by spring time)
One concern I had prior to getting the bike was sizing, on the TBC website they give recommendations for sizing. Myself I am just under 5’10” tall and they suggest a size small. In my past experiences with small frames they often feel very short in the top tube length, but the stand over height is good. However I took the website's advice and was pleasantly surprised, the dimensions were dead on. The head tube angle on the Bottle Rocket is 67 degrees, which feels very stable when going down steep descents, yet very nimble for the rest of the ride. The components that come stock on the Bottle rocket aren’t too shabby either:
| Frame size | Small |
| Rear Shock | Fox DHX 5.0 Coil |
| Fork | 2007 Fox Shox 36 Vanilla R |
| Headset | FSA Orbit Z1.5R |
| Crankarms | FSA Gap 170mm |
| Chainrings | FSA - 22/32 w/Bash Guard |
| Bottom Bracket | FSA Mega Exo External BB (4 Bearings) |
| Pedals | TBC Step Down Pedals |
| Chain | KMC Z9000 |
| Cassette | SRAM PG950 11-32 |
| Derailleurs | SRAM X7 Mid-cage (rear) SRAM X-Gen (front) |
| Shifter Cable/Housing | Stock |
| Shifter Pods | SRAM X7 (front & rear) |
| Handlebar | FSA Gravity 31.8(clamp) x 50mm(rise) |
| Stem | Transition Temple 50mm |
| Grips | ODI Lock On-Rogue |
| Brakes | Hayes 9 Hydraulics with 8" front and 6" rear rotors |
| Tires | Maxxis Minion 2.5 F & R |
| Wheel Set | TBC Revolution 32 (32 mm rim width and 32 spokes |
| Tubes | Maxxis Welter weights |
| Saddle | TBC - Park n' Ride |
| Seatpost | Truvativ XR DC 30.0mm x 350mm |
| Weight | As is: approx 39.6lbs |
Our ride was on completely natural terrain so I did not get an opportunity see how the bike handles big hits. Although it rode very nicely through roots and rocks and it pedaled up hills well too. After one ride I did not find anything I would like improved on the Bottle Rocket, and I am not prepared to give a verdict on the bike, but I am tempted to say this could be the most fun bike I have ever ridden. I will continue to ride the Bottle Rocket for the rest of the winter, so stay tuned for a complete review of the bike sometime in the spring. And if you’re interested in taking a closer look and the Bottle Rocket or any of Transition’s other bikes visit their website
www.transitionbikes.comHappy Trails
Isaac
