B-Rocket 99 Rocking the Valley -Transition's Bottle Rocket Build

My idle hands have been itching for a build up again, so that is what I did. Since I am in no position to drop a lot of dough on a new bike, I decided to take my parts that were on my hard tail that isn't going to see any use this winter and look at squishy frame options to swap the parts to for a winter Vedder machine. I was looking for a short travel frame that was front derailleur capable, would accept a 135x10mm rear wheel and handle a 6" single crown fork all while stoking me out during this fall/winter riding season that is upon us.There are a lot of frame options out there and I wanted to find one that was going to stoke me out and also give me a whole new feeling on the trail-basically I wanted a mini DH bike that I could pedal around a bit too. After some research I had it narrowed down to two frames; Santa Cruz Blur 4X and the Transition Bottle Rocket. Both looked to offer a hell of a lot of fun in a small package. Upon closer inspection I went the route of the Bottle Rocket for its slacker geometry, higher BB and lower stand over height-because really I know that I won't pedal it as much as I should.

Bottle Rocket Geometry

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One Medium RAW Aluminum Bottle Rocket Please!

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Some high lights to ordering a frame is getting the little extras that sometimes come with them or that are available. In the case of the Bottle Rocket, Transition offers a decal kit so that the frame's owner can do up the graphics with their own personal touch. Since I'm a bit of a sticker fan, I was stoked to get a big ol' pile of decals, then I added my own stack to the mix to add a little something extra. More cool things that are available with the Bottle Rocket are the anodized pivot bolts and stainless steel pivot bearing covers=so cool! Just like Santa Cruz, Transition offers a variety of rear shock options on all their frames. I chose to go with the 2008 Fox DHX Air 5.0 to match up with my 2007 Fox 36 TALAS RC2 that I've grown comfortably attached too.



For 2008 Fox has gone the route of Minimum to Maximum in terms of the adjustment dial for ProPedal on their rear shocks and I like it! Real simple folks-are you going to pedal it a bunch? Do you want it really sensitive to small bumps? Just turn the ProPedal knob 180 degrees for Min or Max adjustments. Just like the evolution of the TALAS system, I am really happy to see the new simplified version of ProPedal. Check out www.foxracingshox.com to learn more about their impressive line up of suspension products.


So the frame showed up with all these decals and cool pivot bits, what was I to do? You guessed it, I hit the bike stand and started doing up my decal work-priorities folks! Here is a look at all the before and afters of the RAW frame:


The cable routing on the Bottle Rocket is great and super tidy. Look at how nicely it's tucked up above the shock and main linkage and then runs parallel down the seat stays of the rear triangle:

Tucked away

Super clean

Before

After

Attention to machining

details and an ISCG Tab

Rear Triangle Drive Side

Rear Triangle Non Drive

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The handiwork is in the decals kiddies!

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Since I had a bunch of my own parts that went onto the Bottle Rocket, the new parts that I required was a really short list. The frame has a 1.5" head tube, but my TALAS is a 1 1/8" steere. So I needed a headset that reduces from 1.5" to 1 1/8" in size, enter the Cane Creek reducer cups and internal headset. The seat post size is a 30.0 mm and I did not have one in the tickle trunk so I found an affordable option in the Truvativ XR DC (two bolts always). It's winter and it's slick outside so new tires are a must. Here I looked at what Kyle over at Transition threw on his Bottle Rocket and followed suit with a fresh set of Maxxis Advantages in 26" x 2.4". The only downside that I see is the lack of a DH side wall, so I too went with a heavier FR/DH style tube to help reduce the risk of pinch flats. If I get a few flats, you can expect that I go ghetto tubeless with these tires in the next few weeks. Check out www.maxxis.com to learn more about their tires. Even if I was transferring most of the parts from one bike to another, I highly recommend going with new cables when ever you can to preserve great shifting. I chose to run Jagwire's PINK shifter housing as it looks great and proceeds from sales go towards various Breast Cancer foundations. Please check out www.pinkcables.com to learn more about their initiatives.

Jagwire's PINK housing

looks the part.

Maxxis Advantage

Tires in 2.4 width

What does the end product look like after all those decals and some new parts? Have a gander through the specs to see what all found its way onto the Bottle Rocket and the end results from this "re-build". The pics show a bike that is looking more than ready to hit the local trails for the rainy season that is here in full force and to do some proper skids while it's there.

Frame size	Medium Transition Bottle Rocket 15" •5.55" of rear travel
Rear Shock	Fox DHX 5.0 Air •7.875" Eye to Eye x 2.25" stroke •200lbs in main chamber •165lbs in Bottom out •1 Ret on Bottom out Knob •10 clicks Ret on Rebound •Min ProPedal
Fork	2007 Fox 36 TALAS RC2 •100-160 mm travel •20 mm Axle •Adjustable High/Low speed compression-Full Ret •Adjustable Rebound-10 clicks Ret
Headset	Cane Creek Aheadset-sealed bearings •1.5" to 1 1/8" reducer cups
Crankarms	Truvativ, 170 mm in Black •104mm 4 bolt pattern
Chainrings	Truvativ 22T Envy 36T and SMP Bash
Bottom Bracket	Truvativ Howitzer 68/73mm
Pedals	DMR V-12 Mags
Chain	Connex 9sX Stainless Steel
Cassette	SRAM PG-990 11-32T 9 speed
Front Derailleur	SRAM 3.0
Rear Derailleur	SRAM X.0 Circa 2004
Shifter Cable/Housing	Jagwire Pink
Shifter Pods	SRAM X.0
Handlebar	Funn 10th Anniversary Full On Bar
Stem	Funn 10th Anniversary Rippa Stem
Grips	ODI Ruffian Lock Ons
Brakes	Magura Louise FR •7" front and 6" rear rotors •White Goodridge Brake lines
Front Wheel	Bontrager Rhythm Elite 20mm TA
Rear Wheel	Bontrager Rhythm Elite 135X10mm with quick release
Tires	Maxxis Advantage 60a 26x2.4"
Tubes	Maxxis FR/DH
Saddle	WTB Pure V with Ti rails
Seatpost	Truvativ XR DC (30.0)
Extras	Pinkbike.com Bar Caps-Black •Carbon headset spacers

Well there you have my new winter steed that came about by taking parts from one bike and putting them on a frame that would see some action this winter. We are fortunate to be able to ride year around here with minimal snow, just a lot of cold rainy and slushy days in the woods. I am looking forward to logging some good shuttles on the trails once the maintenance season is caught up.

-Happy Trails

www.transitionbikes.com

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Transition