Done: Ask Us Anything With Transition Bikes - Why Making Bikes is Fun
Ask Us Anything: Transition Bikes - Let's Make a Party! Why Making Bikes is Fun
Over the last twelve years Transition Bikes has grown from a scrappy little upstart to a well respected brand based in the Pacific Northwest, but the company's owners and employees haven't lost sight of what's important – having fun. After all, isn't that what mountain biking's all about? Whether it's coming up with creative acronyms and names for their suspension technology, putting together an over-the-top Christmas card photo shoot, or adding a single speed, coaster brake equipped Klunker to their product line, it's clear that the crew at Transition do things a little differently than the rest.
It may all be fun and games, but Transition's bikes continues to evolve, and for 2015 there are some seriously high performing machines in their lineup. Four new bikes, the Patrol, Scout, Smuggler, and Suppressor have been added, all with varying amounts of travel and wheel sizes, and based around the company's GiddyUp Link suspension design, their version of a Horst Link suspension layout. The bikes have been well received, thanks to their excellent geometry and on-trail performance, and by the looks of things Transition's motto of 'Rider Owned For Life' is paying off.
What's next for the company? Want to know what the best part about owning your own bike business is? The worst? Curious about what goes into designing a new bike? Company owners Kyle Young and Kevin Menard, along with Sam Burkhardt, Darrin Seeds, Chris Pascucci and Lars Sternberg will all be on hand to answer your burning questions beginning at 10:00am Pacific on Thursay, June 11th.
The Panel
(L to R) Kyle Young, Kevin Menard, and Sam Burkhardt.
Kyle Young - Owner/Business Operations & Product Director
Has a business and tech background so he knows his way around a calculator and a server which is very helpful in the bike industry. He is also a former competitive freestyle BMX competitor which makes "Rad" his favorite movie, especially the dance scene.
Kevin Menard - Owner/Sales & Marketing Director
Used to work for a recumbent bicycle manufacturer (All those under the age of 25 please take this time to Google what a recumbent is) where he fell in love with the process of building bikes. Can be found racing singlespeed cross as well as enduro but considers riding his DH bike in Whistler one of the happiest places on earth.
Sam Burkhardt - Product Manager/International Sales Manager
Also known as Samsquatch due to his very linear movements in the forest. Sam has a long history in the bicycle industry working for shops and components makers before coming to Transition. When Sam isn't riding his mountain bikes he enjoys his other two wheeled hobby twisting the throttle on his KTM.
(L to R) Darrin Seeds, Chris Pascucci, and Lars Sternberg.
Darrin Seeds - Industrial Designer
Graduate of local Bellingham Western Washington University, Darrin took a hiatus from the town he loves to go work for Gerber (think knives, not babies). The siren song of Bellingham's loamy trails brought him back and his outspoken personality make him a perfect fit for the Transition family.
Chris Pascucci - Inventory Manager/Canada Dealer Sales Manager
A true East Coast Italian that goes by the name Scuch and has a substantial history working for bike shops around the country. A master of trails riding, he was drawn to the North Shore where he obsessed over skinny riding and hoping up and down large logs. When he is not ratcheting around the forest on his bike you can find him on a river with his fly rod.
Lars Sternberg - Marketing Project Manager/Pro Rider/Sponsorship Coordinator
AKA Lars n' Bars, he grew up in Reno Nevada where he traveled through the ranks of BMX racing to pro status. It wasn't long before a move to the Pacific Northwest got him on his first mountain bike and a love affair with DH bikes. Nowadays Lars is focused on enduroing as much as he can, helping to develop and market rad products and traveling as much as his wife will allow him.
How ‘Ask Us Anything' Works:
Starting at 10:00 AM PST/6:00 PM BST on Thursday, June 11th Transition Bikes will have a go at answering your questions. Sometimes your answer will pop up in a few seconds; others may take a while, as they will be busy responding to the flood of questions. Everyone who posts a question, large or small, will be taken seriously. To make the process as efficient as possible, try to follow these simple guidelines:
• Stay focused. Try to keep your questions on one topic if possible. You can always ask about another item later.
• Try to keep your questions to about 100 words.
• Ask Us Anything is a service to PB readers who are seeking helpful information, not a forum to broadcast opinions or grievances. If you do have a negative issue that you want to ask about, no worries, just keep your complaints relevant and in the context of a question so that it can be addressed in a productive manner.
• Use propping to acknowledge good - or not so good - questions. Bump them up or down to where they belong.
Mark your calendars - the conversation starts at 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 6:00 PM British Time on Thursday, June 11th.
Other time zones:
• 1:00 PM EST (New York)
• 6:00 PM BST (London)
• 7:00 PM CET (Paris)
• 8:00 PM SAST (Cape Town)
• 3:00 AM AEST June 12(Sydney, Aus)
• 5:00 AM NZST June 12 (Auckland, NZ)
www.transitionbikes.com / @TransitionBikeCompany
Author Info:
Member since Feb 17, 2009
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Humans have a natural resistance to bullshit, not change.
In our case we have no immediate need, and we don't like acronyms and selling features that don't have a real benefit to you. --Sam
fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/transition-bikes/961867d1423162212-carbon-patrol-scout-1682519-2hjpxk4ol1k6-2015patrolcf-original.jpg
specifically the klunker
Carbon Klunker, for real? C'mon dude Steel is real. We may as well put gears and disc brakes on it then and make it E-fat... LarsNbars
Thanks!
I always have trouble thinking of what's gonna be the "next big thing" and come to the conclusion there isn't gonna be anything in the near future. I then continue buying a bike and half a year later I realize that it should actually be unridable buy then because its wheels are to small, it has a front derailleur und tubes in its tires.
So if if I would buy a Patrol frame right now for example, would I be kicking myself in 1.5 years from now because it wasn't clear to me that square shaped wheels would come up and they don't fit my frame or what and when would it be that I could consider that Patrol bike outdated if you would have to make a guess? Because right now I really cant think of anything that could be that drastically improved in the next few years...but I know thats not true and some marketing hype will get me probably sooner than later...
The bike industry is literally making me afraid to buy a new bike. It got almost as bad as the PC stuff.
when setting out to bring a bike to market, you have to have a multitude of skillsets to do it. it takes product mgmt, industrial design, engineering (which can include materials, mechanical, etc), modeling, fabrication. We are a small company of 10 people so we all wear many hats. I act as the head of product, Sam is the product manager, Darrin is the industrial designer, i do a lot of the modeling, and production is outsourced. WIthin the engineering role, there are many things to be done. We are equiped to do the mechanical engineering and the modeling in-house and for some projects we do all this work in-house. for some other projects we will bring in other professionals with specific skillsets to get the job done. For example when we set out to design our giddy-up bikes we knew we wanted something specific so we brought in Luke from sotto design to help us dial that part in. We also sometimes use outside resources for the modeling part of the project. We are probably at the point where we should bring in more engineering resource in house but honestly we feel like we have solid resources that we can utilize depending on the projects specific requirements. This allows us to be flexible, and be able to benefit from a wider skillset than if we had 1 engineer sitting here in house.
With respect to material stress analysis, we are able to perform computer testing in house as well as going further with it with outside resources. Also, on the manufacturing side, we must test each product against specific standards (the same as every bike brand) and ultimately we can choose how far we safety factor each product. typically we test everything against the DH standard and then we have a few extra machine tests we perform. Picking safety factors can be difficult as the standard tests are pretty easy to pass so knowing how far to push a product past that is tough. Typically we look at the high stress areas (headtube junction) and apply FOS to that + perform additional tests beyond the standard tests to ensure those areas hold up. Coming up with these tests and FOS is a collaborative effort between us and our manufacturing partners and is product specific. Ultimately we both have to stand behind the product so we take a lot of care to ensure we go above and beyond in this area.
-kyle
Say hi to Dave
Yay Transition
It´s not about being a real mountainbiker or elitism. I´m just fed up with people who can´t ride, blaming it on their bikes and then go on telling other people how bike xyz is bad because it handles like crap. "I totally missed that corner because of those freakishly long chainstays! If only they were 3mm shorter i´d totally cleared that!" You know what i mean?
I have seen too many beginners given bad advice in forums to get a "beginner" bike, when in reality the person giving the advice was either just a bad rider/beginner themselves or the advice was given looking down on the beginner like "you should get the cheaper bike. You as a beginner won´t be able to appreciate the better bike anyways!"
Like i said, even beginners can benefit from the better design, i f they are willing to adapt to it.
As we are talking sports here, in my opinion, adaptation is just a necessary part of it.
F1 or 450ccm isn´t exactly comparable. It´s just different categories. There are incredibly good sportsmen in the "lower" categories of those sports who just chose to stay there for various reasons (mostly because they just wanna have fun i guess^^)
Bringing engines size into this is different imho.
Those enable higher speeds, demanding more from the rider. Plain and simple, you are quite right there.
I was however more talking about the chassis design/damping on cars or motos, as those compare more directly to what we have on a mtb. Should have made that more clear :-)
I think comparing engine sizes in different leagues is much more comparable to going from cross country riding to enduro and then downhill.
However, if we compare 450ccm mx-bikes in among themselves, they are quite similar.
If you compare the "M-Pro" to the "L-normal" they are quite similar. So basically, a racer could just upsize and basically get the same bike.
I read an article somewhere, in which the author states that he struggled to find the bike that suited him because across the two Canyon sizing ranges there were too many similar bikes, albeit branded as different sizes. Don´t remember where the article was though.
Should have gone for skiing. There are beginner skis, but they are not good skis for anyone who wants to do more than slide down a hill, but instead take it as a challenge to his/her personal abilities.
Then again, and this is just my personal opinion, one should not engage in any potentially dangerous sport (as most outdoor sports are inherently dangerous) if he or she is not in it with all they got (meaning to strive for personal improvement). Reason being, that it makes a dangerous activity even more dangerous if you are not good at it and don´t try to get better.
So giving untrained people a false sense of security is not what any company, that cares about making great products, should aim for.
Instead, make great products that work as optimal as possible for the intended purpose, not bolster customers egos by making it seem easy until they (literally) hit a brickwall in their progression
They trick you into thinking everything is fine, because you do not progress. They let you be faster than your buddies on the local flow trail, where really any bike would be manageable.
On the subject of longer toptubes for example. I can´t tell how often my long downhill bike has saved my ass from going over the bars. Maybe i´m a little slower in the corners, but me being an average rider, i do very much appreciate this added safety. Same goes for the slack headangle. Saved me countless times.
The other thing is, on a small bike you do not have much room to move, therefore the chances for a fatal (meaning going over the bars) mistake are much higher.
This results in beginners riding with very poor technique and wrong body position on the bike (because they are scared and try to compensate for the bike by bringing their weight way back behind the saddle), which in return limits their ability to handle the bike like it´s supoosed to
--> insecure and slow
On a more aggressive bike, the bike limits their speed, but they still get the advantage of the added security.
All in all i´d much rather crash in a tight corner at slow speed (because that´s when those aggressive geos overpower a beginner) than in a high speed rockgarden, a jump or go over the bars (because that´s where those geometries shine and safe your ass).
At least that´s my thinking.
Like i said, those things could be ridden by my grandma in her wheelchair.
My point stands, as soon as terrain gets even remotely challenging, aggressive geo is superior.
If terrain isn´t challenging, who the f*ck cares about the bikes geometry?!
And of course, beginners don´t start on those trails. But sure enough they transition to them relatively soon. Like, half a season of riding should be plenty to alleviate their skillset to the required level.
I would not invest money into a bike which i will be riding for less than half a year.
1. Working with awesome employees that Kyle and I consider all close personal friends.
2. Owning a bike company forces us to ride our bikes more. Even though we are super busy you have to take time out to ride on a regular basis and continue to push yourself so you don't loose touch with what is happening with riders all over the world.
3. Travel. Both Kyle and I will agree that worldwide travel is a true passion. Being able to do that with a bike and get work done at the same time is a magical combination.
4. Being able to use your creativity to mold and shape a brand is something that never gets old. The mountain bike industry is an extremely competitive industry and that challenge is what makes it fun.
Worst Parts:
1. Lawyers
2. Stress. This one goes up and down but as an owner everything is on your shoulders and it is a battle to keep everyone happy from your family to the IRS
3. Changing Standards. Like when we launched the 26" Carbon Covert right when 27.5 got introduced.
4. Keeping our Kitchen and fridge clean
- kevin
-kyle
I understand it is probably hard to put your COCK and BALLS into each bike that you make, but something about it just made them special.
Will you have any COCK and/or BALLS to show us in the future?
Thanks,
The world.
Regarding the Kona shop it is cool to see them trying a new model in their home market. We are moving into our new building in Bellingham not far from them in August and will have a full demo fleet and showroom and encourage people to stop by and try a bike out.
- kevin
HOWEVER
Why for the love of God did you design the seat stay brace on the smuggler so close to the tire? You have all the width in the world, but the hight is the limit. This I think was a big mistake. 29x2.35 can't even fit
Also I have heard 27.5 plus tires can fit. Which rims and tire do I need to make this happen
Cheers
James
As for the hot topic of +....we have tested it on the Smuggler with Stans HUGO 52 and WTB Trailblazer 2.8 and it does work....if that's what you're into. -Darrin
Cheers
Side note, every bike I've had gets compared to the Bottlerocket. Not the lightest, fastest or most efficient, but I have yet to find a bike that made me want to ride it more than that one!
but yea, what Darrin said. we're just being ourselves and doing what we do and having a blast along the way. I think people want to associate with other people having a good time.
-kyle
-LarsNbars
Last year I sent my Grand Mal in for warranty and some guy named Mike sent me a post it saying "congratulations" stuck to a stack of gay porn instead of a replacement frame? Is that your normal warranty return policy? You could have just told me the bike out of warranty and offered me a discount on a new frame. My next bike will be a Kona. I hear they are pretty much just like my old bike anyway...
P.S. your bikes rule!
2. How is mike metzger doin these days? He was always great with customer service with my covert way back.
2. mike is doing really well actually. he bounced around a bit and worked for boeing which I guess probably burned him out and just sapped the life out of him a bit which is why he went to work for Evil for a bit. He just left Evil and took a regular job as a "sales guy" which I think he will kill it at. he is a natural born salesperson so i'm personally excited to see him really go for it with that. hey, mike, if you're on here why don't you tell your superfans how you're doing.
-kyle
So my question is this; how do you engineer for that kind of burliness and fun? I mean all these bikes look the same to me but the character can be soooo different.
I admire that you continue to fully support 26", it's a shame the rest of the industry seems less keen.
Weight is one, additional hardware and small parts add up.
Complexity is another, too much to fiddle with. And we wouldn't have been able to use the current axle configuration we are, which works really well.
However the biggest reason is that we are not compromising with a geo corrected 26" frame. With a modular dropout system to alternate wheel size you are still compromising the actual bb drop in relation to stack, and head tube angle etc. We wanted the Suppressor to provide the exact same riding experience as the Patrol, and offering a geo corrected 26' frame was the only true way to do this. - LarsNbars
1) You have the manufacturing cost of the product. what does it actually cost to make it (materials, + labor to fabricate it).
2) You have a certain amount of R&D cost associated with developing the product. This could include industrial design time or engineering time, physical prototyping, 3D printing/testing, machine testing, etc. Typically you would look at this cost and either call it overhead and just eat it or you can spread this cost out over each product you plan on producing for the particular products life-cycle. We typically absorb these costs as overhead as this is the business we are in. some companies would apply this to the actual product cost.
3) You have tooling costs that we would amortize over each product we produce in the products life. Tooling can include carbon molds, fixtures for CNC/welding, tube mandrels, etc. This cost is typically a pretty large cost for a small company such as ours. To give an example, a typical full squish carbon frame can have tooling costs in the $75K - $120K range...and that's for one product. so take that and divy it up between however many frames we will produce over the course of the products life and add that to your frame cost.
Once you have the above, that tells you what the product actually "costs" to make. This basically tells us how low our lowest pricing can be, and is the most important part in ensuring your pricing strategy is sound.
For most traditional bike brands, you would have multiple tiers of pricing. ie: Manufacturer Cost, Distributor Pricing, Dealer Pricing (USA/Canada), Retail Pricing.
The challenge is to look at retail prices and make sure we can be competitive there in a multitude of markets (ie: every country has its own set of issues that affect pricing). Also, we have to make sure that each link in the chain has the appropriate margin to do the job of selling the product. So, a USA/Canada dealer needs their cut, as does a distributor that is making a larger committment than a dealer. And then last on the list, we need a margin. Most typically we are forced to look at retail pricing and this kind of tells us where we have to be...and in the end, we are left with whatever margin we are left with...which is by far the smallest margin in the chain. Typically our margin gets eaten up first as we have to do what we have to do to be competitive. Also, being a small company affords us less advantage when it comes to buying power and achieving lower costs for our products.
The above is how it usually goes as we don't have the luxery of lower costs than our competition, so we have to ensure we are price competitive at the retail level and then we are left with what we are left with. The other way of doing it would be to look at our margin first and add in all the other margins for the distributors/dealers through retail and then the retail price ends up where it ends up. There are certain products that we use this model with as they are just higher margin products for our industry so we can afford to push the retail prices lower.
In a perfect world we would be able to do bottom up pricing and have enough room to be price competitive with other products, but in reality it's a bit of a dance between bottom-up and top-down pricing...
-kyle
anyway, i feel your pain with the wife. if you need more ammo i'm happy to help. half the reason we started Transition was so we had a justifiable reason for adding to the collection.
-kyle
Btw, I am still loyal to you guys, just need some time to save up for a Giddy Up. Oh yeah, and if you want a killer one of a kind sign for your new HQ, let me know, I work for a porcelain enamel sign company called Winsor Fireform (in Tumwater, WA). They don't fade, and last for generations in the gnarliest of conditions. Enamel on steel, like the ol' vintage gas station signs!
1) The TR500 is designed to fit both wheel sizes, does the geometry actually favours 650B over 26"?
2) Apparently any 650B bike can fit 26" wheels, what sets the TR500 apart?
This question is not that tricky
And great bikes btw. I can't wait for my Smuggler to arrive!!
How did Kevin like his b+ smuggler experience?
I'm trying to source a teal XL smuggler frame via Hub Cyclery in Bend. Can you help a brotha out?
Please sell me a smuggler
The 27.5 plus was an interesting experience. There were some pros and cons. Definitely amazing traction for climbing and cornering (almost too much traction for cornering) but the bike definitely felt slower and clunkier. I could see a beginner or intermediate rider being able to utilize it's benefits and get confidence from it. In the end it was not compelling enough for me to want to run it, but I do see it as a viable option for riders out there craving a different experience.
XL Smugglers have been a hot commodity this year and definitely hard to get. We sold out of that size pretty quick, the 2016 Smugglers should be available to shops in late summer/early fall. If you really want to get one you can have the Hub pre-order one. - kevin
2. What roll did the Sotto group play in the development of the new line of bikes?
2) Luke Beale, then with Sotto, now on his own as Level One Engineering, came to us a while back to pitch some suspension platforms. To be honest, I think some of us were pretty skeptical at first. We had already played with the idea of moving towards a horst link setup, and some of the ideas that Luke presented at the time felt a bit too exotic for Transition. In the course of that meeting and subsequent conversations, we decided that Luke was going to be an awesome resource for us to really ensure that our new designs were everything they could be. In the end, every bike with a variable wheel path uses the same basic concepts... a sub frame attached with multiple links. They can be two short links, two long links, one short and one long, maybe even six links, etc. But the basic principals still apply... and Luke knows his stuff and knew how to help us make the most of those points while also staying clear of other legal issues that might exist outside of the Horst Link patent. In this day and age there are a lot of patents out there and knowing how to get the results you want are only a part of it... how to avoid other peoples patented technology is (unfortunately) another part of selling bikes.
maybe.
My new Patrol rocks! Short vid I made www.pinkbike.com/video/411486
also, i don't think a brand can get too big. i think people can get too big for their britches and that's the real problem. if i ever do that please slap me across the face.
-kyle
1. Did you switch paint manufacturers, technique, better lacquer, or what as it does seem to be a lot better?
2. How much paint testing do you do?
3. Have you ever considered offering anodizing option for your frames? My girlfriend's anno Kona doesn't have a mark on it after three years
Anodizing can be expensive, and you have a lot of rejects with colors other than black. If you offer ano colors you would generally have to re-do a large number in black or paint the rejects. All that adds cost and extends the delivery lead time. In general I don't think a lot of people in our office are huge fans of the ano finish look... but we have definitely talked about it over the years. We were super close to doing a rasta ano Bottlerocket (j/k). --Sam
Is it true that you will never produce a lighter version of the BottleRocket because riders would never buy another bike after that, and it would destroy the bike industry as we know it?
Thanks,
Wally
Unless you are an XC weight weenie or want to win DH races it is pretty much the only bike most riders "need". Great fun on singletrack, awesome in Whistler and is completely sick-house *tm on jumps.
Fact
...Also, can I have job doing does things for you guys?
www.simeonemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/historic/1970-porsche-917lh-f3q-historic.jpg
Thanks, for the answers, my resumé and CV are in the mail
Or would you also like to see this become a more important topic in the industry as a whole?
I don't think we need any special attention on the environment. I believe that what we are doing will naturally be to the benefit of the environment. just gotta keep on truckin'.
-kyle
Darrin Seeds. I'm interested in doing design engineering/industrial design with the dream of basically doing what you're doing - ie working for a kickass mtb company designing cool sh*t. Got any pointers for which kind of direction I should be heading in, like degree choice, apprenticeships etc???
Thanks a lot
I do however have a problem with my 450, it's on its 2nd front end, after there were stress fractures round the top tube, and now there are the same on the newer one (just over a year old). My question is where does the warranty stand on that?
Still sick bikes, sick company, and any help with this would be muchly appreciated.
Howie
-kyle
Some companies are using more of a version model disregarding yearly models. Do you guys see yourself ever adopting that?
We were actually early adopters of the Version model from the beginning. But little by little, we've been pushed into the model year thing. Often time it's just new kits and a paint job, but really we've found that bikes that don't change in some way annually just don't sell as well in their second year. Still, this is one of many topics that's often discussed internally. - Chris
-kyle
You could ride the wave.....
--Sam
cheers dudes!
- LarsNbars
What prompted the switch from faux bar, and why have you not taken this system to your longer travel bikes?
Why do you think some manufactures are still using faux bar?
Side note: I've probably watched your Trans AM Espresso video a hundred times in anticipation of my frame!
I'm an engineering student passionated by mountain bikes and my goal is to enter the mountain bike industry when I'll have my degree in three years.
Do you have any advice to give me that could help me pursue this dream?
I already planned to do internships in mountain bikes companies in the next three years and I will try to orientate the projects I have to do during the mechanicals courses on mountain bike design.
-LarsNbars
(P.S. The best christmas card I got last year was from you guys!)
You've got to remember that US pricing never (generally) includes sales tax whereas everywhere else in the world it does.
Seafreight over 200 bikes amounts to about $60 per bike. Duty is the same as GST here. 18% price difference.
- LarsNbars
Can I work a deal where I cook for you post ride for a TransAm 29? I'm local, will travel north... In all honesty, on my third transition and cannot think of riding another brand after swinging my leg over my Covert. Are there any plans to make another longer travel 29er frame like the Covert of old? If so, I would certainly go that route again.
Who would you credit for the concept of this approach, and what has helped you maintain that consistency over the years? What campaigns have been the most fun for your crew to work on?
there is no "concept" for this approach. we are simply being ourselves and capturing it and using it. I've head from other people that this "marketing strategy" is genious...but really i don't think we think of it as a strategy. what you see is what you get with us.
-kyle
Among Patrol , Suppresor and Scout ...which one would you be tilting towards considering its pedalling efficiency and shredding capabilities?
It should handle some drops and jumps too. However it should be used mainly for pedal and average difficulty trails.
Thanks
cheers ( here in athens-greece is time for a beer )
- LarsNbars
someone needs to take a good look around,,,,
i would say get experience first...in bike related endeavors and in the real world.
most people won't break in to the bike industry without some real world experience. well, i guess i can't speak for the larger companies that have lots of MEs but for us (10 people) getting a break without experience is gonna be real tough. most bike companies don't have huge teams of engineers so probably not a lot of room for Junior level MEs.
having said that, it's not what you know, but rather who you know.
-kyle
Thanks!
I don't think you can get much more donwardly capable than the Patrol in my opinion, a very nice all-day-anytime-anything steed indeed!
The TR500 is just a crazy speeder bike,all
That is missing is the sound of happy screaming ewoks.( the tires do start to howl a speed a bit but its more of a horny wookie sound)
I unfortunately had an impromptu lesson in loose over hard and brike my collar bone doing nothing particularly awesome.
I did not get to say thanks guys before I split.
Will bring more Beer to try next year!
Question Time.
1.Did you guys get to hit the Half-Nelson trail in Squamish?
2. Sam ,I heard you took some trail to the face,you ok?
3. Will you guys come again next year?
Cheers Guys!
What a kickass time!
Joe
I love your bikes and ride a TR250, a Carbon Covert and a 29er TransAm. My partner is on a Patrol and it took her riding skills to a new level.
Waiting for the Carbon Patrol myself and will order as soon as it is being released. Hoping the build kit will include the Pike fork.
I find sizing the bikes super tricky and hate to take a gamble on sizes. For example, my TR250 is a M and I wished I had a L. My Carbon Covert is a size L and it is perfect. With the Patrol I might go to an M, but how to decide without test riding it. You have a well established LBS in BC's Interior that is pushing your bikes hard. How about hooking Shreddie up with some test bikes. Hey, I might even get a Smuggler if I can test one. Can I test your bikes at your headquarters as an alternative? Of course having some bikes locally would be best.
Keep up the great work, loving my bikes every time I'm out there riding!
Large TR250 : 411/597mm : 724.8mm
Medium Patrol : 432/600mm : 739.3mm
The medium Patrol will feel slightly roomier than the large TR250, when slamming your stem and using the same stem/bar combo on both bikes.
@TransitionBikeCompany It would be pretty awesome if you guys got rid of the slightly cryptic reach/stack measurements for a single Headtube to BB (HTB) measurement as this would be much easier to understand when comparing two bikes. The industry really should move on from stupid measurements like "sloped toptube" lengths as well (not saying you guys use it)!
A slight different question i have a 2006 dirtbag yes its old haha but fun to ride indeed i want to know if the frame will take triples upfront..?
Gunna run 2012 r2c2 boxxers on it well thats if the frame works with em like on the rear i have
a fox dhx5 200 i2i 57stroke
Hope you can shed some light on it
Thanks in advance
Mark
- LarsNbars
Thanks for making great bikes and even better advertisements.
- LarsNbars
www.polyurethanesupplierschina.com/jp/products.html
www.polyurethanesupplierschina.com
Are there any jobs related to this segment in the MTB industry?
love my smuggler!
Simple question really.
I have a trans-am 29er 2012.
what's the fattest I can go tyre wise?
cheers
G
- LarsNbars
- LarsNbars
www.thehubnapa.com -
Keith@thehubnapa.com 707.253.2453
At this point customers the customers that are interested are feeling pretty let down.
Id love to hear from someone......
Do you have plans to head overseas? Like South America or Asia?
- LarsNbars
About distribution/exportation/retailers... Do you have a market plan for these place? Maybe i'm going to Brazil to work and my plans includes a Patrol.
just rode it last week....best ever!
i personally wouldn't buy a carbon frame, in fact the only carbon i have on my bikes it's the spacers on the steer tube (and my road bike) because with the use i give to my bike and racing with it i wouldn't feel comfortable because if you crash you can damage your frame and you are fu*ked , but it would be good for the brand too appeal to more people that only buy bikes that are carbon
fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/transition-bikes/961867d1423162212-carbon-patrol-scout-1682519-2hjpxk4ol1k6-2015patrolcf-original.jpg
mine the only thing that was crappy was the bearings, and on my patrol in 4 rides some of them were starting to stop , and i don't jet wash
It hurts... one broken tooth. No broken bones... but 4 stitches on my face and 14 inside my lower lip. I am going to bring back freeride and start riding more of the gnarly trails with a full face. In hindsight, Gargamel is probably not a half shell trail.
--Sam
- LarsNbars