Transition Sentinel or Santa Cruz Hightower?

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Transition Sentinel or Santa Cruz Hightower?
  • Previous Page
Author Message
flag kleiter30
Posted: Feb 27, 2022 at 10:52 Quote
Hi all,

I am a female rider on the front range of Colorado, mostly a rider who finds themself on intermediate to advanced trails, that have chunky rock, technical climbs, more rocks and more rocks....kidding we have some version of flowy singletrack here but it is not my every day, after work, run out the door to grab a quick ride on trail.

I am sort of stuck on what to get next, I am a SLOW climber, and I am okay with that but I love to go fast on the downhill and had a Rocky Mountain Instinct BC90 that I loved to just bomb trails on. I sold it thinking I needed to be a faster climber and currently have a transition Spur, which I love but..... not enough travel.

So I am back to the drawing board. I have come to either a Santa Cruz Hightower....just an all-around decent bike from what I have seen or a Transition Sentinel.... little beefier, but still can hang with most trail bikes. Anyone who has either of these bikes can give some input to sway my decision a certain direction? I don't have the luxury of demoing because of supply here in colorado....otherwise, this would fix the issue for me as I really need to ride the bike to know if I like it.

Any help is welcome! thanks
flag noideamtber
Posted: Feb 27, 2022 at 11:48 Quote
I recently picked up a Sentinel Frame set that im riding now, it has a really good Comfy seated position, Its been perfect from my local pedal up trails to The bike park - a very good do-it-all bike.
I just have two sets of tires/tyres one for trails and other for the park.

its replaced my 130/140 trail bike and my 170mm enduro bike. no regrets.
flag gmoss
Posted: Feb 27, 2022 at 14:26 Quote
Buddy of mine has been considering the same. Local bike shop and Transtion has said it is going to be 7 to 8 months before they see anything from Transition. I am in the market too, diff bike, but the SC dealers I am talking to have product coming in the next several weeks.

How quick you want something? That may be the first question to ask yourself. My buddy bought a Specialized because that is what he could get, broke his other older Transition.

I just got a warranty replacement frame from SC, took them a few weeks to get it, a 22 Hightower. Will be getting a ride on it this week.
flag djyosh
O+ FL
Posted: Feb 27, 2022 at 18:18 Quote
I like my Hightower but have been intrigued by the last two Sentinels as a good comparison. I ride everything from the north shore to Squamish to Whistler Bike Park and huge climbs into the alpine on it. It is for sure a jack of all trades, master of none but then, I don't have the budget for a multi-bike quiver.

I do really like the lower link suspension and feel like that is an advantage. I also like a more responsive bike rather than a point and shoot and the Hightower has a shorter wheelbase to help with moves in the more janky stuff. That kinda speaks to its status as a bit more of an all rounder while the Sentinel is more of a haul ass kinda ride. I'd wager the Sentinel would also be a bit better value and built a bit tougher.

SC has a great warranty policy as I got mine through a crash replacement on my original model Hightower. They were super responsive and I got my replacement pretty quickly. Looks like Transition has a similar policy but I cannot speak to that.

There's also the Juliana equivalent to the Hightower ie the Maverick that may be easier to come by than the SC or the Transition.
flag DHhack
Posted: Feb 28, 2022 at 11:01 Quote
If climbing performance doesn’t matter, Sentinel. It’s also a much better value, especially at the GX carbon range of pricing.
flag crj5
O+
Posted: Feb 28, 2022 at 12:04 Quote
DHhack wrote:
If climbing performance doesn’t matter, Sentinel. It’s also a much better value, especially at the GX carbon range of pricing.

Either bike will be good, with the Sentinel being a bit more aggressive. I love my HT2 and my Transitions (my wife just picked up a Sentinel, too). These are my two favorite brands (and really the only brands I would consider buying) because of their performance and customer support. People often say SC is not a good value, or Transition is better value, but I am not sure this is entirely the case. Yes, the SC is more expensive for a comparable build kit, but you do get what you pay for. Once you start working on the bikes you will see the differences, some of which are: SC linkage is more robust and easier to work on, bearings are only housed in metal links on the SC, unlike Transition which requires removing them from and pressing them into carbon, Transition linkage is far more fiddly to get all the spacers lined up properly, it is very easy to round out the soft Transition hardware, Transition has open ends on the seatstays where they meet the rocker, which lets grit in that will rattle around until you pull the frame apart to dump it out, Transition has paint quality issues, Transition requires removing the bb to route a dropper cable, the finish on the carbon on the interior of the Transition is less polished and can often be frayed, which adds to cable routing hassle, Transition requires removing/pressing headset cups if you want to change headsets, etc. I do like that Transition uses external routing for the rear brake, this is very nice. So while the SC costs more, you get the benefit of not having these issues in return. Working on my own bikes, these things are important to me, which may be different for you.
flag gmoss
Posted: Feb 28, 2022 at 12:38 Quote
Very good points, many of which I were not aware of on the Transition, but thankful for on my SC's. Sometimes you don't know this stuff till you own it. I am very picky now, and scrutinize a frame for some of the points you make. There are must haves for me, and I have not seen many other brands I would own just from that perspective, maintaining my own bike. I do hate the internal brake routing on the new SC, though. Ugh.
flag JoeBristol
Posted: Mar 2, 2022 at 2:52 Quote
I’ve got a Transition Sentinel alloy 2022 which I built from frame only. It has the gx level shock on it - a performance elite float x.
I’ve built it with Lyrik ultimates (currently 150mm travel but I might up them to 160mm when I fancy trying it), Shimano XT 12 speed, X1 carbon cranks, Hope / Bitex hubs, DT Swiss XM481 rims, carbon bars, 210mm Oneup dropper, Hillbilly 2.6” grid trail / DHR2 Exo 2.3” tyres etc. It’s a medium and it weighs in at 34lbs.

I love it - I came from a Bird Aether 7 which had the same 150mm fork on it / 130mm rear travel with a DHX2 factory coil on it etc.

It pedals much the same as the Bird uphill - although I think the coil wallowed slightly less than the air shock does - just because of the mid stroke support. It’s about 1lb heavier than the Bird.

Downhill even with the same travel fork and just 20mm extra rear travel it holds speed and a line better on rough / steep stuff. I have ridden round a flat flowy trail centre and it wasn’t bad - but for everything else it really comes into it’s own. Even in filthy wet muddy conditions I’m picking up pbs on Strava vs times set in hot sunny dry weather. It’s going to be a rocket in the summer.

I considered the Hightower AL frame only but it came with a shock that wasn’t very good - for similar money to the Sentinel frame only with the Fox shock which is fairly decent. I also considered the Ibis Ripmo AF but didn’t really like how it looked.

I think the Sentinel is the most capable downhill out of the 3 bikes, it pedals pretty comfortably and is surprisingly poppy and playful. I’ve found it’s really happy to get the front wheel off the floor and corners well. I’m 5’9 for reference on a medium with a 50mm stem and running the 210mm dropper post at full drop.

Out of the other 2 it’s probably a close run thing - from what I’ve read the Hightower is plush and capable but less lively than the Ripmo. I’d imagine the HT rear suspension might edge the Sentinel for plushness but the geometry on the Sentinel (particularly the slack head angle) is awesome.
flag dancingwithmyself
Posted: Mar 3, 2022 at 18:29 Quote
crj5 wrote:
DHhack wrote:
If climbing performance doesn’t matter, Sentinel. It’s also a much better value, especially at the GX carbon range of pricing.

Either bike will be good, with the Sentinel being a bit more aggressive. I love my HT2 and my Transitions (my wife just picked up a Sentinel, too). These are my two favorite brands (and really the only brands I would consider buying) because of their performance and customer support. People often say SC is not a good value, or Transition is better value, but I am not sure this is entirely the case. Yes, the SC is more expensive for a comparable build kit, but you do get what you pay for. Once you start working on the bikes you will see the differences, some of which are: SC linkage is more robust and easier to work on, bearings are only housed in metal links on the SC, unlike Transition which requires removing them from and pressing them into carbon, Transition linkage is far more fiddly to get all the spacers lined up properly, it is very easy to round out the soft Transition hardware, Transition has open ends on the seatstays where they meet the rocker, which lets grit in that will rattle around until you pull the frame apart to dump it out, Transition has paint quality issues, Transition requires removing the bb to route a dropper cable, the finish on the carbon on the interior of the Transition is less polished and can often be frayed, which adds to cable routing hassle, Transition requires removing/pressing headset cups if you want to change headsets, etc. I do like that Transition uses external routing for the rear brake, this is very nice. So while the SC costs more, you get the benefit of not having these issues in return. Working on my own bikes, these things are important to me, which may be different for you.

Well put. For the avid home mechanics that is particular about the small things and keeps a frame for a number of years, SC offers a really nice package. Best way to buy their bikes is frame only.
flag kleiter30
Posted: Mar 4, 2022 at 6:37 Quote
Thank you all for your input. It has been really helpful. I am leaning more towards the SC HT just because I am a slower climber, and have the option to put more travel on if I want to in the future. I absolutely am in love with the Sentinel but I have already owned a big travel bike and it was a monster to pedal up hill, not saying the sentinel will be the same but in reality I don't need that much travel to still ride the stuff I love.
flag gmoss
Posted: Mar 4, 2022 at 7:06 Quote
I just got a couple rides on my new HT. Wow is all I can say. Some of it is coming from the Float X, but man if this doesn't pedal well, and go down with no fuss. Float X is impressive.
flag Pyres
Posted: Mar 4, 2022 at 8:08 Quote
kleiter30 wrote:
Thank you all for your input. It has been really helpful. I am leaning more towards the SC HT just because I am a slower climber, and have the option to put more travel on if I want to in the future. I absolutely am in love with the Sentinel but I have already owned a big travel bike and it was a monster to pedal up hill, not saying the sentinel will be the same but in reality I don't need that much travel to still ride the stuff I love.

I ride a v1 carbon Sentinel
I think it climbs very well, and among Transition riders, the v2 climbs even better; the thing I dislike is the long(er) wheelbase and slack hta while riding slower twisty trails. But it comes alive with speed.
Having said that, my riding buddy has a Hightower v2, and we climb, ride trails and do dh runs together. In some trails he is faster, while I m the fastest one at others, but it’s because we like each trail in our own way, not because the Sentinel or Hightower is better/ worse. Pick the one you like more to look at, cause in performance both are solid.
flag Pyres
Posted: Mar 4, 2022 at 8:09 Quote
Pyres wrote:
kleiter30 wrote:
Thank you all for your input. It has been really helpful. I am leaning more towards the SC HT just because I am a slower climber, and have the option to put more travel on if I want to in the future. I absolutely am in love with the Sentinel but I have already owned a big travel bike and it was a monster to pedal up hill, not saying the sentinel will be the same but in reality I don't need that much travel to still ride the stuff I love.

I ride a v1 carbon Sentinel
I think it climbs very well, and among Transition riders, everyone says that the v2 climbs even better; the thing I dislike is the long(er) wheelbase and slack hta while riding slower twisty trails. But it comes alive with speed.
Having said that, my riding buddy has a Hightower v2, and we climb, ride trails and do dh runs together. In some trails he is faster, while I m the fastest one at others, but it’s because we like each trail in our own way, not because the Sentinel or Hightower is better/ worse. Pick the one you like more to look at, cause in performance both are solid.
flag gspottickles918
Posted: Mar 7, 2022 at 6:21 Quote
I currently ride a Hightower v2 and previous bike was a yt Jeffsy. I would go as far as saying the jeffsy is probably similar to transition as far as pedal efficiency goes. Both being Horst link trail bikes. The Jeffsy equipped with coil shock had an edge in descending performance but only in the super rough stuff/blown out berms is where the coil’s sensitivity could shine and the bike would stick to the ground like it was on rails.
The Hightower w/ air shock (custom tuned) is noticeably faster climbing and descending. Pedal efficiency is noticeably better. I am faster on the downs but the suspension gives more feedback to the rider so be prepared to hold on. With custom tune on SD the bike is more composed in the rough like how my Jeffsy was with coil. Braking while descending I give the Jeffsy an edge. Hope this helps
  • Previous Page

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv42 0.015321
Mobile Version of Website