Mountain Bike of the Year WinnerChoosing a winner from one of the three machines nominated for Mountain Bike of the Year is sorta like having to decide which dessert you want to eat: they're all delicious, but one is going suit your tastes best. The Trek, Pivot, and Transition aren't going to disappoint anybody who's lucky enough to have a garage with one of them inside of it, but while they're all top performers, they also do that performing in very different ways. The Fuel is an example of a next-gen trail bike; the Switchblade is all about being both adaptable and more capable than its travel might have you assume; while the Patrol is an enduro race-ready rig that will have its rider feeling extremely proficient in every situation.
Clearly not an easy decision, but there can only be one winner here.
A lot of bikes are so damn good these days that it's easy to forget how it used to be. Not that long ago, you either bought a cross-country bike, a downhill bike, or a bike that kinda did both of those things poorly, otherwise known as an all-mountain bike. We didn't know any better, of course, so we were pretty chuffed about how our machines performed back then, with a bunch of chainrings, tubes in our tires, and geometry that, looking back, seemed designed to show us out the front door.
But now, a decade or so later, some bikes are incredibly potent in almost every regard. And then there are a few - and it really is just a few - that drastically transcend what's expected of them when it comes to tasks that they should, simply put, suck at doing. Transition's 155mm-travel Patrol Carbon is the best example, which is one of the reasons why it's our pick for the 2016 Mountain Bike of the Year.
Here's a snippet from the Patrol Carbon's review earlier this year that sums it up:
In the past, I've talked about how bikes in the same class as the Patrol are actually starting to form two categories. One group leans more towards a rider who prefers a relatively spritely, playful all-mountain bike that doesn't suck the life out of you on flat ground or slow technical trails; on the other side of the fence are the bikes (often with the same amount of travel) that definitely sacrifice some all-around performance in order to make you feel like champ when the riding is more vertical than horizontal.
Somehow, the Patrol Carbon 1 manages to put a foot on both sides of that fence by being nimble when you need to bob and weave, but without losing that plow-ability that any good enduro race bike needs to have.
That same agile personality is going to make a precise, skilled rider quite happy if they'd rather hold an exact line though a chunky section of trail, with the bike's light steering yet stable feel rewarding someone who uses their brain over just their balls to get down the hill. It's easy to place, holds a line, and simply doesn't ride like a full-on enduro race bike... until you want it to, that is. With a slack-ish head angle, a bunch of sag and some of the best suspension money can buy, Patrol Carbon riders aren't going to have any qualms about throwing themselves into the thick of it.
The bike can go through nasty terrain faster than I get through a box of donuts, and while it's not quite as at ease as something like a Trek Slash or Devinci Spartan when it gets properly hairy, I don't think that a skilled rider is going to lose much (or any) time in those moments. It's not quite as glued to the ground as those two bikes, but that very fact could make the Patrol even quicker in the right hands.
The bike's easy to get along with personality is going to make a great choice for those who like the idea of a burly all-mountain bike but maybe don't have the skills to push such a machine near its limits, but I also don't want to sell it short when it comes to its capabilities. It's a full-on beast when there are more scary rocks than dirt, or when the trail is steep enough that you forget to blink until you get to the bottom.
But surely there's a price to pay, and that is that it's hambeast on the climbs, right? The Patrol is surprisingly adept when pointed up a steep, technical ascent, which is both good and bad. Good because the bike that you just spend a boatload of money on makes other enduro-type machines feel like recumbents in such settings, but also bad because now you don't have an excuse if you suck at climbing. It's not mindblowing in the efficiency department, mind you - the Dune or SB6C beat it there - but the bike's handling is simply easy to live with during tricky uphill pitches.
Pinkbike’s Take: | The Patrol Carbon is the 2016 Mountain Bike of the Year not because of its descending prowess, which it has in spades, but because Transition has created an immensly versatile machine that manages to excel everywhere but without taking away from its capabilities on rowdy terrain. Simply put, this is a bike that everyone can have fun on, no matter what type of trails they like to ride. - Mike Levy |
Click here for information about the judging and selection criteria for Pinkbike's Year-End Awards
- Worst choice ever!
- Best choice ever!
- Puns containing Patrol and/or Transition.
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That said, I like a bashring on my bikes. I like to work on my climbing skill to get over obstacles where the chainring might hit. And if I'm pushing my abilities there, there is always going to be cases where it would hit. And then it is nice to have a bashring saving the day. Those claiming that they don't need a bashring may not necessarily be more skilled, they just don't happen to try and progress in that department.
PIvot 429 Trail (ridiculously short rear stays for trail 29er)
Yeti SB5c BETI (lightweight ladies specific)
IBIS Ripley
Alchemy Arktos
Turner RFX (stupid light frame and DW link)
AirDrop Edit (UK company, shreddable fun)
All had something about them that made them stand out from the crowd.
The Airdrop is a good, honest, no nonsense enduro shredder. For same sort of price as an ally Patrol. An independent alternative offering great value.
Good luck with your future.....these old men are having too much fun on their bikes.
Let me tell you something -- I'm riding a soon-to-be 7-year-old bike with 26-inch wheels and a 2x9 drive train. I demoed a couple bikes this past summer, and they were very nice, but there wasn't much of a noticeable difference in performance between my fossil and the new-fangled carbon machines.
Now the day will come when my current bike and I will have to part ways, but it ain't yet. The longer I can hold on, the longer I can save for a really sweet ride when that day comes.
The reality is that until the day comes where I am getting passed (I don't) and stop coming up on jokers crawling along a black (constantly) then I can't say I need anything more. I'm old, I'm fast, and my junk still rocks. Come and get me you little whippersnappers!
[I doubt the riders of the demo bike pictured here haven't bottomed out this beast, but that pic does represent a large majority of other riders in the market.... 5" trail bikes on buffed out machine built XC trails being the most commonly observed example.]
You got it the other way around man. People buy 5" bikes lately because it's a hipster anti Enduro fashion." Look what I can do on a short travel bike" combined with, "I may have sucked today guys but my silly excuse is I have less travel than you" First thing they do after the honeymoon with a "modern" 5incher is over, they put on 180-200 rotors, Minions and 160 fork turning it into a short travel version of a 6" bike. The difference is a 6" bikes climbs just as well (considering the setups are oretty much identical) and that extra 30-40mm has your back when sht goes south where 5" bike provides very little error margin.
Cheers!
You're right though about the trend swinging back and forth.
I have been riding mostly short travel bikes since 2002 Specialed 02 Enduro, 04 Enduro Sworks, 2012 TRc converted to 27.5 before the Solo came out, now still on my 2014 Solo c.
I masturbated the sht out of setup of my TRc, pushed the shock, tried lots of settings and it was crap. In fact two owners I spoke to as well as the guy doing the review for vital had very similar experience to mine.
It's a great bike if you keep it with 120-140 fork and light wheels and tyres and then you ride it in a certain way, pedaling like a maniac and are prepared to make big boys wait for you at the bottom. It doesn't inspire confidence rather tests your balls.
It's just using the right tool for the job. 120-140 is enough travel for most of the stuff in our area.
I became a better rider thanks to going back to a huge bike with rock gobbling properties. That is because I stand on a fantastic platform and can focus on looking ahead and keeping my stance right instead of feeling fast due to being wobbled around more than necessary. Pop? That's 70% skill 30% bike. You can or you can't bunny hop. Pump, feedback? Get a proper shock and set it up well.
But again, I do not criticize 110-130 bikes themselves, since I know there's plenty of use for them. It's rather the latest fashion of buying a small bike, decorating it with stuff from big bike and talking bollocks about too big bikes. I've done it myself, so do yourself a favor and clean your mouth
If I was to buy a second bike now it would be a 110 bike. It's a perfect second bike for me.
There is something to be said about a bike that keeps its focus on the basic needs of a rider, keeps the proprietary shit to a minimum and is a joy to ride. Its a bike that comes in enough models to make it attainable by the majority of Mountain bikers as well which helps with an award like this.
I had this and the Trek Fuel being the top two and looks like the transition squeaked out the win!
A Company who has taken the business model that Kona had in the late 90's to early 2000s (party hard shred fast) is getting big at a time where we have the knowledge and materials to make some sick bikes, and it shows. Huge love for this company all over the web and awesome performing bikes is a recipe for good times at the transition company.
Kona better be careful or Bellingham will belong to a new king in no time.
That suspension design is smooth on the DH but is not a great climber. There are still the a$$ clowns (look at th Lenz forum on MTBR) that think the 4bar design on their bikes is somehow different....sprinkled with magic pixie dust and do everything great.....
That guys rides it so the Patrol should have gotten the award forever
And really: stop awarding "best of the year" when nothing really stands out in a particular way ... this year awards seem just a collection of arbitrary "I like this one" picks.
Ah, so you've ridden it, right?
It didn't win for climbing, it won for being the best all 'rounder in the range. Plowable but agile.
And no sh*t dual short link bikes climb better than horst link.
And yes, the fact that this is a 155 mm Horst Link does not help, they ain't famous for their pedaling and it is an almost 30 years old design ...
Face palm!!!! Hilarious.
Not really redickulous that a bike media outlet chose a bike of the year. And no shit it's subjective. I'm sorry for your confusion.... if it lasts longer than 4 hours I suggest contacting a physician immediately. Read some Patrol reviews.
And the Horst link bikes from the 90's or whenever don't have hardly anything in common with today's Horst link bikes. Like any bike 20-30 yrs old vs today.
I'm sorry the winter depression is setting in already. I'm fighting it by hiking up a snowy mountain with my board tomorrow morning at 6am. I hope to see you there.
Joel, not a bad point. I wouldn't mind someone who's ridden both sharing their thoughts.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No thanks!
For the 29'er crowd the Intense Primer is Bike of the Year
how long have cars been using macpherson struts?
www.specialized.com/us/en/king-of-the-mountain
www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/mountain/trail/enduro
Odd, I would've thought that BOTY would be, by definition, special.
"The bike is crap" Because???
So many great bikes out there......they shouldn't bother trying to justify the result, just let us know how much these brands spend on advertising with you and we'll draw our own conclusions thanks.
If you've ridden all three you'll know it's not even the best bike here, let alone in the industry. The summary says it all....not as good as a Dune or SB6C. The Pivot with DW link will outclimb it so the claim "makes other bikes feel like recumbents (when climbing)" was probably insisted upon by Transition when they posted that last cheque. Either that or they didn't even f*cking ride the thing.
Oh, and it's an open mould frame design.....so if PB could explain how it can win the bike of the year on this ground alone I would be interested.
The only way I could have a bit of respect for your post and see any legitimacy in it would be if you were working for another bike company or site and started a troll account. It's better to be a knowledgeable douche that a clueless one
As usual with Pinkbike Awards, certain people were expecting the second coming of Jesus. You can't make everyone happy and the more people get annoyed with what you believe in, the more you are on track.
Have you ridden one or are you just quoting excerts from reviews.
It's a great bike that seems to.find fun wherever it goes. Im personally glad it one rather than of the big brands for a change.
A 29er with lighter tyres climbing better than Patrol, no shit man! I mean you must be a rocket physicist. Pivot with float shock aka elaborated tyre pump, a good climber, hah!
You must ride Antidote Carbon Jack with CCDB Coil CS then, you will be so mind blown that gamma rays will come out of your arse.
So, FS frames can be stiff, lifeless and heavy. Some can be stiff in the right places, lively and light. I know what I prefer riding. Clearly it's not for everyone - so keep riding your bike and having fun. My issue here is with journalistic quality and fairness.
If you want to educate me about carbon layups or suspension then go for it.....the stuff you've typed above was just mashing the keyboard with your thick skull.
It takes my sucking me 3-10 rides to setup a bike so I am a huge sceptic of back to back testing. As I said 99% of bikes are dialled these days (as far as my experience from demo days go) and I treat each contest like that very lightly. Just because Steve Jones wrote that Startling29er is better than UNNO 130 bike It still wouldn't keep me from buying a Jeffsy, Enduro 29 or Wreckoning.
It's a subjective opinion of a dude having fun with what he does, not final judgment. Please shoot the guy who bought a car based on Top Gear review...
I am sorry though, because I can't give you any information about what my ball hairs thought on the whole process. They were too busy nestling on your mums chin.
Anyway, my bike of the year is my trusty Transition TR250. 26 inch, size L with me having a 6' frame, aluminum. Really bad on the climbs. Still insane fun all day.
Sorry, my experience and lifestyle means I have a different opinion to you.
As for suggestions....take everything you read with a pinch of salt. Go ride your bike. You'll eventually get it....one day.
Cable rattles ? please explain as on the carbon model the routing is done via full in molded tube within the frame.
suspension bob ? really ? try this : linkagedesign.blogspot.co.il/2014/08/transition-patrol-275-2015.html
and this : linkagedesign.blogspot.co.il/2016/07/transition-patrol-275-2017.html
totally independent as im sure you wont take anyone's word it pedals very well for an enduro/am bike.
stiff lifeless frame ? hahahahah , one of the more compliant carbon frames ive ridden (ridden quite a few,even a couple you mentioned).
Poor technical climbing ability ? compared to what exactly ?? again,one of the better long travel frames on this front.
Payment for winning the bike of the year ?? are you high or something ? if you believe PB works like this ,why do you have a user here ? do you have any proof or are you enjoying slandering some of the best guys in the industry ?
and the last and most interesting "fact" in your delusional comment , OPEN MOULD DESIGN ??please send a connection to the factory or to another brand with this frame proving its an open mould frame ? if not and you cant produce a shred of proof for your bogus claim, please be a man a apologize for your it.
in the end, we can always argue if a bike rides well or not and can agree or disagree with any reviewer's claims.what we can't and shouldn't do is make bogus claims and accusations without showing any proof and slandering the reviewers,the website and the brand !
SHAME ON YOU !
Clearly, it the day to be a Transition owner on PB
I stopped reading his rant when he brought up that they paid off PinkBike for the win...
"My issue here is with journalistic quality and fairness."
No, your issue is that you don't like the bike PB chose. And you are slyly alledging that PB was paid off by TBC based no evidence other than you don't like their selection. How very Trump of you.
Something seriously wrong with a "me too" mountainbike brand winning bike of the year.
Would rather have seen Whyte win it on value for money or something. This is a bullshit award