Transition Scout 1 - Review

Transition completely overhauled their all-mountain and trail bike lineup for 2015, launching four new models based around a Horst Link suspension design, a departure from the company's previous link-driven single pivot configuration. The aluminum, 27.5" wheeled Scout has thoroughly modern geometry, with a long reach, low BB, and a slack head angle that's achieved by pairing a 140mm RockShox Pike RCT3 with a Monarch RT3 DebonAir shock that delivers 125mm of rear travel. The Scout 1 tested here retails for $4899 USD, and is available in four frames sizes with two color choices - Limeade or Satin Black. The price for a frame only with a Monarch RT3 DebonAir shock is $1799.

---

---

Frame Design

Mountain bike geometry has undergone a shift over the last few seasons, and Transition has joined the growing number of companies producing bikes with long front centers, low bottom bracket heights, and short chain stays. In theory, this should provide better stability at speed, as well as allowing the bike to be run with a short stem without compromising its handling. This geometry has gained the most traction on bikes with 150-160+ millimeters of travel, but it's beginning to spread to shorter travel bikes like the Scout as well.

While it may not be breaking any new ground as far as aesthetics go, the Scout has a clean and aggressive look to it, with a top tube angle that provides plenty of standover clearance, and stout looking head tube junction. Even with the generous amount of standover, it's still possible to mount a full size water bottle on top of the down tube, which is a welcome sight, as is the use of a threaded, 73mm bottom bracket shell.


Internal cable routing is accomplished via a rectangular cut-out on each side of the top tube for brake and derailleur housing, and the seat tube is set up to run a stealth dropper post. Sealed cartridge bearings are used throughout the rear suspension linkage, and clevis style pivots along with a brace between the two seat stays are intended to add additional rear end stiffness. While both models of the Scout come equipped with 1x drivetrains, a front derailleur can be mounted for those riders who are still hesitant about giving up their extra front chain ring. ISCG 05 tabs are also in place for running a full or partial chain guide.



Suspension Layout

Transition's 'GiddyUp Link' is a play on words that refers to the use of a Horst Link suspension design. With the GiddyUp Link the rearmost pivots are located on the chain stays rather than the seat stays like Transition's previous bikes. When asked about the switch from their prior link-driven single pivot design to the new configuration, Kyle Young, co-owner of Transition, said, “We felt we could improve traction and control on technical singletrack climbing...and still have a lot of options for shock tuning to keep the suspension consistent feeling on the descents. We've been playing with different suspension layouts for years, and the time just wasn't right to change until now. The patent expiring was good timing, but it wasn't at all what drove the decision. It's a constant quest to improve the bike that drives this - if the Horst patent wasn't up, then it likely would have been a different layout that we would have employed."

As to how the positioning of the rear pivot was achieved, according to Kyle, “We experimented with a range of placements and ultimately the characteristics we wanted had to be worked out in the kinematics, and that's where Luke Beale (owner of Level One Engineering) helped a ton. Once the kinematics were dialed as best we felt they could be on paper, we made mules and tested a variety of configurations. Getting out there and actually riding different variations goes a long ways toward determining the end result as well, as you can only do so much on paper.”

For the best climbing and descending performance,Transition recommends running the Scout with 30% sag in the standing riding position, which should end up at or close to 35% sag when seated on level ground. This number correlates with the point at which the chain growth is greatest - as the bike goes past its sag point the rate of chain growth decreases, allowing the suspension to remain active for small and large bump absorption.

---

Specifications Price $4899 Travel 125mm Rear Shock Monarch DebonAir Fork RockShox Pike RCT3 140mm Headset FSA NO.57E Cassette SRAM XG 1180 (10-42) Crankarms Race Face Turbine DM 32t Rear Derailleur SRAM X01 Chain SRAM PCX1 Shifter Pods SRAM Handlebar Kore Mega 760mm Stem Race Race Respond 45mm Grips ANVL Rasp Lock On Brakes Shimano XT Wheelset WTB Frequency Team i23 27.5 w/DT Swiss 370 Tires Schwalbe Nobby Nic 27.5 x 2.35 Pacestar Evo front, 2.25 rear Seat ANVL Forge Chromoly Seatpost Rock Shox Reverb Stealth Compare to other All Mountain/Enduro/XC

---

Climbing

The Scout comes with a 760mm bar and a 45mm stem, a setup that works well with its geometry to create a climbing position that's comfortable whether standing or seated. Even with the long front center / short stem combination, getting enough weight over the front end on steep climbs wasn't any trouble, likely due in part to the bike's steep 74.9° seat tube angle. That angle helps keep the rider's weight centered when the seat post is at full extension, which aids in maintaining rear wheel traction without unweighting the front end.

Transition bills their GiddyUp Link suspension layout as being designed to be run fully open at all times, but on longer climbs I still preferred to run it in the middle compression setting to minimize the amount of suspension movement during out of the saddle pedaling. Think of the blue lever on the Monarch DebonAir shock as a traction control switch – open it up when you need maximum grip, and flip it to the middle setting when efficiency is more important than traction, whether that's during a long grind up a logging road or on a smoother stretch of singletrack. The suppleness of RockShox's new DebonAir is most often touted as benefiting downhill performance, but it works wonders on the ascents as well, allowing the Scout claw its way up nasty climbs with minimal effort thanks to the gobs of traction on tap. Of course, the Scout's weight does mean that it's not going to be quite as peppy of a climber as something a few pounds lighter, but I never felt held back by those extra grams, even on all-day rides that wracked up dizzying amounts of vertical, and the stout frame construction is well worth it as soon as the downhill portion of a ride begins.



Descending

The Scout may climb well, but it's an even better descender, exhibiting outstanding handling no matter how steep or technical the trail. I purposely took it on terrain I thought might rattle it, rough and tumble trails that would push most 5” bikes to their limits, but the Scout took it all in stride, refusing to flinch, even when faced with tight chutes bristling with jagged rocks. Even though there's a 15mm difference between the amount of fork and shock travel, the discrepancy wasn't noticeable on the trail, and the Scout felt extremely well balanced, with plenty of support even during repeated hard impacts. The Scout has the type of supportive feel you'd expect from a well tuned rally car, which allows it to skip over the rough stuff rather than getting bogged down in its travel, keeping it ready to take on the next impact. As with any bike in this class, it takes a little more finesse to get through really chopped up sections of trail, since 125mm of travel only goes so far, but it does feel like there's more than 5" of travel on tap, creating a greater cushion for those poor line choices. For the vast majority of the time the rear suspension felt invisible, sucking up bumps without any odd spiking or harshness. The instances when the rear shock did bottom out were all well deserved, occurring during landings into hard compressions that would have caused almost any bike to reach the end of its travel.

On trails that resemble a pump track, the Scout is a speed machine, and pushing into the backside of a roller generated a satisfying blast of forward motion. There wasn't any discernible frame flex during hard cornering, a trait that encouraged entering turns with more and more speed to see just how hard they could be leaned into. As an added bonus, the Scout is extremely quiet, completely free from any distracting rattling or clanging that can divert a rider's attention from the trail. Getting the bike airborne wasn't any trouble either - like an eager puppy straining at a leash, the Scout wants to leap upwards at the sight of any sort of takeoff. In fact, it's capable enough that I wouldn't hesitate to take it into a bike park to have a go on the flowier, jump filled trails, trails like Whistler's A-Line or Dirt Merchant where a longer travel bike isn't a necessity.



Component Check

• Schwalbe Nobby Nic Tires: Schwalbe's updated tread design broadens the range of conditions that the Nobby Nic is usable in, but it still wouldn't be on my short list of tires for wet conditions. On wet roots and rocks the side knobs had a tendency to let go with minimal warning, making it difficult to put much trust in them on those sloppy days. Once things dried out it was smoother sailing, and they felt more like the capable all-rounder they're intended to be.

• WTB i23 / DT Swiss Wheelset: The WTB rims held up to everything that was thrown at them, but the DT Swiss freehub on the rear wheel occasionally popped under heavy loads. It doesn't use the star ratchet system found on DT's higher end hubs that we've had good luck with, instead using a more traditional spring loaded pawl design.

• ANVL Rasp Grips: The Rasp grips are nice and thin, and use a simple one bolt lock-on design, but the rubber durometer is rather hard, which caused sore hands on longer rides.

• RockShox Monarch Debonair RT3: Even when set up with the generous amount of sag that Transition recommends, the Monarch Debonair provided excellent small bump sensitivity while still remaining able to handle larger impacts. There was a slight 'thunk' noise that occurred somewhere in the initial 40% of the stoke, one that was most noticeable when the shock was in the middle compression setting, but it didn't seem to have any affect on the shock's performance.

• Race Face Turbine Crank: Race Face's Turbine cranks are becoming a familiar sight on trail and all-mountain bikes, and for good reason. Their strength to weight ratio is excellent, and the Cinch System allows them to easily be set up to work with just about any chain ring / bottom bracket configuration imaginable.




Pinkbike's Take: