In my mind, Transition bikes are designed to be enjoyed on all tracks, from your local loop, trail centres and bike parks alike. They are built up to live run after run, descent after descent and well beyond the life of your wheels. This is the style of riding I enjoy the most.
When Transition launched their new ‘Giddy Up’ suspension platform a couple of seasons ago, they introduced the ‘Smuggler’; a 29er with 115mm of rear travel. That’s right folks, with only 115mm of travel and 29” wheels, it would be easy to think this bike is very much aimed at the XC market, but the Smuggler is far more bike than that.
Over the past couple of years, there have been huge leaps in design and technology available to bike brands. More and more designers are focusing on the right geometry, with sound suspension performance, rather than, purely how much travel can you fit into a frame. This is evident through the growing number of shorter travel trail bikes lighting up the way forward.
The Smuggler ticks all of the points of a modern geometry bike. Long front, paired with a short rear. Low BB, slack enough head angle (67.5 degrees) and plenty of standover. It is an aluminium built frame though. But is this really an issue? It is heavier than some other bikes in the same category, but the complete build of our Smuggler ‘4’ is less expensive than a lot of carbon frames on the market.
It’s is still very stiff indeed and I’ve been more than happy pedalling it around all day long. The aluminium frame has shrugged of a number of rock strikes without a second thought. I have friends with carbon bikes that are beautiful on the eye but with each rock strike, they wince, checking the frame over after every ride. Is the extra cost and lower weight really worth it?
Our test bike is the lowest specced Smuggler that Transition offer. It weighed in at a not so featherweight 31.9lbs, although this number can easily be reduced through upgrades when the time comes. Clean welds and tidy internal routing make for one mean looking bike.
The cable/hose entry ports at the top of the downtube are well angled, guiding the cables clear of the head tube. This amount of clearance means after six months of riding, there are no wear marks on the headtube and I didn’t feel the need to place any frame protection here. The cables and hoses do rattle somewhat. It’s an easy fix but a little annoying. It’s nice to be able to run full length outer with the internal routing.
Suspension is taken care of by the high volume RockShox Monarch Debonair rear shock, driven by Transition Horst link ‘Giddy Up’ linkage. This setup has not floundered once. Transition recommend running the Smuggler with 33% sag, which seems a little excessive for such a short travel bike. However, I did eventually settle on their recommendations and it has provided a sensitive, ride that doesn’t wallow whilst climbing and does not result in harsh bottom outs (well the occasional one or two). I left the shock open all the time.
On technical climbs the rear end provides plenty of traction, whilst still being efficient enough. You aren’t going to smash any climbing records but you will get to the top without spinning out and without wasting too much energy. On the way down, the Smuggler is comfortable through root sections and provides grip under braking and through loose corners. Finding the limit of this short travel trail ripper is quite a scary experience. I used all of the travel on every ride, thankfully only having the occasional harsh bottom out on the bigger drops to flat and g’outs.
The Smuggler is designed around a 130mm fork. On the higher specs you get a Pike or a Fox 34. The stock spec we tested comes with a RockShox Sektor Gold. The 32mm stanchions and Turnkey damping didn’t do the bike justice and on most rides was left desiring more from the fork. Ok, on a ride which leaned towards the XC style of trail riding, they were fine. But, this bike is more capable than that. As soon as the trail steepened, the more flexible fork liked to tuck-in on corners, making it difficult to exit on the bike.
During the test period, I swapped the Sektor out for a DVO Diamond, set to 140mm. The difference in performance was like night and day. A stiffer front end with slightly more travel meant I could push harder into obstacles. On the steep tracks the stiff frame was now paired with a stiff fork. I could get through turn after turn on the bike and it went where I pointed it. This change made me realise even more, what this bike was capable of and the slightly longer fork didn’t affect the geometry, in fact I think it made it better, being ever so slightly slacker.
Having a long wheel base, low bb and slack(ish) head angle results in a very stable ride at speed. The wheels roll over trail features with ease and there is so much grip in fast corners. To deliver the short back end, the smuggler is 1x only, taking up to a 32 tooth chainring.
I didn’t miss the front mech one little bit. I can see past it, because not having it has given the designers the room to make 436mm chainstays. Six mm longer than an Evil ‘The Following’ but a little more tire clearance, which is nice here in the UK. There are ISCG 05 guide mounts on board, although for the first time in a while I didn’t run any kind of guide, and haven’t dropped the chain off the Race Face ring once.
Standover on the new Transition bikes is fantastic, without looking ugly on the larger bikes. This standover means you can freely move around on the bike, especially when life get steep. My only gripe would be that our large bike comes with a KS eTen Integra 100mm dropper post. The mechanics of the post work without fault, it’s the drop which seems a little odd when paired with this frame.
With a 32” inside leg I ran the post pretty much on the minimum insertion limit. This meant there was pretty much 100 mm of static post out of the frame. In my opinion that is a waste of post. A bike with this standover is more suited to a 150mm (or 125mm if you have shorter legs) dropper post, as specced on the range from builds ‘3’ to ‘1’. I could probably even get away with the new breed of 170mm dropper posts.
We’ve tested the entry level spec of Smuggler and it has been great fun. Yes there are parts I have swapped out to see how capable you can make it, but they weren’t essential. It would have been nice to have a longer dropper post but again you can live with the 100mm. What I would look to do is to upgrade the wheels to something a little lighter, wider and with premium hubs. This will make a huge difference.
Overall: This bike is far more than a 115mm XC bike. It is a joy to ride on all singletrack and loves to gobble up technical terrain. If you’re a trail rider who likes to seek out the tech, it is well worth having a test on the Smuggler. You won’t regret it.
- Frame // Transition Smuggler, Alloy, Giddy-Up Link
- Shock // RockShox Monarch RT, 115mm travel
- Fork // RockShox Sektor RL Gold Fork, Solo Air, 130mm travel
- Hubs // Shimano M615 Centrelock
- Rims // WTB STp i23
- Tyres // Maxxis High Roller II EXO 2.35″
- Chainset // Race Face Ride, 30T narrow-wide chainring
- Rear Mech // SRAM GX type 2, 10-speed
- Shifters // SRAM X5
- Brakes // Shimano M615 w/180mm rotors
- Stem // Race Face Ride 35
- Bars // Race Face Turbine 35
- Grips // Transition lock-on
- Seatpost // KS eTENi dropper post, 100mm travel
- Saddle // WTB Volt Comp
- Size Tested // Large
- Sizes available // Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
- Weight // 14.5kg / 31.9lb
Review Info
| Brand: | Transition |
| Product: | Smuggler ‘4’ |
| From: | Windwave |
| Price: | £2,799.95 |
| Tested: | by Richard for 6 months |
