Transition Spur Owners??

Morning Folks

Just wondering if there are any real world reviews of the Spur? I am particularly interested in their big mountain ability. I had my eye on a Sentinel but in reality I would be overbiked a lot of the time.

Although the Spur would be a lot more pleasant to shoulder and carry to the top of a Munro – would it be too compromised and not burly enough for a big mountain descent?

Looking at the numbers – the head angle is about the same as my Smuggler (Albeit mine is running 150mm which will slacken by about a degree I guess over the standard 140mm) and the rear travel is the same at 120mm.

Everything is a compromise I know, thats why N+1 exists right?

Would just be really interesting to see if the bike is as good an allrounder as the press say. Sadly, in the current climate, a demo is not realistic.

Dave

On the transition owners groups/forums they seem well liked, but I take any joe public opinion with a pinch of salt…
On paper it looks the best of the new short travel light efficient but with the geo to still be fun crop. It’s got me interested (in replacing my sentinel with that & a long travel heavy hitter….) but sensible head and saving for a house, and current uncertainty means I definitely wont be doing so…

As an unqualified and with no actual experience, there seems to be lots of complaints about bushing problems with the SID fork, makes me wonder if it’s being run a bit harder/outside what it’s designed for, someone put a 130mm pike on it was ~100g heavier and only 6mm longer in A-C length so I think I would be thinking along those lines…..

Anyway, no experience myself so no help whatsoever, also, not sure you’d find one to buy 😉

Had mine since October and it is a riot. Beyond fast up hill and along singletrack but it has just enough in reserve to hit things hard. I haven’t taken it on too much that I’d say I NEED a longer travel bike for, but I’ve been hitting everything I usually do just as fast as any other bike I’ve owned, and indeed faster in a lot of cases.

Biggest bike I’ve owned is a Mondraker Foxy Carbon XR back in 2015/16, so 160/140mm with a Fox 36 up front and the Spur has it licked in most areas. Be interested to see how it gets on at places like Antur, the roughest place I took the Foxy, but for everything else it’s no contest, I’d take the Spur every day of the week.

Genuinely think that unless you frequently ride proper DH trails, whether they be fresh cut super steep loam or properly rock, Antur/Fort william style stuff, it’s all the bike 90% of people will ever need and would give a hell of a lot of people a second thought on the need for e-bikes… Jump off an Enduro bike and ride a Spur and you’ll be amazed how much faster it is yet sacrifices so little going down.

I’ve no answers but I do share the same question. Head and 90% of my riding says Spur. Heart and 10% of riding says sentinel.

I’m interested in this too. Looking to buy something with 120mm-ish travel to replace my current short travel bike and my 140mm bike.

The Spur, Tallboy, Whyte s-120, Ibis Ripley and Banshee Phantom are on my list – finding anything in stock is proving tricky though.

Seen a few folk using their Spurs in a trail bike manner, it is a 120mm suspension bike, so can take a decent hit, but that’ll be more down to how you build it, also noting the rear shock is a bit fragile from previous discussions on the transition forums.

we’ve a smuggler carbon and a spur.

for its intended use, trail centres, XC/trail with a bit of tech, i think that the spur is the better bike. if you stuck a 130mm pike on the spur that would increase its capabilities. my OH (who the spur belongs to) doesn’t think the SiD is a very smooth fork. I would say it is maybe a little out of place when you take the spur onto harder stuff. don’t get me wrong, its a very good for fork for what it is – but what it is is an XC fork.

for my definition of “big mountain” riding, i’d prefer to be riding the smuggler. its a bit stouter and can take a bigger fork. also, for big mountain riding i presume you’re talking about adding big, burly tyres. This would in effect just be making a spur more like a smuggler, which you’ve already got.

also worth adding that the carbon smugglers are substantially lighter than the alloy ones. you don’t mention which one you’ve got. the gap between carbon smuggler and spur is probably much smaller than alloy smuggler (which i’ve never ridden) and spur.

if you want a slightly bigger bike, the ariel 30 is worth a look – 10mm longer at each end, slacker, longer reach, and cheaper. Downside is its a bit heavier too..

Hmm, this is all really interesting.

lawman91 – that’s kinda what I was thinking. I don’t typically ride FT Bill, although I have done it on my Smuggler but was more an exercise in cheating death rather than mountain biking……

The Sentinel would excel there, comparted to the Smuggler (with the 150mm Lyric Ultimates)and even more so compared to the Spur. But, its not what I usually ride. My concern is the climbing and carrying advantage of low weight, could mean its just not burly enough for the big mountain descents. As fitnessischeating says – lots eating through shock bushings. I am on the heavier side too – 105kg ish.

ehrob – Really good observation on the fork and shock too – light weight but not designed for the big hits. As you say, you could fit Pikes but that then you run into other weak areas I would guess.

My Smuggler is an alloy one – so it’s on the weighty side.

I guess this opens up another discussion then – is a carbon Sentinel significantly better than the alloy Smuggler as an all rounder? More capable for the same weight? Just as efficient uphill, despite the additional travel and slacker angles?

Dave

As a footnote – I will have a local uplift once Glenshee is finished this year….

The other thing to consider is tyre clearance. I believe the spec claims 2.4 on the spur and 2.6 on the sentinel

Thanks Onza – an issue I am well versed with. 2.3 non WT DHR2 is very tight on the Smuggler.

I think my heart is still in a grey Sentinel with lots of Burgtec or Hope shinys to add some magic…

Are people still buying short travel trail bikes?

Had my XL Phantom frame up for sale for nearly 2 months without a peep!

I was really keen on a Spur, but couldn’t really afford one at the time (same with the Tallboy).

The sentinel will also run coil or air. The spur has enough progressivity for a coil but I’m not sure it has the physical space between the lower mount and the seat tube.

Also, the longer chainstay of the sentinel will mean a quieter drivetrain.

Plus, if it matters to you, the sentinel is Horst link, the spur is linkage activated cantilever.

I don’t think a Pike would make the Spur anymore capable to be honest, certainly 10mm extra front travel won’t help, it’d be the slightly stiffer chassis that would make more difference, and even then, I’d say it’s marginal unless you are a heavier rider. I’m 6ft 1″ and 72kg so no heavyweight mind! The SiD is a stonkingly good fork really, it’s easily a match damping/control/comfort wise for the Pike on my old T130.

At 105kg, you may find the Spur a smidge on the flexy side, but I don’t think it would affect durability; the “issues” with the Sidluxe shock aren’t really issues at all, they just overfill the air can with grease and mines been flawless since new, likewise the fork. No bushing play in mine so far and I’m nearly 800 miles in on it.

@davegt, if you did want a Sentinel, what size would you need? Tweeks have a large NX build in stock in Ti Grey

My LBS actually has a Large XT build coming in this month.

Just wonder how much more capable it will be than the Smuggler.

Methinks another post on STW is coming up….

Both are great bikes, if I did more uplifts and the like (and was far better at jumps and steeps!) , a Sentinel would be top of my list for sure. I think the Smuggler would split the difference between the two, but not by much. With a 150mm fork on your Smuggler, it’s going to be very close in capability to a Sentinel, whereas the Spur will be way, way lighter and still have enough to get you by, just without having a big safety blanket if you get it wrong.

I just love how the Spur manages to toe the line perfectly between being a lightening quick speed demon that would show up many an XC race bike and something you can just let go of the brakes and shred on. It’s plenty slack and long enough and with the stock tyres & suspension it’s got enough grip and composure to get away with it too. Yet to feel like I’ve overstepped its mark yet and that includes a top 10 Strava time down the last descent at Llandegla, which is torn to shreds at the minute and rattles many a bike around!

i haven’t ridden a sentinel, but my big bike is a guerrilla gravity smash. similar class of bike to a sentinel. there’s overlap in the usage envelope between it and my smuggler for sure, but its massively more capable. its also about 7cm longer, 2 degrees slacker and has a 38 up front and a coil shock! so not a surprise really. your smuggler is capable for a short travel bike, but its still a short travel bike.

there might still be the odd carbon smuggler knocking about, worth inquiring. that might be all you need to get here if you really like your smuggler…

have you considered the Deviate highlander?

@lawman91 – I like the idea of the Spur, a really useful bike most of the time, I like the whole underdog thing that the Spur and the Smuggler possess, that ability to feel like they are slacker and have more travel than they actually have.

We were over in Torridon a couple of months back and even a lad I ride with regularly didn’t realise my Smuggler was the only one in our group with less than 150mm at the rear. Although, to be fair, I could have done with something more capable that weekend. Or rather something to flatter my lack of skill….

@ehrob – you are right. My Smuggler is sitting at the enduro end of the trail spectrum but its still a short travel 29er and although mine is the last off the line – its still an older bike with correspondingly older angles etc.

Might try and find some way of riding a Sentinel first.

@ehrob – Carbon Smugglers, aesthetically I don’t like them. Overly swoopy. The previous generation Sentinel was the same. Just a very personal and subjective thing!

The new stuff from TR just look superb. Its not just the riding for me. Its the whole ownership appeal. Opening the garage door to see a fleet of bikes you really love.

@poah – Yes, big respect for them, great bikes. But not my thang.

I’m loving my ‘Smugginel’… It’s a carbon smuggler running 160mm Pike Ultimate out front and 120mm Deluxe Ultimate out back. Proper lightweight hooligan of a machine. For sure, jumping up to 160mm on the front compromises climbing, but point it down ans wahey!

Weighs naff too thanks to some bling-bling carbon hoops and other bits forged from the black stuff.

Hi @campfreddie – I remember we spoke when I was building my Smuggler. I started with 140mm Pikes and its properly good with the 150mm Lyriks. I spoke to TR head office and they didn’t recommend going up to 160. Mainly – the official line was it wouldn’t handle like they intended.

If I am honest – its not more at the front end I would like – the rear can blow through travel and loose composure on chunkier stuff. My buddy has a Kona Process 153 29er and it felt bottomless by comparison.

When I was looking at a bouncer (with my only other MTB being rigid) the Spur was right up at the top of the list. Supply issues aside the price was what stopped me, even the bottom spec Spur was £5k. In the realms of nice bikes that’s not ridiculous these days but in absolute terms, it’s a whole heap of cash!

@benp1 – the Spur especially. Like when Porsche charge more for the light, stripped out model 🙂

I have a Spur, it is ridiculously, laugh out loud, good. Lawnman has pretty much described it. It’s probably all you need for most of your uk riding. For big mountain, chopsy stuff I’d take the Patrol – that’s for my benefit … the Spur would be fine 😉

I ride my spur on steep techy trails. I’m not the fastest rider or one who does big jumps. But it’s super capable.
Would happily ride it on the reds and the techy blacks at bpw.

This thread needs pics!

Going to ask, why stick to the big wheel version?
I recently got a scout and with 150/140 on 27.5 wheels it is an absolute hooligan with the sale down and is great to ride xc with the saddle up

I’ve had a hand in 3 Spur custom builds. One each for me and my other half and a third for a riding buddy. Have to say all three run a 120mm Fox 34 Stepcast fork so I cant comment on the SID. Not surprised though as the older SID’s always felt very stiff and less forgiving than a Fox.

My other half (5ft 8″) on a Medium and our buddy (6ft+) on a Large love them. It massively helped the confidence and riding of my other half. Me on the other hand at 5ft 10″ on a Medium I’m not convinced I can get the setup as dialed. I’m in that upper medium, lower large sizing quandary. Saddle all the way back on the rails and a 55mm stem. The Large felt like a boat but the Medium limits my reach due to the seatpost angle. Dont get me wrong its fast downhill and its never felt out of its depth racing BC Bike race in Canada last year, but uphill its not quite there (which is where I focus on setup over design).

My benchmarks are a Tallboy 3 and a Tallboy 4 which I’ve both ridden and the Spur sits between those bikes. The TB3 is a better climber, the TB4 a phenominal descender. I think the Spur can be the “one” bike you need for most riding, but its best if you sit in the middle of the frame suggested sizing. I love the bike both for its simple hardtail like lines and ease of maintenance, but part of me wishes I’d bought a Blur TR as I’m sat in the mid sizing of a Large with a Santa Cruz.

Just purchased what might be the only Spur GX in existence in the whole of the UK!
After waiting for over 6 months for a delayed delivery, I found one 1km from where we were staying in Wales for a biking trip! Looking forward to getting it sorted for a weekend of sunny riding.

*In existence for sale obvs… Plenty of them about on the trails of course

I’ve owned one since December (Large GX build in Deep Sea Green colour). It really does what it says on the tin and handles anything, although on choppy, rocky trails you might be going a bit slower than your mates on their 160mm+ enduro bikes (but not that much slower).

I’m exactly 6ft and sit right in the middle of Transition’s size chart for a large. It’s the best fitting bike I’ve ever owned and doesn’t feel big at all. I could easily ride an XL, but I don’t think that’s what this bike is about.

The suspension is much more active than the pure XC bike I came from (Giant Anthem). Sag and rebound need a bit of experimenting but once set to your sweet spot, I haven’t noticed any loss of efficiency when doing long mile-munching epics. It flies up steep, ledgy, technical climbs, and you’ve always got the lockout for tarmac. I would be interested in trying it with a Fox DPS rear shock for the middle platform setting. The stock SID stuff does save a load of weight though.

Overal, a highly entertaining, engaging ride. Definitely a one bike option if your riding errs on the side of XC / trail, but you occasionally ride bigger stuff with friends who have bigger bikes. It will rise to the occasion and you’ll be waiting for them at the top of the next descent.

I’ve recently gone from an alloy mk1 smuggler (115mm travel rear with 160mm pike) to a carbon mk1 sentinel (140mm rear / 170 lyrik front).

Never ridden a spur.

But what I would say about smuggler vs. sentinel is that the sentiel is way more capable downhill but seems to pedal just as well as the shorter travel smuggler.