Thankfully I’ve never had to test out their warranty but on mtbr etc they seem to have a good reputation.
I have a Covert, a Bandit and a Transam, all of which have been faultless so far.
I’ve only ever seen one broken Transition – a mate cracked the frame on his Bandit but he’s broken almost every bike he’s ever had. Transition sorted it no problem.

I think it’s Windwave who are now the importers rather than Surfsales.
Hope you can get it sorted. Transition normally have a good reputation for helping owners – have you contacted them directly?
Awesome bikes. Hope you get yours fixed soon.

Hi Ton,
Although I’m a medic (paediatrician) I don’t think I can give any useful medical advice here. But as a patient on a few scary medicines myself i can totally understand and empathise. The dilemma of maintaining good control vs risk of serious side effects is horrible. For me, it’s scary immunosuppressives to control Crohn’s disease with a small risk of serious infection or some rare and serious cancers amongst other things.
At work I spend lots of time taking patients through this and explaining risks and benefits which all make sense but turn the situation round and I find it very difficult. Things that help are having supportive family members and friends who are good at listening when I’m fed up and grumpy. Getting good information.from the right experts is crucial in making the best choice you can in difficult circumstances.
If you can only find out whether you can cope with coming off the amiodarone by coming off it, it sounds like that’s worth a go. Do they think the amiodarone would be effective again if it needs to be restarted? It’s always worth asking what other options are available – even if it’s just to confirm that you’re making the right decision in choosing something with potential problems.
Hope it all works out for you, it sounds like you’ve had a tough time.

Which model Bandit are you on at present?
I’ve just switched from 70mm to 35mm on my new Bandit – it handles much better now.
Previously didn’t like stems that short but the longer top tub on the new Bandit really makes it work. I fitted new wider bars at the same time which I think also helps.

There’s a ton of great riding throughout that journey.
I lived in Calgary about 10 years ago and have been back a couple of times since so I know some of the local riding well. Our favourite area was Kananaskis which has some fabulous epic XC rides within easy reach of Calgary. We also found great trails all around Banff and Canmore. I’ve only ever skied at Fernie but I would guess the biking is awesome.
I would strongly recommend Doug Eastcott’s book, Back Country Biking in the Canadian Rockies. This will give you lots of the best local XC rides.
Think this link will take you to it on Amazon:
Back Country Biking
Enjoy the trip. I’m very envious – it’s my favourite place in the World and I haven’t been able to get back for the last few years.

I moved to Dumfries about 10 years ago. Not quite in the town itself but a small village a few miles outside.
Mostly it’s been a great move for me and my family. We occasionally miss the things a bigger city can offer but the easy access to fantastic countryside, good schools and an easy commute to work more than offset anything we miss about being near a bigger city.
The weather can be a bit damp which gets a bit depressing on occasion but when the weather is good the area is just fantastic.

Riding a 650b Bandit here, having had a 26 Covert. Bought the Bandit for the same reason as the OP as although I love my Covert (and still have it) it was overkill for my local 7 Stanes trails.
Great decision, OP, you’re going to love the Bandit. Which forks did you go for? I have X-fusion Sweeps on mine which are great but would have preferred Pikes which I suspect would make it perfect. On the other hand I was really pushing my budget and for the money I’m very impressed with the X-fusions.
Enjoy the new bike!

I have 180 front and 160 rear on my Bandit. Seems to be perfect on the local Stanes trails.
I would probably go 203 / 180 if I was doing longer, steeper downhills. That’s what I have on my Covert – to be honest it’s overkill for regular trail riding but the Covert encourages speeds beyond my comfort zone so it’s good to be able to reign it in a bit!

Loving mine so far but I’ve only had it a few weeks so still fettling to get it set up perfectly.
I have a Covert also, which I really really love but it can be a drag on long climbs and is a bit too much bike if I’m just wanting quick blast round the local trails. So far the Bandit seems like the perfect compromise of fun and peddling efficiency.
Haven’t noticed too much difference with the bigger wheels. They do seem to roll better through rocky bits of trail and seem a bit better at maintaining momentum. The Bandit doesn’t seem quite so easy to jump as the Covert (not that I’m really any good at jumping). I’m not sure whether that’s down to the geometry, the wheels or just me getting used to the bike.
Anyway first impressions are very positive.

I’ve had a covert (26 inch) for a couple of years. It’s fantastic – a great do it all bike with a bias towards descending and having fun. It will happily pedal all day but it’s not the quickest climber.
If you want a bike that is almost as capable downhill but pedals better you could consider the Bandit, now available in 27.5 or 29 inch. Because I want something just a bit quicker than the Covert for all day rides I’ve just bought a new Bandit 27.5 to keep the Covert company. Haven’t quite finished building it up yet but hoping to be riding it this weekend. If it rides as good as it looks it’s going to be awesome.

I keep looking at those discounted Yetis on CRC.
The 2010 ASR5c looks fantastic value but the 2010 frames have a reputation for failure. They do come with a 2 year warranty but its Chain Reaction providing the warranty not Yeti.
Still can’t decide whether to go for one of these or keep on saving for a 27.5 frame. Not because I have a particularly strong desire to change wheel sizes but I worry about spending lots on a frame using out dated standards.

That’s a total bummer if they really are sold out of 26″
There appear to be a good few available in uk shops according to Google. I don’t know if buying from a uk shop is an option for you?
I’m seriously thinking of getting a Bandit but would really need 26″ to use my existing fork and wheels. I already have a Covert which I absolutely love but it would be nice to have a Bandit also – the Covert really is overkill for most of the riding I do.
If the 26″ Bandit isn’t available once I’ve saved up, the other bike on my short list would be a Santa Cruz Blur Tr but that’s going to take even longer to save for!

I’m certainly not rad but absolutely love my Covert.
It’s not quick climbing but it will quite happily get me up anything I’m capable of climbing – it just gets there a little bit slower. Point it downhill and it’s just great fun, even though I’m riding it well short of its capabilities. The relatively relaxed angles are confidence inspiring on anything steep and it’s very good at getting me out of trouble if I get over enthusiastic.
It may not be the quickest bike I’ve ever owned but it is, by miles, the most fun.

I used to live right beside Kinnoul.
I still miss it. A lot.
Thanks for posting that video, it brought back some good memories. Must get back up there sometime for a ride.

Well it had to slope one way or another!
I really wasn’t sure which would be the best option to be honest. I’m planning to put some gutters on to collect rain water into a water butt. That seemed easier this way round.

Almost finished.
I laid some salvaged slabs along the front edge .
Still need to do the rest of the landscaping .

All I need now is the roof panels which are coming later this week.

I think my future has a lot of chopping, splitting and stacking……

Having attached a joist frame to the posts, I rebuilt the fence and laid out the floor

Fantastic thread. This has really inspired me – my next shed will have to be self-constructed.
I’m currently building a large log store so I’m getting some practice at timber construction. It does seem ridiculously expensive buying timber but I’m convinced it’s better to build something solid with a bespoke design rather than cheap stuff off the internet.

They were excellent when they replaced my stolen bikes (insured by Direct Line).
They didn’t stock the identical models to the stolen bikes but were very reasonable at providing equivalent value replacements from alternative brands.
I dealt with the same chap each time I had a question and he was very helpful in sorting out the right spec on a pretty expensive bike (Yeti 575 to replace a Santa Cruz Heckler).
I would have no worries using them.