Spur branches Transition into down country
Transition has joined the down country trend with its Spur, which combines 120mm of travel with bold geometry
Transition’s Spur has added yet another interpretation of the current down country design trend.
The Bellingham company’s mountain bikes are popular amongst riders more given to descending technical terrain, but with a lightweight build kit and efficient 120mm suspension, its refers to this new bike as ‘all-country’ capable.
Although its short-travel suspension numbers indicate an appetite for rolling big cross-country mileages, the Spur is not adverse of descending equally big terrain.
Best full-suspension mountain bikes for tackling the toughest cross-country courses
Best XC forks 2020: the best cross country forks you can buy today
Best mountain bike wheels 2020: the best MTB wheels reviewed
Geometry numbers are very bold for a 120mm frame, with a 66-degree head angle and 480mm reach on the size large. Those numbers would not be out of place on a dedicated trail bike.
With the Spur, Transition’s production planners are obviously targeting mountain bikers with adept technical riding ability, who like doing long weekend rides, without any shuttle assistance in steep terrain.
Differentiating the Spur from other Transition models, is a more compact rocker link and uniform rear triangle. To save weight and reduce maintenance complexity, Transition’s designers opted to create a flex stay rear triangle for the Scout, removing the conventional pivot bearing.
'Rowdy' down country spec
Overall equipment specification is definitely more geared towards trail use than pure cross-country riding.
The Spur range features 800mm wide handlebars, held in place by a 50mm stem, and a high-volume 2.4in Maxxis Dissector/Rekon tyre combination. Despite this uncharacteristically burly build kit, the Spur can haul along two hydration bottles, with mounts above and under the downtube.
All Spurs use OneUp component dropper seatposts, which are generous in their stroke. The small frames feature 120mm of drop, mediums upping it to 150mm and 180mm on the large sizes, whilst extra-large frames have enormous 210mm travel droppers.
The Spur frameset weighs in at a relatively light 2500g (shock included), for $2,999. Build options start at $4,999, for a SRAM GX kit with RockShox SIDLuxe Select+ shock and SID Select+ fork, rolling Stans Arch S1 Team wheels.
Inflate your budget to $5,999 and Transition adds a SID Ultimate fork and matching SIDLuxe shock, XO1 drivetrain, and DT Swiss XR1700 wheels.
Riders who have the means and desire a cleaner overall aesthetic and the crispest possible shifting, can opt for Transition’s SRAM AXS equipped Spur, priced at $8,999. It rolls DT Swiss XRC 1200 Spline 25 carbon wheels, to help achieve a target trail weight of only 11.2kg.
Lance Branquinho is a Namibian-born journalist who graduated to mountain biking after injuries curtailed his trail running. He has a weakness for British steel hardtails, especially those which only run a single gear. As well as Bike Perfect, Lance has written for MBR.com, Off-Road.cc and Cycling News.