20-second review: Transition TransAm

When we talk about all-mountain hardtails over here, I often cite the Transition TransAm as a great example of a do-all machine. Last week I got to ride one. Briefly.

Situation
Teaching a clinic at a rocky park in NorCal. Eleven hardcore students including Joe, a high school sophomore who got to take off school that day because he maintained As. The other students were all successful professionals on high end machines. Joe’s TransAm, which he cobbled together at the Trail Head Cyclery swap meet, stood out.

Build
I honestly don’t know. The fork seemed to be a pretty clapped out Pike or similar. It had some play, but it was plush. The brakes worked well enough.

Section
We were sessioning a boulder-pocked series of corners that dumped into a mess of rocky horrors. The idea was to cultivate an oscillation and time that oscillation with the terrain sine wave style. If you don’t know what that means, watch any video of Curtis Keene.

The dudes on the Ibis Mojo HDs were attacking the section like the men they are. Joe was dancing on his hardtail and making it look just as fun.

I had to try.

20 seconds
Push the bike up the section.
Bounce on the fork. Squeeze the brakes.
Re-calibrate my inner trampoline for the new frequency.
Go!
The bike took off like a shot. It hopped over frontsides and pumped the backs. It snapped the turns and skimmed across the violence.
The section was over about that fast. And it was just as fun as the Mojo SL I was riding.

Bottom line
From my experience the Transition TransAm has a nice ride and sweet geometry. It’s definitely a good choice for an all-mountain hardtail.

From the Transition site

Braaap!

Lee

Know more. Have more fun!

Join the leelikesbikes mailing list: