2022 Transition Patrol - Long term staff review
- Posted on
- By Steve Guppy
- Posted in Staff Reviews, Transition Bikes, Transition Patrol
2022 Transition Patrol - A long term staff review:
I’m approaching a year of riding on the 2022 Transition Patrol, in that time I’ve used it for everything from bike park days to a week of trail riding in Moab, along with regular North Shore and Squamish days out.
The most obvious feature of the 2022 Patrol is the mixed wheel or mullet setup. I have really enjoyed the way this bike handles and would say Transition has nailed the geometry when it comes to making the most of the mullet wheels.
The thing that really stood out when I first got the bike is the way it dives into turns when you lean the bike over, to me it feels like it really wants to hook into the turn once you get some lean angle going. This makes for a lot of fun when linking turns together.
The other area where this bike really stands out to me is in steep sections, particularly rock rolls, where the bigger front wheel helps with confidence coming out at the bottom, and the smaller rear wheel gives maximum clearance when going over the top! To me it really is the best of both worlds when it comes to the riding we have in the lower mainland and sea to sky area.
It's not a light bike in the Alloy version, but I find the seated position is very comfortable for grinding my way up the hill. Tight switchbacks can be challenging but totally doable with the right body positioning.
I’ve been riding the bike mostly in its low setting, which certainly feels low even with 165mm cranks. I find I have to be very tactical about sneaking in extra cranks, and timing my pedal strokes to avoid pedal strikes. There are plenty of scars on my crank arms that show this is not always possible…
Jumping on this bike is a lot of fun, I find it very predictable off the lip but still playful in the air. I’m not sure if it's the mixed wheels, geometry, weight of the bike or all of these combined, but I find this bike feels very ‘calm’ in the air and encourages me to ride bigger and bigger jumps.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend the Transition patrol to any rider who’s priority on a ride is to have as much fun as possible!
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments, I will try my best to answer them.
Cheers, Steve.
Shop Patrol:
https://www.rockycycle.com/patrol-nx.html
Detailed specs from Transition: