Transition TR 250 :: A riders Review (Not a mechanic!) :: February 2012
I have been riding a Transition TR250 for over 3 months here in New Zealand. Prior to this bike I was pedaling a Giant Reign X0.
I got hold of a 250 through the great people at Kingpin Bikes NZ - A factory build kit ,with the only flash bits I have put on being a Chromag OSX Bar (wide!) and a Rock Shox Reverb seat post.
I used to ride a lot in the North of New Zealand... Woodhill, Riverhead, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington and some sneaky local stuff everywhere that may or may not be marked trails. I moved to the deep south of New Zealand to have access to the newly opened Skyline Gondola and Queenstown Bike Park. Arriving with the Giant I quickly realised that it was not capable of taking the stuff I wanted to throw it down. (Also the X0 was an ugly color and I'd broken one before so it was time for change.)
I had recently ridden a couple of Transition 450's and knew they would be ideal for the DH in the local area - Heaps of locals on them - but I am stuck in the mindset that I want a bike that can do everything - trail riding, freeride, DH and Urban Assult**! (Riding to the dairy**). I also like the ability to turn a single crown fork right around in tight/technical situations. I'd been looking at options and liked the bombproofness of the Transition options. I also liked the option to increase the wheelbase and suspension depths that the 250 offered [6" or 7" options just by moving a bolt] - and the 250 also comes with the all new and super shiny Fox 180mm Van R's. 7inches of singlecrown!?!? Yes!
The medium TR250 arrived in a the smallest, most cunningly packed bike box the world has ever seen. I got to work the day it arrived trying to put it together using a multitool and a hacksaw. I got reasonably far with the build - but had to ring in some of the lads to help with the box guide setup and fitting the bottom bracket. The best mechanics in the world (Plug! R&R Sport Queenstown) put the finishing touches in - bled the dropper post which came with a hydraulic line as long as a ridiculous piece of string, fitted the cable for the rear derailleur and generally tweaked it to mint.
First ride out was to the Gondola accessed DH. Felt super confident in the setup from test riding it off some massive 10cm curbs downtown. I had the wheel base raked out to maximum (I am six foot and weigh 85kgs)... Brakes were sharp as you like and so I just got right amongst it! Smashed out a whole lot of laps - The raked out head angle and the extra inch in the front end vs my old Fox 36's was great for smashing at all kinds of amateur angles into roots, rocks and some off trail accidental lines! It rolls down steep steep trails without feeling like you are going to send yourself over the bars.
The back end just eats everything. Very hard to describe as I don't feel what is happening back there... just a whole lot of smoothness! It's hard to get the front end off the ground under hard acceleration but everything transfers into the back wheel for sure. Note: RC4 with 500pound spring set to slow rebound works really nice.
Here is the unreal bit: I then rode UPHILL in Wellington - Makara Peak. I am talking a burly uphill. A 40/50 minute climb in the saddle the whole way. I did this with a 36 tooth front sprocket, a small cluster on the back and just lifted the dropper post and boom! To the summit! This is CRAZY riding uphill on 7 inches?! NO PROBLEM. Seriously.
Rode a whole lot of other technical and often pedally XC/FR trails in Wellington all the same setup of 7 inches no lockout in the front or back. Sweet! Note: Bike weighs in at about 34 pounds.
Heaps of DH with the lads on full DH rigs and I felt like I was in the game for sure... everything they were throwing their big rigs down I could send the 250 down all day long too!
The unreal action continues: Back to Queenstown and rode a 3 hour (epic in my books) track called the Moonlight trail. Went with some fit crew and managed to keep up with the best of them... sweating pretty hard but still in the saddle, still with the 7 inch setup. The best bit is when we got to the downhill sections or super techy rock sections, I just drop the seatpost and BOOM it's time to get rapid, unleash the plushness and ease of a really big trail bike!
Queenstown has a series of trails called 7mile which is an XC/freeride park with a bunch of structures and it's quite pedally. Probably used the dropper post every minute but the bike went up, across and definitely down super tidy! After all this I had seen the absolute versatility of my machine.
As an alternative to all this trail riding I decided to go for a ride with Queenstown Bike Taxis up at Coronet (Zoot track) Downhilling with 9 other lads all on double crown forks and heavy rigs - Smashed it out with them... All good. We then headed to Wynyard to put some laps in there too - Big as doubles and twisty, super skinny structures and big berms here - all riding the same setup on the TR250.
Also went to DirtPark and dropped a road gap - Usually reserved for full DH rigs as well. Sweet as candy. There is some pretty techy and big sections of downhill here too - a pretty comprehensive test for sure.
The conclusion I have come to is that the Transition TR250 is black gold. I ride every and any trail I want - I mix it up with flats and clipped in, dropped post and tall post. It pedals well in all conditions and bizarrely climbs like a champion! If you are into your Freeride and want a bike that you can take worldwide to do any trials then this is the top option. No doubt. FULLY TESTED.
Demo TR250's are available at the Outside Sports Demo Centre in Queenstown. Call them up on (03)441 0074.
Summary Notes:
Setup: 2011 Transition TR250 Medium - Matt Black
Weight: 34 pounds
Add ons: Chromag OSX Burnt Orange | Rock Shox Reverb Post | Cool blue cable ties for all the cabling
Types of trails: Full on DH | All Mountain | 1/2 day XC Missions | MTB Dirt Jumps | Singletrack | Freeride | Missions to the Dairy | Structures
Pedaling: 8/10 - But amazing as I just leave it in 7" setup the whole time!
Angles: Raked out! Good for super steep trails
Rear Suspension function: 10/10 - eats everything up
Fork Bike combo?! I recommend the 180mm fork with the 250.
Other: I use the Reverb post literally all the time. Get one.
More other stuff: Factory build kit is bomb proof. I am a vandal and everything is sweet! Revolution 32 wheels are genuinely bombproof.
Thanks to: Queenstown Mountainbike Club | Revolution Products | Kingpin Bikes | Bikeparks Auckland | Skyline | Transition | Chromag
James
