TRANSITION SYREN: BIKE REVIEW BY SHARON BADER

SOURCE: Muddbunnies/Sharon Bader

TRANSITION SYREN: BIKE REVIEW BY SHARON BADER

Transition Bikes is a small bike company out of Ferndale Washington. They are very popular amoungst the downhill freeride crowd and now they are trying to create a bike specific for Women. The swayed top tube allows for smaller riders as well as some changes in suspension design and geometry. The shorter wheelbase and weight lower down and in the back made rearing the front end wanna make you shout Hi Ho Silver AWAY!

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Frame
I ride an 18inch frame which puts on a Large Syren. The swayed top tube made for generous standover for my 5’9″ frame.The squared seat and chain stays were super beafy, the joined top and down tubes would add to the strength of this frame. At 40lbs the bike was tough and built to push through the chunder. Transition’s Temple 50mm, 6degree riser stem added to the slack geometry and put this bike more into the hucking catagory. I measured the chain stay to be 16.5 inches, the theoretical top tube at 22.5inches. The bike is a SLACK 67o. The frame easily accommodated the 2.5 Minion DH tires. This bike also came with only a middle ring.
For me this is a slack short bike.

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Front and rear end
This bike came with the 115-160mm Coil U-turn Rock Shox Domain 318 (6.5lbs) with the Motion Control which allows for adjusting the fork platform to allow better climbing. 35mm stantions and the 20mm Maxel made the front end pretty stiff. The Fox DHX Coil shock was great and I never had an issue with bottoming out or too much rebound. One issue is the air cap on the cartridge is under the suspension linkage so I’m not sure how you would be able to adjust the air.

The guys at Transition decided to mount this shock vertically with the seat stay attached to the shock plate. I’ll let the suspension experts weigh in on the rationale for this. The rear triangle looks a lot like the one on the BottleRocket with the seat stay attached to the shock plate lower on the bike. This lowering of the center of gravity of the bike should provide more stability and shift the main weight of the bike back to provide more stability and make it easier to manipulate the front of the bike. The rear wheel was bolted on. I guess the guys at transition figured the girls wouldn’t mind this since they don’t fix their flats anyway! If they are going to on the trail, they’ll need to carry an extra wrench to get the rear tire off. The saddle I think is not a women’s specific one and was pretty hard for my child bearing hips. I would definately put on a more comfortable saddle.

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About Sharon:
I am 5’9″, weigh 150lbs. I have been riding since 1991 mostly on the North Shore. I also ride in Whistler – Bike Park and Muni trails, Squamish as well we do a lot of road trips to the BC Interior, Washington, Utah and a few trips to California. As mentioned above I come from an XC hardtail background but have moved with technology and ride a Titus RacerX for XC, a Turner 6 pack for DH and Shore riding and a Norco Team Ti set up for more freeriding/shore/technical XC riding. My Bikes!

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Performance
The Shore:
As an old schooler my preference is to ride up. So I like a bike that is comfortable to climb unfortunately this is one area where this bike is lacking. The short cockpit and slackness made longer flat rides or climbs arduous. A granny gear would have facilitated some of the longer climbs. This was compensated for during technical and fast descents where the bike tracked easily and when I had to slow down to negotiate a more technical section the bike reacted effortlessly and predictably. The Domain was really stiff and predictable offering a confident focussed ride. The bike was quiet on the descents, this could be attributed to the single middle ring and the more ‘single pivot’ suspension.

My first ride was down Dirty Diapers/Neds/Bottletop. These Mt. Seymour trails give you a good variety of terrain. Right away I was comfortable on the bike – except for the seat which I had to adjust… The structures on Dirty Diapers were handled with ease. The steep rooty pitches were nothing on this bike. The short uphill climbs were pretty effortless. This frame fit me well and I really enjoyed the stiffness of the Domain having ridden with the Fox 36 TALAS on my Turner 6 pack, and also having used the Rock Shox Lyric on another bike. As I got more comfortable with the bike I was able to let it fly off the hucks on Neds I usually avoid. As an old school shore rider, hucking is not my forte, but on this bike it was begging for it so I had to let it huck. It was fun. Almost too easy.

Transition’s Temple stem really allowed me to get off the back of this bike to make the steeps and jumps effortless. Once at speed this bike just flicked over and around roots like it knew where to go. It tracked well and moved where I wanted it to. It was truly confidence building.

The Avid Juicy 7’s are fantastic reliable brakes! They modulated really well and I could very comfortably use one finger breaking.

Pemberton Rock Face Riding:
Pemberton offers different riding conditions and challenges then the technical trails on the North Shore. You can open it up on these trails which are punctuated by steeper rock faces that can be aired or rolled. The Syren was really comfortable opening up and would soak up pretty much everything I pointed it down! This bike will make any trail flowy. We did four shuttle runs in Pemberton. We stuck mostly to the rock face trails that were interspersed with loose rocky, dusty sections. This bike made these trails almost too easy! I didn’t need to stop, I just kept going and going.

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Summary

Pros:
– Very responsive and quick bike
– Burly frame and welds
– Bike handles quick on tight technical trails and is stable on fast loose rocky descents

Cons:
– Flat riding and climbs were compromised by the slack geometry and short cockpit
– Domain was too stiff for most women and added extra weight
– Bolt on rear wheel necessitates carrying an extra tool

Overall Impression:
This would be a great bike for shuttling and bike park riding. It’s quick, predictable and confidence inspiring. This bike will take you to the next level of technical skill. It would not classify as an all mountain bike since it is not that comfortable to climb or ‘ride’. This could be compensated for with a longer stem and lighter components, but then you wouldn’t have the bike that take you there on the steep and deeps!

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Detailed Specifications
http://www.transitionbikes.com/2007/Syren.cfm

FRAME FEATURES: 152.4mm (6.0″) Rear Wheel Travel
– Fox DHX 5.0 Air 7.5″ x 2″ or DHX 5.0 Coil 7.5″ x 2″
– 6000 Series Heat Treated Aluminum
– Sizes: Small (15″), Medium (15.5″), Large (16″)
– Colors: Black Glitter, Satin White, Baby Blue
– Decals: Decal kit with 4 sets of decals in White, Magenta, Baby Blue, Purple
– Frame Weight: 7.1 lbs (without rear shock)
– Complete Bike Weight Range: 33-38 lbs (Depending on Rear Shock and Fork)
– 1.5″ headtube
– Compatible with up to 7″ single crown forks
– 10mm x 135mm bolt-on/QR dropouts
– 73mm bottom bracket spacing
– Accepts up to 8″ Rear Disc Brake Rotors
– Easily fits up to 2.7″ rear tire
– e-type Front Derailleur Compatible
– Frame Weight (without rear shock): 7.4 lbs
– 1 year defect warranty, Lifetime crash replacement

BUILD SPECS:
Shock Specs: 7.5″ eye-to-eye x 2″ stroke, Top Pin 22.2mm x 8mm, Bottom Pin 22.2mm x 8mm
– Front Derailleur: Shimano e-type, top pull top swing
– Bottom Bracket: 73mm x 118mm
– Headset: 1.5″ (deep cup compatible)
– Seatpost: 31.6mm
– Seat Clamp: 34.9mm
– Rear Dropout Spacing: 135mm x 10mm QR/Thru compatible
– Disc Brake Mount: International Standard
– Standard ISCG Mounting Tabs

Suggested Retail of the frame is $1,322 USD with the Fox DHX 5.0 Coil or $1,390 USD Fox DHX 5.0 AIR

The Shock selection and pricing:
$765 USD Fox 36 Vanilla R
$803 USD Fox 36 Float R
$958 USD Rockshox Totem Coil 1.5
$726 USD Marzocchi 55 ETA
$915 USD Marzocchi 66RC-3

Parts Kits Kit:
$1,218 USD Freeride – Single Ring
$1,274 USD Freeride – Dual Ring
$1,223 USD All Mountain

Geometry for the Syren is as follows:

Small
Top Tube (Effective) 20.44″/519.25mm
Seat Tube (center to top) 15″/381mm
Head Tube Angle 67°
ChainStay Length 16.75″/425.5mm
Bottom Bracket Height 13.8″/351mm
Standover 27.5″
Wheelbase 42.27″/1073.76mm
Head Tube Length 4.527″/115mm
Max Rear Tire Clearance 26″ x 2.7″
Rear Hub Spacing 135mm
Rear Dropout Axle Size 10mm
Head Tube 1.5″
BB Shell Width 73mm

Medium
Top Tube (Effective) 21.5″/546.1mm
Seat Tube (center to top) 15.5″/393.7mm
Head Tube Angle 67°
Seat Tube Angle Actual/Effective 72° / 74°
ChainStay Length 16.75″/425.5mm
Bottom Bracket Height 13.8″/351mm
Standover 27.5″
Wheelbase 43.3″/1100.75mm
Head Tube Length 4.527″/115mm
Max Rear Tire Clearance 26″ x 2.7″
Rear Hub Spacing 135mm
Rear Dropout Axle Size 10mm
Head Tube 1.5″
BB Shell Width 73mm

Large
Top Tube (Effective) 22.5″/571.5mm
Seat Tube (center to top) 16″/406.4mm
Head Tube Angle 67°
Seat Tube Angle Actual/Effective 72° / 74°
ChainStay Length 16.75″/425.5mm
Bottom Bracket Height 13.8″/351mm
Standover 27.5″
Wheelbase 44.3″/1126.15mm
Head Tube Length 4.527″/115mm
Max Rear Tire Clearance 26″ x 2.7″
Rear Hub Spacing 135mm
Rear Dropout Axle Size 10mm
Head Tube 1.5″
BB Shell Width 73mm

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Muddbunnies Note:
The Transition Syren bike review was based on a size large prototype frame. The production model will have slightly steeper angles to improve climbing. Transition Bikes allows their customers to pick their rear shock and fork configurations so you can choose a pure air setup to change the feel of the ride dramatically. Transition expects most women to opt for a DHX 5.0 Air rather than the Domain fork which was used merely for testing at Whistler and for specific travel adjustment to examine various head angles. The bike tested is not an out of the box model that you have to choose. For spec details/options please see end of article.

Many thanks to Sharon Bader for an excellent article!

MUDDBUNNIES MONDAY: WEEK 8 VIDEO

SOURCE: YOUTUBE

Week 8 Video: Marla Strieby

We’re heading back onto the bmx bike for Muddbunnies Monday weekly video. Martha Strieby’s ability on a bmx is impressive. Her vid, (made by husband Nathan) not only shows off her sick set of skills, but offers a few life lessons as well.

FVMBA BURGER AND BREW FUNDRAISER – NOV.4

SOURCE: FVMBA

Support FVMBA by drinking beer and eating burgers!

Fraser Valley Mountain Bikers Association presents a Burger and Brew fund raiser at Blueridge Bar and Grill (3600 Townline road, Abbotsford), Sunday November 4 from 6-9 pm.

All proceeds go back into the trails we love to ride!

Tickets are $12 each and include a burger and a beer. For more info or for tickets call Trevor at 604-309-4587 after 5 pm or you can pick up tickets at the following locations (cash only):

Bike Brewery in Abbotsford
Life Cycles in Abbotsford
Wentings Cycle in Mission

This is the evening after the ledgeview trail day, so I expect to see some hungry and thirsty trail workers there!

FVMBA VEDDER TRAIL MAINTENCANCE DAY – OCT.28

SOURCE: FVMBA

Vedder trail maintenance day – October 28
TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAY

Sunday, OCTOBER 28, 2007
9:30 AM AT VEDDER MOUNTAIN

Please bring your shovels, rakes, picks and any buckets or wheelbarrows.
The more people we can get out the more work we can get done so bring your parents

Please do not bring your bike as there will be no where to put it while on the hill

Yes this will happen rain or shine

If you need more info please contact
Todd hovde at Byker_guy28@hotmail.com

MUDDBUNNIES MONDAY: WEEK 7 VIDEO

This weeks video goes to Britnee – Mountain Bike Girl On Demo 8 ! We all know and love the Boychuck and here’s a great vid of her shreddin’ trail.

Date produced: May 20 2006
Producer: Mike Bramble
Copyright: mikebramble@shaw.ca

“This is a vid of Britnee on her new Specialized Demo 8. She’s still a little timmid from a big crash last year on her old bike, so she bought a new one and this is the first ride on it. Good to have you back out riding Brit!!!!” – Mike B.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Muddbunnies Note: Stay tuned for an upcoming interview with Britnee Boychuck.

PINKBIKE INTERVIEWS THE NOTORIOUS …NAZ!

SOURCE: PINKBIKE/papapendrel

Deconstructing Naz – A tour and some insight from Marzocchi Canada’s front man!

Marzocchi Canada set up shop in North Vancouver over two and a half years ago and has been dialing in local rider’s suspension ever since. Pinkbike.com got a chance to see just what goes on behind the graffiti and figure out who’s driving the Marzocchi bus.

Marzocchi Canada’s space is as cool as you would expect from the rock star influenced company. Nestled in a small industrial park just down the street from North Van’s classic core bike shops, the building is covered inside and out with graffiti skulls and flames. Inside you’ll find a full assortment of Marzocchi’s soft goods; including shirts, shorts and their platform pedal shoes.

This is the place where you can take your 888s and ROCOs for regular service and supercharged tuning. Posters of their famous models (forks and women!) hang from the rafters and world famous locals like Wade Simmons and Thomas Vanderham are always dropping by just to hang out. Phones are ringing and dismantled forks cover every square inch of counter top. Of course every cool organization needs its front man and the guy in the middle of this whirlwind is the infamous Naz!

Everybody in the North Van bike community knows Naz, and if they don’t, they’ve at least heard of him. His name comes up on trail rides, on race courses and during bike shop sales pitches. Everybody wants to go see Nazzy. And why not, Naz and his crew do good work! He epitomizes the laid back west coast attitude but he gets serious when it comes time to take care of business.

So, enough profiles of the same old freeride megastars, meet Naz!

(Loosely based on an interview with Marzocchi Canada’s Naz Evangelista with help and additional thoughts from drop-ins and loiterers.)

Pinkbike.com – Who is Naz?

Naz – Marzocchi Canada Tech. Department Supervisor

Pinkbike.com – Naz, who are you?

Naz (and friends) – I’m just a messy haired, fun loving guy… He’s a hard working friend of the little guy.

Pinkbike.com – What do you do for Marzocchi?

Naz – I am the head of service for Marzocchi Canada. I oversee the day to day operations here. I also handle some of the local marketing initiatives and customer service duties.

Pinkbike.com – What other jobs have you held in the industry?

Naz – I’ve been in the business for quite a while. I’ve worked as a tech for a few shops in the region including WestPoint and more recently the Cove. I’ve also worked some Norba’s and World Cup events with local teams.

Pinkbike.com – How does your work here compare to those jobs?

Naz – There are a lot of similarities but I get to travel a lot more with Marzocchi which is great.

Pinkbike.com – Where are you from?

Naz – I’m from Vancouver. I’m a real local… with a strong Italian heritage.

Pinkbike.com – You’re a pretty vocal promoter of Italian greatness. What makes Italians so great?

Naz – The wine, culture and home made pasta!

Pinkbike.com – What’s your riding background and what is a typical ride for you?

Naz – Growing up I rode everything. It started off just riding about town on old beaters and that lead to BMX riding. As new stuff came along I eventually got into mountain biking. I still do the odd road ride and still like commuting by bike. My typical ride these days would be an after work shuttle or a Whistler weekend. I’ve been riding in the interior more as of late and have been doing some awesome road trips with good friends.

Pinkbike.com – What sucks about the mountain bike world right now and what about it do you like?

Naz – Nothing sucks! As for the good stuff, lots, but I’m really impressed that more women are getting into the sport. There are some great organizations like the Muddbunnies, the Endless Biking Chickas and the Dirt Series that are getting women involved and you can see the impact they’re having on the trails and in the bike parks.

Pinkbike.com – If you could trade places with anyone in the world, who would it be?

Naz – The famous Latin singer Gilberto Dillan!

Pinkbike.com – Who would win in a fight between Gilberto Dillan and yourself?

Naz – That’s a tough question. I would have to say me. Gilberto’s got some moves but my mat presence is stronger, you know… my ground and pound!

Pinkbike.com – (Naz has a bit of a reputation as a grumpy guy when working within the disorganized chaos of a bike shop so I asked him what kind of stuff gets under his skin.)

Naz – I’m actually pretty happy, I’m not the guy I was a few years ago.

Pinkbike.com – (Surprised by this response I put it to the test)
I’ve had your old 3rd Eye Blind CD for the past 3 years, how does that make you feel?

Naz – Awesome, it makes me happy to know you enjoy it (writer’s note: Holy shit, he is definitely not the guy he was 3 years ago or I would have been in the un-escapable headlock faster than you can say temper tantrum!)

Pinkbike.com – Marzocchi has been a big supporter of the Pinkbike.com DH team this past season. What has that relationship been like?

Naz – Pinkbike has been a great partner, really professional attitude and great friendly riders. The feedback and response from the Pinkbike community has been awesome.

Pinkbike.com – OK, Once and for all, how do you pronounce Marzocchi?

Naz – Mar – zo – key!

MUDDBUNNIES NOTE: MARZOCCHI CANADA is a proud sponsor of Team Muddbunnies and the Muddbunnies Riding Club.

RACE THE ARDUUM CHALLENGE, OCTOBER 20-21st!

SOURCE: ARDUUM CHALLENGE

CHALLENGE: something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.

The trail “Arduum” itself started out as two trails built “back in the day” We hiked these trails, looking for a good DH training course. When we realized that the combination of the two would give us everything we wanted (steep, techy, off-camber, rooty, and some flow) we built a connector and started reworking them. The finished product was this trail. We rode it a few times, had some friends ride it and we all agreed, we couldn’t keep it a secret, we had to share this one. We decided to host a race. Just like that??

Nope. The decision to do the race happened six weeks ago. Lots of hoops to jump through, things to look after, trail to perfect but we did it. The “Arduum Challenge” has come to life. Take this as your call to battle one another and “The Steep.”

Preview the course here in this video by Brent Tahk:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

MUDDBUNNIES NOTE: Muddbunnies Riding Inc. is an official sponsor of the Arduum Challenge.

MUDDBUNNIES MONDAY: WEEK 6 VIDEO

SOURCE: YOUTUBE

VIDEO SELECTION: EVEN THE GIRLS! – Red Riding Hood Productions

I’m super stoked to bring this video to you all and in fact I’ve been counting down the days until I could release it! I know it’s not the usual girls trickin’ and bustin’ fat air video but it’s captivating throughout no doubt. Add the personal interview/stories of the main riders of this film and I’d say this would be a contender for a short film fest. Nicely done!
Any girls who are willing to push the envelope on 2 wheels deserve a spot in Muddbunnies Video of the Week.

Enjoy Bunnies!

RICHARD JURYN MEMORIAL – October, 25th

SOURCE: NSMB.COM

DAN BARHAM’S SHINY NEW PHOTO WEBSITE!

SOURCE: SINGLETRACK

British exile and frequent Singletrack contributor Dan “Dave” Barham has just assaulted us with a Press Release about his newly revamped website. There’s photographs of people riding bicycles on it and stuff. Go check it out…

The man himself writes…

“Now that I’m a BC resident, I’ve been told I have to write this release as if I’m a local, and who am I to refuse? So here it is, “rad style”.

“DUDE, you should TOTALLY go check out my website ( www.danbarham.com). I’m STOKED to be offering a select number of my images as high-quality, “fine art” prints. It’s a result of fielding a growing number of separate enquiries as to whether of not I offer them – I figured it’d be easier to put them all up and let people browse / pay for them online. SENDING IT big print stylee, BRAH. What better way to show someone you think they’re AWESOME than by buying them a print? That someone can be you, of course, and don’t forget – they’d make SICK Xmas gifts too.

“Check out the available images at http://www.danbarham.com/prints/

“Free kudos with every purchase..”

—
Dan Barham :: Professional Mountain Bike Photography
www.danbarham.com :: photo@danbarham.com

MUDDBUNNIES NOTE: Look for more stunning images by Dan Barham in the upcoming 2008 Muddbunnies Calendar!