Also, I forgot to put this in the beginning, but I did pay for these bikes. I am washed up and now sponsors-less in the bike world. ;) I hope that makes these reviews less biased, or at least more transparent.
Best point you make is Transition's commitment to the rider. That's one of the reasons I bought my 2016 Patrol and still have it. Very few companies continue to support their "old" bikes on their website which makes it hard to go find frame specs, replacement parts, torque specs, etc. And you hit the nail on the head with them developing do it all long term bikes. I demoed the Scout and the Patrol when I was in the market and both bikes could handle the same trails but just give you a different experience.
I've got an alloy 2018 Sentinel and I absolutely love it. It has saved my ass so many times. I'm 5'9" and the size medium is perfect. I'm curious to see what the next generation looks like, but when it's time to upgrade, I'll probably just replace my shock and fork and keep riding it.
Yeah agree, the Sentinel is the "Everyday Bike" you can do everything with this thing. But in my opinion when you ride smaller stuff or just flat pedaly trails it is boring to ride 🤔. I race downhill and I use the Sentinel for everything but when its steep and technical the Bike feels soo good and stable also on jumps. Most people don't know how capable this bike is, still in love with it and looking forward to the "new Sentinel". Great review dude 😋😊👍.
Thanks Manuel - hope we get to do some racing this year! The bike really is good, and for a number of enduro races or a certain riding style is the perfect tool for the job. I should have made it more clear that the better bike handler you are the better this bike does at a "proper" enduro. (I'm a total hack pro though, hence more need for travel!)
Excellent review, because it isn’t the typical review. Coming off a ‘17 Patrol, I still don’t know what to do though! Haha. Glad to find your own channel, I’ve really enjoyed the reviews and insights you’ve shared over on Vital. Keep it up!
Now with the new sentinel, 150mm rear travel, 160 front. 63.5 degree head tube angle and 77.8 seat tube angle. It´s a proper enduro bike. Great review!, your predictions were spot on!
Very helpful review. I agree the Sentinel as is, is in no need for a great upgrade. I plan on simply upgrading my fork with the 2021 debonair kit and maybe following your suggestion for the Megneg.
Great review with helpful bits since most of us have already nerded out on the specs by this point :). I just ordered my '19 carbon sentinel and this review reaffirmed that decision. Glad to hear you didn't find the climbing horrendous like others have said. The mtns here in NM and Southern CO were beating me up on my old bike.
Two years on sentinel and still loving this beast. This bike realy shine in technical steep rocky trails but still capable to make +100km/+2600m allmountain trip or rocketspeed afterwork trailriding. Pretty good in sommer alps = in rought terrain climb like a goat. Maybe it is near linear travel characteristics, but you can still use biggest volume spacer and never more bottom out (89kg and never, never like : That looks like drop. Ouch. It was not. Smile, smile, smile). But i allways wanted aggresive (63-64 HA, longer reach, steep SA, ...) middle travel (130-140 back, with little bit more front travel) 29" bike. Before anybody does, when 650b was mainstream and 29er use only xc racer. And sentinel are pretty good that bike. Everyone in reviews hate short travel of this bike but i dont think that is problem of this bike.
Great review man, really appreciate your take on it. If you were looking for a bike you’re looking to mostly take on mild (though still plenty techy) trails but also plan to really progress on and do some riding in places like Moab and Sedona, would you reccomend the sentinel over something like the 2020 Jeffsy that seems to be like more of a trail bike that you could do enduro type riding with, or would you still reccomend the sentinel which seems to be more of an enduro bike that you can also have fun with on the trail.
I'd go with the Sentinel for a number of reasons, the biggest being its FAR easier to get parts for the Sentinel than for the YT. Transition is such an easy company to work with, and they are based in the US of A. Easier to get stuff = the better buy IMO. As far as performance, I too think the Sentinel gets the nod there. A bit more forgiving at the price of being a little more portly. Personally, my vote goes Sentinel 100%.
Great review. I've had my sentinel a year or so, and I just put the MegNeg on my super deluxe... not enough rides yet to know if it fixed the issues I was looking for, but it sounds like I was looking for a similar feel to your review. I just didn't have the budget to go all out on a coil shock with progressive spring.
Don't be afraid to use the tokens and bands to play with it. You need to cram that shock full of volume reducers, then put a few bands in meg neg so its not TOO progressive at the end. Also realize you'll be running meg neg at significantly higher pressure. Go by sag, not PSI.
Thanks Jeff for your insight. You put into words what I've been struggling with on my new bike. I've gone from a bike I loved - Large 2017 Evil Wreckoning 452mm reach to a Large 2020 Evil Offering 477mm reach. I feel the weight in the hands. Perhaps I should have grabbed a medium even though I'm 6'1"?
You most certainly "fit" a 470-480mm reach. People can downsize, but I'd say 450ish is a bit too far with this idea. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but part of the problem is that bike has a really short rear end. (again, going off memory) You've got two options here... 1) Move your cleats as far back on the shoe as possible. This moves your COG forward on the bike, giving you the "feeling" that you've lengthened the rear end, balancing things out. 2) Go to a 37mm offset fork uppers (if it came with a 42-44mm). This moves the front wheel back, too. The combination of these may prove enough. Total cost should be ~$200ish
First of all your review was very helpful along with the things you covered. I am really considering the transition Sentinel as my next bike. As I’m sure you know they have come out with the Sentinel v2 which is 10 more mm of travel in the rear. I’m on a pretty tight budget and I’m not really sure if I need 10 more millimeters for a lot more money. I am a very well rounded rider and relatively new to riding. my new bike if I get one will not see any huge jumps, drops, etc. just some good technical trails, steep climbs, steep descents, and everything in between. Do you think this bike is for me?
Brilliant review. I own a medium sentinel and love it. Hopefully on the new one they’ll put longer chain stays for the bigger frames, but for the medium it’s perfect. I also do long rides on it and race 3/4 enduro races a year in the UK. The fox dpx shock is crap though and I have been looking at putting an x2 on it, until now. Thanks
You'll dig that RS shock if you can swing it. The X2 wasn't terrible terrible, but it was more linear. The damping of that shock is second to no other mass produced shock, so you may love it. I'm also 200lbs and smash like caveman so you may get better results than I did with that shock. I also hate running too much HSC. Hope that helps!
@@nickyates4108 Correct. Normal. Honestly, I'd ever ride a "Deluxe" (I tested this shock extensively too) over any other brand shock. You can set them up to be very progressive. CHEAP too.
Hi, how tall are you? I"m 5'10.5 and have always rode large frames but after watching this video, I wonder if I should consider a medium if I buy the Sentinel?
Great info, thanks! What did you think of the feel of the carbon vs alloy frame? Was the weight difference very noticeable? I'm looking at a large alloy Sentinel, but I'm a bit afraid the 34 lbs is going to feel like a lot for an aggressive all arounder. Also, if you've had a chance to check out the new 2021 Stumpjumper Evo, how do you think the two would compare? Geo is pretty similar, although the Evo has a lot of adjustability. I have one on order, but it won't get here until potentially next summer. The alloy Sentinel has a near identical build for $1100 less than the SJ Evo, which is super tempting. Thanks!
Hi, I am trying to decide between a 2019 Carbon GX one of these in Large or an 2020 S3 Enduro Comp. I cant decide! The Specialised looks like an animal of a bike but I live in Ireland where we don't have big mountains although I do ride the steepest and roughest stuff we have around all the time. Which would you recommend for a mix of fun and racing?
Totally depends on where you live, if you race enduro and if you are a bike park guy. If you seldom go to the bike park and have less gnar, the Smuggler is an excellent bike. Hell, I raced one for a year as my enduro bike (back when it was a 115mm bike!) and had some of my best results ever! Up-forked it and rallied. Considering I have a true enduro bike, and an XC race bike, I'd personally be most inclined to add the Smuggler to my quiver...and I'm positive it'd be the bike I'd ride the most.
Jeff - What would you recommend for baseline shock setup for 180 lb rider on a Sentinel w/ RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate + megneg: spacers, bands, and pressure? Or, what is the most efficient process to figure it out?
I have a patrol 2017 model..do you think this bike can climb?just bought the frame last month and might complete the parts this month..it has 65 HA and 75 SA....155m rear and 160 front...
Jeff, I have the 2019 Alloy sentinel and I just ordered the new frame. I noticed you said in both of your reviews that you bumped your front travel to 170, or would still go to 170 even on the new one. Would you suggest I bump up to 170 on my new build with a Fox float 36?
Hey Jeff, awesome review. With your sizing comments, I'm 5'11 and at the very top end of the suggested medium size. Do you think the medium size will work better?
Tough one there. I'd say medium should fit pretty well, and even allow for a 50mm stem. I know a lot of people will "gasp" at that, but you'll have an easier time weighting the bike while mitigating the "school bus effect".
Always look forward to hearing your thoughts Jeff. Interested to hear your thoughts on the Yeti sb130 and a lesser reviewed bike, the Commencal Meta TR29.