Just built a frame up recently and wow what a bike! the things a blast to ride even on just regular flow trails. It corners sooo well and just slingshots out of the corners. Climbs amazing to and carries speed so freaking well
I've been riding this bike for about a year and a half. I agree with your review completely. Like you, I also ride steep technical ups and downs. Chunky, tight, fast and rough. Totally stable. I am surprised how good a climber it actually is. Mine is the alloy version, so a little heavier. 2 weeks ago I installed a Cascade link on my V1 Sentinel. Believe it or not, it became an even better climber. Tight, short radius switchbacks on the climb are no issue with the new link's firmer mid-stroke. The bike has more spring off of take offs too. I also ride a 2019 Rocky Mountain Instinct, but it is looking quite lonely as I always grab the Sentinel for my rides.
I own a 2019 Sentinel and I can say it's the best bike I have ever been on! A perfect bike for Western North Carolina, where I live and love to ride! Playful and poppy, yet stable and plowy. Great review of an awesome bike!
I love my Sentinel. And couldn’t agree with you more on all your points. Climbing is good and steady, suspension is active and the bike just gives you tons of confidence.
Great review. I had asked before about stiffness, and I think you did a great job in this video of explaining how it translates to the trail. Thank you so much for your videos.
I love mine! Took,it to Seattle this summer and rode everything blind with No issues! Take it snow shoe and Bailey! It's so awesome going down. Now that I got a turbo levo it will be my park,and freeride bike!
I rode my 2019 Sentinel the whole Season now, I build it up last Winter with all Parts that I like. This Bike is awesome, i used in in Bikeparks, local Trails.. For long climbs and long descents. It is playful but also on technical rough stuff pretty planted. I think i try out a Coil Damper next Season on it. Of course I use a 29er DH Bike for a little bit of racing and DH Tracks but I would say I haven't found anything yet that I could not ride with my Sentinel, awesome Bike, I love it 😊🚲 BTW awesome Video, soo good, awesome riding footage. Thanks :)
I made the switch from a giant trance to the sentinel gx last October and it took a little while to set up the bike suspension due to winter but haven't looked back this bike encourages you to ride more gnarly stuff with confidence I love it 🤙
Excellent review CG. I just layed my hands on it's 27.5 little brother,...the Scout. 'I think Transition nailed it'. Ditto! Guys, go and demo TR bikes before you buy. These bikes are the best.
Nice review man! I also demo this bike last year and it was great but just felt like a little too much for my local trails here in north georgia which is really flowy not too crazy!!
Great one on this bike. I was looking at this one but an older year. Got my Kona Process 153 and it has a short chainstay also. Just feels better on our trails around here. Climbs id say pretty close to anything else out there with just a smidge of slugish but those downs and all the sends. Yes the XC bikes will beat it on time but for the fun factor I havent had better.
this bike has great sitting peddling position. Minimal bobbing when sitting, but bobs quite a bit when standing peddling. Carbon is worth it to save on the weight, otherwise aluminum is a 34 pounder.
Went to Outerbike in Bentonville to check out the Patrol. Ended up riding a Sentinel after and fell for it (also tested a Kona Process 153 29 and really liked it). After I got back from Outerbike I ordered the Sentinel in carbon X01 trim. I have ridden it on mainly techy climb trails just to see where it lacks. For about 95% of the climbing it has been great. It does start to feel a little sluggish the techier the climb gets but I have also added cushcore front and rear. I assume it would help a bit to at least take it out of the front. I have also swapped for a shorter, 35mm stem and higher rise carbon bar. The bike I demoed was the carbon GX which comes with 35mm rise bars in 780mm width and the X01 comes with 30mm rise in 800mm width. Not sure why they would give you a wider bar with lower rise on the same bike.... maybe they are promoting a more aggressive, front weighted body position?
Nice job on the review! Sounds really fun! One question tho.. my OCD radar was going off when I kept looking at your front and rear tire. They look like the same tread pattern but the rear looks to be the opposite direction from the front!? Sorry if I'm wrong, haha 🙈😅🤘🏼
Clint Gibbs haha okay just checking!! stoked your on the new bike.. tho I'm slightly sad not to see you on a Reign 29, maybe if you get the chance to compare these two bikes they would be very good to see in comparison 👌🏼
Still best bike I have ridden even at Alafia....a confidence builder....yes smuggler more maneuverable but when demoing I didn't want to get off the Senntinel period a great bike.
The Sentinel and Rip 9 RDO are my top two bikes. The Niner eeks out just a bit ahead of the Sentinel for me; but either would be awesome! I know you've ridden both; keen to hear if you have thoughts comparing the two now that you've had the sentinel for a while. I am also with you, the mid travel 29'er is a great sweet spot for a do-it-all type of bike. Cheers!
Can't go wrong with either one. I like the additional travel on the front of the Sentinel. Also the shock is easier to access. But both are very stiff and a ride very well. One nice thing about the Niner is you can choose a 27.5 or 29 version
Clint, I'm looking to get a more travel bike. I currently ride a Santa Cruz 130/120 which is fine for my locals trails but want to head up a few hours north to the North GA Mts and need more. I believe I'll add this to my short list. I think it's down to 3 now. This one, Giant Reign 29, And Ipis Ripmo Being an old giant fan which is when I starting following you what do you think of this compared to it comparted to this bike? I'm trying to stay near 3K but may push it to 3.5K. It looks like carbon may be out of it for Giant for sure. And on both it looking like the NX build with Rockshocks.
Hi Clint, great vid. I actually purchased a trance advanced because of the videos reviews you made a couple of years back... I'm thinking of moving drom the Trance to a Sentinel, would that be a good "transition"?.. I did Moab trails last year on the sentinel (never done Moab on a Trance so I dont know how to compare them.... Thanks man
The sentinel is just in a different league. It handles chunky steep terrain like no other bike I've ridden. It won't be as snappy and agile as the trance on tighter trails but on descents it is phenomenal. What size do you ride? I'm about to put my medium up for sale so I can get my hands on the new sentinel that just came out.
Clint, I'm curious how it compares to the Stumpjumper you were riding. I have a Stumpjumper now and I'm looking at options for my next bike? Great review!
Hey Clint, I m looking at getting a Sentinel or Smuggler so thanks for the review great insights. Question for you, with the cost of these particular bikes the one thing that makes me curious is the cabling running outside the frame. What are your thoughts on that? Also is it possible when ordering this bikes to request to have the cables run through the tubes?? Thanks
No issues at all. Running the brake external means that it's a lot easier to install or swap out your brakes since you don't have to cut the hydraulic lines. It's cleaner inside but easier to work with external so I'm fairly neutral on it.
Do you think there would be a huge difference in stiffness, handling, etc, with the alloy version? How much of a weight difference do you think there would be? I’ve about decided to get the alloy GX version of this bike. I was going to get the Smuggler but I can get the alloy GX Sentinel for less than the carbon NX Smuggler. Plus they don’t have the carbon NX Smuggler in medium in stock anymore. And if what you say is true, I think I would be just fine with this bike as a trail bike bad well. FYI, I live in Chapel Hill but make occasional trips to Pisgah, DuPont, and Rocky Knob in Boone. Thanks!
I have not yet ridden an aluminum transition but knowing their philosophy on bikes I would imagine the aluminum one would be pretty stiff as well. I think you're just going to pay the weight penalty. The Sentinel would be great at Pisgah. You just have to ask yourself which type of riding you do most and what sacrifices you're willing to make. No doubt a sentinel will feel more sluggish on smooth terrain but will be excellent in rough terrain like Pisgah.
Clint Gibbs Appreciate the feedback! I know that I do 90% of my riding on the trails around Chapel Hill, mainly at Briar Chapel. I guess I need to decide if I will be able to sacrifice some of the playfulness and poppiness of my Scout for the extra travel. It may be too good of a deal to pass up. Thanks!
Just came back to this video to view it again. I'm buying a new "Enduro" bike and suddenly I hesitated and got all nervous before I went to order the bike I'm thinking of because it's allot of money and you don't want to make the wrong choice. I am almost certain I will buy the 2020 Propain Tyee 29". But suddenly I got second thoughts and started thinking about this bike. Have you heard about Propain bikes? What are your thoughts? Kind regards!
I have not heard of that bike. My advice is don't buy an enduro bike unless you plan to bomb fairly rough descents. Trail bikes are much more fun to ride on less technical terrain. Lugging around a slack heavy bike is not as fun as a trail bike. Now if you climb for a long time and then descend for a long time then enduro bikes are awesome.
@@ClintGibbs Yes. I live in Norway, thus it's very mountainous and nearly all trails are a big climb and descend. But I agree on the trail bike. It's just so dang steep over here. But check out Propain bikes. They are a direct-to-consumer company in Germany and I think they are a strong competitor against YT f.ex. Their 2020 Tyee 29er is pretty dang impressive. It's just when you finally are at the moment you can buy that expensive bike you've been dreaming of, right before you hit the "order now" button when you start getting second thoughts and become afraid that it's wrong because it's allot of money and you want to spend it "right" :D
My son has ridden both (the Bronson at Bailey Mountain Bike Park) and he likes the Scout better ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AZEINJ-Kk1U.html
Thank you for providing such detailed info on the bikes you review! Have you considered a Giant Trance 27.5 vs Transition Scout comparison? I've been on a Giant 27.5 for a while and have been considering buying a Scout. I love the Meistro suspension but I haven't tried a Scout or similar with the progressive geo to know if that is a good change for me.
The Scout is a more planted and laterally stiff bike. The quality is just a notch above giant. That being said the trance 27.5 is still a really good bike.
Those trails are easy, that bike is way overkill. Could have saved a bunch of money by buying a decent hardtail if that's what most your riding looks like.
You can never see roots and rocks the way they really are in a GoPro video. This is especially true on a bike like this that has a lot of travel and really smooths out the trail. I have a transition sentinel for enduro racing and for riding really chunky terrain like what I ride in Pisgah national Forest.
You have to decide if you want an enduro bike or trail bike. Most people would be best off on a trail bike. Enduro for racing Enduro or riding steep gnarly downhills.
