I absolutely loved my Sentinel - until it got stolen... I'm now waiting for my Spire for even more capability here in the swiss alps. Transition bikes just have that little something.
I've been seeing a lot of riders this year showing their new Transition bikes. It's interesting to see the trend. Felt like last year I was seeing a bunch rep Ibis bikes - anyway, the Sentinel looks like an awesome bike. Looking forward to seeing your progress this year and how the new bike feels.
I saw that Jim just made the switch too. Ali has had hers for a couple of years and loves it. I eyed up the Loam gold when it came out, but held off. When push came to shove though, it just seemed like the logical fit. I’m really glad I went with it. Absolutely perfect for what I want out of a bike it’s size.
@@SemiSendy nice! Yea, I saw he made the switch and there was another that just did a build video - can’t remember who it was. But it seems like a very capable bike now that you got it dialed in.
Stoked you got the Sentinel dialed in. I’ve been beating the crap out of my 2019 Sentinel. Switched the rear suspension rocker to a Cascade Component which is more progressive and upped my travel from 140 to 152. Still not a lot but it gets used. Enjoying the videos and see you at Jarrod’s for Go Nuts.
That’s awesome, Chad! Ali (my fiancée) has a 2019 with a cascade link as well. She’s been crushing it on that bike for over two years and absolutely loves it. That certainly helped with my decision.
Oh hell yeah I came to the comments specifically looking for Cascade reports, I'm either getting a Spire soon or waiting for a Relay but I was debating getting a cascade right out the gate for Spire
My son has the 2021 Transition Patrol in Blueberry color and is loving it...spent last weekend at Windrock getting him dialed in for the Nationals...kudos for the content and will be looking for ya at the trails this year!
Man I miss Tennessee! I lived in Chatt and then in Knoxville and the riding is just so amazing. Not to complain now living in the west but covered in snow, I could ride TN anytime. Many people never believe me when I tell them how amazing the riding is in TN and Asheville. Happy for your new steed, its one that I had my eye on and the SB150 but it has been difficult trying to find one to demo. Anyway, hope to see the new vids coming soon.
Glad you're getting the bike dialed Rich. On the southeast progression of trails, can't say much but of how jealous I am! Sick vid man. Hope we can maybe meet up this year sometime.
We are considering the Sentinel for my son Mike's next trail bike. I think it will be great for when we travel, but I'm a little concerned it will be overkill for our local trails in west MI where he will have to pedal all the time.
For what it’s worth, I had this concern about this bike as well but it has a steep seat tube angle and climbs really really well. Not just really well for what it is. It legit climbs killer.
I have to agree with Magnetic Mountain. It pedals incredibly well. The one thing I would say though, it does really mute the terrain, so it can be a bit boring on less exciting trails.
@@MagneticMTB Thanks for your input. I’m struggling because I believe he needs more than the Spur based on what he has now and the amount I’ve paid in fork and shock rebuilds. I was told to look at Yeti and Ibis also. We just need to pick something and go with it.
@@keithfoster764 I know! It’s so hard with all the options. But man. All these bikes are so capable and awesome. Look at Pivot too. I had a trail 429 with a 140mm fox 34 and I brutalized that thing places they say it shouldn’t go and it was awesome! Can you demo or rent something?
Hey Dtran17, I honestly haven’t been riding it much lately. I haven’t had much issues with bottoming out on the 11-6 though. The stock progression curve has been very supportive for me in that regard. IMO it’s one of the bikes biggest strengths. Where’s your sag sitting on your current coil?
Nice tunes to go with my fave sushi...the B-Roll 😉 Lovin' all the fresh foo-tee...curious how you dialed in the new front fork with the Charger cart? Thanks Rich...keep it up!!!
With only 5 mm more out back and 10 more upfront over the hightower I have a hard time believing the improvements to performance are based on the travel numbers... what do you think makes the biggest difference in the way the bike handles those high-speed compressions (or the biggest difference to performance in general)? Is it the suspension set up? Geo? Frame kinematics? Placebo effect?
I definitely have a lot of thoughts swirling around this topic but still kind of thinking things through as objectively as possible. They are very different bikes though, no question.
@@SemiSendy looking forward to hearing the thoughts if they ever make their way into a video. Probably goes without saying but bike design is such such rad topic and l love getting unique perspectives on the subject!
The 2° slacker head angle and longer chainstays make it feel a lot more composed even though the travel numbers are similar. Also that push 11-6 probably makes a huge difference 😆
looks sick! Sorry if you have answered this but is the Sentinel different enough from your Hightower, especially the way you had it set up, to be worth the change?
Great timing, I just put out a video diving into the differences between the two this morning. They are definitely very different bikes! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ko4OHXH5qUQ.html
Should I SWAP my 2020 hightower for a 2021 sentinel for more stability on the downs without giving up too much on the climbs, iv a chance to change this week????? I already have a 160mm fork and cascade link on the HT
It really depends. Honestly, it climbs a bit better than the Hightower did, which I was really surprised about. However, it does mute the trail a whole lot more, and it really requires an aggressive over the bars body position to get performance out of it. Otherwise, it’ll definitely wander around under a more relaxed position. It’s not the bike that I would choose for typical moderate trail riding. I would definitely prefer the high tower for that. If your main focus is going after the steepest, tackiest and biggest terrain you can find, then I say go for it!
You are very talented rider. Glad you are healed up and can ride, and live life again. How does the Sentinel pedal uphill compared to the other bikes in the category?
Thank you! The Sentinel's pedaling efficiency is actually surprisingly good. Better than most in it's class. It does however require a lot of finess managing tighter maneuvers in general. There's a big trade off there when it comes to bikes pushing the long and slack treatment like the Sentinel V2 does.
@@SemiSendy Good to know. It's all relative I presume. Can't compare an All Mountain/Enduro rig to a XC bike. These bikes are very hard to find. What was your previous ride and how did it compare?
Makes me want to get a longer travel bike. How are you doing with your surgery recovery? Any complications? I remember I had surgery sometime around yours and it looks like the nerve damage from surgery is going to be permanent. Plus wearing a backpack kinda sucks now…
I definitely remember yours being right after mine. Oh man, shoulder straps are terrible now. It’s been rough lugging camera gear and such around. I’ve gotten a decent amount of sensation back, but it’s not always a good thing. Lots of fiery “pins and needles” sensations. Cold weather really gets it feeling weird too.
Where are the “good” riding spots in TN? I know windrock, kanuga, and Knoxville have good riding. Thinking of moving to TN (potentially Nashville) but worried the riding won’t be as good as SoCal where I can get gravity fed gnar 15 minutes from my house
Windrock, Pisgah, Kanuga, Baker Creek, Vee Hollow and Trials Training Center are all awesome. With Waldens Ridge and Jarrod’s place coming online things are blowing up in this region. There’s also tons of great stuff just to the north with Snowshoe and tons of great trail systems in VA with top shelf wilderness tech.
I wouldn't say better, just different and a better suited match for what I'm currently looking for. I just put out a video a couple days ago breaking down what makes them different. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ko4OHXH5qUQ.html
Likely not, but we’ll see. I’ve got two enduro southeast races and filming for downhill southeast that will eat up a lot of time over the next 30 days, but you never know! Are you entered?
