Transition Sentinel vs Spire: Showdown 

Rad. You’re going to love it.

@@bikersedge day 1 at Spirit Mountain and you are 100% right.

So stoked we could help you find the right bike.

Hey thanks. Glad it was helpful!

I did a few PNW trips with my Sentinel. Such a good bike for that area.

I freaking loved my Sentinel. The Mega has been an awesome replacement though. Not sad about it at all.

@@bikersedge your review of the Mega is really making me consider it now!

Funny thing is I’m tossed between both bikes as well!!

How tall are you? And what size is your sentinel? I’m looking at a large and are between medium and large sizes 177cm

@@octodadmtbmartyrichards2862 I’m 5’8. You’re around 5’10, large should be good for you. You can always make your bars and stem a bit shorter too. I also don’t find sentinel too long. It’s just the right amount of balance and you will definitely feel you’re at the middle of the bike all the time

It’s so good. Wish I could get my hands on one permanently.

Geeeeeez so what do you think about them now, are you riding one way more than the other or still feel like they each fit a niche?

@@LastAphelion Sentinel is the all time bike of bikes in my opinion. The Spire is a monster when you're going straight or relatively straight but it requires much more gusto to manipulate it in tighter areas. Is it overly cumbersome? Hell no. It's absurdly agile for it's length and beef, but it's still something to consider. That being said when you absolutely must smash everything, the Spire fucking smashed everything. It also climbs so well and its length actually is an advantage when it comes to keeping your balance on steep or technical climbs. Obviously the con is that your back wheel rolls over the obstacle a full second and half later due to the length. Give and take I suppose. I feel very little "bob" in the suspension while climbing. I am also not a climbing purest, meaning that I don't lock the shock out for efficiency. All that said, the Sentinel does 99% of what the Spire can do descending, is more agile, and climbs better. It's just an all-around weapon. It can be used on lame xc shit and it can be used on double black tech or the bike park. Is it as cushy and confidence inspiring or as light and fast as a downhill rig or an xc race bike? No. But it can do both and everything in between and does them well. Probably more than you bargained for on a reply but hope it was helpful

@@DuskPatrol Lmao "lame xc shit". And nah I definitely want to hear everyone's praise and gripes before I pull the trigger, I appreciate it. The most useful reviews I've got have been digging up year old youtube owner comments and actually getting a surprising amount of long term follow ups. Consensus has been everyone has said the Sentinel is their favorite thing ever, but if anyone considering or owning a Spire has been iffy it's always about the length and more hta wallowiness. Although I do struggle to picture that a 1257 wheelbase really feels that much worse over 1233. Do you think the Spire feels more cushy on small and medium hits, or only when you push it? Asking because actually my priority is that I have a damaged spinal disc and I still want to send it so I want the more comfortable trail devouring bike, don't care about over biking at all. But there is this sick looking custom Sentinel over on Fanatik in stock right now...

@@LastAphelion lol I don't know why I went so hard on the poor xc trails. I love all trails equally haha. Dude, if you're looking for a magic carpet, which it sounds like you are, then the Spire is the bike for you. I have the aluminum GX build which has the RockShox suspension and that Super deluxe shock is stupid. Like stupid amazing. The Zeb is stiff but not in a bad way. You wouldn't think the length between the bikes would be a big deal....and then you ride the Spire and it's like "holy shit this bike is long." It's longer than the TR11, for perspective. You may consider downsizing on the Spire. I have heard of people doing that since it's such a big bike. This is an oversimplification, but it's apt: the Spire is nearly a downhill bike that climbs like the Sentinel.

I really appreciate these comments, I’m getting very close to pulling the trigger on a gx alloy sentinel, now I def want one!

It’s pretty freaking rad.

Triple crown? New tech ive never heard of! Woohoo!

Good choice!

Haven’t been able the ride that one unfortunately

Me too. Took forever to get my hands on a test spire.

@@bikersedge Thanks for putting such quality content together. Always better to wait than to compromise on that

Hey thanks for the kind words!

We did an all mountain showdown that included the Ripmo and Sentinel. Go check that one out then come back to this one to see how the spire would stack up.

I think the altitude has less pop. It’s a much more grounded feeling bike.

Yes. The sentinel is much more well rounded on the descents. The Spire can be too big in some terrain.

Hey thanks. We don’t carry forbidden at the shop so I won’t be able to make it happen.

Wolf tooth b rad bracket

There’s a huge gap between the Spur and sentinel. And obviously an even bigger gap between it and the spire. Personally I’d probably go Spur and sentinel for my riding style.

@@bikersedge thanks for the reply!

I steer clear of giving out specific size advice over the internet. If you can’t find one to sit on, go watch out what size bike should I buy video and then compare it with Transitions size charts.

We aren't going to be able to include the Range. We have the Altitude, Spire, Megatower and Rallon

They are different enough that even a casual observer would be able to distinguish between them.

What did you decide to do?

@@LastAphelion I actually went to a guerrilla gravity smash. My spire has alignment issues and I’m currently waiting for a new front triangle

@@Bluelights17 Yo what made you pick the Smash? I'd have an even harder time finding one of those to try lol

Hey thanks!. I don't think the occam and sentinel are in the same category at all. The Spire and Rallon will be in our upcoming enduro showdown.

@@bikersedge fair enough, I get what you are saying about the occam vs sentinel. So how about a trail bikes showdown? one notch below all mountain (everyone seems to have their own definition lol) To be honest in my opinion the differences between trail and all mountain are getting kinda blurry (guess that's why I asked about occam vs sentinel). Out of curiosity how would you categorizes the sentinel and the occam? I'd say Occam - capable trail bike Sentinel - borderline enduro but still climbs and pops. Keep it up!

@@tom56340 we did a trail bike showdown a while back. We also did a Trance x vs Occam showdown. I feel like those two kind of sit on their own category.

If I can get one I will.

@@bikersedge awesome!! I like the mullet setup.

Glad you liked it. The Sentinel was mine and the Spire belongs to a buddy. We have a full enduro showdown in the works. Stay tuned.

@@bikersedge Can't wait to see the showdown! Will you compare the Rallon to the Sentinel in tight single track? (think upper Mueller)

@@lazylearner967 haven’t ridden that but I’ll make sure to compare them across a wide variety of terrain.

That’s going to make it really slack. Personally I wouldn’t. I’d just get a 160mm air prong for you old fork. It’s cheap and easy. It is something you’re probably want to check with Transition in as well.

@@bikersedge That's what exactly I'm thinking, and would it affect when climbing.thanks so much!

Not particularly. I had to borrow the Spire to do the review. If it was mine I’d run a standard rise bar.

Already in the works. It’s going to be a full enduro showdown. Mega, Spire, Rallon and Altitude

@@bikersedge can’t wait! 👍

I wouldn’t. Is plenty slack as is.

@@bikersedge was mostly just wanting to overfork one for the extra travel... debating between this or a spire for a second bike to my T429 enduro. The spire is just sooooooooooo long lol. Espeically in the XL with the 453 chainstay.

Looked like Red Bull (Ski Team/Ski School)

@@utahjohn5480 yup caught that one but not the section at 5:40

@@crazyeyes7821 Mojave

@@bikersedge oh shit of course lol rode that Friday

@@crazyeyes7821 haha. You’re just probably not used to seeing it so slow.

I steer clear of giving out specific size advice over the internet. I’d refer you to a test ride and size chart. The thought is sizing down for less wheelbase isn’t the way I’d go though unless you’re between sizes. The wheelbase is long for a reason. It was designed to be that way. Sizing down is going to change how the bike was intended.

The alloy one with have the same pedaling characteristics as the carbon one. It will just be a bit heavier.

I'm a happy owner of a Sentinel v2 since november '21. It's just great, climbs well (i like to climb gnarly sections even if not needed) and downhill it's like a train. I don't really need to "choose the right line", even when i'm on unknown trails or in new bike parks i'm pretty confident that this bike can handle everything even if i'm not ready for it. Some friends ride the Spire where i ride the Sentinel, and it's just bigger and maybe a little bit calmer (i hope it is, due to its dimensions). I think the Sentinel is more fun and easier on climbs and techy descends than the Spire, and it will demand maybe more effort/concentration on big jumps and rock gardens than the Spire needs. On the other side, the Spire could be too much of a bike on regular trails (maybe blue ones), and it should shine on big jumps, rock gardens and really fast sections, being more forgiving. tldr - Both of them will handle EVERYTHING, maybe in slightly different ways!

If I can get my hands on a patrol I’ll make it happen. It might prove difficult.

@@bikersedge haha totally! Actually, I pulled the trigger on a Patrol a few month ago but as you obviously know, it’s not showing up so that’s where the Sentinel/Patrol debate initiated! (A brand new frame is sitting at the dealer and waving at me to be built) But thanks anyway

@@Jsebs if you have one available right now I wouldn’t sleep on it no matter which one it is. Ha. Take what you can get.

For what it's worth, I loved both the Sentinel and Patrol when I demo'd them. I was looking for a 29er, but the Patrol could have been my choice. The lowest-spec alloy Sentinel beat out other 29ers that cost 2-3x as much - Pivot Firebird, Yeti SB150, Guerilla Gravity Smash, Scott Ransom, Santa Cruz Megatower, Ibis Ripmo V1. (I know they're not all exactly in the same category, but the Transition Spire hadn't been released at that time.) I ended up going with the 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct/Altitude which I love, but the Sentinel was the only other 29er I tried that felt great to me. Between the Patrol and the Sentinel, if both are available to you I would suggest trying to demo them and feel the differences. If only one is available and you're ready to buy a bike, as Conor said, don't wait on it!

@@patrickwoods2165 Thanks for your comments. In fact, I did grab a Sentinel 2 days ago :)) Local shop agreed on skinning another bike to dress up this Sentinel frame set for me (big thumbs up for that) Had my first ride yesterday and I i was pretty stoked. So now that my legs are recovering from this first ride, i just have to dial in the suspension cuz the bike was sucking up everything. Comfortable for sure, but dead! Gotta make this thing alive… Going over a sh*** load of Fox38 set up guides as we speak!

Tall guy does not compute

The reach is 501 in the XL I rode. That’s the length you feel while descending. TT is a tricky one to measure bikes by these days. It’s also more of an indication of the seated position feel rather than standing and descending.

On the Spire, yes.

I didn’t.

As it should be