{"id":19140,"date":"2015-10-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2015\/10\/20\/review-transition-patrol-r3684\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T09:09:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T09:09:57","slug":"review-transition-patrol-r3684","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/review-transition-patrol-r3684\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Transition Patrol"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it was confirmed that I was heading to Italy for Nine Knights<\/a>, I immediately realised that I needed a suitable bike for the terrain. Knowing that the team at A-Line have hands on experience with Alpine riding, I enquired to see what they had available for review. I was pretty chuffed when they came back and said that they\u2019d build a Transition Patrol for the trip.<\/p>\n

\"Transition<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bike<\/h2>\n

Very simply put the Transition Patrol is an all-mountain bike with 155mm travel. All-mountain bikes have seen big steps forward in recent years. Once the domain of awkward handling and poor pedaling machines, all-mountain bikes have become versatile all day mountain conquerors.<\/p>\n

The Patrol follows the low, long and slack geometry trend that more and more manufacturers are adopting. Some geometry stats from my extra large test bike: wheelbase is 1240 mm, head tube angle 65 degrees, an estimated BB height of 339 and reach stretching out at 483 mm. Figures that weren\u2019t out of place on a downhill bike not too long ago, let alone a bike that promises some ability to climb.<\/p>\n

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\n\"Transition<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\n\"Transition<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I found the fit of the Patrol to be spot on and was very happy with the aggressive geometry. The longer reach and lower centre of gravity made an immediate impact while the slack head angle caused a few mistimed jumps and drops at first. The short rear end results in a bike that thrives on having it\u2019s front wheel off the ground.<\/p>\n

The Patrol is built to fit a 160mm fork and 650b wheels. Each frameset comes kitted with RockShox\u2019s Monarch Plus Debonair shock. The rear axle is a Syntace X12 and the bottom bracket is the threaded sort. While the internal routing looks great, I\u2019m not convinced from a ease of service and adjustment perspective.<\/p>\n

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\n\"Transition<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\n\"Transition<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The 2015 Patrol frame is full aluminium with a carbon frame model being released in 2016.<\/p>\n

The build<\/h2>\n

A-Line built up the Patrol using parts from their demo fleet. The components were all top-notch and well thought out. This meant that I could simply focus on riding the bike.<\/p>\n