Home > Bike Types > Mountain Bike

2021 Transition Patrol puts party in the back with all-new 160mm travel mullet

hannah bergman rides 2021 transition patrol
2 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

Transition Bikes have given the Patrol enduro bike a hair cut, putting a balanced 160mm travel on a 27.5″ wheel in the rear and a 29″ wheel up front. The freeride contingent will be stoked to hear the 2021 Transition Patrol can also take a longer stroke shock and a dual-crown fork for dealing with the more exciting hucks you may find in the woods.

Hannah Bergemann introduces us to the alloy Patrol, longer, slacker and steeper where it counts. Here’s everything you need to know.

2021 Transition Patrol

A refresh for the Transition Patrol is overdue, with the last meaningful geometry update seen in 2018. Of course we were expecting to see longer reach figures, a slacker head tube angle and a steeper seat tube angle, but we weren’t necessarily expecting a mixed wheel size bike.

So, what are the geometry figures for the 2021 Transition Patrol, and are they adjustable?

2021 transition patrol flip chip geometry adjustment

We have two geometry charts for you to froth over, with a flip-chip at the bottom shock mount offering two configurations. In the high setting, a 63.5° head angle (actually a lot slacker than most brand’s low setting) and a 78.1° effective seat tube angle sit between a 480mm reach. We’re really pleased to see these much steeper seat tube angles becoming more mainstream as it can make these long travel bikes much easier to pedal to the top.

mullet transition patrol high geometry setting

In the low setting, the HA drops to 63° as the bottom bracket drops 5mm to 333mm. This concomitantly slackens the seat tube angle to a (still healthy) effective 77.6° and reduces reach by 5mm. For those who want to slacken the head angle beyond 63° without making the seat angle slacker, the 56mm/56mm headset will happily take an angle set.

mullet transition patrol low geometry setting

That headset will also take a reach adjusting headset, permitting the use of a 170mm travel 29″ dual-crown fork. Transition do say that if you’re going 27.5″ front and rear, you’d want a 190mm travel dual-crown. Swapping out the stock 205mm x 60mm shock for a 65mm stroke increases the rear wheel travel to 170mm, giving riders the option to turn a nippy enduro bike into something rather more ambitious. This “freeride” config would be an aftermarket upgrade only.

2021 transition patrol alloy

GiddyUp Suspension Kinematic

The Transition Patrol is available in S, M, L and XL. The smaller bikes get 436mm chainstays while the stays on the L and XL bikes are longer at 440mm. That results in two slightly different leverage curves, with the longer stays displaying the more linear curve.

2021 transition patrol leverage curves

The latest iteration of Transition’s GiddyUp suspension kinematic gives the Patrol 24% overall progression. The marketers tell us this gives it “an excellent balance of support and small bump sensitivity. Anti-squat is tuned to enhance pedaling performance and provides a platform to push against when pumping, without sacrificing a bottomless feel when needed”.

hannah bergman sends massive jump in woods 2021 transition patrol
Hannah Bergman demonstrates the full capability of the 2021 Transition Patrol

Speaking of a bottomless feel; there is clearance for, and sufficient bottom-out resistance in the leverage curve to allow riders to swap out the stock air shock for a coil option. Transition suggest a sag range of 27 – 33%, allowing riders some freedom to tune the feel of the bike according to their riding style and local trails.

Frame Details

The 2021 Transition Patrol runs a 6061 aluminium frame with Boost (12mm x 148mm) rear axle spacing. The stays permit clearance for tires up to 2.6″ wide and a 223mm diameter rear brake rotor.

2021 transition patrol

The frame runs a threaded bottom bracket and a 55mm/56mm press-in headset. Cables are routed internally for the rear derailleur and dropper seat post while routing for the rear brake is external. There is room within the front triangle for a water bottle and there is an accessory mount on the underside of the top tube to aid packless setups.

hannah bergman riding 2021 transition patrol

The pivots get Enduro Max Sealed Bearings while the main pivot also gets extra protection against water ingress and trail crud in the form of bearing shields. The chainstay, seatstay (drive side only) and downtubes each get a rubber molded protection against chain slap and rock strikes. Finally, the bike runs a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger, making a replacement easy to source.

Final Fun Fact

transition dirtbag lars sternberg

This isn’t Transition’s first foray into the world of mixed wheel size bikes. Some of you may recall the Transition Dirtbag of 2002 that ran a 26″ front wheel and 24″ rear. That there is Transition’s marketing guy, Lars Sternberg, sending the Dirtbag in 2021.

Pricing & Availability

2021 mullet transition patrol bergman

The 2021 Patrol is only available in alloy at the moment. Historically, Transition have offered a carbon model so expect one to drop in due course.

Bikes will be available this summer. We can tell you that every model will feature a OneUp Components V2 Dropper Post and Bash Guard, with 165mm crank arms stock. Head to the Transition Bikes website for full details on models and pricing.

2021 transition patrol raw blueberry blue colors

TransitionBikes.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Ted W Pierson
Ted W Pierson
2 years ago

same old ugly welds as my Transition

Paul Rago
Paul Rago
2 years ago
Reply to  Ted W Pierson

That’s, just like, you’re opinion, man.

Everyone i know thinks they look rad.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.