While the guys from Transition may fool around about the “longer, lower, slacker” cliché, the geometry revamp bestowed upon the 2020 Transition Scout trail bike isn’t too far off the mark. While we’re definitely tired of hearing it, we don’t seem to have grown tired of riding it, with many trail and enduro bikes receiving similar geometry makeovers for this season. The Scout still rolls up on a 27.5″ wheelset but besides that, pretty much everything else about this bike is bigger for 2020. We have the details on the longer travel, longer frame Scout.
2020 Transition Scout
The Scout is back for the 2020 season, this time in carbon. Full carbon, that is, including the front triangle, rear triangle and rocker. All are composed of premium Japanese Toray fiber with a tailored blend of 24T and 30T materials, balanced to meet specific stiffness, strength and impact toughness values. Transition’s latex-coated EPS molding process allows for sharp frame lines and tighter edge radius control. The said result is an optimal strength to weight ratio and less wasted material.
Built around a 150mm travel fork, the rear wheel travel has increased 10mm as compared to the previous iteration, to 140mm, stock. And by “stock”, I mean that the Scout’s stock 57.5mm stroke shock bestows 140mm of rear wheel travel upon the frame. Going further, Transition have designed the bike to be compatible with a longer 62.5mm stroke shock, increasing the rear wheel travel to 150mm.
The Transition Scout’s suspension platform delivers a 25% rate change, in an almost linear fashion, throughout the stroke length. Transition say this translates to a smooth and consistent feel with lots of support. The air shock is spec’d with just one volume spacer, allowing riders to fettle for more or less ramp. The platform is also said to work well with a coil shock.
Longer, lower and slacker
While the above cliché isn’t entirely befitting to the Transition Scout, it isn’t a vast departure from the truth. For 2020, the Scout is indeed longer than its 2019 iteration. Still offered across a full XS to XL size range, reach measurements have increased by 10mm for each, now spanning 410mm in XS up to 510mm in XL. The head tube angle slackens off to 64° and the chainstays grow to 430mm, resulting in a considerable increase in wheelbase from 1189mm to 1217mm, in medium. Fork offset remains short at 37mm for a relatively long trail measurement.
Where the bike is certainly not slacker is in the seat tube. Quite the opposite in fact. Refreshingly, the seat tube angle is steepened up significantly to an effective 77.2° in medium. This figure varies across the frame sizes, at its steepest in XS, at 78.2°, and its slackest in XL at 76.4°. The seat tube itself is entirely straight, well-designed to house increasingly longer dropper seat posts. You’ll get a 120mm on an XS, 150mm on a small, 180mm on a medium, and 210mm on a large and XL. The bottom bracket actually sits 2mm higher than it does on the 2019 version, with a BB drop of 18mm.
Transition Scout Frame Spec
The Carbon Transition Scout frame weighs in at 7.05 lbs with shock. A boost rear end and 430mm chain stays, consistent across the size range, result in clearance for up to 2.6″ wide tyres. The frame pivots utilize standard sizing Enduro Max bearings, with a collet main pivot and additional bearing shields to prevent bearing contamination in tough winter conditions and during washing. A 44mm/56mm press-in headset allows you to run an angle set should you wish to take the 64 degree head angle slacker.
Frame cable routing is a mixture of both internal and external. The derailleur cable is internally routed through guides, while the rear brake cable is externally routed. The front triangle features bosses for a water bottle on the downtube, while the underside of the top tube features accessory mounts.
The chainstays feature rubber protection on the drive side, to protect against frame slap and keep noise levels to a minimum. The chainstay pivot was actually widened specifically to allow for a broader chain stay protector. The chainstay, downtube and seat stay protectors are counter sunk into the frame for smooth lines and to reduce heel catch while pedalling.
Pricing and Availability
Three models of the 2020 Transition Scout Carbon are available from today, adorned with increasingly higher spec SRAM Groupsets, and all are available in matte finish Midnight Blue and Olive Green colorways. At the lower end of the spectrum is the Scout NX Build, featuring SRAM’s 1×11 Drivetrain, and a Rockshox Lyrik. The mid-level spec is the GX Scout Build, featuring the SRAM 1×12 GX Drivetrain componentry, Rockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock and Lyrik Ultimate fork. At the top-end of the Transition Scout range is the XO1 build, featuring SRAM’s 1×12 XO1 drivetrain, DT SWISS M1700 Wheelset, a FOX Float X2 shock and FOX 36 Performance Elite fork. For full details on pricing, head to the Transition website.
All Transition Bike models released in 2020 are covered for the lifetime of the frame against material defect and manufacturing quality.
