TRANSITION SPUR X01 CARBON

£5,999.95 The Spur is the king of composure

Meet the Spur, a totally new model designed from scratch to let you “effortlessly explore, seek and pursue the mountain in ways you never imagined”.

The frame

The full-carbon frame has a balanced 120mm of suspension travel at both ends. At the rear, this is managed by a tweaked version of Transition’s GiddyUP four-bar suspension system. Like Cannondale and Specialized, they’ve opted for flexible stays rather than a conventional chainstay pivot, claiming that this flex has been carefully tuned into the carbon lay-up of the rear triangle to save weight without impacting on frame durability.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get hold of a medium frame, so we tested the large instead, which has a generous 480mm reach (for comparison, it’s 460mm on the medium – the same as on the Reactor ST). As the seat tube on the large isn’t too lengthy, at 460mm, this wasn’t a major issue. Our 5ft 8in tester was able to make the bike work for him with the 180mm-travel dropper fully slammed in the frame. Thankfully, Transition have ensured there’s plenty of seatpost insertion room.

We measured the head angle at 65.9 degrees, while the seat tube sits at a shade off 76 degrees. At 335mm off the ground, the BB isn’t quite as low as the Nukeproof’s. Other details include a gear accessory mount on the top tube, two bottle cage mounts and tubes to guide the internallyrouted cables and rear brake hose.

The kit

As you’d expect for this sort of cash, the Spur boasts some excellent kit. A RockShox SID Ultimate fork is paired with a SIDLuxe Ultimate shock. SRAM provide their G2 Ultimate brakes and, while Transition spec a 160mm rear rotor as standard, we were grateful our bike had a 180mm disc – a real plus on longer, steeper descents, especially in the wet. The SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain comes with carbon cranks, and you also get a carbon bar. While the DT Swiss wheels aren’t carbon, that’s OK by us (they are on the top Spur XX1 AXS model). They roll on triple-compound, 2.4in Maxxis tyres – a Dissector up front and a speedier Rekon Race at the rear.

The ride

While the Spur doesn’t feel quite as direct under power as the Epic EVO (although it’s not far off), its response when you lay down the watts is certainly more solid and eager than the Scalpel’s. The rear suspension stays calm as you spin the cranks while seated, with very little bob, but

when inching up steep, rough pitches, the back end is active enough to track each bump, eking out more traction than you might expect from the low-treaded rear tyre. That said, it remains well-supported too, and never gives the feeling that the bike is working against your efforts.

While all of this is really impressive, it’s when the gradient tips down that the Spur shows just how capable bikes of this ilk can be. It has a composure that radiates the length of the bike as you bomb into awkward cambered turns or chatter across root spreads. Point the front wheel down your line of choice and it’s incredible what it’ll handle and stick to. The bike’s ability to smooth out the chunder and track the trail’s contours is astounding for such a short-travel machine.

Some of this control is down to the fork and shock – both offer a sensitive touch with plenty of control – but Transition have done some sterling work on how that 120mm of rear wheel travel is delivered, too. It’s sensitive initially, but still offers the support required to make the Spur nice and reactive when you want to change direction quickly. Over bigger impacts, the suspension’s gentle ramp-up gives the impression of more travel at your disposal.

This all adds up to a bike that you want to push on both the ups and downs. While it’s more than happy grinding out the miles, the Spur feels equally at home charging down technical singletrack, and always manages to deliver smiles.