Andy's Bike
Posted on 31 January, 2017
Name - Andy
Height - 178cm
Weight - 73kgs
Inseam - 83cm
Bike - 2014 Transition Bandit 27.5
Size - M (I was smack-bang in between sizes, I opted for the smaller frame as I prefer messing about on a nimble bike over flat out speed on a more stable steed)
Travel - 140mm rear and 150mm up front
Weight - 14.23kgs
Is the bike stock? - Nope, as you would expect from a 2014 model some things have worn and been replaced. Some things I changed from the get go, there's a lot to mention so I'll make a list...
- Rockshox Reverb 125mm drop, right hand lever run under the bars on the left, the bike came with a solid Raceface post so swapped this out straight away... The post is from my old bike which is a 30.9 rather than a 31.6 so I run it with a shim. It's externally routed despite the frame having the ability to run a stealth post, I think my next 'upgrade' will be to a 150mm drop stealth post...
- I swapped out the Raceface turbine cranks for the XT as I had not long bought the XT before my old bike died... I'm a big fan of the ability to adjust the preload on the bearings easily and the cranks have been a fit and forget addition...
- The SLX brakes have given me a few issues. Both have been sent back at different times and replaced under warranty. The last time one was away for repair I needed a brake so purchased an XT which is why I now have odd brakes...
- Pedals... I have worked my way through a few sets. I started with some DMR Vaults that I moved over from my old bike. I made the mistake of riding them when they needed a service and ovalised the body which in turn made the bearings wear quickly, with the replacement kit costing £30 a pop I swapped them out for a pair of cheap Nukeproof Neutron EVO pedals. These lasted about 3 months before they fell apart, so I swapped them out for a set of superstar Delta pedals. I got on ok with these but the body of the pedal was very soft and the pins too thin. I found I either stripped out or snapped the pins with the slightest knock on rocks. After a brief ride on a friends bike equipped with Vaults i realised that they were what my feet wanted to stand on, so I bit the (expensive) bullet and bought my second pair of Vaults which are still going strong (and being carefully watched for any sign of play!).
- I installed a Works Components -1.5° Angleset to slacken out the head angle to a more familiar 66.5.
- The granny-ring has been ditched and the chain ring has been a 32t for the majority of my time with the bike, however after a last minute swapping out of a worn ring prior to an Alps trip, I am now running a 30t which has been fine for my riding abilities...
- The cassette has mostly been ran with a One-up Components 42t ring however I have recently been running a 11-42 Sunringle cassette. Performance wise they are very similar but my free hub body is much happier having clusters of sprockets rather than individual rings digging into the splines...
- I found the original Transition wheels to be made from some form of poached egg, any hint of an impact and they bent every which way, so, I replaced them with some Roval Traverese wheels. 29mm internal width and light as they come, they have been great, except I can't seem to get a replacement free hub body from Specailzed but I'll keep searching and hopefully find something soon...
- Grips, as you can imagine, have come and gone. I am currently using ESI XC (stands for Extra Chunky not Cross Country) foam grips which my gargantuan hands seem to appreciate. I'm also using Shamurai bar ends which are ingenious storage/holders of a tubeless repair plug and a reamer, definitely worth a look if you run tubeless.
- Saddle, these are definitely a personal thing but my gentleman parts didn't enjoy the stock Transition saddle. I have a carbon railed saddle on my road bike which is fantastic so I splashed out and bought a carbon railed Fabric Scoop Radius Pro for the Bandit. It is much more comfy and super light - brilliant, until the carbon rail failed where it meets the nylon base... Its currently away being reviewed to see if it can be replaced under warranty, but I think if I had the choice again I'd settle for the significantly cheaper titanium railed version... *UPDATE - so the saddle was accepted as a warranty issue, it didn't take too long, maybe a week in total. Due to Fabric not having any carbon railed saddles available I simply got the titanium version and they refunded the difference - win win!
- Finally I have re-tuned the Fox Float rear shock to give a slightly firmer feel as I found I would blow through the travel when running around 30% sag, if I added more air then I wouldn't get anywhere near full travel when I needed it. The re-tune (provided by our good friends at Basecamp Bikes) has solved this issue and made the shock feel more supportive and also slightly more playful...
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