Transition Suppressor (26 ain’t dead!)
Sometimes you need to go back to where you were, to truly examine where you’ve come. While I’ll admit we had initially been interested in the more modern themed version of this bike, the Patrol, we also couldn’t resist the allure of seeing if the fuss over the mid-size wheel has really been worth it. Enter Transition Bikes’ homage to the modern 26” wheeled, ahem, enduro, bike. The Suppressor sports very en vogue numbers; a slack 65 degree head angle, 1181mm (46.4”) Wheelbase, and a relatively low bottom bracket height of 339mm (13.3”). Thankfully the suppressor also features a nice upright seat tube angle of 75.4 degrees which helps level a bit of control over the very downhill geometry when things get climby.
The Transition Suppressor only comes as a frame with RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 Debonair shock, so you can kind of ignore the parts spec. It’s solid mid-range fare, form over fashion but high in functionality and reputation. At $1999 USD, the frameset doesn’t totally blow the budget compared to some other brands. No, it isn’t carbon, but that’s okay.
The front pivot is pretty much inline with the 32t chainring, minimizing any potential pedal feedback, especially when used without a granny gear. The integrated chainstay pretector helps keep things quiet on the chain rattle front. Anodized hardware and a brushed aluminum frame really stand out without too much graphic flare to distract you from the clean lines.
The modified horst link “giddy up’ edition moves the rear pivot more inline with the dropouts, compared to the more traditional Specialized or Norco position which is dropped lower of the dropout. The Syntace X12 bolt on rear axle, in 142mm spacing, provides a solid, stiff, interface, although the need to pull out a multitool to remove the rear wheel is kind of inconvenient.
Front derailleur E2 low direct mount for those that aren’t afraid of technology that improves your gear range and versatility, or you can run it 1x and have an insane amount of clearance. It’s nice to see companies still offering consumers a choice in drivetrain considerations.
Chunky welds on the bottom bracket and shock mount area of the bike. Also hiding back there is an ISCG05 chainguide mount if you require reliable chain retention.
More solid welds on the head tube area. Also we see the cable port for the internal cable routing, which is all the rage these days but in some cases results in cable slap inside the frame. Time will tell.
While this test bike did not come with a dropper post (the horror!) the frame does feature a stealth post cable port.
Plenty of clearance in the bottom bracket area makes for easy cleaning after dirty rides.
Nice straight lines, no nonsense colour scheme, progressive geometry, and a fresh take on an old suspension design standard; when mated with the sport’s original wheel size it adds up to an interesting package. How does it stack up against its bigger wheeled brethren? Stay tuned for a full review coming soon.
Would you still buy a twenty six inch-wheeled bike?
Comments
sagalbot
8 years, 5 months ago
When's the review comin?!
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Mitch
8 years, 6 months ago
I ride my Suppressor since March 2015, I loved it's handling from the first day… cable slap inside the frame is there, but I got used to it and don't hear it anymore… tightened up the zipties , which helped to minimize the sound.
26aintdead
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Cam McRae
8 years, 6 months ago
A trick to get rid of cable slap (which I hate as well) is to tighten a zip tie around the line or cable and slide it inside the frame without cutting the tail off. The tail should act to prevent the line or cable from moving - or at least from moving enough to make noise. I haven't tried this yet but I plan to today.
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Mitch
8 years, 6 months ago
Sounds like a good plan, built a new rearwheel today, will try your hack during the next days, thank you for sharing 😉
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rEd fOx
8 years, 7 months ago
I have one and i love it ! Very funny bike. Thanks a lot to the Transition crew 🙂
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reformed roadie
8 years, 7 months ago
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the finish on that frame…makes me want to strip my Yeti down to the bare metal.
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mike
8 years, 7 months ago
yeah i did i have a 2015 Kona Process 167 , very fun bike and glad other company's are still producing modern 26″ bikes and frame-sets
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Liam Allen
8 years, 7 months ago
I just did build a new 26″ bike, this was one of my options but I went for a banshee rune instead. Did feel like I had some restricted choices with 26″ for my build now though. Feels like the industry is slowly turning its back on the original wheel size. That's why I went for the banshee it leaves me the option of running 27.5 ( actually more like 26.9″ in reality) in the future.
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moike
8 years, 7 months ago
You can always run 26 in a 27 frame, and you get teh lowz bb evaaarr
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Peer Schmid
8 years, 7 months ago
I've bought mine about 3 months ago – and it's an amazing bike. Compared to some 27.5″ bikes I've tested (Norco Range/Sight, Devinci Spartan) it feels a bit more nimble and playable to me. I love it.
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Gnarlyle
8 years, 7 months ago
This bike can fit a 650B wheel/tire set-up. There's a couple smashing trails with this configuration out of the Hi-5 shop here in PDX. Are there any actual frame differences between this and the Patrol?
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Phil W. Strong
8 years, 7 months ago
Looking at the geometry specs between the two, the Suppressor is built with less BB drop so it could have the same BB height with it's 26 " wheels as the Patrol has with it's 650B wheels.
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Colin McCarthy
8 years, 7 months ago
yup, worked 4 Lars-n-Bars, he ran w/650b to reduce pedal strikes. the only difference is BB height and Stack.
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Sam Fowler
8 years, 7 months ago
Sickest. Bike. Ever.
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Raymond Epstein
8 years, 7 months ago
New school geometry (slack head angle/road bike steep seat angle/long and low) hit right about the same time as 27.5 wheels became all the rage. So they really weren't many 26″ bikes that had that set up. The Suppressor and the Kona Process 167 (more of a "park" bike though) are the only modern examples that come to mind. I would imagine the Suppressor rides as well as it's bigger-wheeled brethren the Patrol. The only difference would simply be the wheels and their inherit positives or negatives.
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mike
8 years, 7 months ago
you ever ride a 167 Process ?? they are a hell of a trail bike as well and climb very well
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Raymond Epstein
8 years, 7 months ago
I've ridden a 153 which has nearly the same layout and geometry. It is a ripper of a bike so I'd imagine the 167 would perform similarly. There are many people around here on 134's and 153's, but like the Supressor the 167 is going to be for more of a niche nowadays.
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mike
8 years, 7 months ago
different ride between the 153 and the 167 . my son has one and i still prefer my 167 . couple little design changes i,d like to see , but other than that it,s a well thought out design that i think will continue on and keep the 26″ bike in the limelight .
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Facebook User
8 years, 7 months ago
Commencal Meta SX 26″ has a 65/74 head tube/seat tube angle and a 340mm BB height. Sadly 2015 is the last production run for these.
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whatyouthink
8 years, 7 months ago
My Evil Uprising is in that same category.
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Raymond Epstein
8 years, 7 months ago
I forgot about that one. The Uprising is killer, but I understand it may be replaced by the forthcoming Insurgent.
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Merwinn
8 years, 7 months ago
New? No, I wouldn't. Some may yearn for the old days, but that's history for most part. Besides, I'm already having enough frustration finding a new fork for my old 26er.
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Ashiq
8 years, 7 months ago
always, ALWAYS. keep it real
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Hairy
8 years, 7 months ago
I just recently did buy a 26'er dually …. to go with my 26'er HT 🙂
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Tim P
8 years, 7 months ago
Yeah, about time!
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Adam
8 years, 7 months ago
Congratulations transition bikes. If we can have 27.5, 27.5+, 29, 29.5+ and fat bikes why can't we have good old 26 inch wheels
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Néstor Carrasco L.
8 years, 7 months ago
haha, not so old bro.
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