Transition Scout Carbon

Let’s cut straight to the chase, now that you’ve ridden the wheels off of the new scout this past few months in your opinion what sort of rider is the new generation scout going to be perfectly suited to? I would say that the new generation of scout is going to be ideal for a rider whose main focus is having as much fun as possible and want’s their bike to be really playful. For sure one of the key standout features about the new scout is it’s awesomely modern geometry traits; long slack and low with a short offset fork. These are thought to be the be all and end all for going fast and winning races, however, the attitude and feel of the scout is more in the genre of a short travel freeride bike, that is also super capable and comfortable to climb back up the hill thanks to the 77 degree effective seat tube angle on the medium size.

- Matt Staggs

The Scout showcases the latest generation of Transitions unique ‘Giddyup’ suspension design and also their ‘Speed Balanced Geometry’ concept. So how does the new ‘longer, lower, slacker, and stiffer’ geometry package handle differently to Transition’s previous-gen geo which you’ve ridden in the past? Transition have done an excellent job in their approach to “modern” geometry. A few years ago they were among the first guys to start using shorter o set forks, in conjunction with longer TT lengths. The basic concept to SBG or speed balanced geometry is to improve the rider’s balance on the bike by putting you in a more centred position between the front and rear wheels. This improves front-wheel traction and have more control in general. Compared to the older gen Scout, this means that for a relatively short travel bike you have far more confidence in what the bike is capable of. You get a really strong feeling of what the bike is doing due to the added but not over the top stiffness and the climbing position is as good as a cross country bike.