Transition have become well renowned here in the UK for belting out some of the finest bikes around. The Double is their take on a slalom/slopestyle-style bike. We roamed far and wide to see just what this little beast had to offer.
Ride & handling: Pedals and jumps like a champ
We rode the smaller regular size frame, which provided our 5ft 8in test pilot with plenty of stand over height and a lively and flickable ride. Hit the dirt jumps and the 80mm (3.2in) travel setting comes into its own, giving you that added buffer if things go a little bit pear-shaped when airborne. The same can be said for thrashing around the BMX track where it pedals and jumps like a champ.
We did notice a less-than-favourable amount of rolling resistance due to to the wider tyres though, and your legs will feel the burn after a couple of laps – but that’s straight-forward enough to fix. Hit bigger trails and the 100mm (3.9in) travel setting lets you hit jumps, drops and gaps that you might have had second thoughts about if you’d been riding a hardtail.
The Double feels stable in the air, and you can really whip it around while you’re up there. It’s suprising what you can get away with when you overshoot or come up short on a landing too. If the dirt jumps or BMX track are too wet, then the Double is a great little bike for ragging around the woods on. It’ll suck up the big landings and most hits well enough to rail more mellow downhill runs where you’ll hit the finish grinning from ear to ear. Don’t be put off by the Double’s ‘slopestyle/slalom’ tag – it’s a great bike and works well for more than just that type of riding.
Frame: Aimed at the burlier side of riding
The Double frame is available in either regular or long sizes. Its name refers to the fact that it offers two travel settings – 80mm (3.2in) or 100mm (3.9in). It’s easy to switch between the two settings, which are taken care of by the Fox Float RP23 rear shock that’s driven by the machined linkage.
As you’d expect from a frame aimed at the burlier side of riding, the Double features gravity-orientated staples such as ISCG 05 mounts and a tapered head tube along with some beautifully crafted reinforcement at the top, down and head tube junction. The cable routing runs along the upper side of the down tube so it’s out of harm’s – and grime’s – way.
Equipment: Handles the hits with composure
Our build uses the stand-out Fox 831 fork, which handles the hits with composure and grace, no matter how hard you pound them. For the drier trails we were riding, lighter, narrower tyres would have been a better option than the hefty Maxxis Minion 2.5in tyres we used. This would help drop some weight (this bike weighs 16.4kg) as well as rolling resistance, which would make days at the BMX track even better.
