Transition Smuggler vs Spur on XC Trails (trail vs downcountry bike)
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- Опубліковано 2 гру 2023
- How does a Transition Smuggler compare to a Transition Spur on cross country trails? How is the ride quality on smoother, flatter trails? That's what we'll find out in this video!
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I purchased a 2022 canyon neuron al 5 29er and a 2023 polygon siskiu t8 27.5 for less than the cost of a transition spur frame. My two bikes are very different as are the trails I ride. And like Clint said the fun factor is why we ride. Thanks for all the great content Clint l learn a lot from you , I'll keep watching.
Thanks for the comparison, I rented a Smuggler a few weeks ago and my riding buddy and I traded back and forth between the Smuggler and Spur over 15 miles. Your review confirms exactly what I was feeling about the two bikes.
I think something like the Smuggler makes a great daily driver trail bike to pair with an Enduro and an XC race bike. Light and efficient enough to pedal all day but burly enough to ride it harder than an XC bike.
The Spur is the perfect smaller bike for a 2 bike quiver. Can definitely use it in a race if you don't race enough to justify a dedicated bike and can be ridden fairly hard (can attest).
Just turned the odometer past 1k miles in less than 6 months on my Spur riding Mostly Fruita and Moab. I’ve ridden The Whole Enchilada and other equally rowdy trails, in addition to 8 to 10 hour days in the saddle and riding 60+ miles of single track in a day. I have a 160/140 Divinci Troy and a 140 Banshee Paradox, but generally take the Spur unless it’s a group ride or really rowdy.
Wait a minute, you are saying you did the enchilada in the Spur ?
It's kind of like the road bike world. Having the right tires and wheels on the wrong bike for the conditions is often far better than the opposite scenario.
Smuggler has been great as my daily bike. Built up with Noble tr37 carbon wheels, butcher/purgatory tires. Perfect on our New England trails.
Great explanations
Clint - I'm enjoying your useful content. If you ever get a chance to test the new Cervelo ZFS-5 please do a comparison against the Spur and Niner. Thnx.
Ever since i started recently riding an x/c 120mm F/R, it has become my daily driver on local trails. Such a blast ..fast…effecient…and more importantly…FUN. My trail bike at 140/120mm is pretty quick too…but that is my more downhill bike…with 3inch wide plus tires. Its my pseudo fat tire bike now.
Thanks for the video Clint 👍 I hope you get your hands on a Fezzari Singal Peak some time 🙂
If you swapped the wheelset from the Spur to the Smuggler, it's likely that the Smuggler would be the faster bike. I did the same experiement between my Spur and my SjEvo and 90% of the difference was in the lighter tires and wheels.
The Smuggler feels a lot more crisp on the pedals than the Spur, especially with 13mm of seated shock sag.
I’m sure I’ll end up doing that in an upcoming video.
I am thinking of building a Smuggler with light / fast wheels tires and using it for places like Bentonville, etc... For me, the forgiving geo that almost jumps itself would build my confidence (and therefore skills).
And pop the Smuggler's wheels on the Spur too, just to see if it get's more capable, I bet it works both ways.
I would love to see a comparison on the spur and sb120 yeti
I actually think the second lap is an advantage in this case - I am always faster my second loop vs my first. I have settled into a rhythm and even though I know the trail - riding right away again I always seem to flow better (use less brakes). Clint knows better - but I do think these bikes are closer than we would think ... and the trail looked like it was made for hardtails - it was that smooth (at least on camera) !
Quite a bit of roots that cannot be seen on the camera. I’ve done laps on hard tails on this course and I’m always faster on full suspension.
Yeah I thought the Spur would have been like a minute faster too. That Smuggler must fit like a glove man to be able to do what you did. Nice!
I popped a 1* angle headset on my spur and pushed it to a 67*. I would recommend it for xc
If you ever get the opportunity I would love to see you ride the SCOTT SPARK RC, maybe the SCOTT SPARK RC WORLD CUP TR BIKE version and compare it to the Spur.
I did test the RC and Trail version when they where released and was so impressed that I almost bought one, but I've never ridden a Spur so far...
I also wonder how a lighter wheel-set (1'300g) would be like on the Smuggler with a set of XC tyres :). My guess is it would probably blur the lines between those two bikes significantly.
Cheers
Mate, you’re riding the Spur in its natural terrain, it’s no wonder it’s the preferred option! I just wish they’d do an alloy so it was actually affordable.
Just picked up a Spur two weeks ago and man, what a bike. I love my Scout but the Spur is a whole different animal. Much more playful than I thought it would be.
Also got one two weeks ago. So much fun! Love this bike. And the sale prices make it reasonable
@@seawalkarrg I’ve always wanted one. That price made it unavoidable.
@@bkranich I know. Enjoy!
Came here because I am interested in both of these bikes. Unfortunately the trail you tested them on is almost as smooth as a sidewalk by Colorado standards. I’m sure it’s hard finding legit trails in FL so of course I get it.
Thanks
For the review and if I ever move back to my home state of FL I’ll definitely be getting an XC bike!
A lot more roots than you can see on the video. In fact I’m riding in the Blue Ridge mountains right now and many of the trails are smoother than my local XC trails (in this video).
perhaps. Its just that I'm comparing it to the high rockies of CO where I live. Your video was great, just not something that I can use based off what I saw for terrain. I currently ride a ORBEA Rallon and I love it,but i need something max 29lbs but capable of riding big backcountry days with some chunk and 2' drops.
@@meastabrooks1 the Smuggler is probably the better choice for that
Fun test - I have a Spur and a Canyon carbon Neuron 140/130, the Spur is just special. But glad to have a bigger bike when needed. Question: have you ever ridden an Epic Evo? I was impressed test riding the Evo, putting it up against the Spur would be fun. IMO the Evo is also unique (like the Spur), but in a different way. More XC feeling vs the Spur. Keep the videos coming !
I have not ridden the epic Evo yet but it looks like a great bike. Hopefully one day I can get my hands on a demo.
singletrack time trials are such a great training tool - I do this all the time to improve fitness and get use to race pace on trails
So much better than doing intervals on a road!
@@ClintGibbs that 16 min TT loop you have looks ideal. Only bummer is you have to drive there (vs ride to from your home).
@@jimc5696 on the weekends I usually ride to and from my house. It’s only a 30 minute ride.
Wonder if playiing with cpockpit and stem on Smuggler might somehow allow the front endf to be weighted more?
Enjoy your videos, always. Did you ever get a professional bike fit? I was wondering how you go from bike to bike and spend so much time in the saddle without pain. My Spur still feels off and I keep tweaking things here and there. Thanks!
No I have not. I set my saddle with a tape measure at the exact same height for every bike with small adjustments for my Five Ten trail shoes
Perhaps go up a size on the smuggler?
Hey Clint, what do you think about the Sentinel + Spur for a 2 bike quiver? I ride in the PNW and have been riding the Sentinel for the last year. I also have a Santa Cruz Chameleon to complement it, but find myself wanting to do 20-30 XC rides that the Sentinel doesn't fit in and the hardtail beats me to to death. I would love to keep the hardtail for simplicities sake, but also ride gravel and fit a 4th bike in the garage! These winter deals have me really eyeballing the Spur!
I think the spur and Sentinel would be a great combination. Obviously the smuggler is in between but it’s a perfect balance for me. I still missed my Sentinel on some trails but overall the smuggler is better for the majority of trails that I ride.
@@ClintGibbs Picked up the Spur last week. I love it! (And the Aqua color). The sentinel + spur is perfect!
@@ovtj congrats! It’s a bike you enjoy more every time you ride it.
Clint, any preference in actual riding the GX axs build on Smuggler vs the GX build on the Spur??
Well, I had more miss shifts on the AXS controller. I ended up switching the buttons after this. Mechanical shifting is second nature to me so I actually prefer the shifting on mechanical right now.
The Spur is a special bike. Definitely the Ford Mustang of the XC world - might not be the most efficient or lightest but you're in for a hell of a lot of fun and heads will turn.
Hi Clint, thanks for the video. My Spur came with the Rockshox SID suspension and I want to put Fox suspension on it. Fork and shock. I was wondering where do I find out what mounting hardware I need and where to get them? Thanks.
If you order through a local Bike Shop or Fox directly I think you can describe the bike that it’s going on and they can make sure you have the proper shims. Fortunately transition uses a very standard mount.
@@ClintGibbs Great thanks! And I guess the fork should fit the headset just fine just need to cut the steer tube and install the star nut, correct?
@@user-rj9ui3sz8u you will also need to remove the crown race from your current fork and put it on the Fox Fork. The steerer tube should be the same. You’ll want your local Bike Shop to use a crown race remover. Or you could just buy another crown race and install it on the new fork with a crown race setter. I actually made a video on how to do your own crown race setter.
@@ClintGibbs Thanks again. Ok a little more complicated than I thought, I appreciate it. I will check out that video.
Do you think is better to have 2 bike ( spur for xc/dc, and smuggler for Day on mountain) or just one bike?
I have the same thoughts with the evil following (Xc/dc build, and ibis mojo 4...)
For me I will need at least two mountain bikes. I’ve had three mountain bikes in my fleet for quite a while but there is a lot of overlap with XC Bike and DC Bike so I am pairing down to just one bike and then a longer travel bike for faster descent in the mountains.
@clintgibbs what do you think of downcountry bikes? I have my eye on a specialised chisel as a bit of an all rounder I mainly ride a cyclocross but i want something that’s more able to cope with off road better. Full sus to me is overbiking most of the time.
The Spur is a downcountry bike and probably one of the best bikes I’ve ridden. It’s just the perfect travel for most of the trails that I ride. So yes, downcountry is a great option. In my opinion, downcountry will go away and 120 will be the new cross-country.
I wish Transition would make a bike that is about half way between the Spur and Smuggler. Keep the 120mm travel, single-pivot rear suspension and lightweight qualities of the Spur and them use the 140mm fork and the geometry of the Smuggler. Essentially, I'm looking for a lightweight 120mm rear-travel XC bike with a lightweight 140mm fork, Fox 34, and progressive Trailbike geometry, 77* STA, 65* HTA.
That’s the Smur. 😃
@@ClintGibbs 🤣
Do you think the Stumpjumper bridges the gap between these two bikes?
Yes, as long as you put on some faster tires.
I like the way that you did the video. It makes a lot of sense, but I'd like to see the same type of comparison with the wheels swapped.
Wheel/tire combos make such a big difference. I wonder how much that could offset the differences.
Yeah, there’s a lot of ways you can do these kind of comparisons. For this one I just wanted to focus on buying the bike as is and not making any modifications and seeing how they compare. With bike prices today adding in modifications can get crazy expensive.
Debating a Spur GX or NX versus my existing Scott Spark (alum build) or the CS build of the Tallboy V5. I definitely want a xc oriented bike as I'm riding similar trails to you (South Carolina). Have you tried either the TB or Spark as a point of comparison by chance? I think the Spur would be a nice upgrade from a weight standpoint and just overall build.
I have not ridden those yet. You absolutely cannot go wrong with the Spur. I’m doing some more tests lately with my cross-country bike and it is as fast or faster if I put race wheels on it. So versatile.
@@ClintGibbs Done, GX ordered. Thanks again for your videos.
@@adamj2281 cool. Give me a ride report in a month or so!
@@ClintGibbs I've got about 100 miles on it so far, definitely faster/more confident in cornering, descents, and climbing than the Spark.
The only issue I'm running into is getting my cockpit nailed, I had a flat bar with longer stem, 760mm width on the Spark, no issues.
I cut the Anvil Handlebar down to 780, and getting some pain in my palms. I'm hoping it's just the grips, I rode with Revgrips on the Spark, but the added reach of 10 mm might be a blessing and a curse far as being better at cornering/descents, but stretching me out and putting pressure on my hands.
Any tips? I'm going to keep messing with the roll a bit and brake lever angles.
@@adamj2281 try ESI chunky foam grips.
I don't think that you can do a fair comparison without putting the same tires on both bikes.
I wanted to keep this on the stock tires for this comparison so people can get an idea of what it’s like just to buy the bike and use it “as is”. Switching tires for different types of terrain may not be practical for a lot of people, especially with bike prices today!
I wanted to keep this on the stock tires for this comparison so people can get an idea of what it’s like just to buy the bike and use it “as is”. Switching tires for different types of terrain may not be practical for a lot of people, especially with bike prices today!
@@ClintGibbs I own a Spur and a Smuggler. With the same tire there is not much difference in speed, you may put slightly more effort to maintain that speed with the Smuggler. Unfortunately very few people realize that tire choice is one of the cheapest, and most significant upgrades that you can do to transform your bike. Not many people really need an Assegai Exo+ 2.5 front tire...that thing is one of the slowest rolling tires you could put on a bike. Do this test again and just swap wheels from one to the other. Smuggler will be just as quick, but have more comfort and capability.
Transitions are unnecessarily expensive!
Name reminds me of them gender benders too 🐹🦄🏳️🌈 not sure I could forget that 🤔🤔🤔
Clint, I think you already knew how this was going to end before you started. No bike, no motorcycle, no car can "do it all". Horses for courses.