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2019 Transition Sentinel Carbon GX Bike
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International shipping available. Some exclusions apply.

1 member reviews

Should You Buy This Bike in 2020?
Rating:
Featured Member Review
The Good
*Versatile *Durable
*Easy to work on
*Backed by a great company
*Incredible Handling (in the right size)
*Good suspension action (with the right shock)
The Bad
*A bit too linear; adding the right air shock and tune can mitigate this
*Chainstays length makes longer reaches a bit harder to weight properly
*Jack of all trades means its the master of none
Overall Review:

Check the video for the full review. 

Rate review:
6
jeff.brines
4/13/2020 3:17pm

20 comments

Post a reply to: Should You Buy This Bike in 2020?

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P_BATEMAN
4 years ago
As a former owner who did big days and bike park on a Sentinel I'd say that niche market segment is much more full now. There are smarter investments which have similar handling without the shortcoming of having to stab in custom tunes or alternate shocks to make up for the shortcomings of the rear suspension.

Ripmo/Ripmo AF, SB150, and my personal favorite the Switchblade will all do the same job better.
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jeff.brines
4 years ago
You have a fair point; if you are looking for more progressive suspension kinematics with similar geometry you can absolutely find that elsewhere. However, there are a few things that should be considered before suggesting the rear suspension truly has "shortcomings" or there are better investments out there.

First, I'd wager for a large number of people the suspension won't just work right out of the box, it'll work awesome. To suggest there is a one size fits all to suspension is a bit of a misnomer. This bike is more linear (but far from totally linear). Though more progressive kinematics are more in vogue that doesn't make more linear "bad" per say. The bike doesn't bottom excessively, it just uses more of its travel than I personally would like. Key word, personally.

I should focus a lot more on this, maybe as a stand alone video. I've had a number of people reach out to me asking what the perfect tune is on this bike. There is no perfect. To my point, look how many people slapped Eleven Sixes on this bike and claimed its the best thing evarrrrr. That shock is linear. Its a coil. Are these people "wrong"? Doubtful. They found what they liked.

Second, the bikes you mention are all more expensive than the Sentinel. They also all have slightly more travel. The Ripmo I'd argue is only marginally more progressive (12% I think?) and comes in ~$1500 more than the Sentinel (like for like build). That's a LOT of coin for very little (if any) benefit. The others are even more expensive. I could literally buy two alloy GX Sentinels for the price of one Yeti! (I know, apples to oranges)

They all rip, and that's my point. The on trail experience is so damn close being the handling isn't wildly different bike to bike. If you are a thoroughbred racer, as I noted, there are 100% better options out there. But if you don't, boy, I'm not sure I'd feel too good about dropping $6500 on a Yeti SB150 when I'd have just as much fun on a $3999 Sentinel...
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P_BATEMAN
4 years ago
Jeff, first off don't think for a minute my criticisms of the bike are a reflection on the quality of your review and I must say I love the work you're doing with the top fuel.

I also somewhat concede the value as I somehow missed the Sentinel had gone on sale. To some, the value may be somewhat lessened in that it seems both the earlier and later color schemes were both applied to the bike with watercolors. Perhaps if you're riding trails without rocks this isn't an issue, otherwise some sort of protection is a must.

Naturally, I was only thinking about myself with regards my criticism of the rear suspension. While far from a racer, I did find the bike to bottom excessively. With the largest volume spacer and a custom tune this was somewhat mitigated at the expense of harshness everywhere else.

Once tuning, shock swaps, and push eleven sixes come into the equation OEM price point comparisons are like comparing apples to hand grenades. Also, the difference in cost, equivalent to an Armani suit (pocket squares are in), between the Sentinel and some of the bikes I mentioned (Also the Slash) starts to erode. Especially when OEM wheels and tires are factored into the case of the more expensive considerations as these are common upgrades..

Sure, there are people who's trails or riding won't exceed the Sentinel's stock configuration but in that case I question the advantage of 160/140mm of travel, a 64° head angle, and a chassis that feels deader than the young men in John Wayne Gacy's basement.
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jeff.brines
4 years ago
I totally encourage comments like yours dude, I didn't take anything you wrote to be in poor taste. I dig comments like you are writing! (plus, you use paragraphs, swoon....)
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BiNARYBiKE
4 years ago
Great review! I'm 6'3" and have been on both Large and XL sentinel and patrol and agree that the Large is plenty long. I also agree that the Sentinel is an incredible all-rounder. Remarkable how well it descends for how comfortable it is to pedal. One thing I'd mention, and this is maybe more about wheelsize, but I'm much quicker through berms and much more comfortable jumping on the patrol. I'm consistently faster on flow trails with the patrol, even when I have some uphill sprints mixed in.The only downside of the patrol is that it doesn't give me the same confidence as the sentinel in really steep rough terrain. I would be so interested in trying a mullet bike that combines the Patrol and Sentinel.
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bulletbass man
4 years ago
I know people who have upforked their patrol and they still ride great. I figure upsizing the front wheel would put you in a pretty similiar riding position. Maybe have to drop front travel to 160 but it'd probably be worth the tradeoffs.
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jeff.brines
4 years ago
This is a great point. I could go on (and on and on) about wheel size. It really is going to be personal preference, especially if you don't race. There is a point where going 27.5" makes sense based on your height, but you are way beyond that!

The one thing I will say, having owned both 29 and 27.5" bikes in the past - if you routinely go back and forth it can screw you up in big ways unless you are one of those uber talented bike riders.

Whatever you go with, stick with it.

Oh, and another factor I'll get into if I ever make content about this - 27.5" bikes often climb better in steep stuff. Smaller wheels. Less rotating weight. Easier to push hard. I realize this goes against everything people say, but most of us can't hold speed going up steeper stuff to take advantage of the larger wheel, especially with mortal checking accounts (non carbon wheels)
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BiNARYBiKE
4 years ago
Ya, height wise I feel like a 29er fits me better. But matching body size is only part of the equation, the other part is the trail, and the trail doesn't care how about your body size. This is one thing that I think is often overlooked. While we may change the size of the bike to match the rider, the size of the trail stays the same. So berm radius, jump radius, all that stuff stays the same and then our big long bike or giant wheels effect how we can ride those trails. So while I loved the Sentinel in Arizona, bombing steep, straight, rocky trails, I prefer bermed jump trails, which I have in spades having recently moved to Oregon. so for me it's just choosing which trade-offs to accept. One other wheel size factor I hadn't expected is that 27.5 is better at a quick sprint. When I'm decending and hit a flat or slight uphill that requires five or six hard pedal strokes, 27.5 feels much less sluggish to me. Makes sense, assuming smaller wheels accelerate quicker than bigger wheels, while bigger wheels have a higher top speed once up to speed.

I'd like to hear more of your thoughts about how going back and forth can screw you up. I've gone back and forth every year for maybe four years now? Definitely wouldn't call myself uber talented. It's been an adjustment each time, but nothing too crazy. Just curious.
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jbv
4 years ago
i agree and i've had both wheel sizes. it's also kinda fun to play around and adjust to the ride. small wheels are especially cool in tight trees.
i was listening to Jesse Melemed recently (podcast) and emailing with him about the new Slayer 29. at the elite levels riders are so in tune with a bike design and frame size that deviating is stressful for them. consider the razor edge they ride at trying not to crash and any change can be unwelcome. they agonize over every slight adjustment. he's now going with the Slayer as he says it's simply the best tool for the job on the EWS circuit but it was a lot of testing and saddle time to adapt to a new bike that is bigger overall with different geo (better he says, but different and different is scary when you're that good apparently)
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stiingya
4 years ago
I'm almost 6'3" and I disagree. The XL Sentinel is feeling just a touch too small to me. (Also cause I'd rather run a 32mm stem) I'm looking for one of the xxl frames for a good deal so I can try sizing up.

I did a quick mullet run, (love my steel Honzo mullet) but the geo on the Sentinel is already so good it wasn't the night and day difference it was for the Honzo. Have meant to try it again with a narrower rear wheel/tire cause the set up I tried rubbed like crazy ..

Can't wait to see what the new Sentinel and Smuggler bring.
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BiNARYBiKE
4 years ago
The good news is, you can pretty much just pick your length that you prefer. I have very long legs and short torso, so seated reach is actually not very long. when descending, I appreciate a shorter wheelbase and a bike that's a little more lively and playful. I get a long fine with the XL, but it feels longer than necessary.
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metabrz
4 years ago
That is an interesting comment on sizing. I am 175 cm and ride a large and find it comfortable to ride everywhere other than super tight switch-back trails. To be fair it has taken me a long time to get comfortable and for a while I thought I'd brought too much bike - it just takes more effort to corner the bike in tight situations.

As for suspension, I put a RS coil deluxe with an MRP progressive spring on it for a while but it was still blowing through its travel too easily. With the stock shock I have found it supportive and supple with good bottom out (I run my body weight in pounds 175 plus 10%).

I've had the bike a year now and finally feel like its riding the way I want it. I'll be investing in the Cascade Components link when it comes up and will get the coil spec'd to a 60mm stroke. Hopefully with the increased progression they are looking at building in the coil will finally work well and I can keep the DPX stock and have a longer and shorter set up for different days (Queenstown does have XC type trails - its not all Skyline Gnar!)

Anyway, as non-racer who likes steep and rough I can't fault it. It climbs well and smashes rough terrain.
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schwaaa31
4 years ago
Excellent review. I’m in the market for a new trail bike, and have been falling down the YouTube review rabbit hole. This is far and away more informative than anything out there. More please.
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bulletbass man
4 years ago
It will be interesting to see if the Smuggler + Sentinel will both get a bump in travel like the Scout or if there will be a new Super Sentinel or whatever clever name Transition comes up with.

Building up a Throttle now. Excited to finally own a bike by such a rad company.
Review This Product

Specifications

Product
Transition Sentinel Carbon GX Bike
Model Year
2019
Riding Type
Enduro / All-Mountain
Trail
Rider
Unisex
Sizes and Geometry
SM
MD
LG
XL
Wheel Size
29"
Frame Material
Carbon Fiber
Frame Material Details
Carbon frame, swing arm, seatstays and rocker
Rear Travel
140mm
Rear Shock
FOX DPX2 Performance, 205mm x 57.5mm
Fork
FOX 36 Grip Performance
Fork Travel
160mm
Head Tube Diameter
44mm zero stack (top) / 56mm zero stack (bottom)
Headset
FSA No.57E
Handlebar
Race Face Chester 35mm diameter, 780mm x 20mm (SM, MD), 780mm x 35mm (LG, XL)
Stem
Race Face Aeffect R, 40mm length
Grips
ODI Elite Flow
Brakes
SRAM Code R, 180mm rotor (front and rear)
Brake Levers
SRAM Code R
Drivetrain
1x
Shifters
SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed
Front Derailleur
N/A
Rear Derailleur
SRAM GX Eagle
ISCG Tabs
ISCG05
Chainguide
None included
Cranks
SRAM Descendent 6K DUB, 170mm
Chainrings
30 tooth
Bottom Bracket
73mm threaded
Pedals
None included
Chain
SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed
Cassette
SRAM XG 1275, 10-50 tooth, 12-speed
Rims
Stan's Flow S1 Team
Hubs
Stan's Neo with Durasync
Spokes
Sapim Race black 2.0mm/1.8mm/2.0mm
Tires
Front: Maxxis Minion DHF 3C WT, 29 x 2.5
Rear: Maxxis Minion DHR II 3C WT, 29 x 2.4
Saddle
ANVL Forge Cromo
Seatpost
RockShox Reverb Stealth, 125mm (SM), 150mm (MD), 170mm (LG, XL)
Seatpost Diameter
31.6mm
Seatpost Clamp
Standard single bolt
Rear Dropout / Hub Dimensions
Boost 148
Max. Tire Size
29 x 2.5
Bottle Cage Mounts
Yes
Colors
Gunmetal Gray, Pinot Noir
Warranty
3 years on frame for original owner from the date of purchase
Weight
32 lb 9.3 oz (14,780 g)
Miscellaneous
Rubber molded frame protection
Internal cable routing (external for rear brake)
Price
$4,999.00
More Info

​​www.transitionbikes.com

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Where To Buy
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply.
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply.
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