Vital MTB's Bike of the Year - 2017 Shreddy Awards 20

Vital MTB is stoked to give the new Transition Patrol the Shreddy Award for Bike of the Year. This refined, 27.5-inch-wheeled long-travel ripper has been recreated from head to toe, improving on an already amazing ride.

Transition stuck their necks out to push bike geometry forward, prompting both FOX and RockShox to create forks that weren't commercially available before.

For the A.D.D. types who don’t like to read but will comment anyway, here’s the Cliffs Notes version of Transition's Speed Balanced Geometry (SBG) concept: Reach is extended, headtube is slacker, seat tube is steeper, the stem is shorter, and fork offset is reduced.

These geometry tweaks work in concert to provide an intuitive and controlled handling experience on the trail. The main takeaways are calmer cornering, less deflection over bumps, more direct control, and better braking on the steeps.

The updated Patrol has also had dozens of small details refined including cable-routing tweaks, inclusion of a metric shock, bearings in the upper shock mount, a wider main pivot, increased tire clearance, downtube protector, and more. With these improvements, plus the geometry tweaks, the Patrol is a completely new beast that builds off the success of the old version.

While there may be lighter bikes out there, we value on-trail performance, durability, and dependability above being weight-weenies. The Patrol gets very high marks in these areas.

Why did we award a 2018 model the 2017 Bike of the Year award? Like many brands, Transition released their new bikes ahead of schedule. This is the most impressive bike we rode during 2017 and it has been available to the public for several months.

See Vital's in-depth review on the Transition Patrol, our pick for Bike of the Year.