Finally got this thing more dialed in - the Super Deluxe needed a lot more LSC than I anticipated - and got it out on a trail that deserves a bike like this (Solstice in Marin County).

I think I’m in love.

Slightly peeved that those TRP DH-R Evo builds came out literally a week after I pulled the trigger - those are my favorite brakes! And my build came with the prior gen Rockshox bits. Is the Charger 3 upgrade with it on the Zeb? Pretty stoked on It as is.

 

Question -- Is the rear hub Boost or Super Boost? Maybe I'm looking right past it on the website but I can't find the info.

 

148 boost

 

Thank you guys

 

It's listed in the frame specs.
oops missed the previous responses.

 

This just happened 🤘

Question, are any of you guys running aftermarket or extra downtube protection in the bottom bracket area? The stock guard seems a little thin and I think I remember a pic buried in here somewhere where somebody cracked it in that area.

 

Looking forward to see what you think! What shock are you going to run?

 

Anyone know of a good way to remove the printed on decals without damaging the paint?
I see silk makes vinyl kits for the Spire and well...I've got time to kill.

 

Anyone know of a good way to remove the printed on decals without damaging the paint?
I see silk makes vinyl kits for the Spire and well...I've got time to kill.

Just stick them over the top. Then you can remove to factory later if need be. I had invisiframe do the custom ones for my Bronson a few years back. Very good quality. I think I saw that you can even download the transfer file off of the transition website. That makes it easy to get the right templates.

 

I have a few rides on the Spire now and have a couple questions for any of those riding a coil.

I noticed the rear end felt very harsh and uncontrolled over chunk on the first two rides. This last ride I maxed HSC and some LSC and it felt much more composed in comparison, but some spikiness crept in.

I realized after that the 2023 RSUltimate Coil on it is an LL tune and it should likely be an M/M.

That said, I have a CC link coming and m wondering if that will make it better with the added progression, or worse with the change in leverage ratio from the link? Curious to hear others thoughts.

 

Current do all bike, stock GX size M with a 210 dropper, and just threw a 27.5 rear on. It's a little low for the everyday around here, maybe with a coil and less sag. Bike parks with the mixed wheel size it will be good.

 

I tried the mullet setup for a ride as well. The good was it was bonkers fun. The bad was my bash guard took an insane beating here in AZ and there was no way I could ride it that low daily. I really do want to try a proper long travel enduro bike that’s actually built as a mullet first with longish chainstays after that little experiment though.

 

I keep waffling between wanting the Spire and the new carbon Patrol. The component spec on the Spire is more to my liking though, and it’s a few hundred dollars less expensive.

 

Is there any compelling reason to order this bike through an LBS (e.g., a glut of known warranty issues) rather than have them send it directly to me? I'm a competent enough mechanic for assembly but I'm unfamiliar with the Transition brand and how they handle warranty items.

 

Transition has exceptional customer support based on my new experience, but I’d still prefer to go through lbs if any issues were to arise, assuming it’s an option and you like your LBS. Might even be able to negotiate with them.

 

Unfortunately the online stock is not for LBS, you'd have to confirm if LBS frames are even available to order. Transition competes with their own dealers, lol.

 

Dealers won’t have any trouble getting stock in, at this point.

 

Purchase... DONE! New bike day!

 

Hell yeah. Let us know how you like it once you have a few rides.

 

Buying a coil shock now...

 

Yeehaw! Which build did you go with? What shock are you ordering?

 

Still getting used to riding the Spire. This is the slackest bike I’ve ever owned!

For those with more experience at a 63 degree head angle, any tips on steering particularly at lower speed?

Mostly, steering this bike is intuitive, especially at mach chicken, but I’ve noticed on very tight, slower, rutted singletrack (less than 8 inches across) that my steering is more “imprecise” than the same trails on a less slack (66 to 65.5 degree HA) trail bike. Specifically I will find myself hitting the sides of the trail with the front wheel where that never used to be an issue. Does not give me confidence yet in riding it anywhere with high exposure risk.

Do I just need to get on top of the front more? Consciously focusing on a point ahead of me seems to help, but then I get tunnel vision and am no longer looking further up the trail which has its own issues.

 

I have a pretty forward position with 45 mm stem and 27.5 degree rise bars. Once you start to be more conscious of the front wheel, it falls into place. Best advice is to either ride steep, fast, or both.

 

There is no hiding the geometry at slow speeds. It pedals well enough and is light, but you are going to have to be pretty active with the front for a bit. Eventually you just get used to it.

 

Thank you - I figured as much. “More active” is a great description of what it feels like when you are properly on top of it. It’s kind of like learning to ride a mountain bike all over again, or learning clips vs flats. I might need to stay off the XC bike for awhile! The Spire pedals better than many trail bikes I’ve owned in the past so at first it fooled me into thinking it was one.

 

I have been playing around with stem, spacers and bars rise a TON with mine. I had never really done this before and the affects were pretty eye opening to me. 5 or 10 mm here or there makes a dramatic difference on how it feels out on the trails to me. That said, it's all SUPER personal, and I have a +7 ape index so doubt any of my actual numbers are relevant to anyone. Just a thought on the concept though. Don't be afraid to mess around and experiment. PB is great for buying different length stems cheap to play with.

 

Definitely going to try a 50mm stem first. If I got the angleset route, is works components the only option for ZS56 upper/lower?

 

Going to a 50mm stem from 40mm is a big difference, and if I had a Spire I'd probably run a -1 degree headset too.

I'm still considering a Spire but my order got delayed over 6 months so I got a Stumpy Evo and added the Cascade link. I'm very happy with the Evo, but also love my Spur, which is why I ordered the Spire. Hard to go wrong these days.

 

Before I moved to AZ from the PNW, I would have said you are crazy to take some angle out. Now with different terrain, I see what some people are talking about with this notion. For me, keeping the bars low and a 50mm stem was what was needed to keep the front end in check on mellower terrain with loose over hard. It doesn’t affect me as much in steeps since the front end is so long you can go way over the front without fear of going OTB, but I can see how this could now cause fit issues for a lot of people or maybe they are spending more energy than something a little steeper and shorter.

 

So I plugged the numbers in on the Mad Scientist MTB Calculator. This is for a large, in low, with a 1.5 degree angleset. Using Transitions factory geometry figures, note, when I physically measured my bike, the bottom bracket was 7mm lower but just to give an idea so real life might vary a bit. I remember one of the websites, I think Pinkbike, physically measured a few bikes and found they were all pretty far off the factory specs for the most part.

Stock/Angleset
Head Angle 62.5/63.5
Reach 480/477 (shouldn't this be longer? I'm not that smart)
Effective Seat tube 78.1/77.6
BB Height 339.95/343.82(note, when I measured mine in high it was actually 343 vs specs saying 350)
Wheelbase 1289.32/1276.04
Calculated rear center 446.86/447.12
Calculated Front Center 842.47/828.84

 

Good lord, FedEx says my bike is arriving today, one day ahead of schedule. How often does that happen???

 

I had the same. In fact they updated my delivery date twice, each time arriving sooner than the original.

 

I waffled for a while between 1.5° and 1° on the headset. When I did the geometry calculator 0.5° brings the front center in roughly 5mm. With that I settled on 1° as I thought 15 mm was a bit too much for the character of the bike. I also used my current bike's geometry and what I wanted in my next bike to make that decision. It will also still get me under the magic 64° head angle in low which I'm not sure I've ever ridden a bike that slack yet... definitely haven't owned one.

Also on paper the stack on this thing is super low in a large. I haven't really measured or compared to my current bike yet though. Still waiting on some stuff to show up to build the Spire and then I'll start messing with everything.

 

Did anyone put 223 disc on the back? I got set of Galfers on the cheap and will try how it feels.

 

Yes. 223mm Trickstuff HD rotors front and back on mine.

 

No issues with clearance etc? The adapter is not flexing?

 

Started preliminarily digging into my bike today. I see what everybody's talking about regarding the inner routing tube for the dropper.

I plan to somehow cut that shorter. Either with a sharpened piece of 1/2" copper tubing down the seat tube or maybe from the bottom bracket with a hacksaw, I'm not sure yet. The seat tube is quite a bit forward from the bottom bracket unfortunately. I haven't had my cranks out yet to see what kind of access there may be or if there's any clearance at all from the BB insert.

Any ideas or advice on this?

TBD...

 

Question—
To switch from the air shock to the coil shock I need these pieces (reducers?).

The frame spec page says this:

Is this what I need to buy?

Rear Shock Mounting Hardware

3-piece design hardware for mounting 2008+ Rock Shox Vivid, Kage, Monarch, and 2010+ Ario rear shocks with 1/2" (12.7mm) eyelet dimensions *(not for '03-12 models using 12mm hardware). 1/2" (industry standard) hardware is also used on, and cross-compatible with, Marzocchi, Cane Creek, Fox, and...

www.fanatikbike.com

 

Question—
To switch from the air shock to the coil shock I need these pieces (reducers?).

View attachment 2022527

The frame spec page says this:
View attachment 2022525


Is this what I need to buy?

View attachment 2022526

Rear Shock Mounting Hardware

3-piece design hardware for mounting 2008+ Rock Shox Vivid, Kage, Monarch, and 2010+ Ario rear shocks with 1/2" (12.7mm) eyelet dimensions *(not for '03-12 models using 12mm hardware). 1/2" (industry standard) hardware is also used on, and cross-compatible with, Marzocchi, Cane Creek, Fox, and...

www.fanatikbike.com

That’s what you need to buy. I noticed that Fanatik is out of stock. So then I looked at LostCo and Worldwide Cyclery. They’re both out of stock too. I stopped looking—you can look yourself! But, you should be able to press out the hardware from the air shock and transfer it over to your coil if you’re not able to find what you’re looking for in stock anywhere.

 

Fox hardware will work too, rockshox seems to always be out of stock but the fox stuff is usually in stock. RWC also makes a kit you can use


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yup, was just coming back to say this. Fanatik does indeed have the 8x30 that @Nat needs.

Rear Shock Mounting Hardware

The latest 5-piece mounting hardware for all Fox rear shocks. Two sets are required for one rear shock (upper and lower mount). Includes polymer DU bushings, reducer sleeve, o-rings, and spacers.

www.fanatikbike.com