[allsk8sno]

did any of you ladies see the transition siren??
sounds pretty cool!

pic from www.transitionbikes.com
as well as a few more from crankworks on pinkbike

 

[MtnBikerChk]

more info

http://www.sicklines.com/2007/07/31/transition-bikes-girls-freeride-prototype-frame/

 

[TreeSaw]

Ooooohhhh.....I definitely need to read more about that!

 

[luvz2ridez]

My take:

I liked it. It's hard to tell just riding around in the gravel parking lot, but overall, I had a great impression. It felt a lot like my bottle rocket, but was a bit higher up (the bottom bracket), had a shorter cockpit, and a slacker headtube (the BR has a 67), but it was a lot lighter (34 or so lbs. vs. my 39 BR). There are 3 sizes, small, med and large, the small was too small for me (I'm 5'4") and the med fit perfectly. The small is going to be great for smaller riders. They aren't done tweaking the bike yet, but it's going to be a great bike for us women.
We tried to talk them into having a demo day so us women can go test it out on the trail, hopefully they'll consider this.
Overall impression , if I didn't already own a freeride bike, the bottle rocket, I'd be all over this bike!!!

 

[MMcG]

5 pounds lighter - that's a lot!

 

[mudgirl]

I really, really like the looks of that. Is it more of a downhill bike, or is that something that would work well on rocky, rooty xc trails? Eventually I'm going to upgrade to a FS bike; so this might be one for me to consider when I start looking seriously!

 

[MtnBikerChk]

I really, really like the looks of that. Is it more of a downhill bike, or is that something that would work well on rocky, rooty xc trails? Eventually I'm going to upgrade to a FS bike; so this might be one for me to consider when I start looking seriously!

I read it's a 6 inch travel bike - so it's got almost as much as the bike Tara was riding - you can use it for either!

 

[TreeSaw]

I read it's a 6 inch travel bike - so it's got almost as much as the bike Tara was riding - you can use it for either!

It's light enough to use as an "All Mountain" bike

 

[luvz2ridez]

Yup, they are designing it to be able to handle it all, DH, FR and trail riding...They had a bunch of women testing it at Whistler during Crankworks.

 

[tronfnknblows]

Yup, they are designing it to be able to handle it all, DH, FR and trail riding...They had a bunch of women testing it at Whistler during Crankworks.

Wow, its amazing how much info you got out of a parking lot test.

While that would be amazing, having one bike that can do all of that has yet to be accomplished. There's a good reason too- they all require different biking geometries.

It's very misleading when you say a bike is designed to handle all of those things, just because you can manage to get down the hill with a certain bike does not mean that bike can actually perform well at that kind of riding. Nor will the bike necessarily be durable enough to handle that kind of riding on the longterm. (On the flipside, your body also may not be durable enough to handle the style of riding if you have the wrong type of bike.)

This bike does not appear to be designed with downhill in mind, first off- it's labeled as a freeride bike. Since I can't find any actual specs on the Siren, I can't really make a good comparison to other dh or freeride bikes. But, its got 6 inches of travel, which is a good indication that it's not meant for DH. Transition also tends to design their bikes with leverage ratios on the mid to higher end, which is not optimal for DH. If the BB is actually higher than the Bottle Rocket's BB, there will be some definite performance hits for DH style riding. The single pivot design has a higher pivot point so its not going to be as active/efficient as other designs may be. That may be fine for freeride bikes, but for dh you're hitting fast small bumps as well as large hits and need something that will react appropriately & efficiently. If any of what I'm saying is innaccurate- let me know, but from what I can tell this bike would not handle well for DH. I'd actually call this more of an all mountain/freeride bike.

That being said, its cool they're trying to appeal to an untapped niche of the market.

 

[muddy beast]

While that would be amazing, having one bike that can do all of that has yet to be accomplished. There's a good reason too- they all require different biking geometries.

I'm not a lady...but I want to add my 2cents to your comment.

ARE YOU CRAZY!?
Fact is, not everyone has enough money to have a seperate bike for everything...so bikes like the siren are made to meet the needs of a general, all around bike. Just because some head angles and BB heights are better then others for other conditions, doesnt mean its necessary.

Example, I have an '05 Specialized Bighit...I took it to Moab, and did Porcupine rim solo for the first time last month (yes, in the summer)...I ended up doing it in under 3.5hours with an hour of stopping total (14.7 miles). I also do downhill, and freeride on my bike. But it doesnt mean XC is ruled out.

Point being, I think your complaining to much about a perfect bike that doesnt exsist...And what I think luvz2ridez was trying to say, is the bike is CAPABLE of handling anything you want to ride it on, and thats exactly what it seems it can do.

*Flame retardent suit, on*

 

[tronfnknblows]

I'm not a lady...but I want to add my 2cents to your comment.

ARE YOU CRAZY!?
Fact is, not everyone has enough money to have a seperate bike for everything...so bikes like the siren are made to meet the needs of a general, all around bike. Just because some head angles and BB heights are better then others for other conditions, doesnt mean its necessary.

Example, I have an '05 Specialized Bighit...I took it to Moab, and did Porcupine rim solo for the first time last month (yes, in the summer)...I ended up doing it in under 3.5hours with an hour of stopping total (14.7 miles). I also do downhill, and freeride on my bike. But it doesnt mean XC is ruled out.

Point being, I think your complaining to much about a perfect bike that doesnt exsist...And what I think luvz2ridez was trying to say, is the bike is CAPABLE of handling anything you want to ride it on, and thats exactly what it seems it can do.

*Flame retardent suit, on*

Nope, not crazy, I don't have a bike for everything and most people can't afford a bike for everthing. I'm glad you're such a superman that you can do all of those things on your bike, I could care less. My point was it may be able to do those things, but its not really designed to do those things (and won't necessarily perform _well_ at those things), which luvz2ridez said it was. I was trying to put the freeride versus downhill in perspective mostly because mudgirl asked if it was more downhill oriented, which it most definitely is not. And also b/c I think luvz2ridez is a bit of a Transition fangirl, and I hate fanboys/girls.

 

[muddy beast]

...I'm glad you're such a superman that you can do all of those things on your bike, I could care less...And also b/c I think luvz2ridez is a bit of a Transition fangirl, and I hate fanboys/girls.

Wooh...looks like we have a hater on our hands.
I'll leave it at that, since its ovious we'd get no where continuing this debate.

I still think the bike will work great in XC, FR, and DH. Granted it WILL perform best at FR stuff, since thats its background...
irate2:

 

[tronfnknblows]

Wooh...looks like we have a hater on our hands.
I'll leave it at that, since its ovious we'd get no where continuing this debate.

I still think the bike will work great in XC, FR, and DH. Granted it WILL perform best at FR stuff, since thats its background...
irate2:

agreed... you can put your flame retardant suite away now

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Nope, not crazy, I don't have a bike for everything and most people can't afford a bike for everthing. I'm glad you're such a superman that you can do all of those things on your bike, I could care less. My point was it may be able to do those things, but its not really designed to do those things (and won't necessarily perform _well_ at those things), which luvz2ridez said it was. I was trying to put the freeride versus downhill in perspective mostly because mudgirl asked if it was more downhill oriented, which it most definitely is not. And also b/c I think luvz2ridez is a bit of a Transition fangirl, and I hate fanboys/girls.

Tara Llanes won the 2006 national DH championship on her 6" travel Reign.

it's the rider - not the bike.

 

[tronfnknblows]

Tara Llanes won the 2006 national DH championship on her 6" travel Reign.

it's the rider - not the bike.

that's definitely true too... but the bike can definitely help.

 

[syadasti]

Tara Llanes won the 2006 national DH championship on her 6" travel Reign.

it's the rider - not the bike.

That still doesn't change the fact certain setups (geometry, travel, etc) suit some kinds of riding better and professionals don't changes bikes/tires/suspension setup for different courses for nothing. Its like a car company claiming their silly crossover vehicle drives like a sports car and can even go offroad - it will be average at best in certain situations and excel at nothing compared to Porsche or Jeep. All-in-one is never the best but that doesn't mean you can't have fun with it.

 

[tronfnknblows]

Also, I just looked up that race, and this is what Tara had to say about it:

"It was short and not too technical, narrow and most of it off-camber. Everything off the side of the course was hay so if you got off your line just a little, then that hay would take you; it's just like grease. There were only five really good turns on this course. My whole thing was to make sure I had good exit speed coming out of the turns. The only thing that made it technical was the fact that there were so many riders on the course yesterday that the braking bumps were so big they were swallowing me. They got really, really deep."
[Source: http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/2006/jul06/NORBAnc06/?id=results/NORBAnc068

Sounds like that particular course didn't require a full on dh bike. She was smart and used the right bike for the right application. Also, the article says (and it may be erroneous) that her bike had 7 inches of travel.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

Sounds like that particular course didn't require a full on dh bike. She was smart and used the right bike for the right application. Also, the article says (and it may be erroneous) that her bike had 7 inches of travel.

She doesn't use a full on DH bike. You're right, Giant modified that bike for her - it had 6.5."

All I'm saying is that 1 bike can do it all - (probably better if you've got skillz). For mudgirl, she asked and Treesaw and I answered - she can take it anywhere she wants to go. Muddy Beast, we're with you.

 

[syadasti]

All I'm saying is that 1 bike can do it all

That's not what he's saying. There are people who do it all on hardtails (even race DH) and do very well too. One machine can do it all but it won't excel like a specialized machine will - regardless of operator skill. Pro's tweak their setups for course because it helps them win - a single setup is never ideal.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

That's not what he's saying.

well that's what I'm saying.

 

[TreeSaw]

Wow! This thread took a turn!

I personally ride a FR bike (Yeti AS-X) for DH and haven't really had issues with it. And yes, I used to have a full on DH bike (Ironhorse SGS DH Pro) that I couldn't maneuver around because it was too big & heavy for me. While it did take a little getting used to (actually riding the bike vs. pretty much just holding on) I am loving my Yeti.

 

[Lady Gravity]

come on ladies....we all know that a "true" dh bike has a low centre of gravity and long wheelbase. basically built to rail corners and go for speed. a freeride bike makes a lot of sense since that's pretty much what most of us do - freeride. sure you can do a race on a freeride bike, it pretty much depends on the course. so, transition saying that this bike can do dh is probably true, however, i'm pretty certain that if pressed they likely wouldn't call it a true dh bike. i've had one - chumbawumba f4 - and it really sucked on shore trails.

i agree with tron on one point for sure - a parking lot test is a really difficult way of checking out a bike. when i'm in the market for a new ride, i'm definitely going to a bike shop where i can test the bike where i'm going to be riding it - on the trails.

anyone can say a bike looks good, but until you actually throw a leg over in its true environment you have no idea if it's going to work for you.

 

[miatagal96]

I hesitate to jump in because this is my first year downhilling, but I think I'm coming to the conclusion that us mudhunnies need a mudhunnie-specific DH bike!! That's why some of us end up with freeride bikes. I ended up with a Cannondale Gemini because the price was right (for a starter DH bike) and because I didn't want something over 40lbs. I would be happier with a lower bottom bracket, but so far, that's my only complaint. I don't mind the shorter wheelbase because I don't go too fast and prefer the tight, technical trails.

So.....we need more downhilling mudhunnies to create a demand for lighter mudhunnie-specific DH bikes. I'll be in the market for my dream DH bike in a couple of years.

 

[luvz2ridez]

The new Siren is a Freeride bike! Never did I say this bike is DH specific! Please do not put words in my mouth tronfnknblows. If you reread my post, you will see I stated:

Yup, they are designing it to be able to handle it all, DH, FR and trail riding...

I did not, however, indicate it is a DH specific bike. Like you said, I could not tell a lot from my parking lot ride, but here's a quote from a girl who actually did test ride this bike at Whistler...

I was lucky enough to take both the small and the medium for some runs up at Whistler during Crankworx. I have been waiting for the release of this bike for months and months and Transition did not let me down. Here's what I thought;

The small was too small and compact, and I'm only 5'2" with a 30" inseam. It was rideable but my knees and elbows seemed to get in one anothers way on cornering. The rear tire buzzed me a couple times on steep descents due to it's compactness as well, and the fork seemed really raked out on the small. The stand over on the small is not good unfortunately. Since the top tube is shortend, the angled portion comes down closer to the seat tube taking stand over away. If it's any consolation, I could still put my feet down while sitting in the saddle. Bike seemed solid enough.

Now for the good stuff! The medium fit so well it was like it was custom made for me (though I know some gals who are 5'10" who said that the medium fit them too). It is hard to put in words how good the bike felt and how it kept inspiring me to try more and more things I didn't think I would ever do on a 6" travel bike. These were the things I normally reserve for my 8" travel bike that I've been riding for 3 1/2 seasons. Things like A-line Rock drop, Schleyer Rock drop, 3rd drop in the Joyride drop park and then there was the air time on Dirt to Lower A-line, Heart of Darkness.... backsiding the tables one after another. I was really amazed with the ride. Each landing was plush, take offs smooth for the most part (there may be an issue of lateral flex when pumping the face of some jumps at high speed, more research is needed and I'll be glad to volunteer!). In the air the bike felt light and maneuverable, such a change from what I'm used to. I just wanted to keep riding it but knew I had to let some other folks have a chance. There were many times later that weekend where I wished I was on the Siren instead of my DH bike. I would love to try it out up on Garbanzo, and I definitely want to try it pedaling somewhere like Galbraith. That's where I really need a bike like this, light enough to pedal, but tough enough to take a beating, and short and balanced enough for me to feel comfortable riding ladders and bridges (it did super on Devil's Club, tracked beautifully, cornered tight).

So that's probably longer than most people like to read, but I could go on and on about how much fun it was to ride. Looking forward to the next opportunity.

I shouldn't forget to mention that the head angle seemed steeper on the medium (better), and it was still super comfortable taking it down all of Upper Joyride. I just want to keep emphasizing the fact that these were things I felt OK doing on my DH bike of 3 1/2 years but was breezing through on the Siren first run through.

This quote came from MTBR,
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=324051
So, for all you questioning its DH capabilities, you should know that it can handle it, but it is not specifically designed for it.

 

[muddy beast]

...Muddy Beast, we're with you.

Yay!

That's not what he's saying...

I'm pretty sure thats what I said...but I'd have to read it again, which I dont feel like. I believe though, I ment to put out there that the bike can definatly handle anything you want to throw at it by the looks of things.

 

[GrapeApe79]

The new Siren is a Freeride bike! Never did I say this bike is DH specific!

I'm glad you said something because I was wondering where some of these monkies were getting that from. You were just trying to say that this bike could potentially be a do-it all bike--big difference from a DH specific bike.

A lot of people search for that do-it all bike--if you don't race DH, then a long travel bike isn't necessary. Thats why they invented the Nomad, Bullit, BigHit, etc., etc.

Whoever said that obviously this bike wasn't meant for DH b/c of the 6" of travel is crazy. What people don't get is that transition is completely designing this bike for women. Its lightweight b/c most women won't be breaking frames. It doesn't have 8-9 inches of travel, b/c if set up right, 6" of travel should be enough for most of us lightweights. Also, if you look at the slack head angle, obviously they are trying to make the bike DH-friendly.

If people consider that Transition is located in Bellingham, WA, where people will most likely be riding The Shore, Whistler, and Galbraith, then they can see the value of having a bike like this.

People need to open their eyes to what a lightweight, mid-travel bike could do for some women that don't want a 45# Dh Rig up at Whistler. Think about bombing down A-line with a 31-33# bike! That would be incredible.

Also for the record, Luvz 2 Ride never claimed that she knew a ton about the bike from a parking lot test. She was simply discussing her first impression of the bike sizing, geo, etc. Did she talk about how the bike handled? No, she said that she hopes she will get to ride it on the trail so she can tell more.

Its people's responses to harmless statements like this that make me not want to post on here anymore.

 

[thom9719]

I am starring at two sirens right now and after riding them, they are amazing (I took the large and let the girlfriend ride the small) my girlfriend hasn't ridden freeride in almost 2 months and was doing stuff on the siren, she has never done on her own DH bike. she is sold on it and that's all that matters to me. she likes it and thinks it is making her a better rider, which is what is is about.

I personally loved the large, i can't wait to do some testing on it in whistler. it was so fun to whip around a super light bike.

Kyle,

 

[mohshee]

I'm glad you said something because I was wondering where some of these monkies were getting that from. You were just trying to say that this bike could potentially be a do-it all bike--big difference from a DH specific bike.

A lot of people search for that do-it all bike--if you don't race DH, then a long travel bike isn't necessary. Thats why they invented the Nomad, Bullit, BigHit, etc., etc.

Whoever said that obviously this bike wasn't meant for DH b/c of the 6" of travel is crazy. What people don't get is that transition is completely designing this bike for women. Its lightweight b/c most women won't be breaking frames. It doesn't have 8-9 inches of travel, b/c if set up right, 6" of travel should be enough for most of us lightweights. Also, if you look at the slack head angle, obviously they are trying to make the bike DH-friendly.

If people consider that Transition is located in Bellingham, WA, where people will most likely be riding The Shore, Whistler, and Galbraith, then they can see the value of having a bike like this.

People need to open their eyes to what a lightweight, mid-travel bike could do for some women that don't want a 45# Dh Rig up at Whistler. Think about bombing down A-line with a 31-33# bike! That would be incredible.

Also for the record, Luvz 2 Ride never claimed that she knew a ton about the bike from a parking lot test. She was simply discussing her first impression of the bike sizing, geo, etc. Did she talk about how the bike handled? No, she said that she hopes she will get to ride it on the trail so she can tell more.

Its people's responses to harmless statements like this that make me not want to post on here anymore.

I was a little surprised myself about the sudden onslaught of weirdness. I thought I had missed something. I definitely caught onto what Luvz 2 Ride was saying. The Siren sounds awesome. I am in love with my Transition BottleRocket and would gladly fill my garage with another Transition bike :biggrin:

P.S. I ride a 5.5" travel bike for DH racing, and I am totally happy with this amount of travel. I think it is a misnomer that girls (or maybe anyone in general) need tons of travel to ride DH. It's all about finesse This of course changes when you are dropping off of 40-ft drops or something. But frankly, for the Sport and Expert courses I have ridden, I don't see a problem with less travel. But that's just me.

 

[Borneo]

Ok, I caught the Transition for gals header and will just throw a quick 2 cents in as I now have a summer on the Covert and see the Siren as a more estrogen specific version of that bike. With a quick change from the 6" Manitou to my Talas and swapping wheels to some light 28 spoke jobs I can completely change the Covert from a shore worthy ride to something that can easily be pedaled on all day epics. Yes, with the RP23 it's still a pretty easy pedal up Galbraith with the longer, heavier set up but it's also nice to know the option is there. Would I haul a DH course on it? Sure, why not. But, it wouldn't help me make the podium like a full on DH bike would. Being a long time Santa Cruz fan I can see where transition is going for their niche in the bike market and they are doing a pretty good job at it. So far, I'm pretty happy.
As long as you know the limits on either end of the spectrum, you should be pretty happy too.

BTW: Nice loading dock drop... Transition has big garbage cans...or little Mikes.

 

[joelsman]

just remeber that the bike has single ply tires, it should have been built with dual play, so add 2 pounds. Brad's(spectrumtechwear) wife lyndsey has the small(siren) and pinch flatted on ned's because of it. even light people get pinch flats.