Geometry for the Vagrant:
http://transitionbikes.com/Vagrant_GeometrySizing.cfm
The bike is built to haul ass downhill. It is my only bike.
Complete Specs (35 pounds on my bathroom scale):
Medium Vagrant frame (I am nearly 6' tall), E-13 reducer cups and Cane Creek IS-2 headset
2006 Marzocchi Z1 Sport, 150mm travel, 20mm TA, 538mm Axle-to-crown height
Supergo Launch FR wheelset, 20mm front and 9mm QR rear
Kenda Blue Groove 2.35" STICK-E single ply front, Intense ZERO 2.40" EX casing rear
Avid BB7 mechanical discs, 8" rotors. Speed Dial 5 levers
Thomson 410mm post with some tiny seat
45mm stem with flat 15-degree sweep Surly cromoly handlebars, ~41" bar height
Deore / LX derailleurs and shifters, XT 11-34t cassette with Hone 170mm 22/32/Bash cranks
Wellgo MG-1 pedals
I finally got this thing bolted together, and had the day off so I went out in search of some trails. I had been having some 'issues' with the fork, but I think it was just a combination of my paranoia, new seals, and the fore-aft wiggly tendencies that any 150mm travel single crown fork is going to have. My shoppe also had a problem seating the headset cup into the E-13 reducers. The mechanic told me to ride it hard and everything would seat, the top cup has seated and the bottom cup is getting there. Other than that, I need to remove a few links from the chain and investigate some chain skipping.
The Hone crankset with 170mm arms has good clearance. I *think* 175's would have adequate clearance.
I ended up wrapping the chainstay with boring electrical tape - it was $5 cheaper than the self-adhering stuff.
With the 410mm seatpost, I can get full seat extension and at the same time the post will just barely fit all the way inside the seat tube. The frame has a pretty low standover height, even with a 6" fork.
First stop: some random urban sessioning. I was pleasantly surprised at how tight the bike felt. My previous ride was a Haro Escape hardtail with a 5" Z1 that had a seat tube that was entirely too long for me (insert anti-LBS comment here). The Vagrant felt slightly 'floppy' in some situations (due to the tall fork), but I had no problems balancing and maneuvering on skinny retaining walls. It is way easier to pop the front end up for drops and manuals, too. I came dangerously close to looping out while riding a wheelie off of a curb - and nearly did the same thing on the first drop to flat of the day. With the low standover, I can bunnyhop higher and side-hop a bit farther. The fork saved my butt and ate a huge hit at the end of a steep stone wall roll-in thing. I can lean the bike way, way, way over doing U-turns on flat asphalt. Braaaaap. The Supergo Launch FR wheels are holding up nicely (and the conversion to 20mm front is painless). The rear has taken two direct curb hits, one of which which cut through the tire's casing, and only has a slight wobble in it.
Second stop: local trail (with lots of rocks). Like my first ride on something else, this was a jumble of new feelings and over way too fast. The bike is accurate and tracks well at speed and through rock gardens. I would hesitate calling it a tank, but it not super nimble, although I did not have problems setting up for the lines I wanted to hit. With the seat down, it is easy to weight the bike differently. I had some unexpected but mostly-controlled 2-wheeled slides when I got carried away leaning through turns - though it looks like ncrider plowed into the bushes on one of them
Final stop: A couple of runs down the race course, which a rider I was chatting with at the top described as "a bit chunky for a hardtail". The berms in the top section felt good, especially the exits. I was not able to session these as much as I wanted to. The whole course felt much more flowy on the Vagrant than I remember it being on the Escape, probably due to the lower/slacker setup on the Vagrant. I felt much more in control of my line in the steep + loose + rutted sections, and was able to carry a decent amount of speed through the middle rock section and following steep rocky turn (I think Sam Hill is filmed on this section in Earthed 2). The lower pedally section after the pondgaps was an absolute rush. I was able to stay low and keep my rear wheel glued to the whoops. The Intense semi-slick was way out of its element here (3-5"+ of dust in more than a few sections) but the lighter EX casing (I like higher PSI generally anyways) kept me rolling through the rocks when a single-ply surely would have flatted.
Overally I am very pleased with the Vagrant. I was initially worried about the slack head angle (and still worry about the fork) but I think I am acquiring a taste for it. I do not think I would want to go with a taller fork, though.
More updates, and hopefully pics, to come.
***I originally had some built notes and pics of a porsche in this post. They have been replaced by this update***
. If we had a 'Shore Hardtails' forum, I would have put it in there.