2011 Transition TR450

Earlier in the year I received a complete Transition TR450 and, given the ridiculous amount of snow that we’ve had in Whistler, I took the months off of the bike to swap some parts so I’d have it built just how I wanted.

At first it seemed as though I had plenty of time to sell parts and buy new ones, but as time rolled on I began to realise that getting it ready for the Whistler Bike Park Opening Day was going to be tight! In fact I was under the impression that the parts sent to me from Spank Bikes may not arrive until the day of the bike park opening at the earliest, but more likely the week after.

I was out on a trail ride with my wife when I received a text from a work mate. My Spank parts arrived earlier than planned! A friend of mine from Ticket2Ride had offered to lace up my wheels that day after he finished work so I brought the gear around and he got to work.

By 1:30am in the morning the bike was good enough to ride, so I pedalled it home. Of course I’d forgotten my lights so I spent the ride home avoiding Whistler drunks and bears while trying to listen out to any bad noises coming from my bike.

I was up at 7am to put the finishing touches on it, and as we went to walk out the door I realised it had a flat tyre – great. That however, is another story. It was a marathon 24 hours but we made it, and the bike was ready for the first day of Whistler Bike Park being open for 2011. My wife and I had planned to get “first chair” on the chairlift for the season with some friends, but given the rush of getting my bike built it just didn’t happen. We made it to the line around 8:30am and probably got the 10th chair or so anyway.

As it stands, here’s the list of components that I’m running…

FRAME	Transition TR450 Medium Green
SHOCK	Fox DHX RC4
FORK	Fox 40 RC2 FIT
CHAINRING	Truvativ 36
CHAINGUIDE	e.thirteen LG1+
STEM	Spank Spike “The Standard” Director Blue
HANDLEBAR	Spank Spike 777 Evo Blue 15mm Rise
HEADSET	Cane Creek Tapered Headset
CRANKSET	Truvativ Descendent 1.1 165mm
BOTTOM BRACKET	Truvativ Howitzer Team 83mm
BRAKES	Shimano Saint M810
ROTORS	Avid G3CS 203mm Front/Rear
TIRES	Maxxis Minion DHF 26×2.5 3C
PEDALS	Spank Spike Flat Pedals Blue
SEATPOST	SDG I-Beam Micro
SEATPOST COLLAR	Transition Blue
SADDLE	SDG I-Fly I-Beam Black Kevlar
GRIPS	Spank Subrosa Lock-On Grips Black
CASSETTE	SRAM PG970 11-23
FRONT HUB	Hope Pro II Blue 20mm Blue
REAR HUB	Chris King ISO 150mm Blue
RIMS	Spank Subrosa Evo 30AL Black
SHIFTER	SRAM X0
REAR DERAILLEUR	SRAM X0
CHAIN	KMC X9.93

The only change I can see myself making in the near future is a blue Chromag Single Ring, but they are out of 36T’s at the moment. If the Truvativ bottom bracket gives up, I’ll replace it with a nice flashy blue Chris King unit. A few months ago I posted “2011 Transition TR450 Parts List“, and as you can see the spec has changed a little from what I first planned.

I have a lot to learn about this bike in terms of suspension setup. While I did two laps in the Whistler Bike Park yesterday, it was with an entirely “factory” suspension setup and could definitely be a lot stiffer, so tonight if I have some free time I’ll do my best to get it properly sorted.

First impressions last, and the Transition TR450 feels easy and plush to ride. Better photos are coming in the near future!

For more information on the Transition TR450, check out the Transition Bikes website at http://www.transitionbikes.com.

For more information on the Spank Subrosa Evo 30AL rims, Spike Director stems, Spike Flat Pedals, Spike 777 Evo Bars, Subrosa Lock-On Grips and more, check out the Spank Bikes website at http://www.spank-ind.com.