Transition ToP & Rockshox Argyle

When I built up this bike I had several ideas on what I wanted to get out of it. In true Whistler fashion I was looking to get something that I could ride in a variety of situations from cruising with the family to hitting the dual slalom park or the jumps.

The Trail or Park frame from Transition is made from 4130 Cromoly and can be setup with or without a rear derailleur, I choose to have one as I wanted it to be more than a dirt jumper. The rear dropout (135mmx10mm) is slotted so that if you run a single speed you can adjust the tension but I ended up getting a QR 12mm axle that would fit my Sun Ringlé ADD wheelset and filed down the ends of the spacer tube to 10mm in order to fit in. I ended up slamming the wheel as far forward as I could so that it wouldn’t move around on me and tighten up the wheelbase a touch. The frame is well thought out with nice lines and welds.

Up front I mounted the 100mm Rockshox Argyle 409 fork onto the bike and I have been pleasantly surprised at how well it has performed. The 409 features an air spring system (Solo Air) that is easy to setup for the individual rider weight. Basically you unscrew the top cap on the left stanchion, attach a standard shock pump and adjust the pressure to suit. As I am hardly the average rider size, I increased the pressure slight to stiffen it slightly. RockShox’s Motion Control performs damping duties with external adjustments for rebound (lower right stanchion) and compression (upper right stanchion). I found myself playing with the compression settings trying to dial it in for each riding condition, with a ½ turn you can go from full compression and a stiff responsive feel to a smoother, plusher feeling for hitting the jumps and not feeling it in the morning. The compression dial has easily recognizable indexing points so that you can remember where you set it for the next time. The floodgate is adjustable via a hex key that is integrated into the rebound adjuster, just pull it out and adjust it on the top of the compression dial. Frankly I haven’t had the need to play with this feature, as I didn’t think it needed adjusting. The Argyle features the Maxle QR axel, which doesn’t need any tools for removal and the lever can be adjusted to any position you desire.

The T.O.P is a very versatile bike and it was comfortable to ride no matter what I threw at it. From the dirt jumps to the pump track it kept begging for more and never let me down. It really showed its strength in the Dual Slalom during Crankworx, with a tight track that had pump bumps, doubles and tight corners all the way down the hill. Unfortunately the course started to deteriorate and I opted to swap out to my 5” bike and some fresh knobby tires for safety’s sake.

Opinion: Both the T.O.P frame & Argyle fork are durable, stiff & reliable and are worth checking out if you looking to build up a small hard tail that is capable of spending as much time in the air as in the dirt.

Transition Trail or Park
Sizes: S, M, L,
Colours: White, Metallic Baby Blue, Raw Chromoly
Weight: 6.4 lbs
Plus: Durable, versatile.
Minus: finish was nice, but some of the clear coat was a bit drippy.
MSRP: $349 cdn ($359usd)
Website: http://www.transitionbikes.com/2007/TrailOrPark.cfm

Rating: 4.5/5

Rockshox Argyle: 409
Sizes: N/A
Colours: Mint Green
Weight: 5.25 lbs
Plus: Durable, adjustable, Simple to understand.
Minus: none.
MSRP: $570 cdn ($599usd)
Website: http://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/freeride/argyle/

Rating: 5/5