Described by Transition as a "big all-mountain bike", the new Blindside is a 7.6lbs frame (taking a pound off the weight of the older frame); and designed around 170mm/190mm travel. Although more pedal friendly it is clearly designed to be able to take big hits. The 2010 Blindside is a refined, well-thought-out bike & will probably go a long way to expanding Transition's fan-base beyond its traditional Pacific NW following.
More details inside,
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| The Blindside in the TBC warehouse waiting patiently to be let out to play |
The purpose of this article will be to overview objective features of Transition's new Blindside. There are no ride impression details as yet. A test bike will be shortly made available and ride impressions, photos and videos will be forthcoming in September. I plan to ride this bike in Whistler, Galbraith, North Vancouver, Squamish, Silver Star, drag it into the alpine and where-ever else I happen to go over the next few months.
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| 38.5lbs as built with 180mm coil front and rear travel |
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| The allen bolted chip on the rear shock lets you adjust travel from 6.5 to 7.5" |
- 65 deg HA/72.5 deg STA
- In the medium size -> 1168mm wheelbase/436mm (46"/14.2") chainstay length
- 14.2" BB
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| A familiar face graces the straight seat-tube; tall leggy riders who need to raise and drop the seatpost a lot will rejoice |
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| Enough clearance for a 2.8" tire |
- At 7.6lbs this is not an overly heavy frame! For context, a 180mm coil front/rear build with downhill tires builds to 38.5lbs. That's a bike you can lug around uphill without too much issue.
- Geometry stays the same as the 2009 Blindside
- Welding is much cleaner with smooth surfaces on the welds
- New hydroformed tubes (toptube and downtube) - increases strength while decreasing weight
- Tapered internally welded headtube
- Using a removable "chip", rear travel is adjustable from 6.5" to 7.5"
- While designed for 180mm travel front forks, the Blindside is compatible with 200mm and 160mm/170mm front forks.
- Maximum rear tire clearance of 2.8
- Completely straight seat tube. Can accommodate long seat posts yet drop the seat all the way down too.
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| Gratuitous head-tube shot showing the beautiful lines of the hydroformed head-tube/down-tube junction |
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| ISCG05 chainguide tabs and a 73mm x 51mm BB shell for chainline that can accommodate an optional front derailleur and double ring setup |
Specifications and detailed geometry numbers for the Blindside
from the TBC website.
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| Beautifully thought out cable-routing brought to you by Sam (check out the chainstay routed cable). Only one option for rear ends now - the common 135x10mm standard |
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| More clean cable routing via top of down-tube |
Video of Kevin Menard going over the Blindside-
Interview with Kevin Menard - 2010 Transition Blindside - part 1:
- Introduction - new tubeset results in a frame weighing one pound less than older Blindsides
- Big All-Mountain concept (0:27)
- Tapered head-tube (1:18 )
- Head-set choices (internal or external; possibility of zero-stack or recessed cups) (1:30)
Interview with Kevin Menard - 2010 Transition Blindside - part 2:
- Headtube/downtube hydroforming and internal welding
- New rocker and adjustable travel chip (0:37)
- Refined tubing/smooth surfaces (1:03)
- Cable routing (1:35)
- Straight seat-tube (2:08 )
And just because this video is sick and because I won't be able to ever flow a trail quite like this here's a repeat of last year's Blindside in action:
-Lee Lau
imo, i dont see the need or point!
