Transition Sentinel V2 first impressions.

[@PatBK]

I absolutely loved my Sentinel - until it got stolen... I'm now waiting for my Spire for even more capability here in the swiss alps. Transition bikes just have that little something.

[@SemiSendy]

Bummer on the theft, but stoked you have a new Spire on the way 🤘

[@MTBTrailRider]

I've been seeing a lot of riders this year showing their new Transition bikes. It's interesting to see the trend. Felt like last year I was seeing a bunch rep Ibis bikes - anyway, the Sentinel looks like an awesome bike. Looking forward to seeing your progress this year and how the new bike feels.

[@SemiSendy]

I saw that Jim just made the switch too. Ali has had hers for a couple of years and loves it. I eyed up the Loam gold when it came out, but held off. When push came to shove though, it just seemed like the logical fit. I’m really glad I went with it. Absolutely perfect for what I want out of a bike it’s size.

[@MTBTrailRider]

@@SemiSendy nice! Yea, I saw he made the switch and there was another that just did a build video - can’t remember who it was. But it seems like a very capable bike now that you got it dialed in.

[@TheShredist]

These trails look legit. Lots of creative lines on that tech trail, would love to try it!

[@SemiSendy]

Come on out east and I’ll show you all the goods! 🤘

[@chadtroutman7401]

Stoked you got the Sentinel dialed in. I’ve been beating the crap out of my 2019 Sentinel. Switched the rear suspension rocker to a Cascade Component which is more progressive and upped my travel from 140 to 152. Still not a lot but it gets used. Enjoying the videos and see you at Jarrod’s for Go Nuts.

[@SemiSendy]

That’s awesome, Chad! Ali (my fiancée) has a 2019 with a cascade link as well. She’s been crushing it on that bike for over two years and absolutely loves it. That certainly helped with my decision.

[@LastAphelion]

Oh hell yeah I came to the comments specifically looking for Cascade reports, I'm either getting a Spire soon or waiting for a Relay but I was debating getting a cascade right out the gate for Spire

[@iwantmymtb]

That step down at Windrock looks HUGE! I still haven't been there yet. I probably need to get back to making content as well lol

[@SemiSendy]

That section is so high speed it can be a touch unnerving! You’ll love it whenever you get a chance to check it out.

[@jatakasawa]

Smooth like butter and I'm super jelly of those trail conditions! It's been all mud here for months!

[@SemiSendy]

We’ve been fortunate for sure! First downhill race of the season was this past weekend, and it was a total mud fest. 😬

[@corpeningd]

Well done! Happy riding.

[@jackedwards5985]

I'm so glad to see you sending this thing!!

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Jack!

[@denislop9092]

I gotta say you are proboubly one of the most underrated mtb youtuber

[@SemiSendy]

Thank you, Denis. That means a lot!

[@daleparker1296]

My son has the 2021 Transition Patrol in Blueberry color and is loving it...spent last weekend at Windrock getting him dialed in for the Nationals...kudos for the content and will be looking for ya at the trails this year!

[@SemiSendy]

That patrol is one awesome bike. Not sure if I’ll be at nationals just yet, but looking forward to Vee Hollow this weekend!

[@jakeo6528]

nice vid...good shots of the trail as a preview for people who haven't made it there to ride yet! nice riding too

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Jake! Cheers 🍻

[@michaelobrien4351]

Another great video! Tennessee is on my list of places to ride, can't wait to get down there someday.

[@SemiSendy]

You’ve definitely gotta make it happen one day. By the end of 2022, this region will be really solidified as a top riding destination in the US.

[@ryansteiger6960]

Cool video. The trail you guys built looks incredible!

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Ryan! If you ever have the chance, the southeast is well worth the visit.

[@travelthenarrowtrail8660]

Man I miss Tennessee! I lived in Chatt and then in Knoxville and the riding is just so amazing. Not to complain now living in the west but covered in snow, I could ride TN anytime. Many people never believe me when I tell them how amazing the riding is in TN and Asheville. Happy for your new steed, its one that I had my eye on and the SB150 but it has been difficult trying to find one to demo. Anyway, hope to see the new vids coming soon.

[@SemiSendy]

It’s only gotten better too! You’ll have to come back for a visit before too long. It is nice to have it available year-round as well.

[@workhorsemtb7075]

Silky smooth vocals man. Great stuff. Nothing better than having a dialed bike under you.

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Workhorse!

[@mike_millard]

Great overview of those trails

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Mike!

[@rwogmtb-ridingwitholdguy]

Glad you are getting settled, but we all know the adjusting never stops, trails were looking so good.

[@SemiSendy]

Haha, so true! Happy to get it to a solid baseline though.

[@PedalingDave]

Glad you're getting the bike dialed Rich. On the southeast progression of trails, can't say much but of how jealous I am! Sick vid man. Hope we can maybe meet up this year sometime.

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Dave! Hope we get a chance to go shred together this year too 🤘 Let me know next time you’re headed this way.

[@DrShredder]

Awesome, high quality and insightful video! I’ll see you at Jarrods Place 🤙🏼

[@SemiSendy]

See you there!

[@TopToBottomMTB]

Good to see you guys are getting along now.🤣

[@SemiSendy]

Good thing I got this one sorted 😂

[@keithfoster764]

We are considering the Sentinel for my son Mike's next trail bike. I think it will be great for when we travel, but I'm a little concerned it will be overkill for our local trails in west MI where he will have to pedal all the time.

[@MagneticMTB]

For what it’s worth, I had this concern about this bike as well but it has a steep seat tube angle and climbs really really well. Not just really well for what it is. It legit climbs killer.

[@SemiSendy]

I have to agree with Magnetic Mountain. It pedals incredibly well. The one thing I would say though, it does really mute the terrain, so it can be a bit boring on less exciting trails.

[@MagneticMTB]

Look at the Transition Spur. It might be perfect for him.

[@keithfoster764]

@@MagneticMTB Thanks for your input. I’m struggling because I believe he needs more than the Spur based on what he has now and the amount I’ve paid in fork and shock rebuilds. I was told to look at Yeti and Ibis also. We just need to pick something and go with it.

[@MagneticMTB]

@@keithfoster764 I know! It’s so hard with all the options. But man. All these bikes are so capable and awesome. Look at Pivot too. I had a trail 429 with a 140mm fox 34 and I brutalized that thing places they say it shouldn’t go and it was awesome! Can you demo or rent something?

[@bikeninja956]

awesome channel and content man, just subbed...those trails look awesome. Bike seems pretty dialed also..

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks man, appreciate it!

[@dtran1742]

Any updates on the bike? Also have a sentinel and thinking of getting the cascade link to help with the coil bottom out.

[@SemiSendy]

Hey Dtran17, I honestly haven’t been riding it much lately. I haven’t had much issues with bottoming out on the 11-6 though. The stock progression curve has been very supportive for me in that regard. IMO it’s one of the bikes biggest strengths. Where’s your sag sitting on your current coil?

[@benwigginsbikes]

Heck yeah man! Probably be my next bike.

[@SemiSendy]

She’s a beast in the east!

[@trailpimp6369]

Dude that looks like mars. Sick trail I want to do it.

[@SemiSendy]

So good 🤘

[@kevinlucasmtb]

just subbed! looking forward to your next videos!

[@SemiSendy]

Welcome to the channel, Kevin! Cheers 🤘

[@RickyDownhillRDH]

Looking SMOOTH!! Wind rock looks so sick man, I'd love to hit it one day for sure!!

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Ricky! Let me know if you ever decide to make the journey east. This area is stacked with great riding these days. 🤘

[@RickyDownhillRDH]

@@SemiSendy Will do, we'll need a tour guide!! 👌🏼

[@josuegaeta3903]

Man keep up the amazing content!!

[@lazylearner967]

You are very talented rider. Glad you are healed up and can ride, and live life again. How does the Sentinel pedal uphill compared to the other bikes in the category?

[@SemiSendy]

Thank you! The Sentinel's pedaling efficiency is actually surprisingly good. Better than most in it's class. It does however require a lot of finess managing tighter maneuvers in general. There's a big trade off there when it comes to bikes pushing the long and slack treatment like the Sentinel V2 does.

[@lazylearner967]

@@SemiSendy Good to know. It's all relative I presume. Can't compare an All Mountain/Enduro rig to a XC bike. These bikes are very hard to find. What was your previous ride and how did it compare?

[@casestudymtb]

With only 5 mm more out back and 10 more upfront over the hightower I have a hard time believing the improvements to performance are based on the travel numbers... what do you think makes the biggest difference in the way the bike handles those high-speed compressions (or the biggest difference to performance in general)? Is it the suspension set up? Geo? Frame kinematics? Placebo effect?

[@Jt3az]

I'm gonna bet the PUSH 11/6 set up is a big part of this answer...

[@SemiSendy]

I definitely have a lot of thoughts swirling around this topic but still kind of thinking things through as objectively as possible. They are very different bikes though, no question.

[@casestudymtb]

@@SemiSendy looking forward to hearing the thoughts if they ever make their way into a video. Probably goes without saying but bike design is such such rad topic and l love getting unique perspectives on the subject!

[@motoxrdr4]

The 2° slacker head angle and longer chainstays make it feel a lot more composed even though the travel numbers are similar. Also that push 11-6 probably makes a huge difference 😆

[@motoxrdr4]

Where are the “good” riding spots in TN? I know windrock, kanuga, and Knoxville have good riding. Thinking of moving to TN (potentially Nashville) but worried the riding won’t be as good as SoCal where I can get gravity fed gnar 15 minutes from my house

[@SemiSendy]

Windrock, Pisgah, Kanuga, Baker Creek, Vee Hollow and Trials Training Center are all awesome. With Waldens Ridge and Jarrod’s place coming online things are blowing up in this region. There’s also tons of great stuff just to the north with Snowshoe and tons of great trail systems in VA with top shelf wilderness tech.

[@Jt3az]

Nice tunes to go with my fave sushi...the B-Roll 😉 Lovin' all the fresh foo-tee...curious how you dialed in the new front fork with the Charger cart? Thanks Rich...keep it up!!!

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, John! Right now I’m getting really close to a final tune. I’m planning to do a video just on the Zeb and the tune I land on soon.

[@cubrTM]

Can’t wait for Jarrod’s Place to open. 25 minutes from my house

[@SemiSendy]

It’s gonna be a huge addition to our area! 🤘

[@nealbrooker4295]

looks sick! Sorry if you have answered this but is the Sentinel different enough from your Hightower, especially the way you had it set up, to be worth the change?

[@SemiSendy]

Great timing, I just put out a video diving into the differences between the two this morning. They are definitely very different bikes! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaCXgHuOfZqki7M

[@Lyds_rose988]

Should I SWAP my 2020 hightower for a 2021 sentinel for more stability on the downs without giving up too much on the climbs, iv a chance to change this week????? I already have a 160mm fork and cascade link on the HT

[@SemiSendy]

It really depends. Honestly, it climbs a bit better than the Hightower did, which I was really surprised about. However, it does mute the trail a whole lot more, and it really requires an aggressive over the bars body position to get performance out of it. Otherwise, it’ll definitely wander around under a more relaxed position. It’s not the bike that I would choose for typical moderate trail riding. I would definitely prefer the high tower for that. If your main focus is going after the steepest, tackiest and biggest terrain you can find, then I say go for it!

[@Lyds_rose988]

Got the sentinel and love it, now to fit a coil, cheers

[@LastAphelion]

@@Lyds_rose988 Are you gonna try a Cascade? I've been looking for cascade with air vs cascade with coil impressions

[@sham8723]

this is me commenting to drive your stats up

[@SemiSendy]

Haha, yessss! 🤘

[@silverbackshooting1563]

Beautiful video!

[@SemiSendy]

Thank you!

[@corbinmcdonald9981]

I’m going to say the kid at the first trial was fast!!!

[@SemiSendy]

He’s aight. 😂😉💥

[@thomasmiddlebrooks5169]

Yaaaassss!

[@SemiSendy]

🤘

[@forestkan6653]

Makes me want to get a longer travel bike. How are you doing with your surgery recovery? Any complications? I remember I had surgery sometime around yours and it looks like the nerve damage from surgery is going to be permanent. Plus wearing a backpack kinda sucks now…

[@SemiSendy]

I definitely remember yours being right after mine. Oh man, shoulder straps are terrible now. It’s been rough lugging camera gear and such around. I’ve gotten a decent amount of sensation back, but it’s not always a good thing. Lots of fiery “pins and needles” sensations. Cold weather really gets it feeling weird too.

[@forestkan6653]

@@SemiSendy glad I’m not the only one who’s having weird sensations and nerve issues. Have you had any impacts or falls on it?

[@Drebikes]

Cool video man, new subscriber, good luck racing!

[@SemiSendy]

Hey, OMGDreBikes! Stoked you found the channel, and thanks for the well wishes 🤘

[@cg1983]

Nice run !!

[@SemiSendy]

🤘

[@theonlyDougBlack]

Good stuff

[@Saelenkmith]

im 5'10 150 right in between the medium and large sizes on transitions website and suggestions on which size I should go for the sentinel?

[@stevecabrera6718]

Sweeeet. Love the sendinal haha.

[@SemiSendy]

The send-it-all! 😂

[@stevecabrera6718]

@@SemiSendy hahah yesss

[@charliehicks2554]

Good luck in April.

[@SemiSendy]

Thank you, Charlie!

[@tylerwatson2679]

Where is the first spot? Looks awesome.

[@SemiSendy]

The very first shots are from Big Creek in Roswell, GA. Awesome spot for suspension tuning and sessioning/practice in general. Check it out!

[@tylerwatson2679]

How about the one I think you call “new Jared’s place”?

[@surfsk8mtb]

Awesome!

[@SemiSendy]

🤘

[@flintscott5990]

awesome! loved the video!!!

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Flint!

[@dionisiojimenez2959]

Height and frame size? I can see you hace a 35mm stem or something similar.

[@SemiSendy]

I'm 6' on a large frame. Stem in this video is a 35mm anvl.

[@Digital_Gangster]

The algorithms!

[@SemiSendy]

Finally a little good fortune 🙏

[@Tequila628]

Subbed, my dude

[@SemiSendy]

Heck yeah, welcome Paran01ac!

[@josiahhorning2813]

Oh nooo 6.66 k subs!!

[@SemiSendy]

Haha, I saw that! Thankfully it only last a couple of hours. 😂

[@blakefisher8521]

Are you doing the enduro at windrock next month?

[@SemiSendy]

Likely not, but we’ll see. I’ve got two enduro southeast races and filming for downhill southeast that will eat up a lot of time over the next 30 days, but you never know! Are you entered?

[@blakefisher8521]

@@SemiSendy yup, super exited to race at windrock!

[@shamrock4840]

Better than the Hightower?

[@SemiSendy]

I wouldn't say better, just different and a better suited match for what I'm currently looking for. I just put out a video a couple days ago breaking down what makes them different. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaCXgHuOfZqki7M

[@wesstaff2493]

What rims and hubs are you running?

[@SemiSendy]

Hi Wes, I'm running the Spokex SX310 carbon wheelset, which is built up on i9 Hydra hubs.

[@armandojuan64]

Are you a professional rider ?

[@SemiSendy]

Only in my wildest dreams 😉

[@brandtdenis4016]

I live in Chattanooga and want to ride with you so bad lol

[@ericnhagan]

Your video pleases Shunt

[@SemiSendy]

Haha, thanks Eric!

[@Windband1]

Had to do a thumbs down mate. Came for actual thoughts on the Sentinel and you didn't really do that... I'll look around your channel.

[@SemiSendy]

Glad you stuck around!

[@speedsquishstupid]

your channel is coming along nicely. I got a transition scout last month and doing the same thing of dialing the suspension. great to get some tips

[@SemiSendy]

Thanks, Jason…. And thanks for the support on here!