Transition reinvents all-rounder Smuggler with 10mm more travel and aggressive new look

The Smuggler returns to Transition’s line-up with 130mm rear travel

By Tom Law

Published: Thursday, 16 February 2023 at 12:00 am

After a short hiatus, the Smuggler has returned to Transition’s model range, with an all-new frame, a 10mm increase in travel to 130mm and revised geometry.

Plugging the gap between the shorter-travel, downcountry Spur and the burlier, all-mountain Sentinel, Transition says the Smuggler is designed to combine the best of both bikes.

Transition explains it set out to retain the pop and high-energy feel of the Spur while adding a bit more travel and capability.

The result is a bike the US brand claims is perfectly at home in its Pacific Northwest backyard, where there’s plenty of singletrack, technical trails and meandering connective routes.

New shred-ready geometry

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The Smuggler’s geometry has been updated.
Transition

At the heart of the Smuggler is an all-new frame designed around a 140mm fork and 130mm of rear-wheel travel. It will be available in both carbon and aluminium variants.

The Smuggler’s geometry is bang up to date, with a slack 65-degree head angle and a 485mm reach figure on the size-large bike.

The Smuggler also has size-specific chainstays and seat angles designed to give a balanced ride feel across all sizes.

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The bike has size-specific chainstay lengths.
Transition

The chainstays grow to 440mm on the large through to XXL sizes, with the small and medium getting shorter 435mm stays.

Meanwhile, the seat angle is suitably steep for grinding out long fireroad ascents and technical sections, ranging from 79.3 degrees on the small size, through to 77.3 degrees on the XXL.

Short seat tube lengths also mean you can fit a long dropper post. Even the size-medium bike is specced with a 180mm-travel OneUp V2 Dropper Post as standard.

Other standout features include clearance for 2.6in-wide tyres and the ever more ubiquitous SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger.

Accessory-friendly

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The overall look of the bike has been updated.
Transition

The bike has Transition’s usual gear accessory mounts under the top tube and comes with a lifetime frame warranty.

It also has a few new tricks you won’t find in Transition’s other bikes.

The Smuggler features a new head tube design, with an integrated headset and neater internal cable routing.

The head tube no longer features press-in cups like the rest of the range, instead using drop-in bearings.

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The internal cable-routing system has been improved.

This enables the cables to enter fully guided tubes at the front of the head tube, through the frame to a port above the bottom bracket shell, where they can cleanly enter the rear triangle, completely hidden from view.

It also allows for better brake hose routing for riders who run a UK-style moto brake lever setup.

The Smuggler will be available in four build kits, along with a carbon frameset, with prices starting from £4,499.95 / $4,199 for complete bikes and £3,799.95 / $3,699 for the frameset, including Fox Float X Factory shock.

The new Smuggler launches today (16 February) and is due to land in stores worldwide in April.

Transition Smuggler Alloy NX

  • Fork: Marzocchi Z2
  • Shock: Fox Float X Performance
  • Drivetrain: SRAM NX
  • Brakes: SRAM Code R
  • Wheels: WTB i30/Novatec
  • Tyres: Maxxis Assegai EXO+ 2.5 (f), Maxxis Dissector EXO+ 2.4 (r)
  • Price: £4,499.95 / $4,199