CTK’s new Trans Am has a flat brace between the seatstays machined with the letters TR. I bring particular attention to it because riding behind him on a sunny day my annoyance increased with every glinting attack on my poor, innocent, delicate eyes. Putting aside that I am seeing spots, the chrome finish has a throw-back flare that suits a really-big-kid-BMX, AKA single-speed mountain bike, like none other.
This is not a review, hell the bike has not even been ridden offroad in anger. So far we have just put it together and taken it out to eat huckleberries. I mean, to shake it down. It will be interesting to get some handling notes from Kev with the biggest difference being a static 64° headtube angle (HTA) compared to the static 67° HTA on his over-forked ’16ish Honzo ST.
The TR also sports a significant increase in Reach and wheelbase and, thanks to a setback 9point8 dropper post, maintains a similar position relative to the bottom bracket. I am betting CTK will end up on a 50mm stem but some experimenting is in order. Unlike me with my T-Rex arms, Kev’s such a knuckle dragger he can basically tie his shoes without bending over.
Gearing is 30x22t with 29″ hoops sans inserts. Its main build-out is Tech-C riding and particularly year-round after-work pedaling. The bike sees a lot of asphalt – ride from home rides – but some steep and loose single track as well so balancing rolling speed, comfort, traction, and braking bite is a fun min-maxing experiment. The current setup is a Bontrager SE5 29×2.6″ up front and then one of the all-time great single-speed rear tires, a 29×2.6″ Specialized Purgatory.
The plan was to move over all Uncle Crash Test’s parts for now but we hit a couple of snags that detracted from the anodized-orangedness of the build. First, he had worn out his orange Kick Ass Cog to the point that it was only good for making an ornament (forgot to take a photo), which meant stealing my pink 22t cog, for now. Also, his Kona is a ZS44/ZS56 headset whereas the Transition is a ZS44/EC44, which meant stealing my purple EC44 headset cup, for now.
There are a few other bits of Kev’s that we left aside as he’s putting some test mule miles on a few things for projects I am working on. More on that down the trail though.
The Cane Creek Helm MKI fork is freshly back from a full service at SuspensionWerx. The travel is set at 150mm. This fork has been well used, since new, on CTK’s GG Smash, but that bike is now sporting a MKII.
I love the Helm, the (Boostinated) classic Chris King 6-bolt hubs, the Magura Trail brakes, etc. If this was my bike it would have CushCore inserts, a softer rubber front tire, an alt-bar, and bigger brake rotors at both ends. Here I am required to remind myself – lest I be reminded – that it is in fact, not my bike.
Crash Test is a card-carrying athwart weight weenie like myself, so if he decided to park his Smash and expand the terrain that he was taking the Trans Am down I have no doubt that there’d be a MaxxGrip Assegai up front, some CC Trail inserts, and a 203mm/180mm disc upgrade in order. The current build is down to purpose not gram counting, as evidenced first and foremost by the chrome 4130 steel frame.
CTK has been riding a WTB Pure V saddle for twenty years or so, and he’s a lock-on grip guy, so I suppose those are some other obvious ways it’s not my bike (I mean, that and it’s an XL). He was eyeing Claire’s stainless steel WTC bottle cage so I’ll guess that is a pending upgrade. It is a slight exaggeration to say most of his 6ft+ height is femurs, but using the rear-offset seat post head to keep the saddle centered in the rails and re-work the 76.5° static STA is a reminder of how nice it is to have these sort of fit options.
Anywho, it is not a frame I have seen much talk about but the classic looks and modern geometry are a sweet combination. I will follow up in the future with some ride feedback. My secret (don’t tell Kevin) feeling is that with the geometry upgrades over his ST, the single-speed is going to find itself on more aggressive terrain and we will be seeing some build changes sooner rather than later.
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