If you stopped by our storefront this summer, chances are high you’ve been lucky enough to meet Isaiah. Not only is he one of Fanatik’s most knowledgeable sales floor bike nerds, but he’s also a proper rippah on two wheels—especially when it comes to getting airborne. Earlier this summer, Isaiah finished building himself a sick new Transition Patrol bike park sled to pair nicely with his Whistler Bike Park pass.
Now that summer has passed and the wet winter season is starting to creep in, we figured we oughta get out to Blue Steel with Isaiah for one last session on some big, bike park-esque jumps and take a closer look at his DH Patrol.
BIKE DETAILS
- Frame: Transition Patrol Alloy [XL]
- Shock: Rockshox Vivid Ultimate [250 psi]
- Fork: Fox Factory 40 [85 psi]
- Wheels: Stans Flow MK4 27.5” // Stans hub 32H // Stans spokes [F] Tenet Coven AL 27.5” // e*thirteen Sidekick 32H // Sapim Race-butted spokes [R]
- Tires: Specialized Butcher (Gravity | T9) [F] // Specialized Hillbilly (Gravity | T9) [R]
- Drivetrain: GRAZR The Cogfather Singlespeed Kit // Reverse Components Colab Expert Chain Tensioner // SRAM PC-1 Singlespeed Chain // SRAM GX Eagle 165mm crankset w/ 34t X-Sync 2 SL chainring
- Brakes: Hayes Dominion A4 // Hayes D-Series rotors [220mm F & 203mm R]
- Cockpit: Chromag Fubars OSX LTD 31.8 Handlebar [25mm rise | 760mm wide] // Chromag RIZA Direct 31.8 Stem [48mm] // Chromag Wax Grips
- Seatpost/Saddle: Chromag Bassix seatpost // Chromag Overture LTD
- Pedals: Race Face Turbine
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Weight: 36 lbs
RIG CHECK!
Isaiah! Sweet build you got here, this thing looks like it was born to be the ultimate bike park hog. What's the reason behind building this bike up the way you did?
I built this bike literally only for riding Dirt Merchant all day. No tech. No pedaling. Just Dirt Merchant.
I'm kidding, but mainly for riding the bike park and big jumps.
Why did you opt for this frame over the newer, freeride-centered Bottlerocket or a full-on gravity-centered DH bike like the TR11?
A couple reasons. First, my friend Kaia used to have a Patrol with a dual-crown and she said it was a super fun bike. Second, I thought it would be cool to have the ability to swap it back to a single crown and pedal it around if I wanted. And lastly, Transition was sold out of both Bottlerocket and TR11 frames at the time hahaha.
Ah gotcha. Well like you just mentioned, do you think you might try and swap it back and forth? For instance keeping it a dual-crown, singlespeed for the summer bike park season and then swapping on a single-crown and maybe 12spd when the park is closed and you want to pedal laps?
Yeah I would totally put a single-crown on it for the off season. I’d probably even keep it single speed and just have it as a really playful jump bike and push it up to whatever jumps I want to ride.
Tell me more about your singlespeed kit here. Why did you choose to go that route?
I think it just looks sick! I found this kit form this company GRAZR at a shop up in Whistler and then ended up meeting the guy who runs it. He was a cool guy and I liked that they were Whistler-based.
But actually, I like the simplicity of the singlespeed and I like that it challenges me to think more about carrying speed and pumping because I can’t always just pedal more. I think it actually helps me ride jump trails better because I have to keep good speed.
27.5” aint dead eh? What do you like about the full 27.5” setup?
No they are not, I think 27.5 is great. I also think the whole idea of “bigger wheels are better” is not the case and it is entirely dependent on the size of a person and/or the riding they want to do. In my case, yeah I’m tall but I really enjoy how maneuverable the smaller wheels are in the air and hitting jumps.
I also noticed you have your rear wheel built up with the e*thirteen Sidekick hub. What setting are you running it in? Do you like how it feels on this bike?
Yeah, to be honest I needed a wheelset for this bike and my co-worker Jan had a set. I didn’t necessarily seek it out but now I have one and I think it’s pretty cool.
When the whole pedal-kickback device trend started I kinda thought it was a gimmick, but after having one and feeling it I’m on board.
And it wouldn’t be a DH rig without a dual-crown. Can’t go wrong with the Fox 40. Are you running it at the full 200mm? How do you feel it pairs up with the 170mm of rear travel?
Yes, I have it full 200mm in the front. I like it a lot I honestly don’t feel like it’s unbalanced at all. I used this website where you can plug in your bikes geo and change things like wheel size and fork travel and stuff and when I plugged in a 200mm fork plus the 27.5 front wheel, the geo basically the same. The only thing that changed was the headtube angle, by about .3 degrees I think.
I was told there was maybe a funny story behind this fork and how it ended up on your bike…can you elaborate on that?
I can’t elaborate on the topic much other than this Fox 40 was raced for a UCI World Cup season, then found its way to Bellingham, and then found its way to me. That is all I can disclose on the matter hahaha.
Well speaking of funny stories, what’s the story with your tire setup? You’re running the Specialized Hillbilly and Butcher, but opposite to what might be considered “recommended”. What’s going on here haha?
I knew you were gonna say something about that hahaha! I don’t know and I don’t really care. I kinda just ride whatever when it comes to tires. I put a big slash in my old one at Whistler and had a Hillbilly as a backup. It’s been on there ever since and working just fine for me.
Although I may find your choice in tire orientation slightly questionable, I don’t question your choice in cockpit/saddle componentry. The Chromag bars, stem, grips, seatpost, and saddle are awesome. What is it about Chromag that makes them your go-to?
They just make solid s**t. Some of the other brands we carry may be more weight-conscious but then run the risk of bending or breaking. Chromag just makes bomber parts that I know I can trust. Plus they just look cool and that’s the only real reason people upgrade components like this. Shoutout to Chromag, GRAZR, and the many other local Sea-To-Sky born MTB companies that keep mountain biking sick!
Since we’re mentioning BC mtb brands and culture, RedBull Hardline BC just happened and the course was nothing short of ridiculous. Would you hit that massive 80-100ft jump at the bottom of the course?
Hell no, that jump is so huge. Someone would have to bribe me with like $5000 or give me a super cool or rare frame to build up or something to risk my life like that.
What are some big jumplines or features you have hit on this bike?
Blue Steel of course. Dirt Merchant and Crabapple Hits at Whistler are both super fun. But also Stella Blue at Sun Peaks is the greatest trail of all time. I love just going brakeless down that trail trying to scrub everything and hit all the side hits and pockets.
What about any trails on your wishlist specifically for this bike?
The jumplines at Coast Gravity Park are on my list for sure. That set at Mt. Prevost on Vancouver Island. Also Dream Track in New Zealand.
Would you rather ride a mountain stage of the Tour De France on your DH Patrol, or hit Blue Steel on a TT bike?
Jeez haha I think I’d rather ride my patrol in the Tour De France because if I do that, yeah maybe it’ll take me all day and it would suck but if I tried to hit Blue Steel on a time trial bike I would probably die.
Would you rather race the DH World Cup track in Val Di Sole on a 12in kids bike clipped in, or on a fat bike wearing head-to-toe lycra?
Hmm I’d ride the DH track on the kids bike. I’d probably fall a million times but it would be fun I think!
One more WYR—Would you rather have 200mm cranks and 600mm wide bars or your bike makes a clown horn honk every single time you go airborne?
What the hell are these questions? Hahaha. Uhhhh I would take the clown horn honk, that would be sick.
What song best describes your bike?
