Sentinel Alloy NX Bike

The Sentinel is a bit of a do-everything bike in the Transition range, up for all-dayers in the hills or uplift days.

Out of the box, the bike is set up with a 150 mm shock and 160 mm fork, but the bike will still handle well with a 150 or 140 mm fork, and you can change the rear shock for a shorter one to run the back at 140 mm.

Transition have given the longer-lower-slacker approach a name - "Speed Balanced Geometry" - but effectively it means short stem, slack head angle, short offset (42-44 mm) fork and a longer top tube, pretty much what you would expect from any modern enduro-orientated bike. On that note, all models can take a water bottle, though you'll need to use a fid lock bottle on the size small frame.

Never ones to shy away from a cheesy name, the Transition's "GiddyUp" suspension has fantastic small bump sensitivity and enough progression to run a coil shock without blowing through the travel. The Enduro Max bearings and additional bearing shields are a huge plus point for UK riding!

This NX spec bike is outstanding value for money with a Fox 36 Rhythm fork and Performance Elite shock, proper brakes and an excellent OneUp dropper post. Dropper size and bar rise vary depending on frame size.