The Unicorn: A Transition Spur Story

We call it the Unicorn and he’s deep sea green. Every bike has a story, and as a storyteller, I put a high value on that element when making big purchase, like a new mountain bike. And as a Pacific Northwest boy with deep Wyoming roots, I always try and keep it as local and meaningful as possible.

Went so fast for 3 hours and 24 minutes on the Spur at the 38 Special.

It was September of 2020 and I was in the midst of a nine-week wedding swing down in Jackson Hole, and I had just officiated a horseback wedding for a power lady couple. With a big tip burning a hole in my pocket I dropped into The Hub in JH before heading back north to the BZN, knowing they were a Transition dealer. I’d been researching the then recently released and Bellingham born Spur, for several months, but had yet to see one in a shop or in the wild.

As fate would have it, they had one in house, waiting to be serviced and they let me take it for a ride on the JH trails of my teen trips to the ‘Hole. With cowboy boots, wranglers, shirt, tie and vest on, I pedaled down Snow King Ave to the trailhead and gave it a little out and back on singletrack. I was hooked.

I told Hal (the shop owner) right there, “If I get the keynote at The Wynn, I’m placing an order.” Two weeks later, I locked in the talk, and I was back in Jackson Hole for another wedding gig the first week of October when I put down my deposit on the PNW built Spur.

I spent much of the winter reading reviews, watching videos and perusing the chats in Pinkbike and MTBr, eager and excited to get the call. Come March of last year I received an update that I might not see the bike until the end of the season (which was fine by me, I was just feeling grateful and feeling awfully privileged to be in a place, where I could purchase a new mountain bike, let alone, this new mountain bike), and then as we were loading up for a quick dash to Salt Lake City last April to see my clotting specialist and doctor at the University of Utah, we got a call from the Hub, hyped and excited to report that my bike showed up. They were stunned. The Transition Spur has been one of the most talked about bikes in the mountain biking community (especially the underground mountain bike community) for 2020/2021, and also one of the most challenging to get your hands on. So, we made a detour to Jackson Hole on our way home. It’s parts and stickers were mix matched (there’s a global bike and parts shortage), making it truly one of a kind and they dubbed her, The Unicorn.

This bike is everything everyone says it would be: capable, nimble, confidence inspiring, fast and fun. The Transition Spur hype is real. It’s truly a radical ripper. I had always admired the “Rider Owned” and Pacific Northwest, Bellingham, Washington, built brand that is Transition, but they just never had a bike that fit my XC riding roots, until they created this all-country/down-country slayer. This bike is special. It climbs like a dream, descends like a true Transition built bike and it’s lines (looks) make it the dopest of all the bikes in this category. From long days in the saddle to big endurance efforts, from marathon events to stage races, this bike does it all, and it does it well and with style.

From the Tetons to the Bridgers, the Big Belts to Big Sky, the Continental Divide to the Gallatins, from the Biggie to the BC Bike Race, saving her first ride for Idaho’s Snake River Range, ending the season on a big solo White Rim in a day effort (WRIAD), I had some seriously special rides and experiences on this bike in 2021, and I can’t wait to pedal it deep into autumn of 2022.

Giddy up!

WNbL, mwl