Insider Rides looks at the bikes that we ride, the bikes that industry insiders ride, that racers ride, and everyday folk ride. For this instalment, ace photographer Digby Shaw runs us through the heavy-on-Hope build of his new Transition Patrol.

I bought my first Transition Patrol a bit over a year ago and I loved it right from the get go. It was stable, poppy, turned well and revelled in the steep riding that was on offer living in Nelson. However I was always less than satisfied with how the Monarch Plus rear shock handled. So when I saw RockShox ‘Metric’ release video earlier this year I was immediately intrigued. When the opportunity came to sell the old Patrol––and get one with what promises to be a much more accomplished damping unit––I jumped at the chance.

Immediately after making that decision the discussions with friends began on how to build it up and what I wanted it to ride like. The idea of a Hopetech build came early on as I have dreamed about owning hope kit ever since a good friend and riding buddy had a Hope Mono Mini on his Keewee Stealth back when we were grommits. Some phone calls were made and the words red anodising mentioned plus the realisation that you could just about build a whole bike with matching Hope kit and it was game on.

In the end I settled on:

Transition Patrol Alloy, matte black, size large

DVO Diamond fork

Hope cranks

HopeTech 3 V4 Brakes

Hope floating rotors 203/180mm

Hope Pro4 Hubs

Hope stem

Hope seat clamp

Hope BB

Hope Cassette 10-44t

Hope Direct mount chainring 32t

Hope Grips

The Hope cassette is a work of art, machined in two parts the four biggest sprockets are aluminium and the seven smaller ones are steel.

To finish it off I added:

RaceFace Atlas handlebar cut to 760mm

RaceFace Arc 30 rims

RaceFace turbine 150mm dropper post

Black Wheelsmith spokes with red Prolock nipples

WTB Rocket saddle

WTB Convict front tyre

WTB Breakout rear tyre

Just look at the arc of that front brake hose.

DVO Diamond fork, complete with custom red decals.

The brakes feel like they could stop a truck, but still have plenty of control.

The final weight came to 15.2 kg with Shimano XT Trail pedals, and a lot of this is in the tyres. But with a trip to home to Nelson for the Mammoth Enduro next weekend I wouldn’t want to be on anything else – there’s nothing worse than a torn sidewall mid-race to ruin your day.

Love it or hate it the sound of a Hope freehub is one of the most distinctive sounds in mountain biking.

As with everything Hope the machining is a total work of art, every little detail is perfect.

I’m actually pretty stoked to be on a 100% alloy bike. It’s a big, burly, stable, reassuring presence when your riding it but it still happily tucks into Wellington’s tight switchbacks and dodges encroaching trees with ease. It’s early days yet, but my first impressions are that the new shock is excellent, very smooth, supple and predictable and for some reason it feels like it jumps better than my old patrol. Everything is very stiff and solid feeling, especially the wheels, which were built by Diggle at Capital. These are my first ever custom built wheelset and boy what a difference, so much stiffer snappier and easier to put where I want them to be. He says they will be more durable too but they have a lot of miles to do yet; I’ll let you know.