The 2023 Transition Relay details are out

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Motor
Fazua Ride 60
Battery
Fazua 430 Wh
Fork Travel
160-170 mm
Rear Travel
160-170 mm
Weight
Starting at 19.27 kg (claimed)
Price
USD 6.799-10.999
Transition just released the info on the new lightweight Relay. They say the bike will hit the market late March 2023. Check out the Transition video for a look at the details, or keep reading below.


So many choices​

We get to choose between carbon and alloy frames, and there are 5 build kits to chose from. And as if that wasn't enough, you can chose between 160 and 170 mm travel. The regular Transition Relay offers 160 mm of travel, the Transition Relay PNW is 170 mm. Oh, and it comes in two colors and many sizes too.

2023 build.jpg
2023 colors.jpg

What we expected?​

The Transition Relay is an SL-bike, it belongs to the lightweight emtb category. But the most lightweight 160 mm travel carbon version has a claimed weight of 19.27 kg. Is that what we expected? Well, yes, it is actually. Transition have previously teased the bike and informed us it's a more burly bike with a removable battery. It was bound to be heavier than the regular 150 mm travel lightweight bike with a non-detachable battery.

2023 Transition Relay 160 mm travel

2023 Transition Relay 160 mm travel

Fazua battery and motor​

The 430 Wh Fazua battery is lightweight, but making it easily detachable comes at a cost. The battery mounts and lock mechanism ads weight. The big hole in the downtube needs to be reinforced to maintain frame rigidity, adding more weight. I know a removable battery is important to many of us, but the penalty is an increase of up to 1 kg.

Look, the battery comes out!

Look, the battery comes out!

Unsurprisingly, the Transition Relay gets the Fazua Ride 60 motor. This is a lightweight, sub 2 kg motor that offers 60 Nm of torque. It can come across as a bit stingy. Don't get me wrong, it packs quite a lot of power, but you have to push a bit to get it all out. The Ride 60 is a very natural feeling and silent motor.

2023_Relay_Gallery2.jpg
2023_Relay_Gallery5.jpg

Geometry​

As stated above, the Transition Relay is quite different to most of the lightweight emtbs we're used to riding. This is a much burlier bike, even the 160 mm travel version. The Relay PNW takes things even further. We're getting close to 80* for the seat tube angle on the smallest size. Head tube angle isn't that extreme, but still, it varies between 63.3 and 64*. And I'm happy to see the chainstay lenght varies too. The ratio between rear-center and total wheelbase will vary between frame sizes. Transition chose a chainstaylenght of 436 mm for the smallest frame and 448 mm for the bigger ones. This makes the bike handling more smimilar between sizes.

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c02_2023_Relay_Gallery3.jpg

Does it come at a cost?​

What? Yeah, starting price is $6.799 (USD).

Relay
Relay Alloy NX $6,799
Relay Carbon GX $8,799
Relay Carbon GX AXS $9,999
Relay Carbon XX $12,499

Relay PNW
Relay PNW Alloy GX $7,999 USD
Relay PNW Carbon X0 AXS $10,999 USD

Available from late March 2023.

Highlights​

highlights01.jpg
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knut7
Knut Nes
Main editor at emtbforums.com and owner of emtb.no.
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Comments

Suns_PSD
I have a deposit on one but suspect I'll swap to the Siryon as I suspect the weight is just going to be too high on the Relay.

Eager to see.

Sure wish Spesh would show us their bike.
 
Zimmerframe
BAMBAMODA said:
This is the e-bike for me.
What’s the reliability of the motor?
Click to expand...
On the whole. Pretty good. It's an evolution so they've learnt and applied. Most failures seem to revolve around things like the handlebar switch which seems a bit weak. It's nice in principle, but lacking in practicality. Hopefully by the time these are shipping all that will be sorted. Replacements of everything have been difficult due to the popularity/demand of the system and they don't appear to have been prioritising replacements as they should.
 
D
Suns_PSD said:
I have a deposit on one but suspect I'll swap to the Siryon as I suspect the weight is just going to be too high on the Relay.

Eager to see.

Sure wish Spesh would show us their bike.
Click to expand...
My Siryon is just over 19kg size large with peddles and burley tyres front and back so not much diffeeence. It rides like it’s a lot lighter though 😀. Relay looks nice though. Not bad value compared to some lightweights out there.
 
Chicane
Zimmerframe said:
On the whole. Pretty good. It's an evolution so they've learnt and applied. Most failures seem to revolve around things like the handlebar switch which seems a bit weak. It's nice in principle, but lacking in practicality. Hopefully by the time these are shipping all that will be sorted. Replacements of everything have been difficult due to the popularity/demand of the system and they don't appear to have been prioritising replacements as they should.
Click to expand...
This is the main reason why the Relay has been delayed. A few reliability issues and limited product. Replacement motors are far and few right now. My LBS has been waiting about a month now for a new motor for their Pivot SL demo bike. Also the range is sub par and not as good as you would think for a 430 WH battery. The Rise with a 360 WH battery gets better range. With the Relay being heavier than the Pivot SL, the range will be a bit worse, but the Relay looks sweet.
 
Suns_PSD
danf72 said:
My Siryon is just over 19kg size large with peddles and burley tyres front and back so not much diffeeence. It rides like it’s a lot lighter though 😀. Relay looks nice though. Not bad value compared to some lightweights out there.
Click to expand...

Transition says the Relay 'starts at 19.5 kgs. If that's for the small 27.5 high end build with a 120 dropper, the equivalent Relay to your Large Siryon will weigh 22-23 kgs imo.

I have a deposit on the Relay, but if it's as heavy as I suspect, I'm not interested. I think they made a collasal error with the removal battery.

If Forestal would sell me the Performance Siryon frame set right now, my search would be over. But being in the USA, it just might not happen.
 
T
There's a lot to like on this bike I think.

Travel is suited to a lot of riding intentions at 160/160 or 160/170,
Steep STA to assist climbing, especially on a mid power motor,
Some variance in rear centre (Wish the Fuel Ex-e had this)

The weight will be a factor as stated, and I'm hoping the removable battery doesn't introduce an opportunity for creaking / rattling.

I'd definitely like to try one to compare with the others in its class.
 
#lazy
Bike looks very nice but I’ll keep my under 23kg full fat 29er kenevo !
 
Sebov
Suns_PSD said:
If 19.27kg is the weight of the XS high end build with 27.5" wheels with a 120mm dropper, that's a real problem.
Click to expand...
Especially since the prices are insane. So the best Kit would be for me Alloy GX - but this will be at least 21kg in Size M including the coil shock and heavier 38. Too much for me
 
Freezer
I had been waiting for the Relay for months, but seeing the funky build spec and the likely weight, decided against it. Pivoted (no pun intended), and just picked up an S-Works Kenevo SL with a full up weight including legit Maxxis tires of 42.0 lb.

IMO, Transition made a mistake with the added weight of a removable battery- the Relay will probably be about the same weight as the new Orbea Wild full power bike. The Relay should have been a 42lb. bike to make it interesting/competitive.
 
Nerds On Dirt MTB
Looks like the Relay may be more delayed, our shop orders arrival dates went up to August, that's not necessarily accurate as with other bikes we get solid numbered dates so could be sooner could be later...
 
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