For those interested in feedback on the Sentinel v. Smuggler question, just spent two weeks on an alloy Sentinel waiting for my carbon Smuggler to get built up. Got the Smuggler yesterday and am super happy with the decision. With no prior experience on any Transition, it did not take long to adjust to the SBG. Both the Sentinel and the Smuggler feel incredibly stable and planted and are ridiculously fun to ride. If you are building up a higher end version of either bike you really cannot go wrong. I went with the mid-travel Smuggler option because it's a better fit for the more pedal-y riding we have in the Yukon. I did buy a different air piston and up-fork the stock 140mm Fox 36 to a 150mm which so far has been great. The 150/120 balance is a great middle of the road option and I don't feel I'm sacrificing anything over the Sentinel in downhill performance.
Earlier in this thread there was some talk about stem length and deviating from the 40mm stock lengths. The 40mm is the sweet spot, no question about it. I built the Smuggler with a 50mm Chromag BZA and immediately found the bike twitchy and unstable. Swapped it out for the 40mm length today and it's back to feeling like the "Sentinel light" as the cool kids in Bellingham like to call the Smuggler. Amazing that pulling the bar 10mm back can make that much of a difference.
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