Transition Preston FR

You may not be familiar with Transition Bikes, although if you like to keep your finger on the small-scale, rider-owned freeride fabrication scene you probably will. Transition was formed in 2002 by Kyle Yound and Kevin Menard, and specialises in affordable but robust frames. Transition HQ is in Seattle, Washington, which isn't actually Canada but is about the nearest part of the US to it - the terrain's pretty similar and the weather means that Transition's bikes ought to be fairly UK-friendly.

And now you've got a chance to find out, because Transition has a UK wing courtesy of Jamie Whitfield. He might only be a one-man operation but then Transition itself is only two blokes and it's a usefully compact range of three bikes. To us, the Preston FR is the most interesting looking one - it's a short-travel freerider, packing 4-5in of travel and designed to be a bit handier than the 8in stuff that you see about the place these days but without compromising on strength. A Romic shock controls the back end, and a frame'll cost you a very reasonable £649.

If that's not enough travel for you, the same cash will get you a DirtBag with 6-7in. Or go the other way with the distinctive Trail-or-Park 4130 chromoly hardtail at £279.

With any luck we'll have a test bike to play with soon, but in the meantime you can peruse the UK Transition site at uk.transitionbikes.com or contact Jamie on 07803 205121.