1) who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Kevin Menard and I am co-owner of Transition Bikes. I am responsible for Marketing, Product Development, Canada Dealer Sales, Customer Service, Warranty.

2) Where did transition come from? Whats with the name?

Transition Bikes came from two guys bored at their corporate jobs looking for a way out. I had worked for a bicycle manufacturer for 3 years prior to my corporate job at T-Mobile and knew how feasible it was to get bikes made to our specifications. It took no convincing to my business partner Kyle to proceed full steam. The first 3 years were hard as we had to work two jobs and operate in the basement of my house. We finally got to a point that we knew we had something special and were able to quit our jobs and devote ourselves full time to Transition. This is when things really took off for us. We added 4 bikes to the line up and haven't looked back. We just recently bought a piece of land and are in the middle of building our new Transition Headquarters that will be 7000 square feet complete with a dirt jumps, pump track and nort shore stunts outside the building.

The name Transition just kind of happened out of a brainstorming session. We were starting a new venture and Transition technically means to start something new so it seemed like a good fit. It also works as a landing to a jump which is a bonus and everyone likes to land on nice transitions.

3) You guys seem pretty popular at the moment, the name is all over the place. How do you plan to keep that momentum going, and not being labeled as a "flavor of the week" brand?

Our number one thing with our company is to connect with our fellow riders and customers. It is not a marketing ploy, it is what we believe in. We want our customers to be a part of our company and not just a number. We avoid the flavor of the week brand because we are so connected with the riding community we don't go along with the trends of other large companies just to make money. In any industry there is usually one industry leader and then 3-4 big guys that follow in their footsteps. When the big guy zigs, everyone else zigs. Our goal is zag when everyone else is zigging. Hope this is making sense, but what this allows us to do is run our business how we want to and not let larger companies dictate the trends we will follow. This way we always keep our company fresh and doing something unique.

4) Your bikes are pretty simple. No VPP, No 47 pivots, No gearboxes. What do you think gets people interested in your frames? You guys ever get flak for similarities to other brands?

There is only so much you can do when trying to innovate in the suspension world. Pretty much everything that can be done has been done. At this point it is all pretty much refinement, which is what we focus on. There is no perfect suspension system, everything has pluses and minuses. Our suspension design is a tried and true design that we have refined for each bike over the years. Our other innovation is in our angles, geometry and overall look and intended us of the bike. We are one of the few bike companies that only uses round tubing anymore which people are really into because it is clean and simple.

5) The scene is constantly changing, and whats hot 3 minutes ago isn't popular for long. Do you guys ever worry about being pigeonholed as a "west coast north shore" brand?

First off, we are pretty proud of our heritage and where we are from. We definitely don't think the North Shore style of mountain biking is a fad that will die off. It will only continue to push the evolution of our sport and it is exciting to be near the epicenter of that activity. We don't try to be something where not, which is why you see a lot of North Shore influence because that is where we ride.

As far as our popularity goes, we know that there are some things that people will never get tired of. Things like dealing with a company that is super responsive to customer needs and people that genuinely care about the industry they are in and the direction it is heading. As long as we stay true to our customers we know they will continue to support what we are doing.

6) You guys are one of the few companies that aren't afraid to admit your stuff is built in Taiwan. Does this mean you guys believe the stigma against asian made products is over?

It is true that we are proud of the fact our bikes are made in Taiwan. It isn't because we don't want to support US companies, it just comes down to the business model we set with our company and then finding a supplier that could make that happen. If we could find a US company to offer us the quality and price of Taiwan we would have chosen them. If we did go with a US company our prices would be a ton higher. Most of our customers really appreciate the value and price of a Transition bike. Second off, we visit all of our factories every year so we are always in touch with what is happening. Many companies never go over there to see what is going on. By visiting we can be assured of every production process that goes into all our products. Many people knock Taiwan for their quality control but our frame manufacturer does quality control and alignment at 5 different points through the production process and they do all their heat treatment processes in house. The quality of the frames is amazing and the level of craftsmanship is at or sometimes above any level I have seen in the US. Every time I go to Taiwan and visit the factories I am always continually amazed at how dialed they are. People that knock Taiwan are usually people that have never been there recently and seen the factories first hand. Taiwan bicycle production has changed dramatically over the last 6 years as most of the lower end production has moved to China and Vietnam and Taiwan adapted to cater to the higher end market.

7) Any last words about Transition that the people should know?

My only other thing is evangelizing people to buy from rider owned companies like Diety Components, Rockgardn, Straitline Components, Canfield Bros etc. The smaller niche companies are what are shaping the industy in way that is in perfect alignment with what riders are wanting.

Transition Bikes are available at Cycle Solutions.