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I
was given a 2005 Ellsworth Truth to ride for a
week. This was a really good opportunity to formulate
a solid opinion of the bike. During this time I was
able to ride on the road, singletrack, muddy
conditions and regular weekend off-road tracks. The
bike I was loaned was not new, in fact it was a year
and a half old and, amazingly, the frame was in
incredible condition. It still sported its original
pivot bearings and everything was very solid. The
components were a little tired, but this review will
focus on the performance of the frame. Since you, the
consumer, are lightly to buy the frame and build it up
to your own special specifications.
First
Glance:
I
think that the Truth is a very good looking bike. My
test model was an anodised black frame. The almost
gothic logo of the Ellsworth brand always reminds me
of my early goth days. The mere sight of the bike and
I hear the opening power chords of the Sisters of
Mercy – Vision Thing.
If
you are a bit more adventurous (and have a bit more
cash) you can go for one of the custom colours. These
are truly hand-made works of art.
Components:
Since
this is strictly a frame review, I am only going to
mention the components for interest. Ellsworth’s are
sold as frames in this country, meaning that you will
spec it the way you want it.
The
bike was equipped with:
SRAM
grip shifters
SRAM X0 rear derailleur
Shimano XT front derailleur
Shimano XTR Hollowtech II crank
SRAM PC 990 cassette
Time ATAC carbon pedals
Mavic X717 rims on XTR hubs (Wheelsmith built in the
USA) - with Stans conversion
Maxxis Larsen TT UST tyres
12.75kg (with pedals)
Suspension:
Suspension
duties are handled by a custom Ellsworth tuned Fox R
air rear shock. And the fork was care of Fox F100x,
that is the Terralogic unit (for those of you
unfamiliar with the letters and numbers) and sports
100mm of travel.
The
Ellsworth website suggests between 7 and 12mm of sag
on the rear. I dialled in 8mm and found this to be a
very good setting. I didn’t once bottom-out the rear
in the test period.
Ellsworth
has a number of patents on the suspension - none of
which I am going to try to explain to you. They do a
very good job of explaining it all on www.ellsworthbikes.com
. The main feature and the one that interests me the
most is that the suspension is said to be “Fully
Active” and that it is!
This
bike is really comfortable. The rear end soaks up
trail chatter with no problem at all. The rear shock
is only a Fox R unit, so there are no fancy pro-pedal
settings. Tony Ellsworth reckons that the design of
the suspension is such that it is not necessary to
have pro-pedal. This is true! The bike does not bob. I
rode on the road quite a bit and I was very happy that
I was not losing any energy to the evil bob! The only
time I felt the active suspension was a little too
active, was when I got out of the saddle to power up
hills. Looking down there was a lot of action on the
suspension. Having said that, it didn’t seem to
hamper the power transfer. When you stamp down on the
pedals the bike goes forward, fast. The rear is very
stiff, and I didn’t notice any sideways movement.
People
always seem to think that full suspension is most
helpful on downhills, and this is obviously true. I
took the Truth down some really rocky descents and it
handled superbly, and one would expect it to! But,
what really impressed me was when the mountain turned
upward. We rode an extremely rocky, steep and wet
uphill on the weekend. The bike’s rear tire was not
in the best condition, but the bike tracked perfectly
up the hill. In fact, when I looked around me I
realised I was at the front of the group ride, with
some of the youngsters on their race-snake hard tails
breathing very heavily around me. This bike climbs
like a billy goat! I would love to try it on a very
long technical section, because I believe that it will
actually aid you into reaching the top, with energy to
spare.
Conclusion:
It
looks good. It rides good. It is a little pricy, but I
think if you are looking for a bike that will leave
you comfortable on a 145km Epic stage, and also allow
you to race with the boys around Fountains for XC, you
would go a long way to beat this bike.
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