I am looking to hear from any Michigan mountain bikers who ride Ellsworth Truths. I would like to know how you like your bike, where you got it, and who services the bikes for you if you don't do it yourself. I am on the verge of dropping some serious cash on an Ellsworth Truth frame or complete bike. Please give me some feedback....

but you may wanna visit the Ellsworth board here.

but you may wanna visit the Ellsworth board here.

Why not? Have you had any trouble with the Truth? I have read quite a few postings on the Ellsworth board and it seems like a 50/50 split between people who love em or hate em. What is your story?

touble with something I have not purchased. When I was shopping for a new bike back in 01. I considered the Truth, but being a large guy I had some concerns about where the shock pivot mounting was placed and the lightness of the bike. I am 240 lbs and at the time I was living in Phoenix and would be riding rough rocky trails. The Titus Quasi Moto and the Ventanna La Bruja were recommended by my favorite LBS. I went with the Quasi.

Bikes will break regardless of design. It is how the company reacts to that breakage which is important to me. And history shows the 01 Truth had design flaws and TE's handling of those flaws is very controversial. End of story.

While I have minor issues with Titus, they are finally seeing my point and will be providing a fix, for something that has not yet broken.

Not sure if the split is 50/50. Tony has some pretty strong supporters and adversaries.
I am neither. If you infered that I was not a supporter, that is your bias.

touble with something I have not purchased. When I was shopping for a new bike back in 01. I considered the Truth, but being a large guy I had some concerns about where the shock pivot mounting was placed and the lightness of the bike. I am 240 lbs and at the time I was living in Phoenix and would be riding rough rocky trails. The Titus Quasi Moto and the Ventanna La Bruja were recommended by my favorite LBS. I went with the Quasi.

Bikes will break regardless of design. It is how the company reacts to that breakage which is important to me. And history shows the 01 Truth had design flaws and TE's handling of those flaws is very controversial. End of story.

While I have minor issues with Titus, they are finally seeing my point and will be providing a fix, for something that has not yet broken.

Not sure if the split is 50/50. Tony has some pretty strong supporters and adversaries.
I am neither. If you infered that I was not a supporter, that is your bias.

I am not inferring anything. I am looking for people who actually own an Ellsworth Truth and can provide some information before I drop a lot of money on a bike I plan on having a long time. I would like to know how many of the people that actually complain about their warranty, bike, and treatment are honest about what really happened to their bikes. I currently ride a Trek Y-11 which is a XC rig. I certainly wouldn't take it out a do 3-4 ft drops with it, because it's not made for that. But I do know there are knuckleheads out there that do that and than expect the bike company to replace a bike that was wrecked due to rider error. Let's be honest how many people who do that type of thing would really tell the bike company what happened. I would bet not too many I think Tony Ellsworth should replace the 01 Truths that break due to design flaws. I understand the post 01 Truth's have been redesigned and no longer have trouble with breakage.

I reread it this morning. Not sure if Tony E has changed all that much in regards to his warranties. If you're gonna drop large $$ on a boutique bike, go with a company that has a solid rep for standing behind their product. Titus, Turner, Ventanna are at the top of most peoples list

had one back in 1998, broke it, and like many had a ton of problems with Ellsworth fixing it.

If you are looking for a similar bike in travel, weight handling, the Hammerhead 100x, or Titus RX 100 is a great michigan bike. I rode one for years in one iteration or another. The Ventana El Saltamontes is a great ride, and the new Titus moto-lite also looks to be a great bike for our trails.

- GG

had one back in 1998, broke it, and like many had a ton of problems with Ellsworth fixing it.

If you are looking for a similar bike in travel, weight handling, the Hammerhead 100x, or Titus RX 100 is a great michigan bike. I rode one for years in one iteration or another. The Ventana El Saltamontes is a great ride, and the new Titus moto-lite also looks to be a great bike for our trails.

- GG
I agree with Green Giant. I ride a RX100 and I can't think of a bike I would rather have for the type of riding I do here in SE MI. I've haven't met a fellow HH/RX100 rider with anything but glowing comments. I have met a few Ellsworth riders who were dissapointed by the durability of their frame.
-Jeffro

I have seen a lot of posts about the longevity of Ellsworth bikes. The warranty hassles have started to push me towards other bike choices too. This bike purchase will probably be the last for me due to a growing family. What about the Specialized Epic Disc? Have you heard anything good about them? I currently ride a Trek Y-11 and am looking for something with no bob. I would also consider a Fuel. I have ridden my carbon fiber Y-11 for 8 years and haven't experienced any problems with the bike other than normal maintenance.

I have seen a lot of posts about the longevity of Ellsworth bikes. The warranty hassles have started to push me towards other bike choices too. This bike purchase will probably be the last for me due to a growing family. What about the Specialized Epic Disc? Have you heard anything good about them? I currently ride a Trek Y-11 and am looking for something with no bob. I would also consider a Fuel. I have ridden my carbon fiber Y-11 for 8 years and haven't experienced any problems with the bike other than normal maintenance.
TrailriderGus,
For the most part, Specialized makes excellent bikes. However, I really disliked the Epic because the suspension is locked out on the first hit. In my opinion, this defeats the purpose of having a full suspension. I found myself choosing a line on the Epic the same as I would on a hardtail. I didn't have the confidence that I have with my full-suspension due to the unlock delay. why not just go hardtail and save a few pounds and a bunch of money?

Gus,

I'm currently on a Ventana El Saltamontes this season. Just wanted to try something different. The 4 inches of travel is just about right for Michigan. As mentioned the HH100X was my favorite michigan bike ever. I just rode a RX or HH100x from 98-03, so for 04 I tried something different.

The epic is pretty cool, it does what it says. However you mentioned that this will be your last bike for a while, that said I might suggest something a bit more versitile. The Epic would be a killer race bike, but I suspect even in racing you could have the same results with a HH100x or RX100 set up light.

That said, I'm likely going to the new Titus Motolite next year. In 4 inch mode it should handle like a RX100, maybe a tad more plush but so much of that now is shock tuning and set-up with the platform shocks. But it has the ability to push it and adjust to 5 inches for those trips out west, up to Burchfield or the UP, or for cush days.

I have seen a lot of posts about the longevity of Ellsworth bikes. The warranty hassles have started to push me towards other bike choices too. This bike purchase will probably be the last for me due to a growing family. What about the Specialized Epic Disc? Have you heard anything good about them? I currently ride a Trek Y-11 and am looking for something with no bob. I would also consider a Fuel. I have ridden my carbon fiber Y-11 for 8 years and haven't experienced any problems with the bike other than normal maintenance.

I've got a Truth and love it. Had it for 2 years. My brothers has a 2001 and until lately he's been riding it alot. I ride a lot of the trails around Marquette but I don't do any big drops ( bigger then a couple feet ) and don't let the rear shock bottom out. Handles very well. Just put a Marz. Marathon SL on it and man is it sweet. I'll probably ride it until it dies.
Just keep in mind that it is a light weight frame. I do most of my own wenching. The one neg. I would add though is the shifting is finnickly. Went to sram and seems to be working fine.

I tried an Epic last year. Didn't get a good ride in but I was suprised at how nice it was.

I have been on the Ells. board for a while and I know that there is a lot of bad blood circulationg around the warranty, the 2001 Truth and the 2003 Id (chainstays). There are a few people who like to perpetuate the madness (I guess they like it). That's not to say that some have been treated perhaps unfairly.

That said, I've been riding an Isis for a year and a half and I love it. For Michigan, it would be a perfect trail bike (I moved to Colorado three years ago from SE MI). 100mm front and rear, relatively light, depending on you set it up. I can run up to 2.5" tires, the geometry is not too racey, not too DH. The Isis has been replaced by the Distance. The single pivot is simple and you wouldn't have those chainstay issues to deal with. It's a good bike that can handle some abuse, yet remains a worthy design by being simple and effective.

I would also have to say that many other brands are very well made and would be equally decent bikes - Turner, Ventana, Titus, Specailized. If you really like the Truth, know that the warranty is now 2 years and I have heard of 0 problems with the 2004 designs, thus far.

Good luck!

I called Richard's Bicycles in Illinois this weekend as they are the only Ellsworth dealer close to me and the guy I talked to wasn't that crazy about Ellsworth's customer service either. I just love the looks of their bikes but I don't want to shell out $3000+ for a bike that is going to give me headaches later. My Trek Y-11 hasn't given me any trouble. The guy at Richard's really spoke well of Trek. I like my Trek I am just ready to make the jump to another level of mountain biking. I want my next bike to last me a while. With a growing family money will be hard to come by to spend on toys for me. The guy at Richard's also said he heard somewhere that the reviews and replys you see and read on mtbr.com represent roughly 8% of the total number of people who own or ride those bikes. I assume people who post either really love their bike or really hate it. The rest are out riding. Do you know anyone who rides a Truth?

Well, no, not really. I've met a few guys here and there, but I think since I don't race very much, I don't see a lot of Truth riders. Colorado is big with the Id riders since it has the extra BB clearance and longer travel. Most of my riding buddies are on Titus, Ventana, Turner, Specialized and Trek bicycles. In CO, you see a lot of Maverick, Yeti and Santa Cruz (man, everyone has a Blur). Mav. and Yeti are local for us (Boulder/Golden). California is Ellsworth country.

In Michigan, Specailized is King. I had a buddy who found a small crack on his 1997 from back in 2001, Spec. warrantied it completely and gave him a new frame, no questions. He told me though, that he's seen all the Specialized dealers in SE MI/NW OH kinda disappear lately, so that could be a problem. Sounds like you're in SW MI?

I know a great dealer in Ventana and Turner bikes (the Flux is a big hit this year) out here. His internet deals are the best you'll find anywhere and he's a good mechanic/wheelbuilder, too. I got my Ellsworth from Beyond Bikes. They had an advertised price in a mag that was diff. than the actual selling price of my bike (I should have made them honor it, but I knew it was for an older close out year). You'll probably have to get a frame and have it built up.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. Honestly, I think the '04 and '05 model Truth will be a sound bicycle. No company wants to have failures because it's expensive. I think maybe some bad choices were made in the past regarding Customer Service, but that happens everywhere. If you really like the bike, you should get one. If you take care of it, it should last you a while. Jump off the house? Probably won't...

I rode a 2001 Truth all over SE Michigan when I lived there (Poto, Island Lake, Highland, Pontiac Lake etc...). I rode a bit up in the UP (Bruno's Run, Grand Island) Didn't break and I'm a fat guy, but I don't think you can argue that some of those frames did have problems. It's a great bike for those type of trails, the perfect amount of suspension. I ride an Id now on the east coast. I can't really speak for the customer service since I never really had to deal with them. I did bend the rear hanger and got another one at no charge in about 4 days. It looks like they have many of the problems solved on the newer bikes.