Ooops!!! I REALLY should not have done that!!!

[Bigred15]

So I get a call from my little brother and I have to ruch up to Illinois a week earlier than I had planned. Because of the circumstances, I also have to fly instead of drive, which means the Stumpy had to stay at home. After all the dust settles, I find myself with about 4 hours to kill so I do what any self-respecting mountain biker would do. I set out to the LBS looking for a bike to rent and a trail to ride. That is where my mistake happened. See, the only two bike they had available for rent/demo were a lower level Giant hardtail and a Ellsworth Evolve 29er. So of course I choose the Ellsworth.

Now I love my Stumpy, but WOW was that bike awesome!!! Smooth as a Caddy, good pedaling performance even without Pro Pedal, light and quick steering. And it rolled over EVERYTHING. Whats the problem you ask? Now I want one and it costs $2000 more than my Stumpy did, which I just bought in January BTW. The good news is my wife said no as soon as I started talking about how great the bike was. If she had said yes then that would have been one expensive trip to IL, and the credit card company would be very happy with me. Now I'm home trying to figure out what I can sell to generate enough money for that bike.

The only thing I wonder is how much of it was the bike itself, and how much was the full suspension 29er setup? I wonder if a Specialized Epic 29er would perform the same way???

[Paddlechris]

Well I have owned 3 Ellsworths over the years and what I can say is this.. They are expensive, but they have all ridden extremely well.... I have had 2 Truths and 1 Moment.. at the time I would say hands down would be hard to be beat by any other bike.. that said I have no idea on the Specialized question.. but Ellsworth is a very nice bike..

C

[TNcaveman]

As my Pappy used to say "Shave Your Money Sonny"

Or you can do like Left Scott - just tell her - "Love ya babe, it cost 300 dollars, want to go shopping" She'll forget that you got another bike before you know it

But seriously, set a goal, and save as much as possible.

I just looked up your bike - it has great specs. http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...2&menuItemId=0

The Elsworth does look pretty sweet http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/bikes/mountain/evolve/

Now some questions: Do you think it was the 29 in wheels? Or the whole package (including frame/suspension design) that was the difference? Do you know the build kit specs on the bike?

Here's also something to ponder - Is your bike set up properly? Or possibly, the fork in need of a freshening (oil change and need seals)? Are you still using tubes in the tires that came with the Stumpy?

I recently discovered that my front fork was worn and needed new stanchions. The shock rebuild helped but my bike still did not feel right. It just seamed like the smoothness of the bike was gone - rough trails were not as fun as they used to be. Then I had a hub problem on my rear wheel, so I put a used tire (a Captain 2Bliss) on my spare rear wheel and my bike suddenly felt like new. My rear tire was an Armadillo Fasttrak LK 2Bliss and this is when I found out the the tougher Armadillo sidewall "rode like a brick". So, after I fixed my hub, I got a new Captain for the rear (I'm now running a Captain front and rear) and wow! It feels like a new bike. The tire was the real culprit in me being somewhat dissatisfied with my bike's feel.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that a few tweaks and maybe your Stumpy can make you more happy?

Hope this helps,

Steve

[SafetyBreak]

I agree with caveman, rebuilding a bike can make a huge difference. Due to being broke and in college, I just had to rebuild my old frame (instead of a newer bike) for the third time. Each total rebuild made it like heaven again, but they can wear quickly if you ride a lot. Mine was completely fresh in January too, and it is already showing serious wear on many parts. It's already had to have two r.d. hangers, and I am pretty sure the rear dhx 5.0 doesn't feel like it used too. Maybe it's time to do some maintenance?

[TNcaveman]

Another possible option is to try a 650B front wheel / tire. I have been interested in this for my bike as well. Kindacreeky apparently loved this as an update on one of his bikes. Hey Bob, you still using the 650B front?

Steve

[Bigred15]

The Ellsworth I demoed was setup pretty nice, Fox Float R rear shock, Fox 32 F29 RL, full SRAM x.9 drivetrain, Truvativ crank(not sure what model), and CrossMax 29er wheel set. So it was set up pretty nice.

I would like to think that my bike is in pretty good shape. It makes monthly visits to my preferred LBS for maintenance, and the mechanic is a friend of mine so he knows how anal I am about how stuff is maintained. In fact, I just had him rebuild my BB because it was creaking some. I also just did a BG Fit last month, that included a new longer stem and they re-checked the sag to make sure it was still good. But, I probably do need to play with the rebound settings some as I have not changed them since I bought the bike. My first upgrade on the bike was to take out the tubes, and they are the S-Works version of The Captians, so the sidewall is soft.

As far as the 29er wheels vs. whole package goes, I don't really know. My SS 29er feels pretty smooth despite being a HT and having a used fork on it. I also noticed how much traction I had. My Stumpy has fantastic traction, but there are a few situations where I lose some traction. I don't know whether to attribute this to the 29er wheels, or the Nevagal tires. Maybe to keep the confusion down I'll just ride my SS alot more. That way my Stumpy will feel like a Caddy again.