Ellsworth Truth versus Santa Cruz Blur



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E

Erikee

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I posted this item just moments ago on rec.bicycles.off-road, but I didn't realize all the MTB
traffic's moved to this newsgroup; thus the crosspost...

I'm looking at buying my first FS frame (I've been riding MTBs since 1984), and I'm looking for
advice. I'm considering two models: the Santa Cruz Blur and the Ellsworth Truth. I don't want to
spend much more than $3,500 to build up the bike with disc brakes, so I'm trying to be careful about
not overspending on the frame.

I expect performance between the two frames is about equal, with maybe just a slight advantage going
to the Truth. However, the Ellsworth has a lifetime warranty, whereas I'm hearing the Blur is only
warranted for 12 months. I'm no huckster, but I weigh 194 pounds and I often ride challenging single
track (say twice a week) and commute by bike to work.

I've read that the Ellsworth Truth, when spec'd with the Cane Creek rear shock, is prone to frame
failures with heavier riders. Is this true, or are these failures anomalies?Would you recommend
saving $500 and getting the Blur frame or biting the bullet and going with the Ellsworth (I don't
want to have to buy another frame for at least four years).

TIA,

EE
 
RE/
>Would you recommend saving $500 and getting the Blur frame or biting the bullet and going with the
>Ellsworth (I don't want to have to buy another frame for at least four years).

I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was eventually replaced
under warranty.

I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were through a retailer that I
felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any warranty issues.

I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
is that they are not good at dealing with the public. Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe
Public....definately not.
-----------------------
PeteCresswell
 
--
http://members.rogers.com/theblackfoxx/ "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> RE/
> >Would you recommend saving $500 and getting the Blur frame or biting the bullet and going with
> >the Ellsworth (I don't
want
> >to have to buy another frame for at least four years).
>
> I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was
eventually
> replaced under warranty.
>
> I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were
through
> a retailer that I felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any warranty issues.
>
> I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
> is that they are not good at dealing with the
public.
> Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe Public....definately not.
> -----------------------
> PeteCresswell

Blur
 
> I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was
eventually
> replaced under warranty.
>
> I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were
through
> a retailer that I felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any warranty issues.
>
> I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
> is that they are not good at dealing with the
public.
> Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe Public....definately not.

This is really ****. Such an expensive frame should come with valid warranty. I was on the verge of
buying one but when I found out about all the hassles some have had I bet on a Titus Switchblade
instead. I would go for the Blur. However, it might be a good idea to wait a while. There may be a
lot of hype to it.

Per http://user.tninet.se/~ipg289h/fu99/MTB.html
 
..::TBF::.. wrote:
> --
> http://members.rogers.com/theblackfoxx/ "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>RE/
>>
>>>Would you recommend saving $500 and getting the Blur frame or biting the bullet and going with
>>>the Ellsworth (I don't
>
> want
>
>>>to have to buy another frame for at least four years).
>>
>>I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was
>
> eventually
>
>>replaced under warranty.
>>
>>I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were
>
> through
>
>>a retailer that I felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any warranty issues.
>>
>>I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
>>is that they are not good at dealing with the
>
> public.
>
>>Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe Public....definately not.
>>-----------------------
>>PeteCresswell
>
>
> Blur
>
>

Truth

--
"Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and hard,
just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons
 
On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 00:14:10 GMT, Per Löwdin <[email protected]> wrote:

>> I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was
> eventually
>> replaced under warranty.
>>
>> I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were
> through
>> a retailer that I felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any warranty issues.
>>
>> I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
>> is that they are not good at dealing with the
> public.
>> Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe Public....definately not.
>
> This is really ****. Such an expensive frame should come with valid warranty. I was on the verge
> of buying one but when I found out about all the hassles some have had I bet on a Titus
> Switchblade instead. I would go for the Blur. However, it might be a good idea to wait a while.
> There may be a lot of hype to it.
>
> Per http://user.tninet.se/~ipg289h/fu99/MTB.html
>
>
>
>

Here's my take on Ellsworth. Now, I used to own a bike shop here in San Diego, where Ellsworths are
from. Tony Ellsworth wanted me to carry his line in my shop, but I never did. I special ordered a
few for customers, but didn't stock the line. The reason is this-the frames are too light for a
large number (pun intended) of bikers out there, but Ellsworth never bothers to say so. The Truth is
a great frame, and if I had to ride a suspension bike it would be my choice, but... for rough or
heavier riders they are frame failures waiting to happen. As a shop owner, I never wanted to have
any customers come back to me with broken bikes. It sucks. Most Ellsworth failures (in fact, all I
have seen) have been in the rocker arm. If a frame has to fail, at least this is a good spot for it
as any (unlikely to cause injury). To a customer buying an Ellsworth, my advice is this: buy one if
you are a light or smooth rider who really wants what seems to be the best riding suspension bike
out there. Buy it from a shop that actually stocks Ellsworth, and not from a mail order house. As I
said, IF I were to buy myself a suspension bike, the Truth would be my first choice, from a VERY
short list of candidates.

Miles

--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/
 
> Here's my take on Ellsworth. Now, I used to own a bike shop here in San Diego, where Ellsworths
> are from. Tony Ellsworth wanted me to carry his line in my shop, but I never did. I special
> ordered a few for customers, but didn't stock the line. The reason is this-the frames are too
> light for a large number (pun intended) of bikers out there, but Ellsworth never bothers to say
> so. The Truth is a great frame, and if I had to ride a suspension bike it would be my choice,
> but... for rough or heavier riders they are frame failures waiting to happen. As a shop owner, I
> never wanted to have any customers come back to me with broken bikes. It sucks. Most Ellsworth
> failures (in fact, all I have seen) have been in the rocker arm. If a frame has to fail, at least
> this is a good spot for it as any (unlikely to cause injury). To a customer buying an Ellsworth,
> my advice is this: buy one if you are a light or smooth rider who really wants what seems to be
> the best riding suspension bike out there. Buy it from a shop that actually stocks Ellsworth, and
> not from a mail order house. As I said, IF I were to buy myself a suspension bike, the Truth would
> be my first choice, from a VERY short list of candidates.
>
> Miles

Who or what are the other candidates? (just curious since you have a lot of experience)
--
Slacker
 
On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 01:18:15 GMT, Slacker <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> Who or what are the other candidates? (just curious since you have a lot of experience)
> --
> Slacker
>
>
>
>
Well, I'm an XC guy, so...

Ellsworth Truth Titus Racer X Yeti AS-R

Those are a few that pop into mind.

Miles
 
miles todd wrote:
> On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 01:18:15 GMT, Slacker <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>> Who or what are the other candidates? (just curious since you have a lot of experience)
>> --
>> Slacker
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Well, I'm an XC guy, so...
>
> Ellsworth Truth

$2000

> Titus Racer X

$1650

> Yeti AS-R

$1700

> Those are a few that pop into mind.
>
> Miles

I'd love to get one of those, but the blur is hard to pass up at $1300 or 1350 (powdercoated).

Jon Bond
 
"Per Löwdin" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:m%[email protected]...
> > I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was
> eventually
> > replaced under warranty.
> >
> > I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were
> through
> > a retailer that I felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any
warranty
> > issues.
> >
> > I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
> > is that they are not good at dealing with the
> public.
> > Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe Public....definately not.
>
> This is really ****. Such an expensive frame should come with valid warranty. I was on the verge
> of buying one but when I found out about all the hassles some have had I bet on a Titus
> Switchblade instead. I would go for the Blur. However, it might be a good idea to wait a while.
> There may
be
> a lot of hype to it.
>
Hype won't make a bike any better or worse.
 
On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 02:36:07 GMT, Jonathan Bond <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
> miles todd wrote:
>> On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 01:18:15 GMT, Slacker <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Who or what are the other candidates? (just curious since you have a lot of experience) --
>>> Slacker
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Well, I'm an XC guy, so...
>>
>> Ellsworth Truth
>
> $2000
>
>> Titus Racer X
>
> $1650
>
>> Yeti AS-R
>
> $1700
>
>> Those are a few that pop into mind.
>>
>> Miles
>
> I'd love to get one of those, but the blur is hard to pass up at $1300 or 1350 (powdercoated).
>
> Jon Bond
>
>

Well, sure the Blur is cheaper. It's made by Kinesis. If they made the others, they'd be cheap, too.

Miles

--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/
 
miles todd wrote:
> On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 02:36:07 GMT, Jonathan Bond <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> miles todd wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 01:18:15 GMT, Slacker <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Who or what are the other candidates? (just curious since you have a lot of experience) --
>>>> Slacker
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Well, I'm an XC guy, so...
>>>
>>> Ellsworth Truth
>>
>>
>> $2000
>>
>>> Titus Racer X
>>
>>
>> $1650
>>
>>> Yeti AS-R
>>
>>
>> $1700
>>
>>> Those are a few that pop into mind.
>>>
>>> Miles
>>
>>
>> I'd love to get one of those, but the blur is hard to pass up at $1300 or 1350 (powdercoated).
>>
>> Jon Bond
>>
>>
>
> Well, sure the Blur is cheaper. It's made by Kinesis. If they made the others, they'd be
> cheap, too.
>
>
> Miles

Not sure if I follow... I thought SC did [almost] all of their stuff in house?

Is being made by kenisis a good thing or a bad thing? I don't care about prestige, or name, but its
nice to have something that won't break underneath me (granted, I am only 135lbs...)

Jon Bond
 
--
http://members.rogers.com/theblackfoxx/ "miles todd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:eek:prmg60dr2lkb6ka@news-server...
> On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 02:36:07 GMT, Jonathan Bond <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > miles todd wrote:
> >> On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 01:18:15 GMT, Slacker <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> Who or what are the other candidates? (just curious since you have a lot of experience) --
> >>> Slacker
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >> Well, I'm an XC guy, so...
> >>
> >> Ellsworth Truth
> >
> > $2000
> >
> >> Titus Racer X
> >
> > $1650
> >
> >> Yeti AS-R
> >
> > $1700
> >
> >> Those are a few that pop into mind.
> >>
> >> Miles
> >
> > I'd love to get one of those, but the blur is hard to pass up at $1300
or
> > 1350 (powdercoated).
> >
> > Jon Bond
> >
> >
>
> Well, sure the Blur is cheaper. It's made by Kinesis. If they made the others, they'd be
> cheap, too.
>
>
> Miles
>
>
>
> --
> Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

Read the review on the SC Blur in this month's Mountainbike Action
 
> Hype won't make a bike any better or worse.

Not in itself. No. On the other hand the bike mags have been known to hype really things: e.g.,
there was a while when they raised biopacing (chainrings that were not perfectly round but uneven)
to the skies. There is every reason to be cautious. That said: I really hope the Blur is as good as
they claim. If it is I might consider one next time I am going to buy a new bike.

Per http://user.tninet.se/~ipg289h/fu99/MTB.html
 
"Per Löwdin" <[email protected]> skrev i meddelandet news:[email protected]...
>
> > Hype won't make a bike any better or worse.
>
> Not in itself. No. On the other hand the bike mags have been known to hype really
dumb
> things: e.g., there was a while when they raised biopacing (chainrings that were not perfectly
> round but uneven) to the skies. There
is
> every reason to be cautious. That said: I really hope the Blur is as good
as
> they claim. If it is I might consider one next time I am going to buy a
new
> bike.
>
> Per http://user.tninet.se/~ipg289h/fu99/MTB.html
 
Pete,

Thanks for the feedback. The more I look into this, the more I hear about heavier riders having
trouble with Ellsworths and poor customer service.

I'm going to go with the Blur, due in large part to the word of mouth I've heard about problems with
the Ellsworth.

EE "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> RE/
> >Would you recommend saving $500 and getting the Blur frame or biting the bullet and going with
> >the Ellsworth (I don't
want
> >to have to buy another frame for at least four years).
>
> I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was
eventually
> replaced under warranty.
>
> I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were
through
> a retailer that I felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any warranty issues.
>
> I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
> is that they are not good at dealing with the
public.
> Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe Public....definately not.
> -----------------------
> PeteCresswell
 
The Blur is going on its second year, now. I'm hoping the fact that every review I've seen (about
five of them) are nothing but glowing. Should something go wrong, I feel that Santa Cruz is much
more likely to stand behind the product.

Time will tell.

Thanks,

EE

"Per Löwdin" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:m%[email protected]...
> > I've got an Ellsworth Isis. Second frame. First one cracked and was
> eventually
> > replaced under warranty.
> >
> > I still like the bike a lot, but would not buy Ellsworth unless it were
> through
> > a retailer that I felt I could rely on to be the middleman on any
warranty
> > issues.
> >
> > I exercised the bad judgement of dealing with Ellsworth direct and my (strongly-held...) opinion
> > is that they are not good at dealing with the
> public.
> > Dealers maybe "yes"....Joe Public....definately not.
>
> This is really ****. Such an expensive frame should come with valid warranty. I was on the verge
> of buying one but when I found out about all the hassles some have had I bet on a Titus
> Switchblade instead. I would go for the Blur. However, it might be a good idea to wait a while.
> There may
be
> a lot of hype to it.
>
> Per http://user.tninet.se/~ipg289h/fu99/MTB.html
 
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