Turner 5 Spot vs. Ellsworth Joker

[RinSedona]

Turner 5 Spot vs. Ellsworth Joker...

any riders with experience out there?

Looking for input:

I'm an aggressive trail rider living in a very rocky area: sharp-edged staircases with 14" drops everywhere, 18" drops very very common, 30"+ readily available if you want it...

I've been riding a tricked out little hardtail for a few years and the pounding is just killing me. It has 4.25" travel up front.

95% of the people I know here ride 40+lb freeride bikes with 7"-8" travel. I don't want to go there because I like to cover miles on this rocky terrain - 6 hours pedaling (aka. getting thrashed) is a weekly ritual.

I'm wondering if the 5 Spots' travel of 5" front/rear is enough for my situation (I weigh 160#) ???

Does the Jokers' 7" of travel negatively affect it's trail riding performance enough to be notably "inferior" to the 5 Spot in this area of trail riding???

Unfortunaly I'm hundreds of miles from the nearest shop which rents either of these - each shop in exactly opposite directions!!! I'll make the trip before making a purchase, but some guidance would be very much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Hecubus]

I think you would like the 5 spot. A lot of agressive riders use it an everybody absolutely loves it. A 7 inch travel bike really becomes a chore to push around on long rides and can be quite uncomfortable for some situations since they tend to have very high centers of gravity (higher BB) and very slack head angles.

 

[RinSedona]

Originally posted by Hecubus
I think you would like the 5 spot. A lot of agressive riders use it an everybody absolutely loves it. A 7 inch travel bike really becomes a chore to push around on long rides and can be quite uncomfortable for some situations since they tend to have very high centers of gravity (higher BB) and very slack head angles.

Yeah, that's my gut feeling. Input like this is a big help to me, as the only input I have is from the big-hit riders.

Thanks!

 

[nardo]

Originally posted by RinSedona
Turner 5 Spot vs. Ellsworth Joker...

any riders with experience out there?

Looking for input:

I'm an aggressive trail rider living in a very rocky area: sharp-edged staircases with 14" drops everywhere, 18" drops very very common, 30"+ readily available if you want it...

I've been riding a tricked out little hardtail for a few years and the pounding is just killing me. It has 4.25" travel up front.

95% of the people I know here ride 40+lb freeride bikes with 7"-8" travel. I don't want to go there because I like to cover miles on this rocky terrain - 6 hours pedaling (aka. getting thrashed) is a weekly ritual.

I'm wondering if the 5 Spots' travel of 5" front/rear is enough for my situation (I weigh 160#) ???

Does the Jokers' 7" of travel negatively affect it's trail riding performance enough to be notably "inferior" to the 5 Spot in this area of trail riding???

Unfortunaly I'm hundreds of miles from the nearest shop which rents either of these - each shop in exactly opposite directions!!! I'll make the trip before making a purchase, but some guidance would be very much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[nardo]

Howdy,

The five spot is a sweet ride but the terrain with the huge drops you are talking about are much more suited to a bike like the joker with more travel. Drops of more than 5ft are likely to destroy most 5in shocks after a while. The joker is tailor made for the abuse in your area. The new joker can be outfitted with a 5in or 7in shock as well as a 1.5in head tube. I just got a joker and I have to say it is the most versatile trail bike on the market. The 7in romic that is pretty standard on the joker and can be set up for long climbs and it does not ride like a 7in shock. More like a 5in or less. Just ask anyone that rides one. The joker is at home as a freerider or a serious trail bike. You just have to set the bike up how you want it. My bike is set up for big hits but I can ride it on singletrack all day long. If you are wary about a 7in shock on the joker you can just put a five inch on it if you want. Both the Joker and 5spot are pricy but if you are putting down the frogskins for a bike you might as well get the most versatile bike possible which is the Joker.
Nuff said.
Mel.

 

[kanotspell]

Your post sounds a lot like my situaion. I was just shopping for a fs bike a few weeks ago, my list consisted of a Santa Cruz Heckler, Turner 5 Spot, Rockey Mountain Slayer, and Titus Switchblade. I ride very technical terrain and, although I'm no hucker, I will throw myself off of things up to around 5ft from time to time.

I ended up with the Slayer and I've been having a blast on it. IMHO you don't need something like a Joker unless your doing a *lot* of 4+ ft drops to flat or really really bombing rough downhills.

The new breed of trail bikes can take an awful lot of abuse and still pedal vey well; once you step up to a more dedicated freeride bike you start losing a lot of versitility as they are not pleasnt to ride around on.

Also consider that you're coming from a hardtail so, like me, you've been doing all this stuff with no suspension at all and you've probably developed a pretty smooth riding style. In my experience, it's the kids who are new riders and start off with a fs bike that end up tearing up the equipment fast and think they need beefier bikes. I know guys who have been going big on xc fs bikes for years and don't break too much stuff. They just know how to ride. I've also seen a lot of kids going half as big but somehow manage to tear up their Norcos and Kona big hit bikes.

The 5 Spot is a damn nice bike, but look around, there are a lot of other bikes in that catagory for a few less bones. They all have their strong points, the 5 Spot is just getting a lot of attention right now, it's not necessarily the best of the breed. I've been Really really happy on my slayer but I'd probably be just as happy with any other bike that was on my list.

 

[RinSedona]

Thanks for the input - it's grat to have such community!

Been messing with an Azonic Saber - 6"x6", 1lb heavier than 5 Spot, $800 less! Plan to check out the Slayer also.

Originally posted by kanotspell
Your post sounds a lot like my situaion. I was just shopping for a fs bike a few weeks ago, my list consisted of a Santa Cruz Heckler, Turner 5 Spot, Rockey Mountain Slayer, and Titus Switchblade. I ride very technical terrain and, although I'm no hucker, I will throw myself off of things up to around 5ft from time to time.

I ended up with the Slayer and I've been having a blast on it. IMHO you don't need something like a Joker unless your doing a *lot* of 4+ ft drops to flat or really really bombing rough downhills.

The new breed of trail bikes can take an awful lot of abuse and still pedal vey well; once you step up to a more dedicated freeride bike you start losing a lot of versitility as they are not pleasnt to ride around on.

Also consider that you're coming from a hardtail so, like me, you've been doing all this stuff with no suspension at all and you've probably developed a pretty smooth riding style. In my experience, it's the kids who are new riders and start off with a fs bike that end up tearing up the equipment fast and think they need beefier bikes. I know guys who have been going big on xc fs bikes for years and don't break too much stuff. They just know how to ride. I've also seen a lot of kids going half as big but somehow manage to tear up their Norcos and Kona big hit bikes.

The 5 Spot is a damn nice bike, but look around, there are a lot of other bikes in that catagory for a few less bones. They all have their strong points, the 5 Spot is just getting a lot of attention right now, it's not necessarily the best of the breed. I've been Really really happy on my slayer but I'd probably be just as happy with any other bike that was on my list.

 

[Merciless]

Hopefully this email doesn't arrrive too late since your article was in 2003. Currently I ride an Ellsworth truth 4" travel bike. It's actually set up for all mtn riding but I'm finding it's lacking for the trails i ride. I just ordered the Joker SL with 7" travel.

The fella below says freeride bikes are too heavy, well let's talk apples and oranges, the Joker frame med size weighs in the area of 7.5lbs with Romic shock... not bad at all. So.. with the appropriate fork like the Sherman Firefly it should not go over 33lbs max with some relatively light kit.

I was thinking about the Turner but to be frank it only has 5" and the trend nowadays seems to be more and more travel. The big thing that I didn't like about the Turner is that it's set up with Bushings as opposed to Bearings in the Joker.

Ride:
A 7" travel Joker with Romic shock will not bob, it's got the stable platform tech. Also it's one of the lightest "freeride" bikes in the market if not the lightest.

Do yourself a favor, visit MTBR.com and check out the reviews of the joker and some more research on the web.....I think after that you'll be doing the samething I did.... put your hard earned cash down on a Joker...

Safe riding...

Turner 5 Spot vs. Ellsworth Joker...

any riders with experience out there?

Looking for input:

I'm an aggressive trail rider living in a very rocky area: sharp-edged staircases with 14" drops everywhere, 18" drops very very common, 30"+ readily available if you want it...

I've been riding a tricked out little hardtail for a few years and the pounding is just killing me. It has 4.25" travel up front.

95% of the people I know here ride 40+lb freeride bikes with 7"-8" travel. I don't want to go there because I like to cover miles on this rocky terrain - 6 hours pedaling (aka. getting thrashed) is a weekly ritual.

I'm wondering if the 5 Spots' travel of 5" front/rear is enough for my situation (I weigh 160#) ???

Does the Jokers' 7" of travel negatively affect it's trail riding performance enough to be notably "inferior" to the 5 Spot in this area of trail riding???

Unfortunaly I'm hundreds of miles from the nearest shop which rents either of these - each shop in exactly opposite directions!!! I'll make the trip before making a purchase, but some guidance would be very much appreciated!

Thanks!