TransRockies.com

[TriCAT]

I am shopping for a new full-suspension ride for the TR. I am leaning toward the Ellsworth Truth, Santa Cruz Blur, or the ML-7. Any feedback out there on how these rides handled the TR? I have heard that the Ellsworth frames can crack but the Truth has some good reviews.

[CODMAN]

Hi Tri,

I can't talk in reference of TR, since I've never done it, but from what I've read and heard from people, the Blur gets the cake hands down! Relatively light, rugged, ample rear travel, and good pedaling efficiency. Especially if you take it with a 5th element option. Not that the others aren't nice bikes... but performance wise, I've heard better comments on the Blur...



I wouldn't hesitate for a second among those choices. Lets see what some others have to say?



Keep in minde I've never tried any of them, so take my oppinion for what it's worth only... but I do personally know people who own (or have owned) each of those bikes...



Luego!
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CODMAN MCM#101

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[fireblast]

Hmm, well, I've got a 04 Intense Spider, which is basically the same as the Blur, but lighter and with 1 inch less travell. A friend of mine has Blur and has tried my bike and said that they ride the same.

So what I can tell you ( not havinig done the TR) is that the Spider has almost no bob at all, climbs like a mountain goat, and is smooth on the the down hills. The Blur has thicker tubing, so should be a tough bike, and with an extra inch of travel, that much more forgiving.

As for the other 2, nobody around here sells them.

Good luck with you're purchase.

Chris

[CODMAN]

hey fire,

I love that bike! The spiders are one of the nivest looking designs out there! I would to get to try one... But the price???? Doh!!!!!!!!! Insane...



Hell, they're more expensive than my full Carbon Fuel!!!!



But definetly a beautifull ride!



Have you got any pictures to show? Just curious!



Luego!
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CODMAN MCM#101

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[Ian]

Here's my shameless plug for the Blur: I have the '04 Blur with the 5th Element rear shock. The bike is very, very, very good. I'm so pleased with it, and I would absolutely recommend it.



Once you've taken the time to set up the rear shock with the correct pressures (which takes some experimentation), it pedals beautifully, with essentially no bob, but it remains supple over the bumps. I'm forced to do a fair amount of my outdoor training rides on the road due to my crappy local terrain/climate/extremely limited single/doubletrack. On the road, I want the bike to feel almost rigid. Because of that, and in order to completely eliminate the bob, I found I had to set the IFP chamber pressure in the rear shock a fair amount higher than Santa Cruz/5th Element recommend for my body weight, but that was for extended distances where any bobbing would be much more noticeable than on the trails, and in any case, I'm probably much pickier about pedalling-induced bob than some people. You can set the suspension that stiff if you want, but it has alot of range in between to soak up the bumps without bobbing.



I haven't yet ridden the TR, but I have done long one-day races on reasonably technical terrain, and my bike performed flawlessly (much, much better than its rider...). The frameset is also about $1000 CDN less expensive than the Spider, but with more rear travel, and probably very similar pedalling characteristics. If I were racing shorter XC events, and if I were fast enough to warrant the extra cost, I'd probably opt for the Spider as the frameset is a little over 1/2 lb lighter. However, the lighter frame may mean the Spider might not stand up to quite as much beating over the long haul. Hard to say. The Intense is a gorgeous bike too. I figure my Blur probably weighs in at around 26.5 lbs or so, but that's only based on comparisons with similarly-built bikes on MTBReview.com, etc. I have it built up with fairly lightweight components but I would imagine it would probably drop another 1/2 lb or more if one specc'd it out with the absolute lightest available wheelset, the FSA carbon crankset, carbon seatpost, etc. However, I'm not convinced that would make for the most durable setup. I might consider Crossmax wheels if I were really competitive. Still, considering you get 4.5 inches of rear travel, the weight is pretty decent.



I tested the Blur against the Specialized Epic, and I think for the TR, the Blur would be the better choice (easier on the body) because of its continously supple suspension compared with the Brain shock on the Epic which I found didn't always activate until slightly after my body had already absorbed the bumps. I would imagine this is a matter of personal preference, however.



For what it's worth......hope that helps.



Ian.

[fireblast]

Just to add to the Blur thing. From what I've seen and felt, ( trying both the Blur and Spider ) They ride the same. The blur has 5 inches of rear travel, and the Spider has 4. The only major differences, tubbing, the spider has smaller ( slightly) and lighter tubbing. The rear triangle is slightly different near the pivot points. Also the biggest differnce, is the pivots themselves. THe spider has bushings in its pivots, the Blur does not.

Also simillar was the problem that I had with setting up the rear shock on the Spider. The Manitou swinger is a great shock, but a Bi$^h to setup. I find I like set-up fairly stiff, which is great for all around riding, including climbing, and still smooth on down hills.



I beat the hell out of my spider this year, and it came back asing for more. THe Blur, with its tubbing and rear suspension, should be begging for abuse.



If you can't afford a Spider, I think the next best thing is the Blur. But like I said before, Ellsworth is an exotic around here, with no one selling it, and ummm, well, I've never heard of Maveric before.

Hope this helps.

[Woodbury's]

We've been riding the Maverick ML-7 frame with the Maverick DUC-32 shock for almost a year. Its a really cool looking bike with an even better ride. The ML-7's rear suspension is their "mono-link" suspension and it works by moving the rear wheel upward and backward, thus eliminating any real drivetrain involvement in the movement - and thus no bob. Combine that with the 6 inches of travel in the fork and its a really smooth ride.



Other than brake pads and cables, we had no mechanical issue whatsoever during TR04.



We tend to spend a lot more time on our bikes than some teams and this bike keeps us happy the whole time - it doesn't beat us up and is a comfy ride. The travel and suspension allow its riders to make mistakes - and live through them - always a good thing!



I've never tried any of the other bikes, so can only speak for the Maverick, but we'd highly recommend them.



Hope this helps!
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Woodbury's

[Woodbury's]

Oops - forgot - www.maverickbike.com



If you want to check them out.
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Woodbury's

[Ian]

One point to add to Chris's point about the VPP suspension pivots - the Blur has replaceable sealed cartridge bearings on all pivots, in contrast to the Spider's bushings.



I've found that one must keep the pivot interface surfaces (i.e. pivot axles, etc.) between the cartridge bearings and the frame well-lubricated on the Blur, otherwise they tend to squeak. Mine developed a very annoying squeak not long after I bought it (on every pedal stroke on the road, it sounded like a bed in a hotel room rented by the hour in the redlight district....). I had the bike shop go in and lubricate them all thoroughly, and the squeak disappeared entirely - ahhhhh, silence is golden.....



I am planning to have a full set of replacement cartridge bearings plus the extraction/installation tool with me for the TR just in case. However, for what it's worth, I e-mailed Mike Ferrentino at Bike Magazine one time about how he found the Blur's performance during the 2002 TR. He actually took the time to write back, and said that he'd had no problems (no pivot noise or problems with ingress of crud into the pivots) during the entire race, using a prototype Blur that had already been badly beaten on and not well-maintained during their testing at Bike, and which had not been overhauled before the race. He did say that when he stripped the bike down after the race, one of the bearings more or less crumbled when it was removed, but it never gave him any issues during the event.



Ian.

[Linz]

Sounds like a Big UP for the Blur, looks like I may be back to the drawing board. I thought that I had narrowed it down to a Maverick ML7 or a Turner 5 Spot. Have to think about what will also do me back home.

Linz

[Ian]

I'd recommend you thoroughly trail-test as many bikes as you can before you make your purchase, and base your selection on fit and comfort as much as pedalling performance and weight.



I was forced to do most of my shortlisting research through magazine reviews and the Internet since I live in a very remote location and didn't have frequent access to different bike shops. Mountain Bike Action magazine ran a great "head-to head" comparison of the Spider, Blur, Epic, and the Giant VT prior to my purchase, which was really helpful. I spent several months reading up and thinking it over (well, ok, my wife says I was obsessing over it).



I was mainly thinking ahead to my planned main use for the bike (maximizing comfort and efficiency over long-distance/endurance events as opposed to purely technical recreational trail riding or short-distance XC racing). That is, if technical trail-riding applications had priority, I might have chosen a slightly longer-travel trail bike, and if I were actually fit, fast and younger I might have gone with a short-travel lightweight dualie racer or a high-end hardtail racing frame.



Ultimately, I tried to achieve a balance among a number of factors: pedalling efficiency, fit, suspension travel, frame durability, handling characteristics and weight.



I narrowed it down to the Intense Spider, the Santa Cruz Blur, and the Specialized Epic (S-Works), and went ahead to test the Blur against the Epic (the only Intense dealer I could find was 900 miles away in Edmonton and he only brought them in on special order).



I had been prepared to hold out and pay the higher price for the Spider frameset if necessary, but after about 1 minute (literally) on the Blur, I was totally sold on how it felt and rode and it immediately convinced me I didn't need to look any further. I had tested the Specialized Epic for alot longer, and although it was a great bike, I eventually and reluctantly concluded it would be harder on my body over long duration events. The Epic was also slightly heavier than the Blur for the 2003 model year (which I think is no longer the case). It happened to work out well that the Blur was less expensive than the other two, but that was not my foremost criterion going into the purchase decision.



In hindsight, I think I might have included the Cannondale Scalpel in the list for testing as well, even though it's a shorter-travel bike. On the other end of the spectrum, the Intense 5.5 might also make my test list if I were to do it all over again, given its light weight for a ton of suspension travel, efficient VPP linkage, and a pretty darned beefy frame.



Ian.

[Linz]

Hi, can i add a Turner 5 spot to that list. I have heard good things about the ML7 from a mate although never ridn one. One question would be the availability of spares for different bike types. I will bring some with me, but obviously cant cover all the bases. Choices... choices

Linz

[marshallc]

I just couldn't help but jump into this discussion. I think you should check out the Rocky Mountain ETSX Series of bikes. These bikes were designed specifically for the Trans Alp and the Trans Rockies. Last year in the TR there were many of them, including my partner's. These things get the nod in adjustability, comfort, climbing prowess (read zero wasted motion). Cost is the only real negative.

[Simon]

In the 2004 TR, and in the 24 Solo World Championships at Whistler, Christina Begy rode a Maverick.



I crewed for the Woodbury's at the 24 Solo World Championships and was very surprised at how light these bikes are.



BTW, Leslie Tomlinson, who won the women's division at the 24 Solo World Championships was on a Rocky Mountain ETSX.

[Gregg]

My wife and I both have ETS X70s.Overall the ride is great.But we have had a lot of grief with weak derailler hangers,it maybe because of the high chainstays ,it leaves the derailler hanging out there for everthing to hit it.It seems I'm replacing hangers every other ride! so much so I bought a Devinci



179 more training days!

Gregg and Dale