[Closed] Ellsworth Dare - and it's not hideous

Wow, first Ellsworth I've seen that doesn't look like it was built in a small shed. Their new team looks to be doing some good work.

That's quite nice. Though I suspect I'd need to sell a few limbs first.

Not a proper Ellsworth

Still don't like the look of that comedy rocker arrangement though. Hideous bikes.

Always thought that rocker looked way too long.

Rocker & chainstays measured in furlongs - still, not bad looking

Is it any longer than Kona Stabs and Stinky's in their heyday? I always though the Stabs looked Badass.
It does look as though the rocker length has been reigned in a bit on this one.

Well thats annoying. Always found them horrible looking bikes (not to mention Ellsworth himself seems a right bellend) but that is actually alright.

Tony sold the brand, so is on the sidelines so I hear (which is where he should have always been). The new Moment looks very nice.

It'll be rubbish round Thetford.

This should be OK for Thetford

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I bought one of the NOS Momentum's to use for a trail bike, not finished building it up yet, & yes that is a strange amount of seatpost showing but other than that I think it looks quite nice 😉

Proof you can polish a turd. Unfortunately you still own a highly reflective poo at the end of the day.

Nope. Still horrible.

So let me get it his straight, you like it right? 🙁

Horrific looking thing

Proof you can polish a turd

No you can't, you can roll it in glitter though.

Still fugly. I believe they really ride superbly though

ugly as sin, but amazing to ride the bike equivalent of a gumpert or atom, all the label boys want a Ferrari, but they are just not as brutal or fast as an fugly fast thing

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ugly fast and infinitely tunable

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some mainstream bland cack that's not as quick

and that ladies and gents is ellsworth in a simple analogy

Mine rode like an absolute bag of shite. Not quite as bad as it looked, so that's a plus.

yeh you got the gipping version of a dare didnt you (FOOL) rather than a decent model 😀

i like them 😀

[u]Hmmm I like the gumpert though. So analogy broken.

Wow i didnt know that so many people dont like Ellsworth bikes! I had an Epiphany a few years ago and loved it. Would def buy one again.

back in 2008 I had an dare...was my DH bike
the old (heavy) one with with the round tubes..
really liked it !!

I have two, an old 2005 Truth and a carbon Enlightenment. Both lovely bikes.

I worked for freeborn a number of years and despite Tony EW being 'difficult' by all accounts, the frames / custom builds always sold well and the bikes always tested very well when we sent them to UK bike mags.

Couple of my friends had epiphany and moment, no complaints from those guys, I rode different EW bikes many times and was impressed by the suspension performance on rough ground and when pedalling despite many of their claims about ICT being somewhat fantastic

Probably the real issues were poor warranty support from the usa, which led to freeborn having to strip down new frames to give customers parts, and geometry which was not as advertised.

Never owned an Ellsworth, but used to visit the Ellsworth MTBR forum whenever I wanted to feel better about whatever bike I was riding 🙂

My old Dare was an awesome bit of kit, so fast, so much travel, so easy to pedal, so hideous that only a mother could love it.
The downside was a 20mm rear end (yes, a 20mm bolt through rear hub) that was an utter PITA to get replacements for.
I ended up making myself a new rear axle as the one fitted was made out of cheese.
I'd still own another if the price was right.

They made an adaptor for the 20mm btw, basically just a bolted in spacer- mine had it fitted, so I ran proper 12mm in it.

I'm not getting the haters?

It's not 'that' dissimilar to the old style Turners, which were considered a good looking bike IIRC. Ok the pivot plates are a bit longer but it's not so different to warrant all the fugly comments. Me thinks there's a bit of bandwagon climbing going on here.

What about the Orange 5, you don't get people complaining that's hideous and that looks more 'shed' built than most! (and I've got one!)

The "hate" comes from the fact that the claims and advertised bikes were sometimes 'at odds' with reality. A mate had a truth that was a good 20mm on the top tube shorter than it was supposed to be. 😯 They weren't the best made things ever, and support when it went wrong was vague at best.

Most of the comments are about looks and mostly from people who haven't owned one I suspect, therefore won't have been influenced by dodgy quality issues.

Had a truth and own a moment. Solid ime, pedal well and bearings don't die like vpp half as quickly. The ones on my truth were original and lasted for 6 years or maybe more as I sold it with them still in the frame.

Love the new bikes but way too expensive.

the suspension might look weird to you Santa Cruz fanboys but it works way better. Raced my 2005 Truth and thebearings are still going strong. My Carbon HT is lovely, light, and when im fit, fast!

Sweet Jesus look at the chainstay length of that thing!

So they persuaded the people working on the back to talk to the people working on the front? Teleconference by the looks of things, but still better than nothing.

I had an ID. Weird geometry is an understatement. I used to think that it was my fault I fell off all the time before I got rid of it. It probably was, but it's good to have something to blame.
The finish was excellent, though, tough as old boots. Pivot bearings were cheese and completely unprotected from the elements. Next bike was a 5. I felt like a riding god.