Lots of new stuff showing up in my inbox these days. With only a couple of months before Interbike, most manufacturers are starting to leak some of the goods to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Most of the time, I don’t get enough detail to know everything, but just enough to bring you some details.
For 2009, the venerable Ellsworth Moment (2007 Ellsworth Moment review) gets a new rectangular oval top tube and all new tubes elsewhere. Officially, Ellsworth calls the proprietary tubeset “swaged, tapered and shaped,” but I’ll just call it sexy. Looking at my current Ellsworth Evolve, I imagine that the tubeset on the new Moment is very similar.
The asymmetrical chainstay and single-piece seatstays finish out the hard goods on the Moment. With the ability to build out the Moment as a 28 lb. rocket or a burly freeride bike, the Moment could be one of the most versatile frames on the market. After being blown away by the performance of the 2007 Moment, I can only imagine how much the current set of improvements affect how the Moment rides. Once again… I’ll be sure to put the new Moment on my list of test bikes at the Outdoor Demo.
2009 Ellsworth Moment Frameset Preview
Buy Now: Visit Wrenchscience.com to Buy an Ellsworth Moment
10 Comments
Moment vs Epiphany?
Thank you for your review of the Moment. I also read your review of the Epiphany. I was comparing the Epiphany to some other bikes but I am drawn to the Ellsworth. I owned a “Truth” and sold it because I found the head tube angle to be too steep for the steep descents (same angle on the Epiphany and this scares me) . Here is my dilemma. I love the geometry of the Moment but, because one spends most of the time climbing vs descending, I worry about lugging the weight up hill (I confess to being a weight weenie). I am wondering if one installs the Talas 32 150mm fork and the Rp23 shock and 2.1 tires for weight savings if you think the Moment could be “The Bike”?
Your thoughts on the matter and a brief comparison of the two bikes would be appreciated.
Leonard
Thanks for pinging me on this. Well… let me see if I can walk you through it. The Moment, in my opinion, is just a little bit overkill as a “do it all” bike (at least in the build I rode a couple of years ago). I felt like the head-angle was too steep with the Fox 36 up front and found myself wandering all over the place on climbs, which as you said, is the longest part of the ride. I can’t speak to how it might ride with a 150mm fork, but it “may” be better, I just can’t say for sure.
On the other hand, the Epiphany doesn’t at all feel sketchy in technical terrain, climbs like a beast and also descends well. Don’t let the head-angle fool you on paper… it’s a killer bike.
Do not buy. This frame design is defective and dangerous! Email for details. [email protected]
Spill the beans, amigo. What gives?
I have the same dilemma, cannot decide between the Moment and the Epiphany. I test rode the glimpse and was impressed with it but I am a big guy (220lb) and the staff at Dirty Fingers in Mt Hood where I test rode it convinced me that “I am a Moment guy”. In you opinion, is the moment better suited for bigger guys? I do plan on a lighter build with the Talas 32. You input is appreciated. What gives with the heyheyheyna dude?
Brett
The Moment vs. Epiphany isn’t just about size, it’s your riding style. What type of riding do you do? Do you like to pedal for hours and enjoy the downhill or do you suffer out the climbs in anticipation for gearing up for a freeride-style descent?
The Epiphany should be just fine for your weight (don’t let those guys sway you), but it comes down to the right tool for the job. The Moment is built around a 160mm+ travel fork while the Epiphany is built around a 140mm travel fork (maybe 150… max).
The geometry of the Epiphany is dialed with a Fox 32, but I’d be a little skeptical of a Moment with a 140mm fork on it as the geometry might be a little off.
If you go with a Moment, the 36 TALAS or RockShox Lyrki U-turn will be the trick to getting good climbing out of it. With a 36 on the Moment, the front end still wanders a bit more than I’d like whereas the Epiphany feels absolutely dialed with a 140mm fork.
Hope that helps… yeah, that heyheyheya person is just a spammer… I should have deleted the comment, but I thought maybe they had something real to say. Now I’ll just leave the email up there so it gets phished and they get spammed now. 🙂
Hi….
I am the proud customer of a Ellsworth moment 2010 (I had a Epiphany before), and I have this frame now with a Marzocchi Roco tst -r (rear) and a marzocchi all mountain one….since I blew the AM1 3 times, I’ve decided to change it…..I do “light” DH, some freeride, but I like to climb as well…. My choices now are:
– Fox talas 36 180 (140-180)
– Rockshox totem 2-step (135-180)
2 – 3 months ago I was interested in a rockshox liryk, but I feel I need a little bit more travel (from 160 to 180) at the front for the drops I’m doing actually, without losing the ability to climb at the demanding mountains of Colombia 😉
I would like to know your opinion….
thanks…
Giovanni… congratulations on your new bike! You’ll be super-stoked for sure. For your setup, I’d go with the TALAS 36 because I’ve ridden it and love it. The Totem may very well be just as solid though… SRAM is putting out some great products these days, I’ve just never ridden a Totem.
Hi Jason…
I finally opted for the totem…today was the first day and….really amazing!!!!…the moment feels SO good….soft at descending, very comfortable at climbings….I have to know it a litte bit better to take all the advantages (mission control system, low and high speed compression controls, etc)…
I have a moment as well and use it for DH/FR, I’d really like to grab a 180 coil fork but I was worried about whether raking the head angle would make the head tube susceptible to braking.