The inaugural ride on my new 29" Ellsworth Evolve a week ago was going magically. I had just finished making all the Jeckyl and Hyde switchbacks in my middle ring...on a 29" mt bike, no less -- unprecedented luck! It was like the scene in Caddy Shack where the priest was out golfing in the violent thunderstorm and couldn't miss. As I approached Ken's Crux at the top of Pinebrook, with the dark clouds gathering, I recalled that , at the end of the miraculous golf scene in Caddy Shack, the priest gets struck by lightning. I considered opting for the "Chicken-Out Jug Handle", not wanting to press my luck and get whacked by 50 thousand volts ... or worse yet, scuff-up the beautiful paint job when I crashed into the rock and scrub, as I had countless times previously. The Crux is abrupt step-up move through a gnarly, sinuous rock garden that has denied passage to me (and everyone else, except Ken Meyer, a freakishly-skilled trials rider) for the 11 years I have lived here. An image of Ken pops into my head like the Kung Fu Master urging Grasshopper ride delicately through the Dragon's jaws like passing over the rice paper without leaving a trace. Now, in my Zen-like state, resistance is futile. Before I realize it, I am on top of the Crux...still in the saddle of my trusty 29" steed...not buried upside down in brush, not charred by a bolt of lightning. A miracle has occurred !
As I had considered the purchase of a new bike, I was well-aware of the buzz about the advantages (and disadvantages) of mountain bikes with the larger 29" wheels, compared to the de-facto standard of 26 inchers. I characterize myself like the majority of off-road bike enthusiasts: an all-purpose rider who cannot afford to have a quiver of bikes for every occasion, and someone who is risk adverse when it comes to new, "non-traditional" technologies and trends.
Being an engineer accustomed to reducing every choice to a highly ANAL-ytical trade study, I had carefully weighed the claimed pros and cons...
- heavy, super-sized wheels and corresponding frame
- sluggish response due to added wheel inertia
- tippy, high center of gravity
- under-geared for steep climbs
- too tall to go fast
- not many manufacturers, so they're too expensive and you can't find components
... Hmmmm, I guess those are all cons.
...slightly deterred, I checked out what all the good bikers are riding. I found that a lot of them are "niner converts", and when I surveyed their reasons for switching to a 29" bike, I discovered that all of the claimed disadvantages turned out to be myths.
In fact, I couldn't find one rider that had ever tried a big-wheel bike and not liked it. So, I turned off my analytical brain and I took the leap of faith: I sold my year-old Ellsworth Epiphany and I bought its big brother model, the 29" Ellsworth Evolve.
Now that I have put several rides on my Evolve under various conditions, I am qualified to say that my 29" Evolve meets or exceeds the 26" Epiphany in every category. The Epiphany (my previous all-time favorite) is no slouch as an all-terrain mountain bike, but the 29" Evolve out-climbs on the steeps, out-descends on rocky single track, out-corners on tight, fast switchbacks and out-cruises on long, rolling fire roads.
Give the transformational Ellsworth Evolve a spin...I guarantee that you will join the 29" revolution.
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