Ellsworth Bikes Moment Mk III 2009
Reviews / Enduro Bikes
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At a glance
The Ellsworth Moment looks and is a stiff strong frame that now benefits from a swaged, tapered and shaped tubeset that looks fantastic.
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All Ellsworth frames are hand crafted in the US and come in a hard anodised finish that is very tough and if you go for one of the more exotic finishes you will have a real eye catcher, graphics are laser etched and add to the sharp look and feel of quality.
Bought into the UK and Europe by Freeborn as framesets only you can spec your bike just how you want it, meaning you can turn the 7.5lbs frame into a light yet tough xc machine or beef it up and get some real All Mountain use out of it.
Tech heads
The Moment utilizes a 4 bar Horst Pivot suspension set up that gives excellent performance from small bump responsiveness up to controlled big hit capacity. Ellsworth have put their own spin on it with their Instant Centre Tracking (ICT) which they claim minimises energy lose during pedalling and leaves the suspension free from interference during pedalling .
The frame boosts 150mm of travel via a Fox DHX Air that when matched to a 160mm fork gives a head angle of 67.8º which is plenty slack enough for downhill work. Our test bike came with a Fox Talas RC2 36 fitted up front that gave us 3 different travel setting of 100mm, 130mm and 160mm meaning we could drop the front end down for climbing.
A long top tube and sensible seat angle of 72.3º puts you in a good position to power through singletrack and pedal up the climbs.
Our test rig came in a light weight build of 30lbs that included Fox Talas RC2 36 forks, 70mm Thompson stem, Avid Elixir Carbons, XTR drivetrain, the wheels were XTR hubs laced to Stans ZTR 355 rims with tyre duty being taken care of by Specialized Eskar Control 2.3’s.
On the trail
Once out on the trail we had to spend a fair bit of time setting up the Fox DHX Air but once that was done and the Talas were tuned in we were instantly happy with the feel of the bike.
The long top tube sets you up in an efficient and comfortable position and the cockpit felt roomy but not stretched.
Once riding in anger it was noticeable that the bike did not feel like either a xc rig or a full blown downhilling beast, it felt exactly like what it is, a very good trail bike that lets you really rip the rough and tough sections when your mates on their trail rigs are getting out of shape. The added confidence of the extremely well controlled suspension comes into its own and that relaxed head angle meant we were plummeting into some fairly sketchy drops without batting an eye lid and coming out the other side literally licking our lips for more.
The ICT suspension design actually works a treat, pedalling up long arduous climbs there was only a very slight amount of bob but to be honest it was less than you get on many much more xc orientated rigs and we found that we did not bother with the Propedal. Whilst eliminating bob on technical climbs it does not lose its ability to follow the ground and traction was good over rough ground whilst pushing hard.
Hammering hard through singletrack the bike reacts like a fast trail machine with none of the rear end squat or wallow that can plague longer travel bikes and its high bottom bracket means you will be blasting through rocks and roots without fear of pedal strikes.
For
There is a lot going for the Moment.
Superb build quality, hand finished paint jobs and a custom build mean you can put together a bike that will be exclusive and effective.
It rides extremely well in pretty much every situation and gets the jump on its rivals by being that bit more versatile, by going up hill that bit better , by blowing through the tight stuff yet it losing nothing on the downs.
Against
When you have a bike that is as capable as this across the board it is not easy to find fault but that is probably its biggest flaw, if you can afford a bike for every situation then you can buy bikes that specialise in each category that will out perform the Moment and you will have no use for it…
The only other points to mention are that the Moment does not come with ISCG Tabs which on a bike like this would have been a plus, though it is easy enough to fit an adaptor.
Overall
There is a throng of bikes out there at the moment that are all looking to take the All Mountain crown and to be fair there are not many bad bikes about so to try and get head of the field you need something special.
The Moment is special, it delivers more than most when it comes to fulfilling the needs of the rider that wants just one bike that can do everything and it is the fact that it is so good across the range that puts it up there amongst the very best.
So if you are a discerning mountain biker that likes quality and efficiency then it is well worth having a good look at the Moment.
Buy Enduro Bikes onThis review was in Issue 1 of IMB.
For more information visit Ellsworth BikesRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.
