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SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign

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The Truth will set you free. It will also get you into the newest bike from Ellsworth. After a lengthy hiatus from the lineup, the Truth is back – and with a wild new redesign for their Active suspension. Available in two different suspension configurations, the Truth Convert will slot in as their new lightweight XC or Trail build which will be available out of the box in builds as light as 22 lbs.

SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign

SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign

While the redesigned suspension looks wild, we’re told that it functions exactly as the ICT version before with a vertical wheel path and zero chain stay growth. So why change it? Ellsworth says they wanted to create a bike that had improved stiffness, a lower center of gravity, and better stand over height as well as creating a new visually stunning design. The new suspension has a pivot around the bottom bracket, a pivot on the chain stays and seat stays, and a pivot hidden in the seat tube. The shock also attaches to the chain stay piece in what appears to be a floating design.

Many show goers were wondering just how the suspension system actually worked, but when you see it go through the travel it becomes more clear.

SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign

Even with the shock splitting the seat tube, there is still room for a 30.9mm dropper post cable with a cable port on the inside of the left wall.

SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign

The frame also has internal routing ports for both shift and brake housing, internal Di2 battery storage, and clever features like a built in mud guard for the rear shock. The frame uses Boost 148 spacing with their Hex Taper thru axle system, and uses a threaded bottom bracket.

SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign SOC18: Ellsworth Truth is back with wild Active suspension redesign

Available in two different platforms with 29″ wheels or 27.5+, one frame will have 100mm travel and one will have 120mm. However, the frames are the same and even use the same shock geometry. The difference in travel is made up with a longer stroke shock on the 120mm version which keeps the frame’s geometry the same – though the overall geometry changes thanks to the addition of a 130mm travel fork. The 100mm bike will run a 69 degree head tube angle, and the 130mm bike switches to 67.5.

To be offered in five builds with three colors, the bikes are 1x only and available in S-L. Pricing starts at $3,900 for the frame and $6,145 for a complete build, and bikes are about a month out from delivery.

ellsworthbikes.com

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25 Comments
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isaaccross
isaaccross
5 years ago

Mert lawwell legacy will never die.

Gillis
Gillis
5 years ago
Reply to  isaaccross

*Lawwill

ty
ty
5 years ago

Does saddle hit the rear tire if suspension is bottomed out when the saddle is dropped all the way down? Looks like it…

Thor
Thor
5 years ago

If it pivots around the BB, they could make a single speed version! That would be awesome, but they won’t do it. Which makes me sad.

Antoine
Antoine
5 years ago
Reply to  Thor

No because there is another pivot before the wheel.

Aaron James
Aaron James
5 years ago

Congratulations Tony, I know you’ve waited a long time for this bike and it is beautiful. -Aaron

D-con
D-con
5 years ago

I have to say that the suspension design is intriguing and that I’d like a go on one. Their bikes have always ridden well for me.

Also, it has to be said that the lines look a whole lot better in gray than the pink that was on the stand Thursday (which looked like someone played connect the dots with strings of chewed gum).

JNH
JNH
5 years ago
Reply to  D-con

It’s just a Horst link with the upper link made very long and the chainstays made very short. With the pivot around the bb it’s a very similar concept to a Specialized demo, although the chainstay is even shorter on this interpretation. With the claims of very low chain growth they are making I’d bet it pedals a lot like their other frames.

August
August
5 years ago

Seems like you’d loose some pedal efficiency/stiffness where that pivot is. every bike company always designs stiff and rigid chain stays. Alot of stress and flexing when pedaling is at the center of that chainstay. That’s just my thoughts, but maybe I’m wrong.

Greg
Greg
5 years ago

Let’s see if they can keep flex in check. All those unsupported spars…

Ol' Shel"
Ol' Shel"
5 years ago
Reply to  Greg

Yup, and it’s likely to be have more torsional flex, with the stays nearly parallel to each other… but, carbon makes it easier to get reasonable stiffness in inherently-flexy configurations.

Gillis
Gillis
5 years ago
Reply to  Greg

I had similar thoughts from my armchair.

Bazz
Bazz
5 years ago

No XL size. That’s why I didn’t end up with the Epiphany alloy as well.

bikebudha01
bikebudha01
5 years ago

No front derailleur, no sale for me. God dam it man, this is a cross country race bike – WHICH MEANS HILLS!! Give us a front derailleur!!!

BT Jenning
BT Jenning
5 years ago
Reply to  bikebudha01

That’s what Eagle is for.

Matt
Matt
5 years ago
Reply to  bikebudha01

I seriously didn’t even think they made front MTB derailleurs anymore.

Tim
Tim
5 years ago
Reply to  Matt

whats a front derailleur?

James
James
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

An artifact from a distant future a long time ago.

JNH
JNH
5 years ago
Reply to  bikebudha01

It’s an XC races bike, if 36×42 isn’t low enough for you hit the gym and start doing those squats.

Ol' Shel"
Ol' Shel"
5 years ago
Reply to  JNH

No reason why one can’t go with a smaller front sprocket… and remember that bike racing is silly, anyway, and that one’s self-worth shouldn’t be defined by silly competitions.

John
John
5 years ago

Hey, stop bagging on front d’s. I love my three front rings up front, the excess weight, having to think about all the shifting and the clean look of the extra cables running all around.

Ol' Shel"
Ol' Shel"
5 years ago
Reply to  John

Maybe you should eliminate all the troubling complexity of your rear derailleur, too.

sean m
sean m
5 years ago

Will the bearings inside the chain stay, rear triangle, wear the inner walls thin and promote a chain stay crack eventually, as in the previous Truth, or, have they fixed that issue? Truth is sad when you sell it to pass that eventual failure onto someone else, that is just not right.

Pablo
Pablo
5 years ago

Its all True

Luiz S
Luiz S
4 years ago

The Truth will set you free

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