Bike Racks

[xcmountain80]

You could do IWJRA....warranty on it....

Hmmm well thats cool I didnt know. I dont know how to go about finding out. My friend John Morehouse is a sponsored 24 Hour rider here in FL but I dont know what he can do. If they do have a crash replacement that would so awesome, I know they dont make the Sub 22 anymore and they replaced it with the Enlightenment (drool) Scandium front and carbon rear. Retail $1495 cost is -30% of retail. I have been looking on ebay because I figured for $1000 ish bucks I could get a moots frames or another Ellsworth. So If you dont mind asking your buddy, I'll ask mine and perhaps one of us can get somewhere. We (24hour team) stayed at Tony Ellsworth's house years ago after the World Championship 24 hour @ Idywilde in CA. Back when 24 hours of adrenaline was still in its early stages. No I obviously don't still know him well enough to have any pull.

Aaron

 

[Clutch]

IWJRA= I was just riding along.....hear that one at the bike shop all of the time.

"Oh, I was just riding along down the side walk...and my frame broke in half."

Sorta an inside joke in the industry...

 

[MountainBiker]

That stinks! Ellsworth has a crash replacement program, don't they? Santa Cruz gave me a new front triangle under warranty for my Blur when it broke. I would assume Ellsworth would be as generous.

That looks like the break that most of the first gen (classic) Blurs had due to poor welding skills. My friend's Blur broke like that, and he got a free replacement.

BTW, I don't think any mfg besides SC offers such an excellent no-fault crash replacement program. But my 9 year old Heckler refuses to break!

 

[DaveInDenver]

That looks like the break that most of the first gen (classic) Blurs had due to poor welding skills. My friend's Blur broke like that, and he got a free replacement.

BTW, I don't think any mfg besides SC offers such an excellent no-fault crash replacement program. But my 9 year old Heckler refuses to break!

It was the infamous early 2003 large Blur. The defect was explained to me that somehow the seat tube was the wrong one, as though it was from an XL. So when it was mitered the cut left the tube shorter than expected. So they cut off more of the butting than they expected, which left the spot vulnerable to early fatigue. Mine broke after about 2 years, which was pretty average. I presume some are still OK and it's not all large classic Blurs, just some from early in 2003 (mine was Feb '03 production). I got a Blur LT as a replacement. Anyway, it's not really a weld problem, the weld didn't break. It's a fabrication mistake and from the look of the crack I could believe it was a fatigue problem from too thin material.

 

[MountainBiker]

It was the infamous early 2003 large Blur. The defect was explained to me that somehow the seat tube was the wrong one, as though it was from an XL. So when it was mitered the cut left the tube shorter than expected. So they cut off more of the butting than they expected, which left the spot vulnerable to early fatigue. Mine broke after about 2 years, which was pretty average. I presume some are still OK and it's not all large classic Blurs, just some from early in 2003 (mine was Feb '03 production). I got a Blur LT as a replacement.

Thanks, that sounds like a better explanation than I heard from the LBS. I was considering the Blur LT, but got too good of a deal on the Marin Mt Vision just last week!

 

[xcmountain80]

IWJRA= I was just riding along.....hear that one at the bike shop all of the time.

"Oh, I was just riding along down the side walk...and my frame broke in half."

Sorta an inside joke in the industry...

Yeah I know I worked in a shop for a decade.

Aaron

 

[Christophe Noel]

It was the infamous early 2003 large Blur. The defect was explained to me that somehow the seat tube was the wrong one, as though it was from an XL. So when it was mitered the cut left the tube shorter than expected. So they cut off more of the butting than they expected, which left the spot vulnerable to early fatigue.

That is exactly correct. Many companies have gone afoul with trying to use a single tube for too many sizes. The first of the offenders was Bridgestone in the early 90s with the MB0 frames. They used quad butted Ishiwata steel tubing with the first butt dangerously close to the head tube. Many folded frames resulted. SC was actually okay with the use of that particular tube, they just whacked the tube at the wrong end.

The blur failures didn't always go with fatigue at that spot. Some failed by the season's end. There was also talk of some poor heat treating methods with some of the Santa Cruz bikes. I've never been a big fan of SC. I bought a Chameleon in '98 that was just horrible. I had a bunch of "media" rolling around in the oversized chainstays from media blasting that I could never get out. Poor manufacturing has plagued SC off and on.

These days I rock a steel 29er single speed and love every single pedal stroke.

 

[Clutch]

Yeah I know I worked in a shop for a decade.

Aaron

Whoops, sorry, I hope I didn't offend you.

 

[xcmountain80]

Offend? No way in hell, Im probably one of the last people on this board to get offended. I have an email in to Ellsworth asking about crash replacement. I also lucked into having a friend that opened a shop and is looking to get a Ellsworth dealer started so maybe 30% off retail maybe..... still a bit much seeing as how I bought the Sub-22 frame on ebay for $325. Im on my other bike now (Santa Cruz Superlight) until I get another hardtail frame. For the price a used moots would be ok.

Aaron

 

[xcmountain80]

I have heard the craziest I was just riding along stories. One night we were doing an urban assault and this guy snapped his handlebar off at the stem on one side, another broke a seapost. My brother snapped his SantaCruz Superlight at the rear shock mount on the front triangle, and his bike was just sitting there. The list goes on I have heard it all.

Aaron

 

[Clutch]

I have broken my share of parts. Never warrantied any of them.

One of the parts, I did break really did piss me off. I drove the whole way to Snow Mass, Colorado for a race from Tucson. I broke the linkage during a practice run. The bike was barely a month old. I about threw it down the mountain. It snapped the front of the linkage off, in a very small G-Out.

Drove all that way....

 

[viatierra]

Just popping in here... As for the original tent/bike problem, it is one of the most significant reasons I sprung the extra money to by a Maggionlina Extreme. It comes with another rack on top of the tent that is designed to hold upto 60lbs. Since the tent doesn't flip open, you can even utilize the tent without taking off the bikes, kayak...whatever. It does put your goods WAY up in the air though.

I really wanted a tent without destroying the utility of having a truck. Just got it yesterday, so we'll see how well the system works...

 

[calamaridog]

Ok, so this T2 looks like a good rack, but is there any other ideas that cost less? That thing may be worth more than my bike at this point.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Saris Thelma. I've been using our shop's demo unit and so far it seems pretty slick. For $250 it's worth a shot. Durability is up in the air, but the whole thing is feather weight so it's easy to remove.