Single speed, steel, hard-tail 29ers are a dime-a-dozen, so it's great to see some more manufacturers pushing the boundaries a little by stretching the format beyond it's roots. Ellsworth Bikes has announced that it will debut a new full suspension 29er at the upcoming Interbike show. The company will join the ranks of only a handful of manufacturers, such as, Niner, Intense, and Ventana (read my first impression of the Ventana El Capitan) that have dared to push the 29er into the dualie realm.
Ellsworth's new "Evolve" will sport 4 inches of travel and will use the company's Instant Center Tracking (ICT) suspension design, promising an efficient, yet plush ride. Unfortunately, few other details are available so I'll have to follow up on this once I get to Interbike.
What I found interesting was this quote by founder Tony Ellsworth:
"I would rather be late to the 29er party with a more efficient ride than any bike in this class,"
Late to the party? Well in the world of specialty bike manufacturers and 29er crazed bike bloggers, maybe? But to the rest of the world, I'm not so sure. Aside from Gary Fisher Bikes, I don't believe that there is a single major manufacturer out there that has developed a full-suspension 29er. Few have even dared to build any kind of 29er, although that is changing this year.
So Ellsworth, no need to apologize. You're right where you need to be.
Oh, and it looks like Ellsworth has been quite busy as a look at their Web site reveals several additional bikes in development including, two cross country hard-tails (one geared, one single speed), two all-mountain bikes (one for endurance, one for more freeride type applications), and a trials bike.
