Strengths: price, weight (mine's 3.4 lbs), solid construction, looks great
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
Nice frame! I've really enjoyed riding it. It's my first Ti frame, and find it to be very comfortable and smooth. I was worried that it might be a bit too flexy in the bottom bracket, but those fears were erased on the first ride. It's got better horizontal stiffness than the quality steel frame that it replaced.
other things I like: breezer dropouts, S-bend stays, clean welds
things I don't like: irrelevant gripe- the DEAN 4-color logo isn't the best match for a satin Titanium finish (I like non-brushed Ti). I'd think that their blue or red panel logo would look a heck of a lot better.
So yeah...I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a relatively low cost Ti frame from a US builder. I've noticed that the Scout prices are a bit higher for '03 (up to $900 now?). Some other builders put out a Ti frame for only a bit more $ (Titus comes to mind), so value isn't what it was in past years. But regardless, anyone looking for a Ti frame ought to at least give Dean a call. If the geometry works for you, I really think you'd be happy with it.
Strengths: fast,light,strong,not many on the trail
Weaknesses: NONE
Bottom Line:
This is a singletrack monster that can handle anything in its path. I was blown away at how much faster i can ride. By far the best hardtail out there. Buy one you'll see!
Submitted by
Olaf
a Cross Country Rider
from Illinois
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2002
Strengths: Light, great quality, great look, very good customer support
Weaknesses: low lateral stiffness (size XL)
Bottom Line:
I wanted a titanium frame since a long time and finally bought the DEAN Scout. I am very satisfied with the bike. The frame, especially the dropouts, is beautiful. The ride is great as long as I stay in the saddle. If I push the pedals to hard the chain rubs at the front derailleur. When I got the frame the little washer on the brake bosses were missing. It took me only one call to Dean and three days to get them.
Weaknesses: A replacable derailluer hanger would be nice.
Bottom Line:
A hand built titanium frame for $850! No other company even comes close. You can build this bike up for $2000 and have one kick ass race ready, ride all day kind of bike. I forgot how fun a hard tail can be. Buy this bike if you want a hard tail cross country bike and you prefer to have a bike from a small company and not a big box name like Trek, Giant, etc.
Favorite Trail: Any trail in the Pisgah Forest, NC
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$850.00
Purchased At: Black Bear Adventures
Similar Products Used: Haven't ridin a hard tail in years.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Carl
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlottesville,VA USA
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2002
Strengths: I've ridden and raced dean bikes for about 3 years, mostly Ti hardtails, like the Dean scout and Colonel. This is my first experience with the Duke softail. The ride and feel of the Duke is nearly identical to the Scout, with the big exception that the rear wheel stays "hooked-up" to the ground over the rough stuff - due to the 1" travel of the rear wheel. The lateral stiffness is perfect, it flows through a high speed turn like slot car. It climbs as well or better than a Ti hardtail, especially on loose rocky climbs. The extra 3/4 lbs of weight in the frame is a non-issue - you don't feel it on any climb. The SID Race shock can be dialed-in pretty quickly, it's big improvement over the stratus shock.
Concerning the quality of the craftsmanship in the dean Duke frame, it's extremely fine. I compared the welds of my Duke *directly* against Sevens, Litespeeds, and Merlins. It Compares favorably with Seven workmanship. It's noticebly better that litespeed and merlin craftsmanship. The folks at Dean are, in my opinion, producing one of the finest qaulity softail frames that can be bought for under $2500.
The negative thing i can say about the frame is long wait it takes to get one. It took about 4 months for dean to produce the bike, which is long time by dean's build standards. In their defense, they had some unexpected material delivery problems which delayed prodcution. Normal delivery time should be about 2 months or less.
This frame is definitely made for those riders who like the responsiveness of hardtails, but are looking for a little compliance on the rear wheel travel to soft'n the ride up. This is *not* a full suspension bike, it's basically a hardtail with a 1 inch of tunable give.
Weaknesses: None, except for the long wait.
Bottom Line:
One of the sweetest Ti rides around, One of the best frames you can buy.
I love the frame, it's a great value, very light, great handling, very comfortable with just the right amount of spring. For my weight/strength (190lb. and pretty strong) and aggressive riding style (love to hammer out of the saddle and on climbs) it's a little too flexible laterally at the bottom bracket (can make chain rub when hammering out of the saddle). It's a great ride and would be perfect for lighter riders or big riders that don't hammer out of the saddle too often (or don't mind the chain rub when you do). If it weren't such a good monetary value I'd have given it a 4 overall (because of the lateral/bb flex) but given the price and my particular size/style it's a 5 for sure.
Bike Setup: White Brothers SC72UL, Dave's Speed Dream Wheels, XTR, RaceFace Turbine crank, Syncros Stem, Easton metal bar, Thomson post, Selle Italia Max Flight Trans Am, Speedplay Frogs, GripShift ESP 9.0 SL, Chris King Headset, RaceFace bottom bracket
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Somerville, MA
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2001
Strengths: price, friendliness of service, looks
Weaknesses: weight, no disc-only option, decals remove too easily
Bottom Line:
When I first saw the Scout advertised for $750 in the Jenson catalog, my jaw dropped and my mouth started to water - "finally!" i said, "a budget Ti hardtail that looks beautiful, unlike those clunky Airbornes".
My heart dropped when I called Jenson and they said that they couldn't guarantee that I would recieve the frame any faster than three months - three months!
Desperate, I called John at DEAN bikes, and he said that if I ordered directly through them I'd be able to get it within a couple of weeks. After that, it was all gravy - we agreed that a size small frame would fit me the best, and I spec'd a build kit with them (I already had a fork and wheels), asked for disc tabs, gave them my credit card number and crossed my fingers.
Three weeks later (a week late, but not bad considering how long friends of mine have had to wait for "custom frames"), the UPS man arrived at work and I tore open the box.
Beautiful frame, beautiful welds, beautiful ride - they had pressed the headset and installed the BB for me, so it took only a short afternoon to build the frame up and take it out for a ride. The final product would up a bit heavier than I expected (haven't stuck it on a scale yet), but its performance on the trail belies its heft.
Needless to say, the bike rides like a dream (a suitable replacement for my loved but slightly-too-large Bridgestone MB-3) - I've been able to clean climbs that had killed me before, and survive descents that had pummeled be before. Stable at high speeds, agile for slow-speed technical manouvers.
It only took a couple of rides through New England singletrack for the decals to start scratching off, but when I mentioned it to John at DEAN, he threw in a set of extra decals onto my subsequent seatpost order.
All-in-all, a great deal if you're looking for an entry-level Titanium hard-tail.
Bike Setup: Avid Mechanical Disc brakes, XT disc hubs on Mavic 317s, full SRAM 9.0 kit, Marzocchi Z2 Atom 80, Thomson Elite Stem, DEAN Seatpost, bars, Hutchison Tires, TruVativ Stylo cranks/BB
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
JohnnyD
a Cross Country Rider
from Longmont, CO
Date Reviewed: June 22, 2001
Strengths: It's purty Also very light, strong yet flexible Sloping top tube means great handling, very tossable
Weaknesses: I'll let you know if I find any
Bottom Line:
Cracked my six-year-old aluminum DEAN frame and got a great deal on the Scout with a fork and other components. This bike rules--super light, fast, nimble, and it flies like a kite when you pull up on it to clear rocks, logs, etc. I'm a DEAN believer for life. Thanks to whoever stole my old Trek in 1995 to get me into the DEAN groove.
Bike Setup: SID SL, Dean Ti bar, Onza H.O. Ti pedals (yeah still riding 'em and loving it), Mavic CrossRide wheels, XTR stuff
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Aric
a Cross Country Rider
from New Hudson, MI
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2000
Strengths: Light, nimble, forgiving, excellent and efficient climber
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
This frame rules. Road for 5+ years on a Slingshot and loved it's climbing ability - this bike is better in all regards, more nimble, lively, efficient, but is just as comfortable, forgiving and confidence inspiring on long or short rides.
I can't say enough positive things about it...and the guy I bought it from polished the s**t out of it so it's really a head turner...and the build quality and welds - top notch, my hats off to DEAN for making my last hardtail frame, ever (maybe I'll buy a DEAN single speed :) frame sometime though).
In my opinion the Scout is the best hardtail frame in existance, too bad DEAN doesn't make it any more. The Colonel looks nice, but that fat down tube surely has to make the thing harsher to ride...
Look around on MTBR marketplace for some good deals...they can be found for less than $700 for a $1300+ new frame.
Bike Setup: Z2 Atom 80, King/Bontrager wheels, 9.0SL, Ritchey, etc.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steve Plant
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, NSW Australia
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2000
Strengths: Light, strong, latrally very good almoat as stiff as a US built GT Zaskar, good standover, allways looks good. I hate rust so just hose her down lube the chain and get it dirty again, she won't mind
Weaknesses: having to carry a rag around to wipe up other peoples drool
Bottom Line:
My fist Ti frame and I love it vertically compliant, stiff around the BB ( I weigh 84Kg) everything fits and is perfectly alligned. Irecommend this frame to anyone if I could afford a Seven I would copy the geometry of the Dean. I'd give this frame more than 5 flaming Richard the 3rds if I could
I blew my knee last winter and decided to take the time to build my dream bike...I won't go in to specifics, but it turns heads everywhere I ride. That being said, I am a larger rider 5' 10" 185 and this frame definitely takes a beating. When you consider that it weighs less than three lbs. It's pretty impressive. All I can say is don't believe the hype from all of the big corporate bike manufacturers, DEAN is definitely the way to go!
Submitted by
Brad Worley
a cross-country rider
from North Carolina
Date Reviewed: October 14, 1998
Bottom Line:
I wanted to clue all of you out there in mtb. land about the DEAN Scout Ti Frame. I had wanted a titanium frame for quite a while and had planned to get a Litespeed Ocoee (all 3-2.5 Ti, $1,500). This summer my local shop got several Dean Scout Ti frames in... The DEAN Scout Ti (formerly the Colonel: the 98 Colonel has larger tubing) is made of 3-2.5 Sandivik Ti with 6-4 Ti watercut dropouts and bottom-bracket shell. And it only cost $1000. Better material than the Ocoee and $500 less!!!! The Scout rides like a dream!! I'm a larger rider, 185 lbs., and the DEAN takes anything I can give it and begs for more. It climbs like a dream, I can ride up sections that I never could quiet get a grip on. And Ti frame is very forgiving, with a much less harsh ride as alluminum. I set the bike up with a 98 Manitou SX Ti fork, Mavic Crosslands, RaceFace Crankset, Gripshift ESP: weighing in at 22 lbs.!!!!! An incredible price for a super frame with a lifetime waranty. If you are looking for a Ti frame, DEAN is the way to go!!
Update:
E-mail list- I have been having computer issues and have to use an old e-mail list. Please forward this to your friends and ask them to reply to me to help rebuild the lis Read More »
Anyone have any experience with either bike? [URL="http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/youth/mtn-scout-12/"]Raleigh Mnt Scout[/URL] Looks OK. 24# is lighter than most. Rigid fork is li Read More »
My bike was stolen last Friday evening from my gf's garage at her house in Lincoln. Garage door was open for maybe an hour at dusk. Spent Saturday morning knocking on doors down th Read More »
i earned my eagle award in 1979. regardless of what some say about scouting, i think that the experience helped build my character and greatly increased my appreciation for the out Read More »
I'm looking for a cheap steel frame to hang all my spare bits on and wanted the origin 8 scout but cant find it for sale anywhere.I called origin 8 their number is disconnected and Read More »
