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Submitted by
Rachid Ahouyek
a Cross Country Rider
from London
Date Reviewed: February 23, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Dean Online | | Strengths: | Craftmanship is up there with anyone - Litespeed and Merlin included. Super stiff in a straight line, accelerates quick. Is neat and tight in the twisty stuff, and soaks up the little bit's everywhere else... | | Weaknesses: | Not really a complaint, but my 2001 Size M Colonel has really fat chainstays which is why the sprinting and handling are so sharp - BUT it means my 2001 XTR cranks only JUST clear the frame. Not the cranks arms themselves, but the inner ring almost touches the chainstay. I have a 116mm XTR BB on there WITH spacers and it's okay, but my mechanic reckons you want the crankarms sitting on as much axle as they can. Dean have fixed this now apparently... | | Similar Products Used: | Orange P7 Cr-Mo frame with PACE Rigid Forks and XTR. | | Bike Setup: | Dean Colonel, XTR, Rock Shox SID SL with RacFace to finish and Mavic Crossride Ceramic wheels... | | Bottom Line: | This frame deserves the to parts hanging from it. I've sold it now to build another Dean Colonel up with Disc brakes and a rigid fork for a super-lite XC and BIG BMX kinda hybrid. Even though Dean were cool enough to offer to add a disk mount and remove theh V-Brake bosses for next to nothing.
I have 1 bike and use it for EVERYTHING - and this does that.
This bike is just amazing. It's so sharp and solid, yet feels springloaded when you sprint. Climbing is so solid and it accelerates like at one with your body.
Do not be fooled, this frame is up there with any other Ti frame on the planet, and the Colonel XL is even lighter with butted tubes.
The last thing I must mention is that even though I'm 7000 miles away, DEAN Customer service is just about the best ever - period.
These cats could easily charge the big dollars just for that alone.
The last word is value - this frame is worth so much more - Dean is top for Ti. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Greg
a Cross Country Rider
from Sharpsville, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: November 23, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Kennerdale | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$2450.00 | | Purchased At: | Dean, various catalogs | | Strengths: | lightweight (23lbs as setup), compliant, responsive,climbs great, fits great
Replaceable droupout hangers! | | Weaknesses: | The only weakness in my setup is me. Don't buy equipment that will limit your ability to improve!
It took Dean two weeks longer than predicted (six total) to deliver the frame, but I expected this from reading other Dean reviews. | | Similar Products Used: | Rocky Mountain Element Race (full suspension) | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Marzocchi MXR (coil, oil) 100mm
Monkey lite risers
SRAM Attack Shorties
Avid Mechanical with Avid speed dial levers
Chris King headset, Thomson stem,
XT drivetrain
Mavic 317 w/ XT hubs
Serac XC tires 2.2
Dean ultra light seatpost
Terry Fly saddle
Salsa Grips
THE dual sport front fender
Crank Bros. Egg Beaters
| | Bottom Line: | My cycling usually consists of 50% road riding on my Lemond Zurich and 50% cross country mountainbiking. The mountain bike rides are usually from 2-3 hours at a moderate to brisk pace over the roots, rocks and logs of western Pennsylvania. I ride year round.
When I bought my Rocky Mountain, it initially increased my speed because with full suspension I could plow over many obstacles. Soon after, I realized that all of my friends were schooling me on hardtails because of lighter weight and increased skills. Another downside of rear suspension is rear suspension maintainence. Replacing pivots sucks.
I decided to let my full suspension go and actually learn to ride better on a lighter bike.
Dean was very helpful in helping me choose a frame and frame size. I chose the Dean Colonel because of size specific tubing. Since I ride a big frame I was worried that the Ti frame would be mushy. The Colonel solves mushiness by making larger frames out of larger diameter tubing, thus increasing the rigidity in proportion to the increased size of the frame. I was wary of ordering an XL but after they reviewed the size of my Rocky Mountain frame and body size, they encouraged me to go XL. The fit is just right. Another plus was replaceable dropout hangers. Since I expected a long wait for the frame to be delivered, I have nothing but good things to say about Dean's customer service.
The bike is very light weight (23lbs) and you can tell on climbs and when bunnyhopping. Because of the lighter weight and better fit, log crossings have become much easier. I can lift my rear wheel and float it over obstacles that troubled me while riding my full suspension.
Position and geometry is just right for climbing and pretty agressive for descents. With the Marzocchi MXR fork, it goes exactly where you point it.
Titanium is the ulitmate material for cross country frames. Lightweight and compliant, you can preload your frame when bunnyhopping but it is rigid enough that you will not feel any loss in power while climbing. Ti sucks up most of the shock and little bumps in the trail that are currently beating the crap out of aluminium hardtail riders worldwide.
The bottom line: The Dean Colonel is much lighter than and requires less maintainence than a full suspension, but is much more forgiving than aluminium hard-tail. I wanted a bike that would not limit my ability to perform or improve. This bike is that and more. If you're looking for a cross country hard-tail, this is the ultimate bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vince
a Cross Country Rider
from Northern Cal.
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | the one i'm on | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$2800.00 | | Purchased At: | Wrench-Science | | Strengths: | After 6 mo. continues to impress me on climbs. Stealing a phrase off another review, "It climbs like a billy goat on speed" Truly a great WORKHORSE of a bike. Equally impressive on descents, just "point and shoot". More importantly truly solid craftsmanship. Hands-down THE best "deal" for homegrown titanium. Look forward to many years of faithful service. | | Weaknesses: | So far haven't picked up on any, However its still too early. May update in another 6 mo. or so. Oh yeah, be prepared to WAIT for yours, it took over a month before the builder recieved mine. | | Bike Setup: | Full XT, Thomson, C.King and RS Duke Race | | Bottom Line: | If your on a budget and looking for a solid Titanium frameset thats fabricated in the good ole' US of A the Dean Colonel is an excellent choice. More so than the comparable Litespeed Pisgah. For around $1250 you get a frameset thats just as solid as a Seven or Merlin. The differences being a doubled price tag and several cute details,(beautifully machined headbadges and engravings).
The Colonel is a "blue-collar" workhorse. It may not be as elegant as other high-end titanium fabricators but it does the job equally well if not better.
I give 4 chilis for value because its only been 6 mo. And 5 overall because so far I'm lovin mine. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
harry cooper
a Cross Country Rider
from tucson, az usa
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | la milagrosa (tucson) | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1450.00 | | Purchased At: | Dean Bikes | | Strengths: | excellent control in bumps. you can feel it absorbing all the trail chatter, keeping down fatigue. Very light and responsive. awesome on climbs and handles the downhills with pleasure. just point downhill and hang on! lots of people craning their neck to get a look as it whizzes by. | | Weaknesses: | it took more than eight weeks to get this bike and a scout shipped to me. dean was real slow, but apologetic. i ended up with the interbike floor model that was used as a demo, but for troubles they hooked me up with a ti handlebar and seatpost. | | Similar Products Used: | scout, fisher bikes | | Bike Setup: | xt/xtr drivetrain, race face cranks, sun lite rhyno rims, panaracer fire xc pro, ringle rear hub | | Bottom Line: | i would certainly recommend this ride to anyone contemplating a ti frame. it is certainly the best bang for your buck. excellent geometry and looks. it keeps getting better and better each time i ride. feels like you're gliding along. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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