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Submitted by
Dennis
a
from Vancouver
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | light weight, stiffness | | Weaknesses: | ride compliance, discontinued product | | Bike Setup: | Light weight set-up using a combination of aftermarket parts. A fair amount of TI and carbon. Original owner since 96? 97? | | Bottom Line: | Very stiff hardtail frame, (even after 8+ yrs of use). Continues to be bullet proof with no evidence of any structural decay or failure despite lots of hard landings. Ride is noticeably more ridgid relative to steel or titanium hardtail frames. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rich
a Weekend Warrior
from Charleston, SC, USA
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Light weight | | Weaknesses: | Amp rear shock | | Bike Setup: | XT/XTR; Ringle hubs; Mavic 217 rims; continental tires; raceface cranks, BB, and bar; grip shift; rock shox fork; Time ATAC clipless pedals; Real rings | | Bottom Line: | Frame is 4lb FS boron carbide/aluminum matrix composite. Supposed to be lighter than Ti and 40% stronger. Dean stopped making frame after 95 due to expense. Was purchased for half price as closeout model. Built bike from frame up. Big fan of raceface components for light weight and strength. Time ATAC pedals are the best you can get in my opinion. Ringle hubs are not the lightest hubs but are a work of art. Thinking about upgrading rear shock. Very rare bike. Best for cross country as it has 2.5" travel. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steven
a
from cross-country rider
Date Reviewed: August 1, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Need some help, guys: I have a composite hardtail that I enjoy
mostly on weekends. Over the past eight months I've noticed the propagation
of cracks appearing at the intersection between the top tube and
head tube, and between the top tube and seat tube. I'm not
sure whether these cracks extend below the paint into the
composite material, or whether they are just cosmetic problems. Does
anyone have any experience with defects in composite material (failure
modes, crack propagation through composite material, etc)? Thanks,Steve
| Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a racer
from CA. USA
Date Reviewed: February 21, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Well I have had a DEAN Carbore FS (AMP B3 rear end) for 3 years now. After waiting 4 months on DEAN to originally fix the frame due to a mis-aligned BB threads from side to side it has been a nice bike. After spending tons of money I was able to get the bike down to 22 lbs. I threw out the AMP shock (trash) and put on a Stratos, very nice. This bike was a awesome climer but a bit unstable going down hill fast. Unfortunetly, I broke the top tube from the head tube and DEAN refused to repair it. DEAN needs to improve on the service promptness. DEAN rarely called me back when the ball was in there court. Buy TI they last longer. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Duane Northrup
a cross-country rider
from Vancouver,Washington
Date Reviewed: June 14, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Not yet willing to give up the hardtail for full suspension, I had been leaning towards the mythical properties of Titanium after a two year stint on a Trek 8500 EA70 Aluminum frame. The newly redesigned Dean Colonel with it's asymmetric chainstays and Sandvik alloy seemed to be priced within my budgeta and after one race and 100 or so off road miles I am extremely pleased with the overall fit, welds and finish of the bike. I chose the White Brothers SC70 front suspension and full Shimano XT.The Dean is truly affordable Titanium and a singletrack natural. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Ozrelic
a racer
from Bend, Oregon
Date Reviewed: April 2, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I recently had a chance to do some riding on and ULTRA cool Dean bike. If any of you have ever heard about or seen a
Dean bike you'll know that they are really cool and just as expensive. The bike I rode on was a Dean Carbore, many people
may have not heard of this bike because there were very few made. Dean found it so expensive to make when they came out
with it that they discontinued it. The frame is an dual suspension AMP tyupe frame with about 2.5 of travel. The frame itself is
made out of a combination of carbide and boron (That's what I was told!) It is an ultra like XC bike that handles quite well.
The suspension is lacking though. I found it very limiting and not very plush at all! The Dean came with a good assortment of
high-end parts, namely Rhino, and DT-Hugi, Kore, and some other high-end stuff. The braking also had some lacking, and
the Hugi hubs where extremly noisy. The ride (When you ignored the hubs, suspension, and brakes!) was awsome. It's the
lightest suspension bike, if not the lightest bike I've ever ridden! It cuts through single track like butter! So if you see this bike,
get the person that owns this gem to give you a test drive, It's worth it! | | Overall Rating: |
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