Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

I was lead astray by the Sultan reviews. That mutha' is PLUSH!

1K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  jrm 
#1 ·
So, after reading Rensho and Francois' reviews on the Sultan from Interbike, I expected this bike to be anything BUT one of the smoothest, most plush bikes I have ever layed a leg over. Well, today on a group ride with Jay (jncarpenter) I had an opportunity to see what this bike could truely deliver. I've never owned a single Turner in my life, and I still have in my possesion a :gasp: Ellsworth :gasp:, so to say I'm a homer sippin' on the ole Kool Aid couldn't be further from the truth.

I had the opportunity to do some climbing, some rolling fast single track, and some fast DH sections. This bike is absolutely BUTTER. It climbed like a goat and as soon and the going got rough, this beauty felt like I was cruising a cadillac down the blvd. at a pimp convention, making childs play out of a rattling gully.

Anyways, I have come to the conclusion that the interbike test reviews either suffered from improper fitting or improper shock set up, maybe even a possible combination of the two. If you wrote this bike off after those reviews, I suggest giving it a true chance if you are in the 29er FS market.

Francois and Rensho, I've always valued your opinions highly on here, and if you get a chance to give this bike another go and have some time to try and tweak it a bit, go for it. I think the results may be a slight bit different than the initial runs.

:)
 
See less See more
#2 ·
My impression was that the Interbike Sultan was more of a prototype than the finished product..

Afaik, DT has been tuning the Sultan up a bit for the release of the final production model, and maybe Jay's bike has been tweaked a bit?

I would be interested to find out.


R.
 
#3 ·
Rainman said:
My impression was that the Interbike Sultan was more of a prototype than the finished product..

Afaik, DT has been tuning the Sultan up a bit for the release of the final production model, and maybe Jay's bike has been tweaked a bit?

I would be interested to find out.

R.
...fwiw, the rumors that DT is tweaking the Sultan in any way that affects the way it rides or handles are absolutely FALSE! They are just rumors. Also, the bike that Rich (Mud'n'Sweat) rode was the exact bike from the IB demos...I bought one of them.

Rich, glad you liked it...I could kinda tell from your permagrin;)

Great ride today:thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
Rainman said:
Thanks J for the reply.

I had heard that DT was experimenting with the rear shocks etc..tuning the whole thing up a bit ... maybe it was just me imagining things... :D

R.
...ah, well he did settle on a larger air can for the RP23. That does make a decent difference in terms of overall compliance for sure...sorry I assumed you were referring to changes to the actual frame itself ;)
 
#6 ·
jncarpenter said:
...ah, well he did settle on a larger air can for the RP23. That does make a decent difference in terms of overall compliance for sure...sorry I assumed you were referring to changes to the actual frame itself ;)
DT does not need to tweak anything because any self-respecting Homer will change everything on his own eventually.
 
#8 ·
mud'n'sweat said:
So, after reading Rensho and Francois' reviews on the Sultan from Interbike, I expected this bike to be anything BUT one of the smoothest, most plush bikes I have ever layed a leg over. Well, today on a group ride with Jay (jncarpenter) I had an opportunity to see what this bike could truely deliver. I've never owned a single Turner in my life, and I still have in my possesion a :gasp: Ellsworth :gasp:, so to say I'm a homer sippin' on the ole Kool Aid couldn't be further from the truth.

I had the opportunity to do some climbing, some rolling fast single track, and some fast DH sections. This bike is absolutely BUTTER. It climbed like a goat and as soon and the going got rough, this beauty felt like I was cruising a cadillac down the blvd. at a pimp convention, making childs play out of a rattling gully.

Anyways, I have come to the conclusion that the interbike test reviews either suffered from improper fitting or improper shock set up, maybe even a possible combination of the two. If you wrote this bike off after those reviews, I suggest giving it a true chance if you are in the 29er FS market.

Francois and Rensho, I've always valued your opinions highly on here, and if you get a chance to give this bike another go and have some time to try and tweak it a bit, go for it. I think the results may be a slight bit different than the initial runs.

:)
I see JNC brought the Homer kool-aid too :D

What color are you ordering?
 
#9 ·
SSINGA said:
What color are you ordering?
If there was a color that came in "wife is HAPPY I'm getting ANOTHER frame", then I'd go for it. Unfortunately, it won't be anytime soon.

This bike has gotten very little attention on here it seems. Too bad, it's a great ride and well priced. Then again, it may just be because the full production line has yet to hit the market.
 
#10 ·
mud'n'sweat said:
If there was a color that came in "wife is HAPPY I'm getting ANOTHER frame", then I'd go for it. Unfortunately, it won't be anytime soon.

This bike has gotten very little attention on here it seems. Too bad, it's a great ride and well priced. Then again, it may just be because the full production line has yet to hit the market.
ooooohhhhhhh....I have seen that color. It's the same color as your current bike, if you're lucky she won't notice the change! :rolleyes:
 
#11 ·
SSINGA said:
ooooohhhhhhh....I have seen that color. It's the same color as your current bike, if you're lucky she won't notice the change! :rolleyes:
Yup, come to think of it, a black sultan is similar in appearance to my Ell's. Just got a PM from Jay, I think I may sell off my Kona Xplosif SS and my Ell's to go for this frame in the not so distance future :thumbsup:

I'll switch the Mariachi back to SS and be set MTB wise.

It's really ashame this bike didn't make it into the shootout. It's clearly a tough contender to go up against.
 
#12 ·
Now your in deep...

mud'n'sweat said:
Yup, come to think of it, a black sultan is similar in appearance to my Ell's. Just got a PM from Jay, I think I may sell off my Kona Xplosif SS and my Ell's to go for this frame in the not so distance future :thumbsup:

I'll switch the Mariachi back to SS and be set MTB wise.

It's really ashame this bike didn't make it into the shootout. It's clearly a tough contender to go up against.
cuz your rationalizing how to buy it..cool dude post pics...
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top