Rocky Mountain Sherpa

Here’s an interesting development from the land of burgers and doughnuts: a bikepacking-specific, carbon full sus…

Obviously bikepacking isn’t descriptive enough a term to convey the rigours of traversing rough trails with packs on your bike, so Rocky Mountain has coined the genre ‘overlanding’ and named its bike, the Sherpa. We gave you a preview of the ‘proof of concept’ bike this time last year.

Developed by Rocky Mountain’s lead product guy, Alex Cogger, the Sherpa “will carry you and your gear to the ends of the earth, far from the nearest Strava segment and through whatever ambitious backcountry route you didn’t know you were planning“. It’s basically a short-travel full sus, with oversized rubber and a geometry that errs on the fun side of efficiency.

With 95mm and 120mm travel front and rear, the carbon front triangle is derived from the existing Element frame design and mated to a wider, 7005 aluminium rear end, designed to accommodate a front mech without clearance issues on the fat rubber. Geometry has been adjusted to give a comfortable, more upright riding position, and the chassis rolls on 27.5+, ‘chubby’ wheels for “extra float and traction“. Rocky Mountain worked with Manitou and WTB to test the 27.5+ platform’s technology:

“It is critical for suspension to react in tandem with high volume tires. We worked with Manitou to spec supple suspension for excellent response off the top. The Magnum fork has a wide stance for better tire clearance, and the Mcleod requires lower air pressure, allowing a fully loaded rider and bike to remain in the shock’s “sweet spot.” ”

The complete bike, with a 10-speed Shimano XT/SLX drivetrain and hydro brakes, RaceFace finishing kit and DT Swiss hubs, is set to retail at $4,499 in the US. We don’t know whether or not the Sherpa will be available in the UK this year, but a bikepacking-specific bike coming out of a major brand like Rocky Mountain is certainly an interesting addition to the ever-expanding number of increasingly tightly-defined mountain bike niches. And, Rocky Mountain’s test team certainly seem to have been having plenty of fun with it, as these pictures show…

Rocky Mountain Bikes.