Rocky Mountain has just launched the new 2018 Instinct 29er, and the new Pipeline plus bike. The basics are this; both bikes actually make use of the same frame that features 140mm of travel front and rear, with an updated four-bar suspension linkage and a new Ride-9 geometry adjustment chip. The Instinct however is built with 29in wheels, and the Pipeline comes stock with 27.5+ wheels.
There’s new geometry, 1x specific frames (in carbon and alloy), and new frame features such as Live Valve compatibility, most of which were debuted on the new Altitude and Slayer models.
As part of the slick press release sent to us via Rocky Mountain, there was one model in the whole lineup that stood out in particular; the Instinct BC Edition.
Based upon the same frame used by the new 140mm travel Instinct 29er, the BC Edition amps things up with a different linkage and shock length that pumps up the rear travel to 155mm. The custom linkage skips the Ride-9 geometry adjustment, which means the geometry is locked in – presumably to facilitate the extra travel. To match the extra squish, Rocky has spec’d the BC Edition model with a burly 160mm travel Fox 36 fork, a piggyback Float DPX2 shock, more aggressive Maxxis Minion Wide Trail tyres, and a 780mm wide Race Face Turbine handlebar.
2018 Rocky Mountain Instinct BC Edition Features
- Long travel 29er all mountain bike
- Smoothwall carbon fibre frame
- Clearance for up to 29×2.6in or 27.5×3.0in tyres
- 155mm rear travel
- Updated SmoothLink suspension design w/sealed cartridge bearings for all pivot points
- Ride-9 geometry adjustment system
- 160mm travel fork
- Head angle: 65.9°
- Seat angle: 74.4°
- Internal cable routing w/Di2 and Fox Live Valve compatibility
- 1x only frame design
- PF92 bottom bracket w/ISCG 05 gabs & integrated ‘Spirit Guide’
- 148x12mm rear thru-axle
- 425mm chainstay length
- Claimed frame weight: 2550g / 5.61 lbs (Medium frame w/shock)
- Complete bike claimed weight: 13.4 kg / 29.48 lbs (Medium)
With that bump up to 155mm, the Instinct BC Edition becomes the longest travel 29er to have ever come from Rocky Mountain, and joins the growing wave of big-hitting 29ers currently sweeping the market, and racetracks. Given the increasing prevalence of 29ers on the EWS and UCI Downhill World Cup circuits, we reckon there’s a strong chance you’ll be seeing the likes of Jesse Melamed and the rest of the Rocky/Urge BP Rally Team aboard the new Instinct.
We could potentially re-hash everything else from Rocky Mountain’s press release, but if you want to find out things like geometry and spec details, best get it straight from the horse’s wotsit via the Rocky Mountain website.